Xbox live activity November 09

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Only1LT

Who ever thought that Batman would outsell Madden needs a good shrink lol. However, I think that Batman did far exceed expectations and proved to be a very good selling game at a time when many Madden proponents were saying that no game could do well in this climate, when trying to excuse Madden's poor sales out of the gates. On that subject. Many Madden proponents said that the economy was the sole reason for Madden's lackluster sales and that even MW 2 would not do as well as people think when it comes out as well. I knew it then, but it is a fact now, that those people were deeply deluded lol.

Well, I won't even go there. I was one that said Madden was part of the economy, but I just knew that MW2 would be a big seller. All I had to do is take our son's word at face value. He said dad, I only buy this game every two years.

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by alliance4g63

If it is not the quality then what is the reason for loss in popularity and loss in sales? What else is there to blame, the tooth fairy? The crappier editions sold just like the franchise has sold since its inception, the name JOHN MADDEN FOOTBALL. The only difference is that with the factual evidence presented, the consumer are losing interest in the game. That part should be apparent. The real question that needs to be answered is whether the consumer has lost interest in the genre. I just saw a wiki article that says that Madden 05 sold 6.1m copies. I dont know the figure on 2k5 but I think it was about 2m or so. With that estimate, it seems there are atleast 8.1 million potential consumers. If Madden is selling 4-5 m copies now, that means there are atleast 3 million consumers that have either moved to other games or are currently sitting on the sidelines. So to say that these numbers aren't alarming is either being naive or overly optomistic. Some people are capable of seeing the writing on the wall prior to the inevitable. Other people have to have the president come on national t.v. and tell them in clear black and white english what happened, when it happened and when it started to happen for them to believe.

How about their are less NG consoles on the market than last Gen. How about the economy with over 10% unemployment. We are fortunate, I know neighbors around us who have lost jobs and are cutting back severely for the holidays.

The only thing I agree with you is the internet consumer is growing tireless of Madden. Outside the net, Madden does just fine. My nephew is still in college and he doesn't visit message boards at all. His friends and him could care less about patches, DLC, etc.... They just want to plug n play.

[Only1LT]

Quote: Originally Posted by roadman

Well, I won't even go there. I was one that said Madden was part of the economy, but I just knew that MW2 would be a big seller. All I had to do is take our son's word at face value. He said dad, I only buy this game every two years.

I remember lol.

Look the economy did not help Madden obviously, but the sales were declining before this year. As stated before, sales were declining when there was no economic crisis and when software sales broke new records every year, so there is no way that anyone could reasonably say that it is just the economy and not that the franchise is losing appeal. Not saying that you are or even were saying this, just that were definitely those that DID say this, and they could not be more deluded.

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by kjcheezhead

I'll never understand why everyone who likes football games doesn't cheer for this. As a gamer there is no downside to this scenario is there? Unfortunately, sales decline isn't the whole story. AFL packs, franchise cheats, and the "free unless you want a good team" ultimate team cards make up for the decline. Not to mention in game pop up ads for xbox guys.

Maybe not as a gamer, but realistically, the only companies I cheered to go out of business were Enron and Exon. I have a difficult time jumping on that bandwagon, license or not.

Just the way I feel.

[kjcheezhead]

Quote: Originally Posted by alliance4g63

I just saw a wiki article that says that Madden 05 sold 6.1m copies. I dont know the figure on 2k5 but I think it was about 2m or so. With that estimate, it seems there are atleast 8.1 million potential consumers. If Madden is selling 4-5 m copies now, that means there are atleast 3 million consumers that have either moved to other games or are currently sitting on the sidelines.

Those numbers are probably accurate but don't tell the whole story either. You have to account for many football gamers like me who purchased both football titles. Especially when one was dirt cheap by video game standards.

[Only1LT]

Quote: Originally Posted by roadman

How about their are less NG consoles on the market than last Gen. How about the economy with over 10% unemployment. We are fortunate, I know neighbors around us who have lost jobs and are cutting back severely for the holidays. The only thing I agree with you is the internet consumer is growing tireless of Madden. Outside the net, Madden does just fine. My nephew is still in college and he doesn't visit message boards at all. His friends and him could care less about patches, DLC, etc.... They just want to plug n play.

If Madden was only doing poorly on the internet, then the sales in the real world would not be declining. We have to face facts. Madden is not "just fine" in any world.

At a time when there are more gamers, thanks to the wii, and more people not ashamed to even admit that they are gamers lol, than EVER before, why would a franchise that is a household name be on the decline with so many more potential customers than ever before? How can that not be looked at as an indictment of this franchises popularity?

And before anyone says that there are more games now to choose from than before, stop! New IP's come and old one's go all the time.

You can't tell me that out of all the new "casual gamers" out there now, that none of them is would have any interest in a Madden game. If everyone who has loved Madden, bought Madden, and you got even .001% of the new gamers to buy it, the sales would be up. But they are not. They are down.

What else can be gleaned from this other than that some of the people that used to buy Madden, are not buying it anymore, and that there are not enough newcomers to offset this? This points directly to popularity, regardless of whether 10 is actually a better game than 09 or not, which in my opinion it is. Again this has nothing to do with the game itself, just the bottom line. Not to sound like a broken record, but how is this not a bad sign?

[kjcheezhead]

Quote: Originally Posted by roadman

Maybe not as a gamer, but realistically, the only companies I cheered to go out of business were Enron and Exon. I have a difficult time jumping on that bandwagon, license or not. Just the way I feel.

I'm not cheering for a company to go out of business by any means, I want madden to stick around and see other titles jump in (2k, backbreaker) just like in the early part of the decade. If what is hear is correct, $400 million goes to the license. EA could continue to make a very proftable product on their name alone if they went the cheaper general license route they used to.

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Only1LT

I remember lol. Look the economy did not help Madden obviously, but the sales were declining before this year. As stated before, sales were declining when there was no economic crisis and when software sales broke new records every year, so there is no way that anyone could reasonably say that it is just the economy and not that the franchise is losing appeal. Not saying that you are or even were saying this, just that were definitely those that DID say this, and they could not be more deluded.

Well sure, there are many factors that lead a company to lose in sales. One of the major factors is the over saturation of the gaming market. I think you would like to hang your hat on that the quality is declining, but I couldn't agree with that because in my opinion, 10 is much better than 9. By the way, the over saturation comment came from an ex-EA employee that posts here.(not from Madden)