EA/NFL Extend NFL Exclusive License by One Year to 2013

[Flamehead]

I'm indifferent for two reasons:

1) It is unrealistic to believe exclusivity will end.

2) There are other titles (sports and otherwise) of high quality that Madden isn't the "go-to" game for me anymore, even for an NFL fan such as myself.

I've reconciled myself to the facts as they are. No amount of complaining or debating on these forums or elsewhere will change it.

This thread contains the same arguments, statements (including my own above), and statistics that have populated countless other threads throughout the years. When you see a new thread, you can almost always correctly guess what will be said in response, both pro and con.

Good fodder for an internet forum, but is there really anything new under the sun anymore? Just gotta move on I suppose...

[RGiles36]

Quote: Originally Posted by LiquorLogic

Madden has been leaking oil, in terms of sales, ever since they acquired the exclusive license. Yeah, they still sell a lot of copies, but you can't expect the sales to just plummet to nothing overnight. Madden has been a household name for two decades, and there's currently no competitor, so it will take a while for Madden to totally lose it's mainstream appeal.

So who's going to capture the mainstream NFL-videogame appeal then? That's the benefit of the license: they can't lose. Not only b/c of the brand that's built with the name, Madden, but b/c no one can tap into the NFL videogame market.

I'm unsure why the effect of the economy is dismissed by people on this board. I'm sure Halo & COD did their damage. But those games fall under a more broad genre, no?

[ryan36]

Quote: Originally Posted by LiquorLogic

It's already happening; Madden sales have been on the decline for quite sometime now. If they start struggling to crack 3.5 million in sales, do you think they'll even be able to renew the exclusive license come 2014 ?

Yes. 10char.

[TexasBorn1]

Quote: Originally Posted by rgiles36

So who's going to capture the mainstream NFL-videogame appeal then? That's the benefit of the license: they can't lose. Not only b/c of the brand that's built with the name, Madden, but b/c no one can tap into the NFL videogame market. I'm unsure why the effect of the economy is dismissed by people on this board. I'm sure Halo & COD did their damage. But those games fall under a more broad genre, no?

Its dismissed because every other popular franchise sees increases with each new game. Street Fighter, COD, Halo, Gran Turismo, Forza, Gears of War, you name it. The NFL is huge here and their flagship title should see increases or it should at least be seeing consistency. Its not like the NFL audience is small, the mainstream crowd loves it

[ryan36]

Quote: Originally Posted by TexasBorn1

Its dismissed because every other popular franchise sees increases with each new game. Street Fighter, COD, Halo, Gran Turismo, Forza, Gears of War, you name it. The NFL is huge here and their flagship title should see increases or it should at least be seeing consistency. Its not like the NFL audience is small, the mainstream crowd loves it

Can you point me to which of the games you cited is a yearly release?

[mestevo]

Quote: Originally Posted by LiquorLogic

COD and Halo seem to be doing just fine.

And music games are floundering, Madden must be amazing to be bucking that trend? Point is you're comparing 2 different gamers and calling them the same thing. Growth in one type of game doesn't mean they all should grow.

[ryan36]

Quote: Originally Posted by EddieV

You guys spend so much time defending EA...lol. Every great game sees its sales go up from one iteration to the next. Like COD, Halo, GT, etc. Madden's sales have been on the side since the exclusive license, no matter how much some of these guys would like to believe otherwise.

Again, which of these are a yearly release?

[kjcheezhead]

Quote:

Ryan 36

It's a different animal. Coke is so widely consumed that 35% of market share for Pepsi is still a feasible, profitable business model.

35% of 5 million is 1.75 million. Isn't that enough sales to be a profitable game? That's not including NFL fans sitting on the sidelines or ones that would purchase both NFL titles.



KJ, you're overestimating your importance here, as a dissatisfied gamer. Most NFL fans follow their team first, and buy a football game second. NOBODY is gonna turn their back on the Packers because Madden sucks. This decision will NEVER catch up to the NFL outside of the video game world. NEVER. It's an isolated niche, man. Yes, many football fans don't enjoy Madden. But not enough to make so much as a RIPPLE in anything the NFL cares about.

As a hardcore gamer and fan, yes the NFL has me hooked. At some point tho people make the jump from a casual fan to hardcare fan that spends hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on NFL products. The fans that don't enjoy madden and turn to other sports or COD don't always make that jump to hardcore fan.

Business moves like this can catch up to the NFL eventually. Maybe not overnight, but eventually. MLB was America's pastime once upon a time and the NFL was the one that couldn't touch it.