Madden Sales Down 18% Y-o-Y in October

[RaychelSnr]

Quote: Originally Posted by rooney8

You know more than me. This is great news for sim gamers. No way does John Riccitiello survive this. Probably a few others will go aswell.

Also on your John Riccitiello point, I'd like to know how he's surviving with EA's stock flat since the 08 crash while everyone else has seen at least modest stock gains. That's as much an indictment on Riccitiello as anything else. But don't forget that total sales were up 17% for EA in October, so the company as a whole isn't doing too bad.

[LiquorLogic]

Quote: Originally Posted by MMChrisS

One more nugget from the Cowen and Company piece is that Madden sales are in fact down 18% year over year. An 18% drop was far more than I ever expected; that's nearly a 1/5 cut in top-line revenue from one of EA's biggest franchises. That's incredibly bad news. This is easily a referendum on the direction of the series. There is definitely increasing pressure on the Madden team to perform, and if there isn't at least somewhat of a change to try to make Madden more marketable to a wider audience for next year then I'll be somewhat shocked. This is definitely not good news for gamers who have liked the direction of Madden for the past couple of years. Do you think we'll see some big changes in the direction for Madden NFL 12?

I thinks it's great news for gamers period; providing that EA is willing to spend the money necessary to build Madden from the ground up. If they do, that will benefit all gamers because the quality will be superior to what we have now.

The license fee is what hinders Madden's development. It's so expensive that the suits aren't willing to increase the budget for development. Maybe now, they realize that they have to.

Who knows if we'll see any significant changes; historically we haven't, but with sales dropping as they are, EA may feel the need for an overhaul.

Even if Madden 12 isn't a significant change, the fact that Madden's sales are down 50% from five years ago means they're less likely to renew the license when it expires.

[dcsoldier]

Quote: Originally Posted by MMChrisS

Also on your John Riccitiello point, I'd like to know how he's surviving with EA's stock flat since the 08 crash while everyone else has seen at least modest stock gains. That's as much an indictment on Riccitiello as anything else. But don't forget that total sales were up 17% for EA in October, so the company as a whole isn't doing too bad.

thats because they released medal of honor and a couple of other titles not worth mentioning.

[dcsoldier]

Quote: Originally Posted by LiquorLogic

I thinks it's great news for gamers period; providing that EA is willing to spend the money necessary to build Madden from the ground up. If they do, that will benefit all gamers because the quality will be superior to what we have now. The license fee is what hinders Madden's development. It's so expensive that the suits aren't willing to increase the budget for development. Maybe now, they realize that they have to. Who knows if we'll see any significant changes; historically we haven't, but with sales dropping as they are, EA may feel the need for an overhaul. Even if Madden 12 isn't a significant change, the fact that Madden's sales are down 50% from five years ago means they're less likely to renew the license when it expires.

good point.....i personally would be shocked if they renewed the NFL exclusive license.......nothing went according to plan when they originally signed with NFL for some 300 million....as you can see sales are down and people still talk about 2k. madden just made a mistake and now they have to live with it. greed never wins.

[LiquorLogic]

Quote: Originally Posted by ryan36

You know there's marketing research that shows Quizno's business goes up when Subway advertises more. Maybe good competition just raises the overall consumer impression of football gaming

Or maybe companies make better games because people have a choice.

[grismosw]

Quote: Originally Posted by dcsoldier

and where are they exactly? half the people that buy madden hate it and the other half buys it cause its NFL. i just got done playing apf2k8 and during a cut scene in the background there was a cop standing by the stands......amazing DETAIL! this game came out 4 years ago, and never used crappy gimmicks to suck people into buying the game....4 years later and im still enjoying the game..........i don't even think if i combine all of the maddens would it equal 4 years.

That's my point.

[kjcheezhead]

I hope this news strikes home with the NFL more than anyone else. Madden 11 gets an 8.6 rating average by review sites and only 6.9 by gamers. That suggests to me that gamers are just bored and frustrated by a series that fundamentally is seen as a solid title by gaming sites. Add to that, NBA 2k11's success and the NFL needs to be concerned.

The fans are turning their backs on the NFL video game this year and can't get enough of the NBA product. It's time the NFL recognizes this as a potenital problem and gives their fans more football options to choose from.

[rooney8]

Quote: Originally Posted by MMChrisS

Also on your John Riccitiello point, I'd like to know how he's surviving with EA's stock flat since the 08 crash while everyone else has seen at least modest stock gains. That's as much an indictment on Riccitiello as anything else. But don't forget that total sales were up 17% for EA in October, so the company as a whole isn't doing too bad.

That's down to more titles being released like Medal of Honor compared to last year. Madden, NHL and MMA not doing well is bad but when Fifa and NBA2k are doing better than ever there aren't many excuses for Riccitiello to hide behind. Him and Peter Moore are very target the casual gamer so I will be glad to see him go and hopefully Moore too.