I am worried about the perceived success of Head Coach

[Niners44]

With the stand alone not coming out till September, I will definitely be getting my copy via the Madden Anniversary edition. In fact considering the lack of a PC Madden, it is possible I would have skipped Madden this year. So my pre-order is really an order for Head Coach.
However I don’t believe the powers that be at EA will view a purchase of the anniversary addition as a purchase of head coach and I am equally concerned that the standalone product will not do that well, simply because the hard core audience that this game is geared to are unlikely to wait till September to purchase.

How is EA going to account for the success of Head Coach as delivered in Madden? Like I said before I was iffy on ordering Madden (I am sure I eventually would simply because I have owned every version) and I would definitely not order a “special” edition with a nice box and some added videos. But as soon as I heard about Head Coach (and saw they fixed a few of the glaring issues from previous version, such as the UI and the 5 min quarters) I pre-ordered and paid expedited shipping immediately.

So clearly my order is an order for Head Coach – however I am concerned that as far as EA is concerned it won’t “count” and we all know if the numbers aren’t right, we are unlikely to see another version.

[slappybrown]

Quote: Originally Posted by Niners44

With the stand alone not coming out till September, I will definitely be getting my copy via the Madden Anniversary edition. In fact considering the lack of a PC Madden, it is possible I would have skipped Madden this year. So my pre-order is really an order for Head Coach. However I don’t believe the powers that be at EA will view a purchase of the anniversary addition as a purchase of head coach and I am equally concerned that the standalone product will not do that well, simply because the hard core audience that this game is geared to are unlikely to wait till September to purchase. How is EA going to account for the success of Head Coach as delivered in Madden? Like I said before I was iffy on ordering Madden (I am sure I eventually would simply because I have owned every version) and I would definitely not order a “special” edition with a nice box and some added videos. But as soon as I heard about Head Coach (and saw they fixed a few of the glaring issues from previous version, such as the UI and the 5 min quarters) I pre-ordered and paid expedited shipping immediately. So clearly my order is an order for Head Coach – however I am concerned that as far as EA is concerned it won’t “count” and we all know if the numbers aren’t right, we are unlikely to see another version.

I think strong sales of the CE will demonstrate to EA the viability of HC. Most madden guys I know see no reason to get the CE and spend an extra 30 dollars for a game they think is stupid (oh how wrong they are). I dont think most people but the CE for "collecting purposes" - its not like there is a huge market to buy and sell these things, they are not "rare" in any sense.

[casvdry]

Someone else had mentioned that if Madden posted much stronger numbers that prior years it would be assumed that HC 09 had something to do with it. Though I don't know if you could say it with certainty since it's the 20th anniversary edition and may sell well for that reason alone.

BUT, I do think word of mouth would come into play here. If someone buys the CE edition and plays HC 09 they'll eventually tell someone about it. By the time others have heard the great things about it they'll have the option to pick up the standalone. Reviews and impressions speak volumes and if people see the game faired well they would pick it up.

The problem in my mind is what kind of market there is for this type of game as opposed to Madden. It's definitely a much smaller market but it's a viable market and it's big enough to warrant a game every year in my opinion.

What better way to market HC 09 to the football fans then to bundle it with Madden 09? Check out my thread in this forum for a signature image you can use to help get the word out.

[Seahawk76]

I think it's a shame that this game wasn't released as a standalone game on Aug. 12 because I probably would have just bought this and passed on Madden, especially after seeing how lousy the AI is in NCAA 09. So I'll be getting the CE even though it will probably be seen by EA number crunchers as primarily a Madden purchase.

[MizzouRah]

Quote: Originally Posted by Seahawk76

I think it's a shame that this game wasn't released as a standalone game on Aug. 12 because I probably would have just bought this and passed on Madden, especially after seeing how lousy the AI is in NCAA 09. So I'll be getting the CE even though it will probably be seen by EA number crunchers as primarily a Madden purchase.

I agree.. but I'm assuming since Madden is their "flagship" product.. their main concern is getting big numbers on Madden sales, and Head Coach will definitely help that.

The bad thing is, for someone like me that has a friend who just wants to play Madden and has no desire to play Head Coach, I'll be taking HC off his hands when he gets his CE edition on Tuesday. Now why would I buy the standalone?

[slappybrown]

Quote: Originally Posted by Seahawk76

I think it's a shame that this game wasn't released as a standalone game on Aug. 12 because I probably would have just bought this and passed on Madden, especially after seeing how lousy the AI is in NCAA 09. So I'll be getting the CE even though it will probably be seen by EA number crunchers as primarily a Madden purchase.

I disagree with this. I think robust sales of the CE, relative to the previous years' in which they have offered a special edition of some kind (like the hall of fame edition), will reflect that HC is driving those sales.

[swaldo]

One thing that is being overlooked is the fact people are getting fed up with Madden. They have gone backwards, the gameplay is stale and sales figures have shown that. EA is so desperate they are selling Madden 09 in 7-Eleven stores this year, thus screwing over videogame retailers that have supported them for years.

So what is the general personality profile of a Madden fan gone astray? People like me that are older and expect more realism and a sim experience. In comes Head Coach and although I was not planning on purchasing Madden my knees have weakened and I will be picking up the CE (and I must admit Madden is starting to look better.) DING! DING! another Madden customer and a brilliant move by EA to add Coach. They went from zero dollars from me to $90 plus whatever they get from the Prima guide I will buy. The way I view it though is that I am paying $60 for coach and $30 for Madden.

It's about sales tagets. If sales of CE exceed expectations and the reviews are decent Head Coach will be back. The only thing that concerns me is whether or not reviewers will take Head Coach seriously. The OXM review was very brief and they stated the gameplay looked "Fugly." I don't know if they will get credit for the great amount of depth in the game.

Also, people seem pretty fed up over NCAA, guess what will come next

[Jistic]

Conversely, couldn't EA be putting it in the collectors edition to introduce more people to it, and hope to expand a small fan base?