Press Row Podcast - Is NBA 2K Bigger Than Madden?

[Steve_OS]

It’s the 122nd episode of the Press Row Podcast, featuring a near-complete panel diving into two significant topics. Up first, the crew examines how Diamond Dynasty seems to (so far, at least) be a significant focus for MLB 15 The Show. Included in this segment, Samit Sarkar describes his initial impressions of The Show from a media event he attended. Up next, it’s the question that set off a raging debate this week – is NBA 2K bigger than Madden? Owen Good and Kat Bailey have written compelling pieces about it (spurred by an interview with Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick), and they, along with the rest of the team, have an intense discussion about whether or not this is the case.

Joining us this week:

• Bryan Wiedey, PastaPadre (@pastapadre)
• Owen Good, Polygon (@owengood)
• Kat Bailey, US Gamer (@The_Katbot)
• Chris Sanner, Operation Sports (@ChrisSnr)
• Samit Sarkar, Polygon (@samitsarkar)
• And your host, Richard Grisham, GamesRadar/OXM/@GAMER (@richgrisham)

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Enjoy the show!

Run Time: 1 Hour, 25 Minutes

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[tsbmolina]

I wrote a blog about this a year and a half ago http://www.operationsports.com/tsbmo...-sports-genre/ No one would have ever imagined the day this would happen yet here we are. Madden has been dethroned.

[tbook24]

no 2k isn't bigger. there are some that still prefer live. only game bigger than madden in the sports gaming world is FIFA. football is still king over basketball.

[thatruth2015]

Yeah this broadcast was dumb. I'm almost positive half the panel hasn't played 2k15 especially post patch 3. 2k has gotten worse in gameplay, online lag, canimations, online connectivity, since 2k11. It has legacy issue since post 2k11 such as terrible rebound logic, skate board defense, charge cheese, shotclock cheese, comback cheese, etc. Post patch 3 the devs tried to fix defense by ******ing offensive movement and increasing input delay. These commentary folks here on OS are not reading all the feedback here nor on YouTube, Facebook, nor Amazon..nba2k15 post patch 3 will mark the downfall of this title. They have indeed rested on their laurels

[the veteran]

Great job guys the Podcast sounds great, what equipment do you guys use?

[thatruth2015]

What? "Podcasts sounds great, what equipment do you use"! WTF?! This it's Operation Sports not a radio shack forum. This site it's dedicated to sports gaming maan..

[spidertour02]

Is NBA 2K bigger than Madden? Of course not. One look at the yearly sales charts quickly proves it.

For 2014, Madden 15 was the second-highest selling game -- only Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare outsold it. Yes, Madden outsold Destiny, Super Smash Bros., Watch Dogs, Assassin's Creed, and every other big-name challenger. For comparison, NBA 2K15 placed #7 on the chart -- very good, obviously, but not even close to Madden.

[jyoung]

Quote: Originally Posted by spidertour02

Is NBA 2K bigger than Madden? Of course not. One look at the yearly sales charts quickly proves it. For 2014, Madden 15 was the second-highest selling game -- only Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare outsold it. Yes, Madden outsold Destiny, Super Smash Bros., Watch Dogs, Assassin's Creed, and every other big-name challenger. For comparison, NBA 2K15 placed #7 on the chart -- very good, obviously, but not even close to Madden.

The charts you're referring to (NPD) only track North American retail sales from a limited selection of major retail chains. NPD's charts don't account for digital downloads, microtransaction revenue, or any copies sold outside North America.

Plus NPD just ranks games 1 through 10, without making their actual sales numbers or revenue numbers public. The gap between seeds could be huge, or it could be small. NPD never shares that info.

I wouldn't place too much value on NPD charts, these days. Games are making money in a lot more places around the world, and in a lot more ways than they did in the 1980s - 1990s.