Why Is Madden Still Not Available On PC At This Point?

[DCEBB2001]

Quote: Originally Posted by kehlis

I could be wrong but I don't think he was asking why are we discussing the topic of the thread but instead the tired discussion of programmers who kept trying to show each other who knew more about programming despite the fact we all agree it could be done if EA wanted it done.

I was simply trying to illustrate how dull the offseason is without something else to occupy our football needs. Guess that is how I took it. Either way, I love a good, hearty, discussion.

[kehlis]

Quote: Originally Posted by NicVirtue

Okay, but NBA, and FIFA have PC versions. And no doubt the NFL is the more popular brand than the NBA in America. So why does the less popular game receive more games on the PC?

Not sure how many times it has to be mentioned in the thread but those games sell internationally, Madden doesn't.

Sports games also don't sell well in the US.

[Big FN Deal]

Quote: Originally Posted by aholbert32

It doesnt apply to FIFA because according to sales it appears that international gamers are more open to buying PC games than American gamers. Using Video Games Chartz numbers (not the most reliable but all we have to work with), FIFA 14 sold 10,000 copies in North America. It sold 230,000 in Europe and 60k in the rest of the world. Now the only reason that FIFA is even released in the US on PC is because its already released in the rest of the world (where it produces decent sales). So if you are EA and you see that your most popular game only does 10k in sales on PC in North America....why would you release your 2nd most popular game on PC? Sales show you that US fans arent interested in buying sports games on PC and you cant even rely on sales from the rest of the world like you can with FIFA.

Quote: Originally Posted by kehlis

Not sure how many times it has to be mentioned in the thread but those games sell internationally, Madden doesn't. Sports games also don't sell well in the US.

I don't know how I let this slip by unchallenged when it was first posted but of course FIFA PC sold more internationally than in the US because soccer is more popular internationally. That's not some indication of how well Madden PC would sell overall because American Football is more popular in the US. So presumably the lack of Madden PC sales abroad would be somewhat offset by larger sales in the US, like the console version.

[aholbert32]

Quote: Originally Posted by NicVirtue

Okay, but NBA, and FIFA have PC versions. And no doubt the NFL is the more popular brand than the NBA in America. So why does the less popular game receive more games on the PC?

Because PC sports games sell more internationally and the nba and soccer are more popular internationally. If the publishers are already creating a PC version for the international market there is no reason why they wouldn't release it in the us. There is no international market for madden.

[aholbert32]

Quote: Originally Posted by Big FN Deal

I don't know how I let this slip by unchallenged when it was first posted but of course FIFA PC sold more internationally than in the US because soccer is more popular internationally. That's not some indication of how well Madden PC would sell overall because American Football is more popular in the US. So presumably the lack of Madden PC sales abroad would be somewhat offset by larger sales in the US, like the console version.

Thats a bad presumption for a number of reasons. One, you are slightly misinterpreting my argument. My argument is the PC Sports market is bigger overseas than in the US AND sports like Soccer and Basketball are global sports while the NFL is primarily a US sport. Those reasons combined are why Madden isnt a seller on PC.

Also, The PC version wasnt a seller back in 2007. A few things support that statement. One, EA has stated that there were "challenges with the PC market" which alludes to sales issues more than development issues for reasons that have been discussed throughout this thread. Two, sales data is pretty much non-existant for the PC version of Madden 08 except for this:

http://www.neowin.net/news/bioshock-...n-for-consoles

These are the first week sales for the week Madden 08 was released. As you can see, Madden 08 held 3 of the top 5 spots in console game sales that week. Now with PC sales it didnt even reach the top five. The #1 game that week was Bioshock which sold 77k games.

Now what does that tell us? A couple of things. 1) Madden's PC first week sales were under 77k. 2) The sales of Madden PC likely didnt increase after that since most games sales numbers dont rise after the first week. 3) That Madden PC's numbers were minuscule compared to the consoles. (360: 900k, PS2: 650k).

Now I know its fun to speculate and complain (Not directed at you Big FN Deal) about the lack of a PC version but what developer in its right mind would develop a version of a game that doesnt even sell 10% of what other consoles are selling in its first week?

The answer to this question posted in this thread is simple: THE MARKET ISNT THERE! NBA 2k is the most popular basketball game in the world and it sells less than 10k on the PC in the US. FIFA sells around 10k on the PC.

Why would we expect EA to create a version of a game and attempt to sell it in a market that isnt interested in that version? Do we think EA wants to lose money?

[Nza]

Quote: Originally Posted by bucky60

You are making an assumption that all the code is in a high level language. i would not be surprised if some of the real time code is in machine language. if it is, the same cpu arch would make a big difference.

Good point. I'm not sure if this is practiced much, but it very well could be.

Given the arch differences between consoles of the past I would have expected a heavy reliance on abstracting most code to a level that it can be cross compiled, but now that every serious gaming platform is x86, perhaps this will be a thing now.

[KBLover]

Quote: Originally Posted by aholbert32

Now what does that tell us? A couple of things. 1) Madden's PC first week sales were under 77k. 2) The sales of Madden PC likely didnt increase after that since most games sales numbers dont rise after the first week. 3) That Madden PC's numbers were minuscule compared to the consoles. (360: 900k, PS2: 650k).

Of course, because the PC version of the game was crap and not like the console versions.

I'm sure if any game in any genre was pretty decent on a console and then 50% of that on PC, the PC version sales would drop off pretty bad.

I would like to see the sales of a GOOD effort from EA. But, it won't happen because they look at their crappy efforts and bad ports and say "there's no market for sports on PC".

That's right, there's no market for crappy ports of decent console games. I think that would apply to any genre.

If that was the case that there's "no" market for a PC sports game, I guess Markus who makes OOTP is either an idiot or doing something right.

[aholbert32]

Quote: Originally Posted by KBLover

Of course, because the PC version of the game was crap and not like the console versions. I'm sure if any game in any genre was pretty decent on a console and then 50% of that on PC, the PC version sales would drop off pretty bad. I would like to see the sales of a GOOD effort from EA. But, it won't happen because they look at their crappy efforts and bad ports and say "there's no market for sports on PC". That's right, there's no market for crappy ports of decent console games. I think that would apply to any genre. If that was the case that there's "no" market for a PC sports game, I guess Markus who makes OOTP is either an idiot or doing something right.

When are the excuses gonna stop? If there is such a booming sports PC market explain to me why NBA 2k sold under 10k copies this year? Why did FIFA sell only 10k when its selling millions on the consoles?

I actually loved the PC version of 08 and dont recall a ton of features being missing for that version. I played it through 2010 because I prefered that version and all of the options it had.

Lets stop using OOTP as an example of there being a big market. The production costs for OOTP are significantly less than any AAA title being released on PC because OOTP doesnt have to buy a license from MLB or the MLBPA and its a text based game. So if OOTP sells a small number, its a win for Markus and his team because the production costs are significantly lower.
If OOTP sells 50k copies, Markus probably makes a decent profit. If Madden sells 50k copies on the PC its definitely a loss.