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

[Palo20]

I've enjoyed Madden the past couple years, but I really hated their "Simpler, Quicker, Deeper" slogan this year. I completely understand the need to cater to new users, and they absolutely should have modes that appeal to them. I love gameflow when gameplans are created. BUT, for the new users, advertising that the game is simpler just doesn't work. When they pick up and try the game, make sure it's simpler. But basing so much of your advertising on being quick and simple was just a huge mistake IMO.

[JWO35]

No surprised, if anything Madden over the last few years have took steps back...after seeing other companies like 2k making huge leaps in games year-from-year, hopefully either EA or NFL decides to do something about it
EA by actually changes somethings like their Franchise Mode(circa 2007)
or the NFL by ending the license between EA to make exclusive NFL games, and open the door for other companies such as 2k/

Hopefully its the NFL

[RGiles36]

Quote: Originally Posted by edaddy

Man these are sentiments to a tee...I have been preaching for years that sports gamers want immersion more than anything..we want to feel like we are at the game ,playing the game, or watching it on tv..all those elements can be improved presentation wise including multiple camera angles, ridiculous crowd noise and to include all the little nuances that go on in a nfl telecast and nfl stadium..from pregame warmups to real commentary ...etc..Ea is also lacking in the basic nuances of the game of football that hold it back..including things like real penalties that are more than clipping or holding, signature running styles..signature and varied catching styles and animations.. player personalities..pre snap movement..individual team tendencies and realistic play...and creatioing a sim that truly is a chessmatch on the field not who has the fastest players...Ea created this by resting on its laurels and like i have sted before if someone can point out the major differences or improvements between madden 10 and 11 I would love to listen...Sim is the way to go and leave the arcade version to blitz or whatever..etc..follow NBA2K11's lead include everything thing that goes on in a game and madden will be a succcess...remeber 2k11 isnt perfect gameplay wise by any means but the immersion factor, attentio to detail, and presentation makes everyone overlook that fact!!!

Agreed with the bolded. Granted, they have some of that already in the game, but it's not nailed. That's what feeds the theory that EA/Tib is not sharp with the details.

[dcsoldier]

lets look at the gimmicks please......

pro tak, locomotion, gameflow..........3 years worth of production and thats what we get. you don't need pro tak you just need consecutive hit animations. locomotion is highly overrated IMO, pro tak doesn't work and gameflow is "ask madden" with a different name.

put all this together and you have a company that makes a fool out of the consumer. no wonder that everyone is turning their back on madden.

[RumbleCard]

I didn't buy it this year. Played NCAA like others here did and yeah its a great game but I grew bored with it pretty quick...month and half at best. Couldn't justify buying a game that is basically the same or worse.

"reaching a broader market" makes no sense. Echoing the sediments in this thread I think more sim over accessibility is the obvious approach. This isn't a one off title. Its reoccurs year after year. The only people who buy games systematically like that are the ones who want to be immersed in a game. As close to being as realistic as possible.

If this were a one time game I think finding ways to mass market makes more sense. They need to concentrate on bringing back their niche (albeit large) market that has grown bored and complacent with the game.

[roadman]

They need to retool and step up their game.

[TreFacTor]

The "telemetry" is giving Ian and co. the information needed to make changes in Madden, and that's the sad part. The game hasn't progressed the way many of the faithful would wish, and with an annual release schedule, this will not change in the foreseeable future. They simply don't have enough time between releases to make marked improvements to the game. The engine can't be scrapped tomorrow. I predict that EA will ride the bull until it collapses and then it will make changes. It's clear that EA doesn't listen to the fans, but rather to marketing who in turn tells them that they need to cater to the more casual gamer but that simply means that there is a compromise and the game suffers in performance because of it. It can not be both as complicated and complex as the actual game while at the same time being pick up an play friendly.

There are people that play chess, and then there are people that play checkers.... madden attempts to be both.

[Nunyerbiz]

I don't know if it really has much to do with "sim roots" .. I don't even know what the heck that means and I've been playing Madden somewhat regularly since the first PC version in 1989. It's not like Madden is suddenly NFL Blitz. They just didn't make a very good foundation out of the gate for this current gen and have built on this shaky foundation for 3 years running. People realize this and stop buying. It's not anymore complicated than that.

NBA2K11 is selling like hotcakes right now because they truly made a leap forward. The early adopters confirmed the hype from the game review sites that never give a major sports title anything less than 8 out of 10 anyhow... word of mouth spread... and everybody realizes this isn't a case of "good but not great" games like NBA2K9 and 2K10... There was a major leap forward...

That is what Madden needs. It has nothing to do with catering to sim versus casual versus tourney players. They just need to make a game that is better... and by better I mean across the board for everyone. They need to make that major leap... come up with the good foundation they have been missing and then everything else works itself out in the wash.