Madden NFL 15 Video & Blog - War In The Trenches 2.0

[kjcheezhead]

Re: Madden NFL 15 Video & Blog - War In The Trenches 2.0

That is a really misleading link. One, it only takes into account first week sales. Two, it doesnt take into account the next gen sales because its from September. Three, total Madden sales dropped but not by 40%. They dropped from 5 mil to 4 mil.

That's still a 20% drop. The was also an offer to upgrade to newer versions for 10 bucks with trade in. I expect they count those as sales as well which is misleading.

I don't want to go off topic so I'll drop it after this post, but I haven't seen a 20% rise in sales once since exclusivity started.

[aholbert32]

Re: Madden NFL 15 Video & Blog - War In The Trenches 2.0

What does top 5 in December really mean either? Those are black Friday deals and gift sales. First week sales tell the better story. Are people willing to pay 59.99 for the title? Was it a highly anticipated release? EA just like every other developer is quick to point out strong madden opening weeks like madden 13.

It's like the movies. Opening weekend is what matters even it holiday DVD sales make studios good revenue.

Uh no. Its not like the movies. Madden's cost typically drops around the holidays....a good 3 mos after release. Thats 3 mos of sales at the $59 price. Also, that figure doesn't account for the large number of people who decided to wait until next gen.

[Hooe]

Re: Madden NFL 15 Video & Blog - War In The Trenches 2.0

What does top 5 in December really mean either? Those are black Friday deals and gift sales. First week sales tell the better story. Are people willing to pay 59.99 for the title? Was it a highly anticipated release? EA just like every other developer is quick to point out strong madden opening weeks like madden 13.

It's like the movies. Opening weekend is what matters even it holiday DVD sales make studios good revenue.

Black Friday and Christmas is a huge time of year for the video game industry. I'm not going to say you're wrong big picture because you are not - the general rule is that video games are going to sell the majority of the copies they will ever move within the first month of their release - but charting during the holiday season shouldn't be outright dismissed either. There's a reason that so many publishers target the holiday window with their releases.

None of these sales figures people are throwing around include Ultimate Team revenue, which last I saw grew 90% year-over-year (I think that's what I read? It was nearly double).

I'm also really not sure why sales figures keep coming up, not just in this thread but in this forum in general. Why do we care so much about how EA is doing as a company? How does this contribute to the discussion of playing Madden NFL the video game? I'm speaking here as a poster and not a moderator, to be clear; I legitimately want to know why we the Madden community should really care how well the game sells.

[aholbert32]

Re: Madden NFL 15 Video & Blog - War In The Trenches 2.0

That's still a 20% drop. The was also an offer to upgrade to newer versions for 10 bucks with trade in. I expect they count those as sales as well which is misleading.

I don't want to go off topic so I'll drop it after this post, but I haven't seen a 20% rise in sales once since exclusivity started.

FYI, That offer was only available for the X1 not the PS4 and that was a retailer offer not a developer deal. That means that the retailers took the majority of the hit from the reduced price.

Anyway, my point is its still the highest selling sports game in the US.

[BezO]

Re: Madden NFL 15 Video & Blog - War In The Trenches 2.0

...And I hate that there are just 2 buttons, finesse & power. How do I spin vs swim, rip vs bull rush, etc?

[aholbert32]

Re: Madden NFL 15 Video & Blog - War In The Trenches 2.0

Black Friday and Christmas is a huge time of year for the video game industry. I'm not going to say you're wrong big picture because you are not - the general rule is that video games are going to sell the majority of the copies they will ever move within the first month of their release - but charting during the holiday season shouldn't be outright dismissed either. There's a reason that so many publishers target the holiday window with their releases.

None of these sales figures people are throwing around include Ultimate Team revenue, which last I saw grew 90% year-over-year (I think that's what I read? It was nearly double).

I'm also really not sure why sales figures keep coming up, not just in this thread but in this forum in general. Why do we care so much about how EA is doing as a company? How does this contribute to the discussion of playing Madden NFL the video game? I'm speaking here as a poster and not a moderator, to be clear; I legitimately want to know why we the Madden community should really care how well the game sells.

The thought process is that if the sales continue to drop, EA will look at that as a sign that it needs to make significant changes in the game and possible make it more sim. That is ridiculous though.

[kjcheezhead]

Re: Madden NFL 15 Video & Blog - War In The Trenches 2.0

Black Friday and Christmas is a huge time of year for the video game industry. I'm not going to say you're wrong big picture because you are not - the general rule is that video games are going to sell the majority of the copies they will ever move within the first month of their release - but charting during the holiday season shouldn't be outright dismissed either. There's a reason that so many publishers target the holiday window with their releases.

None of these sales figures people are throwing around include Ultimate Team revenue, which last I saw grew 90% year-over-year (I think that's what I read? It was nearly double).

I'm also really not sure why sales figures keep coming up, not just in this thread but in this forum in general. Why do we care so much about how EA is doing as a company? How does this contribute to the discussion of playing Madden NFL the video game? I'm speaking here as a poster and not a moderator, to be clear; I legitimately want to know why we the Madden community should really care how well the game sells.

Because sales are the best to tell if people are legitimately unhappy with the game. Hardcore madden fans can spend hundreds on MUT. That will keep madden profitable but not tell us how many people are speaking with their wallets.

I care because I want to know how unpopular exclusivity truly is. I don't care about EAs bottom line in all honesty.

[aholbert32]

Re: Madden NFL 15 Video & Blog - War In The Trenches 2.0

...And I hate that there are just 2 buttons, finesse & power. How do I spin vs swim, rip vs bull rush, etc?

Its contextual.

[mestevo]

Re: Madden NFL 15 Video & Blog - War In The Trenches 2.0

...And I hate that there are just 2 buttons, finesse & power. How do I spin vs swim, rip vs bull rush, etc?

For this iteration of it I'll take 1-2 buttons over something like the UFC controls . Really though, things like the transition and prevent-transition controls could work well, but this interaction is so quick at full speed (so quick that I question how useful the 'defender cone' is. I wonder how all of this looks in slower game speeds actually.

Longer term, hope to see it evolve into things like the CPU starting to double team successful defenders, offensive line controls to mitigate the new defensive abilities, etc.

As you or someone else said, actually more excited for stuff like steering the OL to set edges and stuff.

[BezO]

Re: Madden NFL 15 Video & Blog - War In The Trenches 2.0

Its contextual.

I get that. I guess I'm wondering how that compares to what I'd be trying to accomplish. But if everything is based on engaging 1st, it probably doesn't matter much.

[aholbert32]

Re: Madden NFL 15 Video & Blog - War In The Trenches 2.0

I get that. I guess I'm wondering how that compares to what I'd be trying to accomplish. But if everything is based on engaging 1st, it probably doesn't matter much.

I guess I'm different than most in that I dont like that much control. If I choose power, I dont mind having the AI decide wither its a bull or a rip rush. I just want the best power move based on the scenario.

[Greenblood60]

Re: Madden NFL 15 Video & Blog - War In The Trenches 2.0

That is a really misleading link. One, it only takes into account first week sales. Two, it doesnt take into account the next gen sales because its from September. Three, total Madden sales dropped but not by 40%. They dropped from 5 mil to 4 mil.

Well...that's still 20%, and EA can't happy about that. Madden used to sell 8-9 mil a year. They used to sell 5 mil on PS2 alone. Now they need two consoles to sell that much.

[Hooe]

Re: Madden NFL 15 Video & Blog - War In The Trenches 2.0

Because sales are the best to tell if people are legitimately unhappy with the game. Hardcore madden fans can spend hundreds on MUT. That will keep madden profitable but not tell us how many people are speaking with their wallets.

The people spending hundreds of dollars on micro transactions are speaking with their wallets about their approval for the game. That argument - giving EA money implies gamer happiness with game - by definition must cut both ways.

[BezO]

Re: Madden NFL 15 Video & Blog - War In The Trenches 2.0

For this iteration of it I'll take 1-2 buttons over something like the UFC controls . Really though, things like the transition and prevent-transition controls could work well, but this interaction is so quick at full speed (so quick that I question how useful the 'defender cone' is. I wonder how all of this looks in slower game speeds actually.

Yeah, I wouldn't want anything as complex as that. I'm thinking modifyers. Finesse/power buttons modified by triggers/bumpers.

But something they could probably do now, and what I think when they say contextual, is have the either button deliver one set of moves if you press before you engage, and another if you press it while engaged.

I can see me being frustrated if I got a rip attempt when I wanted to bull rush, for example.

Longer term, hope to see it evolve into things like the CPU starting to double team successful defenders, offensive line controls to mitigate the new defensive abilities, etc.

Yup! Until then, I wonder how they're handling the success rate of the best rushers, especially against weaker blockers.

As you or someone else said, actually more excited for stuff like steering the OL to set edges and stuff.

I've called it engaged player mobility for years. This is huge. I really hope non-user controlled players use it. THIS is something that could really improve the running game & run defense. Real cut back runs? Setting the edge?

I wish someone would ask Clint more specific questions. Will AI defenders use this particular "move" regularly? How does it effect the running game, especially outside runs?

[roadman]

Re: Madden NFL 15 Video & Blog - War In The Trenches 2.0

The thought process is that if the sales continue to drop, EA will look at that as a sign that it needs to make significant changes in the game and possible make it more sim. That is ridiculous though.

And give up exclusivity.