Chris' Blog: Are Madden Sales Slipping?

[RaychelSnr]

You may recall the news story last week from CNBC which declaratively stated that Madden sales were weak this year. The evidence used was early price drops from retailers and weak pre-orders for the title. Not the most concrete evidence for sure, but far from the worst you could use.

But with that in mind, we can start to frame some real non-biased ideas on where Madden and NCAA's sales really are right now. So with that said, let's take a look at the best evidence we have and figure out where both Madden and NCAA are when it comes to sales.

Read More - Are Madden Sales Slipping?

[Vanman2425]

Great news! I hope they do slip. I'm holding out for the first time since 92. Taking a hit on the bottom line is the way EA Tiburon is going to up its game (pun intended).

[Senator Palmer]

It's something of a double-edged sword, though. I think the disconnect is that many around here feel that the game as it is now is aimed at the casual crowd wheras Ian and Crew will swear on a stack of bibles that sim is and has been the aim of the past few development cycles. If the sales do dip then obviously changes are going to be made. The rub is how are the decision-makers going to read the situation? Are they going to see this as a sign that the game needs to cater to the hardcore gamers and move toward more realism, or are they going to scrap the current approach and make the game more arcade-like to appeal to the casual gamer?

Just my guess, but with a cash cow like this, catering to the masses is always going to win out... i.e. just look at the sacrifices that where made this go-round with franchise mode and such.

[StormJH1]

Something is wrong with those stories. I went to GameStop and WalMart expecting to see Madden at $50, and it wasn't marked down either place. Walmart is like $48 online, but still $60 in the store. GameStop has it at full price both in the store and online, and their manager I talked to had no idea what I was talking about.

As much criticism as Madden deserves (for the exclusive deal, annual releases with little change, etc.), I think some reviewers have been a little bit unfair/inaccurate in the reporting of the changes in the new game. Yes, a lot of the changes are the type of thing that will make it more accessible for a casual player, but that doesn't mean a veteran Madden player isn't also interested in playing games in less than an hour! Also, while franchise and some of the "hardcore" game modes were untouched (bummer), the move to a dual analog control scheme (if done well) benefits everyone, not just casual gamers who don't want to press 13 different buttons.

I feel a little bad for the Madden team that their sales figures are hurting at the same time that they're finally making an effort to improve the quality of the game. One thing does not necessarily lead to the other. There are all kinds of economic factors at play, not to mention the fact that once you get 4 or 5 iterations of the same title into a generation, the "wow" factor slowly fades away.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Madden sales will never slip far enough to make EA change how they do things. Main reason being is that they are the only licensed football game. They have no competition. With that said, people will ALWAYS buy Madden.

Sure some diehards will not buy it, but majority of the people will always do it. Same reason why people still buy Jordans and Dell. When you the only game in town, you can do what you want to do.

Best believe EA already made a profit off of Madden 11 already in the 1st week of release. Why ? Because it is Madden, a household name, the only game in town.

[Vanman2425]

Quote: Originally Posted by Senator Palmer

It's something of a double-edged sword, though. I think the disconnect is that many around here feel that the game as it is now is aimed at the casual crowd wheras Ian and Crew will swear on a stack of bibles that sim is and has been the aim of the past few development cycles. If the sales do dip then obviously changes are going to be made. The rub is how are the decision-makers going to read the situation? Are they going to see this as a sign that the game needs to cater to the hardcore gamers and move toward more realism, or are they going to scrap the current approach and make the game more arcade-like to appeal to the casual gamer? Just my guess, but with a cash cow like this, catering to the masses is always going to win out... i.e. just look at the sacrifices that where made this go-round with franchise mode and such.

I think they tried to get the casual gamers this year with "simpler, quicker" BS. It apparently is not working, and hopefully, take that as evidence as
A.) They didn't get the casual gamers to buy in and
B.) They turned off some loyal fans by trying to make the game "simpler."

[Vanman2425]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gotmadskillzson

Madden sales will never slip far enough to make EA change how they do things. Main reason being is that they are the only licensed football game. They have no competition. With that said, people will ALWAYS buy Madden. Sure some diehards will not buy it, but majority of the people will always do it. Same reason why people still buy Jordans and Dell. When you the only game in town, you can do what you want to do. Best believe EA already made a profit off of Madden 11 already in the 1st week of release. Why ? Because it is Madden, a household name, the only game in town.

Be that as it may, if they're not making as much money as they hoped, changes will be made, hopefully for the better.

[Tyrant8RDFL]

I think there are other factors in declining Madden sales and other gamers overall, but I think this one in particular is the main killer.

Pre owned games. Many are willing to wait to buy a pre owned copy of any title, and this right here is killing the gaming company. Now for stores that sell pre won games. There are making a killing. The profit margin is huge. Much larger than selling the title new.

They have to find a way to slow this down. I dont think they can, but at this point you can get games used from stores like gamestop, and through sites like amazon, ebay, and craig's list.

I believe if the sale of pre own games did not exist in major retailers. Then sales would be very high.

Now there is only one franchise that does not get affected by this , and its Activision with the COD series. I guess your product has to be so insane that gamers can not wait for a pre owned copy.