Xbox live activity November 09

[Only1LT]

Quote: Originally Posted by alliance4g63

The only comparison that I make between Madden and other genres is just the fact that Madden is no longer considered AAA. And you won't believe how many people didn't think Modern Warfare would sell as well as it did. Go back to thread about the head EA guy being dissapointed in the sales. There were plenty there that blamed the economy for all things EA and said MW2 will show you this is true. Alot of crow eating going on, just sayin.

You beat me to this response. Apparently Madden diehards did not know it was going to be a hit. Not by a long shot.

[Only1LT]

Quote: Originally Posted by roadman

Well, I think that is a subjective opinion that Madden isn't a AAA game anymore. On the net, yeah, I think you would have a point , but my college age nephew still get's together with his buddies and feel it's still a great game. He doesn't go on message boards and read the net. Plug n Play person, say's I worry too much about the smallest things. I think you would be surprised to discover that the economy might have taken away more sales from both games. I'm sure if this country's unemployment rate was where it was at in 2008, more games would be sold for both games. I don't need my nose rubbed in crow pie. I feel both games were affected somewhat by the economy.

He is wrong for saying that Madden isn't a AAA form a production standpoint. Any game that sells over 2mil copies is a AAA title from that standpoint. Quality wise... that's totally opinion based.

I would not say that selling 3 or 4mil copies of a game is disappointing by any stretch, but that is if you look at it in a Vacuum. Selling 4mil Batman copies is great. Selling 4mil MW2 or Madden 10? Not so much.

Not directed at you roadman, just trying to explain a little more why people need to get away from just looking at Madden's numbers in a vacuum and saying that it's not fine. Because for this title, with what the expectations it has due to being the only game in town, and the amount of money spent to make it the only game in town, that is disappointing. Just like if total worldwide sales of MW2 was only 4mil. Most games? Big success. This game? Disappointing.

[Only1LT]

Quote: Originally Posted by ODogg

There are various reasons, the prevalent one being that the series has been around longer than any other and people are simply tired of purchasing it each year and are going to every other year or every three year purchases. As I said, if the product's quality was the reason people are buying it less then how do you explain past inferior versions selling well? And to compare MW2 to Madden is apples and oranges. MW2 isn't a yearly title. A better comparison would be Madden to Fifa or Madden to The Show. Even then the comparisons aren't really valid as those series haven't been around near as long as Madden.

Is that not the same thing as saying that it isn't as popular as it was? Because there was a time when people would buy it every year, no questions asked. If that mentality has changed, which you seem to think it has, is it such a stretch to say that it isn't as popular as it once was? Not that people hate it. Just that it isn't as popular as it once was. And if so, how can you say that popularity doesn't play at least some part in the decline in sales? There is no way to reconcile that.

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Only1LT

He is wrong for saying that Madden isn't a AAA form a production standpoint. Any game that sells over 2mil copies is a AAA title from that standpoint. Quality wise... that's totally opinion based. I would not say that selling 3 or 4mil copies of a game is disappointing by any stretch, but that is if you look at it in a Vacuum. Selling 4mil Batman copies is great. Selling 4mil MW2 or Madden 10? Not so much. Not directed at you roadman, just trying to explain a little more why people need to get away from just looking at Madden's numbers in a vacuum and saying that it's not fine. Because for this title, with what the expectations it has due to being the only game in town, and the amount of money spent to make it the only game in town, that is disappointing. Just like if total worldwide sales of MW2 was only 4mil. Most games? Big success. This game? Disappointing.

There isn't much I disagree here.

I would say the only part I disagree with is that MW2 is more of a worldwide game than Madden is. A more comparable comparison would be MW2 and FIFA in my opinion.

So, if Madden sold 4 million without the license, would you still call that disappointing?

[Tyrant8RDFL]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bgamer90

Is it really Madden on the decline or is it just sports gaming as a whole due to shooters gaining more and more buzz?

Simply put yes, and it has nothing to do that shooters are the buzz now.

The only diffference is shooters have reached that level of a gaming experience that we look for in a shooter, and sports games have not. This is why games like COD sell so well. Its a solid product.

That is changing now with Live, NHL, FIFa, MLB The Show, and some others, but time will be needed to regain the consumers trust. (Exclude the show on consumers trust.)

Quote: Originally Posted by Bgamer90

Madden 10 has sold well so that prediction hasn't came true. I really don't see how one can say that. They might be down when you add up the sales across all platforms but they certainly aren't bad (well at least in terms of the 360/PS3 versions). Funny you mention NBA Live... NBA Live 10 sold horribly even though it improved a lot from Live 09. Live 10 didn't even crack the top 20 in sales.

1.Where Madden needed to be at sales was not reached and that does make my prediction true.

2. I simply mentioned how live won me back, and thats it. Dont know why your mentioning live sale figures.

Quote: Originally Posted by ODogg

There are various reasons, the prevalent one being that the series has been around longer than any other and people are simply tired of purchasing it each year and are going to every other year or every three year purchases. As I said, if the product's quality was the reason people are buying it less then how do you explain past inferior versions selling well? And to compare MW2 to Madden is apples and oranges. MW2 isn't a yearly title. A better comparison would be Madden to Fifa or Madden to The Show. Even then the comparisons aren't really valid as those series haven't been around near as long as Madden.

I hear what your saying, but in the past i never grew tired at all of buying a new football title year after year. Actaully it was very exciting, and I looked forward to it. Everyone I know felt the same way, and we always turned it into a special day.
I mean think about it. A Madden release launch was like a holiday, so I dont see how you can say that people have grwon tired of buying a football title every year.

The only thing people got tired of was buying Madden every year and getting burnt. Since next gen it has been a nightmare.

The reason why I stopped buying madden, is simlple. The product falls very short of producing a solid football experience.

Im sure many feel the same way.

[ODogg]

Quote: Originally Posted by Only1LT

Is that not the same thing as saying that it isn't as popular as it was? Because there was a time when people would buy it every year, no questions asked. If that mentality has changed, which you seem to think it has, is it such a stretch to say that it isn't as popular as it once was? Not that people hate it. Just that it isn't as popular as it once was. And if so, how can you say that popularity doesn't play at least some part in the decline in sales? There is no way to reconcile that.

I agree it's not as popular as it was. But I think my disagreement with you guys is that it's because people are "sick of the game's deteriorating quality". I think that may be the case for some folks but it's not for most. For most it's simply about economics and more top notch titles that people feel they want to check out instead of buying yearly sports titles.

[Tyrant8RDFL]

Quote: Originally Posted by roadman

There isn't much I disagree here. I would say the only part I disagree with is that MW2 is more of a worldwide game than Madden is. A more comparable comparison would be MW2 and FIFA in my opinion. So, if Madden sold 4 million without the license, would you still call that disappointing?

That is a good point. Madden is not a world wide title like COD. Can't debate that.

I would say if Madden did not have the license fee , and it sold 4 million copies. Yes it did well.

With the fee, and the fact that they are the only ones that can make a NFL game. Selling 4 million copies is bad under the current setup.

Quote: Originally Posted by ODogg

I agree it's not as popular as it was. But I think my disagreement with you guys is that it's because people are "sick of the game's deteriorating quality". I think that may be the case for some folks but it's not for most. For most it's simply about economics and more top notch titles that people feel they want to check out instead of buying yearly sports titles.

The thing is at one point Madden was the COD of sports, and spending cash on Madden was never a issue for anyone.

I do hear what your saying and its true. I just feel Madden's problems mainly come from the fact that the title is not solid. It's pretty much broken.

[alliance4g63]

Quote: Originally Posted by ODogg

I agree it's not as popular as it was. But I think my disagreement with you guys is that it's because people are "sick of the game's deteriorating quality". I think that may be the case for some folks but it's not for most. For most it's simply about economics and more top notch titles that people feel they want to check out instead of buying yearly sports titles.

I would respond but at this point you are just repeating yourself. And I have already responded to your yearly sports claim so I would be repeating myself. Not taking the bait.