Madden Sales Down 18% Y-o-Y in October

[GoJayzGo]

I'm sure there are alot of gamers such as myself who wait a couple of months before purchasing the game due to the ridiculous amount of game breaking bugs that EA has produced in the last few years. I have not bought Madden as of yet and I doubt that I will as they've continued to ignore franchise mode.

EA has burned me too many times and now I don't buy until I know the game works properly and is actually worth investing my money and time.

[dcsoldier]

Quote: Originally Posted by Eski33

The Madden series needs to look at what the NCAA team did. They brought in not only much improved graphics, but atmosphere. I am a long time Madden fan and it still boggles my mind that they add a feature but instead of building on it they simply remove it. The Extra Point is something that could be outstanding. I thought that after Madden 10 we would have seen a huge presentation lift. Instead, we got Madden 10 with stripped down presentation....

graphics and atmosphere won't cut it anymore......people want a true to life game with exceptional gameplay.....in my blog "graphics over gameplay" i explain how eye candy is short lived and its the gameplay that keeps one playing for years.

[ryan36]

What amazes me about this is how badly people want to play NFL video games year in and year out.

The demand for a quality product is definitely there. But they can't capitalize on it because their offering is so off the mark.

This is akin to a company not being able to sell water in the desert.

We should also realize that with an 18% decline, it's not just the type of people on message boards that are rejecting their product. We're not 18% of their customers. Nope, folks. This is all those people they keep trying to "simplify" the game for that are saying no. Those same people used to say yes.

[RaychelSnr]

Quote: Originally Posted by dcsoldier

graphics and atmosphere won't cut it anymore......people want a true to life game with exceptional gameplay.....in my blog "graphics over gameplay" i explain how eye candy is short lived and its the gameplay that keeps one playing for years.

In today's market, you have to have a realistic and smooth presentation as well as good and well balanced gameplay. If you have both, a game doesn't have to play realistic in the sense of true to life stats in order to be considered realistic. From a psychological point of view, a lot of the gaming experience is believing what you are seeing and a good chunk of us experience a majority of our sports via the TV. The key to a good game is mimicking that delivery with gameplay that's well-balanced (ie neither the defense or offense has a built in advantage due to how the game is played). Of course, that discussion is something I'm saving up for a future Op-Ed for the frontpage at some point

[Bellsprout]

Quote: Originally Posted by dcsoldier

graphics and atmosphere won't cut it anymore......people want a true to life game with exceptional gameplay.....in my blog "graphics over gameplay" i explain how eye candy is short lived and its the gameplay that keeps one playing for years.

If they stuck ESPN logos all over Madden 11 and released it next year as Madden 12 I'm betting it sells a fair bit better.

[dcsoldier]

Quote: Originally Posted by Dayman

If they stuck ESPN logos all over Madden 11 and released it next year as Madden 12 I'm betting it sells a fair bit better.

maybe, maybe not....ESPN logos all over the field will not improve the game......thus your casual gamer might say "oh wow espn i must buy now!" but your regular hardcore sim gamer will just look at it and say "another bs gimmick and makeup job to hide the terrible gameplay....thanks but no thanks".

[Bellsprout]

Quote: Originally Posted by dcsoldier

maybe, maybe not....ESPN logos all over the field will not improve the game......thus your casual gamer might say "oh wow espn i must buy now!" but your regular hardcore sim gamer will just look at it and say "another bs gimmick and makeup job to hide the terrible gameplay....thanks but no thanks".

There's a lot more casual gamers than hardcore gamers. Hence the Wii selling like hot cakes.

[TDKing]

Quote: Originally Posted by ryan36

This is akin to a company not being able to sell water in the desert.

good one!!!!