CNBC has the story on Madden's weak sales numbers and it's impact on the industry as a whole. Sounds like a blog coming from yours truly soon.
Just one week after its flagship franchise hit the streets, EA is already seeing retailers dramatically discount this year’s installment of “Madden NFL”. Amazon, Wal Mart, and GameStop have all dropped the price from $60 to $50.
One possible way to interpret that is the 2010 version of the game hasn’t been selling at the same pace as the 2009 version (which, incidentally, failed to match the 2008 numbers). That’s troubling, since EA relies heavily on Madden for up to 10 percent of its annual revenues.
Admittedly, there were concerns about this year’s game prior to its launch. Pre-orders were flat and Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Lazard Capital Markets, noted that the 2010 installment was “a ‘show-me’ story … People who are tired of what ‘Madden’ has become are saying ‘I know some of my fiends are going to pick it up and I’ll see what they have to say first.'”
One possible way to interpret that is the 2010 version of the game hasn’t been selling at the same pace as the 2009 version (which, incidentally, failed to match the 2008 numbers). That’s troubling, since EA relies heavily on Madden for up to 10 percent of its annual revenues.
Admittedly, there were concerns about this year’s game prior to its launch. Pre-orders were flat and Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Lazard Capital Markets, noted that the 2010 installment was “a ‘show-me’ story … People who are tired of what ‘Madden’ has become are saying ‘I know some of my fiends are going to pick it up and I’ll see what they have to say first.'”
Comment