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

[PantherBeast_OS]

Quote: Originally Posted by PikeJR23

Quick and simple solution: Hire the ppl who worked on NFL 2k5...it may take two years for them to completely change the game to something that resembles sim football but I would prefer that over their current direction. All they have to do is look at the success of NBA 2k11.

This will be the only time I talk about APF 2K8 in a madden forum. I'm not bashing 2k8 to let you know. But I'm going to be honest. I like the game and I own it and play it time from time. The Pyshics part the game is good. But the graphics on 2k8 is to cartoonish to me. Madden graphics better. Madden just needs to put a good psyhics engine into madden game and then it would be better. But 2k8 looks just to cartoonish for my taste. I like playing 2k8 and madden 11. But if EA did try getting the 2k people to work on madden. They would have to come up with new graphics apart from the old 2k version cartoonish graphics..

[rooney8]

Quote: Originally Posted by Legend Killer

This will be the only time I talk about APF 2K8 in a madden forum. I'm not bashing 2k8 to let you know. But I'm going to be honest. I like the game and I own it and play it time from time. The Pyshics part the game is good. But the graphics on 2k8 is to cartoonish to me. Madden graphics better. Madden just needs to put a good psyhics engine into madden game and then it would be better. But 2k8 looks just to cartoonish for my taste. I like playing 2k8 and madden 11. But if EA did try getting the 2k people to work on madden. They would have to come up with new graphics apart from the old 2k version cartoonish graphics..

Do bad graphics not just equal a low budget. Also I thought they did hire the people from 2K5? Never played 2K8 but saw a video of the pocket in 2K8 and it was just a thing of beauty.

[PantherBeast_OS]

Quote: Originally Posted by JayD

If you import the same exact crappy franchise mode from the previous year with little to no changes it will hurt the lasting appeal of Madden which in return will hurt sales down the line. Crate a deep franchise mode and maybe you'll have consumers buying the game after a few months of it's release and the consumers who already had the game would hold on to it longer rather than trading it in for a different game.

Agreed. If EA wants any type of hope of their hardcore fans coming back and sales going back up next year. Then they better do what they say they are going to do. They said their focus for madden 12 would be franchise. Then mine my guess if they want to make fans happy once again next year. Is to really focus on the details on franchise mode for most of the year and make sure it is done right. Then a few months before the game comes out. They need to fix the gameplay on D and offense to make it decent and playable and fix presentation aswell. But again Franchise mode for next year will be their main saling point to get the attentions of their loyal fans once again.

[Gordy748]

Not defending EA for a minute, but there are mitigating circumstances. The economy sucks more than in 2005, so I'd wager fewer boxes of games are being sold (smaller market). At the same time, casual gamers are seeing a lot of big games coming out in Q4, like Black Ops, Gran Turismo 5 (ok, for PS3), Assassin's Creed, Fallout New Vegas... And let's not start with the PS3 Move or Kinnect games.

So NFL11 is competing in a smaller market against better competition. But that's as much sympathy as EA gets in this post. It had to up its games (sic) in order to compete. But has it? Long time fans say no, and their word-of-mouth simply pushes casual gamers to other titles.

Fallout NV is an interesting comparison. It's really just an expansion pack for Fallout 3, different enough (just) to be worth the asking price. But Bethesda will know they can't produce another Fallout 3 copy without impacting their or the series' reputation. EA, on the other hand, have not significantly changed the game since... what, 2005? 2006? That's too many iterations of the same theme.

As for making the game more arcade versus sim, I think arcade play would be folly. Arcade games are for Mario and Sonic fans, not NFL. And sports games have always had a steep learning curve, whether playing them for real or on a console. It's part of their DNA. If EA really wants casual gamers for NFL they should insert a series of options and assists that allow the game to play easier. Give them an easier, simpler path to get up to the skills and knowledge of the simmers, not dumb the simmer experience down to the lowest common denominator.

[pietasterp]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gordy748

Not defending EA for a minute, but there are mitigating circumstances. The economy sucks more than in 2005, so I'd wager fewer boxes of games are being sold (smaller market). At the same time, casual gamers are seeing a lot of big games coming out in Q4, like Black Ops, Gran Turismo 5 (ok, for PS3), Assassin's Creed, Fallout New Vegas... And let's not start with the PS3 Move or Kinnect games. So NFL11 is competing in a smaller market against better competition. But that's as much sympathy as EA gets in this post. It had to up its games (sic) in order to compete. But has it? Long time fans say no, and their word-of-mouth simply pushes casual gamers to other titles.

I think you are partially right, but then how do you explain how NBA2K is doing this year? I think the market and dollars are there for GOOD games, and people are simply voting with their wallets. Madden is just too bland at this point...if someone took the names off the guys, I'm not sure I could tell if I were playing this year's game or last year's game. There's no "wow" factor or pizzazz to the game. I'm personally waiting for another football epiphany like I had the first time I saw the original NFL2K in a mall game store 10 years ago. My jaw dropped and for the only time in my life, I walked into the store and bought a Dreamcast on the spot just to get that game. Maybe I'm expecting too much to think that will ever happen again, but I can't help but wonder, given the way NBA2k basically ran Live/Elite out of the market, how much better an NFL game could be out there right now if 2k were still in the game. Would Madden 11 have been canned in the face of an overwhelmingly superior NFL2k11? I guess we'll never know...

[bxgoods]

Why are people compare Madden with NBA 2k so much? Do y'all actually look at sale numbers before you talk?
NBA2K11 has sold. 53 million to date on in 6 weeks on 360
Madden 11 sold. 6 mill in its first week on 360.
Why do y'all get the opinion NBA 2k is selling so much better than Madden? It ain't.
Sim games aren't selling better than Madden either, the only game EA reps will try to mimic is FIFA, that's the only sports game now that is making a lot of money besides Madden.

[FlyingFinn]

Quote: Originally Posted by bxgoods

Why are people compare Madden with NBA 2k so much? Do y'all actually look at sale numbers before you talk? NBA2K11 has sold. 53 million to date on in 6 weeks on 360 Madden 11 sold. 6 mill in its first week on 360. Why do y'all get the opinion NBA 2k is selling so much better than Madden? It ain't. Sim games aren't selling better than Madden either, the only game EA reps will try to mimic is FIFA, that's the only sports game now that is making a lot of money besides Madden.

The thing is NBA 2k sales have increased roughly 400% in the last 2 years while Madden's sales are declining. That is the real story as people are trying to blame the economy for Madden's decline but with another sports title gaining so many customers, it is hard to believe that claim.


Oh and as for what Madden needs... some one early said it best: Quit giving us what you think we want and give us what we want. One example is their beyond broadcast presentation. We don't want that. We want what we see every Sunday on TV. If we didn't like what we saw on Sundays, it would show in the ratings and the networks would have changed to accommodate.

[Flamehead]

Quote: Originally Posted by ryan36

I think EA will misinterpret this data. Sales are down because of the oversimplified high offense approach, and lack of realism...not because it's too complicated. They'll try to make the only gameplay option one-button, and then wonder why sales are down again. The way to simplify the game is to make good AI so the user doesn't have to hot-route and audible to get the game to play well. Or , alternatively, maybe they'll do what they should and start over. The reason sales are down isn't because new people aren't picking up Madden, it's because the faithful aren't. It's the only NFL game out there, if it's fun people will learn to play it. This year's game just felt unfinished to me because of the commentary. Maybe if we can get some more polish, that'll help. If they try to cast a wider net, they'll fail.

Great post Ryan, I couldn't agree more. The bread and butter Madden consumer has clamored for more sim on this generation consoles for years with all kinds of requests and ideas that have been ignored, while Tiburon implements ideas nobody asked for because it sounded good in a planning meeting focused on making it "accessible".

I never believed adding Peter Moore to the mix was a good idea and I believe this latest news is but one example of how his involvement has done more harm than good, not only financially, but via reputation as well.