EA Still Owns the NFL License Exclusively

[mestevo]

Re: EA Still Owns the NFL License Exclusively

He's looking strictly from the context provided: mainstream video game review sites and the majority of purchasers for the most part.

What you state isn't incorrect, but it's only most important for a minority of buyers. All of that stuff is important to me too, yet Madden remains my most played game every year for probably the last decade (w/ NCAA really it's only competition for that title some years).

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[kjcheezhead]

Re: EA Still Owns the NFL License Exclusively

How is the game selling year over year? I put together this chart on Madden sales several years ago. At that time, EASports was claiming sales were down because of the recession.

I had to get the numbers off vgchartz, which I hear is questionable with its accuracy. I prefer finding articles from gaming sites that give first week sales, etc.


That said, here goes




Madden 11 12 13 25


360: 2.63 mil 2.62 2.75 1.95


PS3: 2.32 2.16 2.39 1.50



Wii: .70 .42 .46 NA


PS2: .50 NA NA NA


Xone: NA NA NA .56


PS4: NA NA NA .65


PSP: .35 .20 .27 NA


WiiU: NA NA .07 NA


Total: 6.5 mil 5.4 mil 5.94 mil 4.66 mil




There was a slight bump for Madden 11, but Madden 10 was down 1.34 million from Madden 09 and the lowest since Madden 05. Madden 13 has the only other rise year over year, but Madden 12s ps2 numbers were unavailable. Its probably a slight increase to flat sales if you include those. That was the year they added real time physics as well. Probably the most anticipated addition to the game in years.

[Hooe]

Re: EA Still Owns the NFL License Exclusively

Yes all that is great to have if your looking strictly from a video game point of view

Since Madden NFL is a video game first and foremost, it stands to reason that evaluating Madden NFL as a video game is a perfectly valid standard.

[hanzsomehanz]

Re: EA Still Owns the NFL License Exclusively

EA is lucky to of had John Riccietiello on board when their sales were languishing during the transition to PS3 and 360. They better count their blessings re the Ultimate Team communities too.

It was John who shed light on them regarding using the internet as a market for gaming and second: their game quality is not swell and needs polishing.

It was hard for them to accept the reality then, back in '07 as they were contentedly stuck in their ways but John shook them out of the trance.

John's no longer w them and I do not mean to glorify him as a Savior - he did leave some stains and damages they are still trying to repair but wihout him I do not think they would have survived to make it this far.

Along with John's severance pay was the severance owed to 1,000's of other employees which totaled an expense on the Millions - EA also added in the press article that they made these cuts as part of their strategy to lower operating costs which later led to the development of the Egnite Engine.

EA is still trying to break even on past games that did not bring in enough revenue to cover the operating costs.

As someone put it regarding NBA Elite (Live '11), "EA hurt EA."

When EA botched the server delivery for the latest Sims, it stirred the community into a frenzy of fits but there were other fails too like the ending to Mass Effect that was so bad the community complained still when EA released an alternate ending as a DLC.

I am one who firmly believes it is only EA who can undo this exclusivity to the NFL Liscense: not the Madden community nor a competitor.

They want to be the giant on every corner of the gaming market and it is to their own detriment each time they try to butt heads with the other chiefs who have planted flags in their proven markets .

The Madden SIM Community is not a community loud and effective enough to exact the type of change many are looking for, that is my firm belief.

EA is getting burned with lawsuits and are burning their own hands with their poorly delivered products: it will be them who bring their own demise upon themselves at this rate, not the Madden community.

The only whisper of a threat that I do hear could be spurnned by the Madden Community is a lawsuit on how EA conducts busines in the Ultimate Team mode from a gambling POV.

If EA loses that baby or their UT baby suffers an attack: that could certainlly spell disaster for EA Sports and EA as a whole as Framchise and Single Player Offline is no longer a pillar for their three Sports pillars: NBA, FIFA and Madden but Ultimate Team is the one pillar and gluttonous cash cow.

It would be devastating for anyone to put a mark on the UT mode which drives so much pure revenue for them and helps to offset the decline in sales.

Well, if the UT cow gets gutted: I hope they don't cry over the spilled milk.

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[mestevo]

Re: EA Still Owns the NFL License Exclusively

There a source for any of that, or wishful thinking?

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[bucky60]

Re: EA Still Owns the NFL License Exclusively

The game is being reviewed as good because it has a variety of gameplay modes, presents interesting challenges to users, has interesting and balanced gameplay mechanics, and has a lot of depth and nearly infinite replay value.

I would tend to disagree with the bold (off field/off season).

[kjcheezhead]

Re: EA Still Owns the NFL License Exclusively

The sales on NBA live were down the entire generation because they kept starting over and not enough people bought that junk. They developed the bad reputation they have. They didn't get it from 2k...make no mistake EA screwed EA. They lost their own loyal fans in the process.

People like good games regardless of company. So Many People Loved live 10. Ot introduced stuff 2k didnt have like the authentic play calling system the pick and roll mechanic among other thinga but they decided it wasn't enough for them and put the hockey guy on the project and bam.


They didn't listen to their fans and lost all of them. Not just because of competition but years of incompetence.

This is how I see madden. If EA had released madden 06-08 on ps3 in the state they were in while facing a quality nfl 2k, they would've lost their fans as well. Had that glitch I posted happened to madden 09 in this alternate reality, I do believe Madden would've suffered the same fate as Elite.

EA earned their reputation with Madden same as Elite. Exclusivity allowed them to keep going until they got the game to its current mediocre "good, not great" status.

[ODogg]

Re: EA Still Owns the NFL License Exclusively

Fun, much like beauty, is definitely in the eye of the beholder. I personally can only enjoy Madden on single player seasons/franchise, and that's for a limited time, with a strong imagination, and forgoing of the laws of physics. With the movement such as it is, I can't imagine playing online. I'd be surprised if the games online boil down to real football mechanics, and that's just not fun to me.

Yes it's subjective for sure. When I quit trying to expect Madden to be a highly realistic simulation of football and instead just a fun-to-play video game I've enjoyed the game much, much more.

[SageInfinite]

Re: EA Still Owns the NFL License Exclusively

Yes it's subjective for sure. When I quit trying to expect Madden to be a highly realistic simulation of football and instead just a fun-to-play video game I've enjoyed the game much, much more.

Even when I do that at times, problems with the game kill my fun and immersion. Like when I throw a pass towards the sideline and my receiver can't get his feet in bounds because 1 foot slides so far he can't get both down(true step? Lol). Or even if I do make a catch in bounds they call it out because the animation is so poor one foot just slightly hovers, so even with a challenge they rule it out. Or the fact that the challenge system is just broken so even when plays are clearly in bounds they still rule it out. Or how you can still run into a blockers back and fall like you got shot. Or poor controls because the game lacks transitional animations. Lineman who play matador.

This game can be fun, but there are still issues that keep it from being a consistently good game. The biggest problem with the game is its consistency. Even if you're not looking for this amazing sim game, even as an arcade game, Madden fails at times because things simply don't work well on the field at times. I'm not looking for perfection at all, just consistency.

[bkrich83]

Re: EA Still Owns the NFL License Exclusively

Even when I do that at times, problems with the game kill my fun and immersion. Like when I throw a pass towards the sideline and my receiver can't get his feet in bounds because 1 foot slides so far he can't get both down(true step? Lol). Or even if I do make a catch in bounds they call it out because the animation is so poor one foot just slightly hovers, so even with a challenge they rule it out. Or the fact that the challenge system is just broken so even when plays are clearly in bounds they still rule it out. Or how you can still run into a blockers back and fall like you got shot. Or poor controls because the game lacks transitional animations. Lineman who play matador.

This game can be fun, but there are still issues that keep it from being a consistently good game. The biggest problem with the game is its consistency. Even if you're not looking for this amazing sim game, even as an arcade game, Madden fails at times because things simply don't work well on the field at times. I'm not looking for perfection at all, just consistency.

Agreed. I just play the game at this point.

To be honest, I don't really need or want the simmy of simmiest games if that makes sense. I've already lived that part of my life for real. I just want a fun game that plays a believable game of football. While EA has come close to meeting those needs, they just haven't quite been able to put out a game that holds my attention for extended periods of time. And to be honest a super technical 100% accurate simulation of the game sounds tedious to me.

I can play MLB The Show pretty much year round, I can play Madden for a few days at a time then my enthusiasm wanes.

[SamuraiX]

Re: EA Still Owns the NFL License Exclusively

Since Madden NFL is a video game first and foremost, it stands to reason that evaluating Madden NFL as a video game is a perfectly valid standard.

Yea of course that's no doubt, I'm just saying as a simulation game how closely it plays like real life football is also criteria that should be judged in a review. In fact it's one of the most key areas that should be evaluated in a review.

[FaceMask]

Re: EA Still Owns the NFL License Exclusively

Even when I do that at times, problems with the game kill my fun and immersion.
<snip>
This game can be fun, but there are still issues that keep it from being a consistently good game. The biggest problem with the game is its consistency.

Me and my Brother were playing Madden 25 this past Friday and we had this exact conclusion discussing the game.

During the game there was a stretch where tons of things were going right. Nice tackles, a few we hadn't seen before, some good blocking, it was great. We even had to pause for a few "did that just happen" moments.

Then, it happened: A WR jumped in the air and got hit as he was coming down, and as he made impact with the ground he flopped around like a dead fish and went into a breakdance spin move like he was auditioning for So You Think You Can Dance. Our jaws dropped in horror. After that, the game went back to its normally scheduled shenanigans.

My Brother summed it best: "this game just builds you up, and then lets you down."

[A_Quiet_Pro]

Re: EA Still Owns the NFL License Exclusively

I remember rumors a few years ago that m14 (m25) would be the final year of exclusitivity. NOw another 3-4 years? This is sad for all football gamers because EA has not lived up to the hype at all.

Making empty challenges to 2k is quite sad, they need to look in the mirror and realize they are only selling because it is the only football game. EA doesnt want 2k to return, if they did, you would see madden go the way of nba live.

I understand that people are frustrated with EA and Madden, (including me). And not to defend them, but to be fair..... Personally I think the PS3 and 360 were garbage consoles to code for, and (no excuse, as a AAA dev they should've figured it out), but EA never fully unlocked what could've been. NOW with the PS4, I think Madden gaming will return to what it was in the PS2 days. (AHH those were great).

[OhMrHanky]

Re: EA Still Owns the NFL License Exclusively

I understand that people are frustrated with EA and Madden, (including me). And not to defend them, but to be fair..... Personally I think the PS3 and 360 were garbage consoles to code for, and (no excuse, as a AAA dev they should've figured it out), but EA never fully unlocked what could've been. NOW with the PS4, I think Madden gaming will return to what it was in the PS2 days. (AHH those were great).

Lol. Garbage consoles? How old r u? Try playing an old NES. No, not Super NES. Just NES. lol. How about colecovision? Ever play Halo? Gears of war 3? GTAV? I think a LOT was done with games/gaming on these 'garbage' consoles that was pretty amazing. Assassins creed 2? Madden absolutely did NOT try hard enough. Period.

[The_Balm]

Re: EA Still Owns the NFL License Exclusively

I understand that people are frustrated with EA and Madden, (including me). And not to defend them, but to be fair..... Personally I think the PS3 and 360 were garbage consoles to code for, and (no excuse, as a AAA dev they should've figured it out), but EA never fully unlocked what could've been. NOW with the PS4, I think Madden gaming will return to what it was in the PS2 days. (AHH those were great).

I'm not trying to jump on you, but to echo OhMrHanky a bit...

If last gen had "garbage consoles" or not is completely irrelevant as other devs made amazing games for years and years, sports games and not. Also, throughout the last generation, EA themselves made Fifa which is one of the best selling and best received video game franchises of all time.