Madden 12 News Post

Madden NFL 12 Sales Rise 10% in Week One Over Last Year

05:06 PM - September 7, 2011 by RaychelSnr

Just received this press release from EA:

Quote:


	"REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Electronic Arts Inc., announced today that EA SPORTS Madden NFL 12 has sold through more than 1.4 million copies across all consoles in its first week at retail (Aug. 30 - Sept. 5), up 10 percent over last year�s opening week of sales. Based on internal estimates, digital gross revenue, driven largely by the Madden Ultimate Team mode, is up 78 percent over last year. �Madden NFL 12 is off to a great start, and we�ve seen a tremendous amount of excitement and demand this first week,� said Chris Homeister, senior vice president and general manager of the home entertainment group at Best Buy. �Fans lined up at Best Buy stores around the country for midnight launch events to be the first to bring Madden NFL 12 home and get a jump on their rivals.� Among the additional notable accomplishments for Madden NFL 12 in its first week at retail: Madden NFL 12 fans have played more than 5.4 million online connected game sessions since launch; the equivalent of more than 10,000 regular NFL seasons. Madden Ultimate Team has been a big hit, with fans having purchased nearly 200,000 Madden Ultimate Team card and coin packs in the first seven days. EA SPORTS Season Ticket subscribers got a jump on the competition, with early full-game digital access to Madden NFL 12 beginning on August 26. Fans logged more than four million total gameplay minutes in the early access period. Within its first week on the market, Madden NFL 12 reached the number one top paid spot on the Android market and ranked in the top 10 grossing on the App Store for iOS platforms. �With the start of the NFL season only days away, fans are thrilled to get back to football and they�re doing so in record numbers through Madden NFL 12,� says Andrew Wilson, executive vice president of EA SPORTS. �The growth across console and digital shows that the appetite for the Madden NFL franchise has never been bigger.�

Seems Madden has seen a pretty solid rise in sales in week one, which is almost a harbinger of things to come. Despite critics being a bit more cool on the franchise this year, the franchise seems to continually add to sales. One thing I'm interested in is whether the rise in sales is really 10 percent on traditional consoles because it appears mobile sales are also counted.

Either way, sounds like another banner launch for the Madden franchise.

Game: Madden NFL 12Reader Score: 6.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Wii / Xbox 360Votes for game: 44 - View All

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Member Comments

# 21 roadman @ 09/08/11 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JerseySuave4


	I didn't not buy Madden because i don't want to support EA. I can care less who makes the game. If the game is good i'll buy it. But i'm not just pissing away $60 on a mediocre football game that i'll get bored with in a few weeks. I dont get bored with NCAA like that.

Interesting take, I was the complete opposite with NCAA this year. No patch made for boredom, collected dust for 2 months, traded in for Madden.

Playing Madden non-stop.

# 22 coolcras7 @ 09/08/11 09:02 AM

Great for EA, bad for anyone that ever wanted to see a true NFL sim, or see the NFL allow other companies to get a shot at creating a game.

# 23 kjcheezhead @ 09/08/11 09:18 AM

Expected to hear this, the game is much better than it has been. As a football gamer I don't think this is good news at all even tho I am enjoying it. I'm still playing the same football game that I have been playing for a decade and Madden/NCAA success only guarantees that will continue to be the case.

Before people post pointing it out, I bought the game using credit card points instead of actual money. I realize I still purchased the game and only helped EA stay the only football game in town by doing that. No need to remind me.

# 24 RGiles36 @ 09/08/11 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjcheezhead


	Before people post pointing it out, I bought the game using credit card points instead of actual money. I realize I still purchased the game and only helped EA stay the only football game in town by doing that. No need to remind me.

No need to defend your purchase KJ. It is what it is

# 25 zanner @ 09/08/11 10:44 AM

I think it's natural that the sales would rise 10% ... I just bought it as a matter of fact after not purchasing Madden for the last 2 years (since 09) and 09 was only purchased because of Head Coach was included. I'm sure I'm not the only one of the original Madden fans that are doing similar things now.

I didn't buy NCAA this year as it got into the same bucket as Madden in my eyes. Fact is, EA hasn't presented the improvements needed year in and year out to warrant an every year purchase anymore. Having only played last night, I enjoyed the game, it's a refreshing Madden having not played in basically 3 years; however, at the same time it's those things that haven't got fixed or that get overlooked or in the terms of PS3 graphics that really leave you scratching your head and foregoing next year.

The Madden/NCAA teams really need to stand back and reapply themselves because other EA teams are really putting them to shame year in and year out as it stands now.

# 26 scottyo60 @ 09/08/11 11:12 AM

On their MUT team statement I will say they are responsible for my 1 DNF I've ever recorded in a game. I played online against a guy who basically had the same team and I couldn't take it anymore after the first quarter.

To each their own though? I am enjoying the heck out of the game

# 27 Lovesports @ 09/08/11 06:20 PM

The sales mean nothing to me. The game is still mediocre. People can come out and hype the game up all they want, those are the folks that do not understand the true meaning of sim and/or do not want true sim. If you disagree, pick up a copy of MLB the show so you can understand what true sim is. I'm not hating on madden and I agree that improvements have been made (from a madden standard) however compared to other sports titles this game is trash.

# 28 AgustusM @ 09/08/11 07:15 PM

to each his own - but I loved Madden 11 and preodered 12 when I heard Josh Looman (Head Coach Designer) was leading the offline Franchise design and the only thing I care about wiht Madden is offline Franchise.

I was shocked and extremely disappointed to see they not only didn't improve franchise they actually made it much worse - I am back to Madden 11 and Head Coach and not playing 12 at all.

Of course to EA it just looks like I am another happy customer

# 29 BlackJackRabbit @ 09/08/11 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgiles36


	Ditto. Not only that, I think people have to look at the feature set. Gameplay, franchise, and presentation were all a major focus this year. If sales stunk in response, who's to say the direction they would take this franchise in. I mean, yes, they are committed to getting this game to the level of NBA2K and The Show. But it would make me a bit nervous if sales stalled when they clearly focused on the things that I wanted as a sports gamer.

I don't agree with that. This game is an improvement, but there are still a lot of things in presentation, game-play, and franchise mode that are simply incomplete. Aside from DPP, there's nothing really new about Madden 12. On the field, when playing the game, what can we do in Madden 12 that we couldn't on the PS2/xbox.

Further dwindling sales would (more than likely) push EA to innovate a little bit more.

# 30 bichettehappens @ 09/08/11 09:49 PM

Bought it day 1 and am enjoying it. Completely satisfied with my purchase. Still haven't tried MUT though and probably never will. Doesn't seem like something that would appeal to me

# 31 Lovesports @ 09/09/11 12:14 AM

Just because a game has canned animations it doesn't mean it's not sim. People have different ideas of what sim means. A realistic interaction between players and less robotic movement is an example of sim to some. I'm sick of excuses that football is more difficult to make into sim then other titles because there was a game that came out almost 8 years ago that not only was sim but it captured our imaginations for years to come and is still considered the greatest football game made. Enough about all that. Madden gameplay needs a complete overhaul, from player interactions to running styles and for God's sake no more ice skating please.

# 32 Araxen @ 09/09/11 01:13 AM

I regret my purchase I'm putting it up on Ebay next week. Superstar hasn't improved at all since I last bought the game(2010) and I loved RTG in NCAA and was hoping they brought that mode finally up to par but no dice sadly. /sigh

# 33 Brando70 @ 09/09/11 10:56 AM

I really don't understand how anyone can say Madden 12 is not a big improvement in the gameplay department compared to previous Maddens. If you don't like it, that's fine -- I don't think this year's game will necessarily change anyone's mind about Madden in general. It's still Madden. But to someone like me who has played Madden for 20+ years, it's way ahead of any other edition on the field.

There are certainly issues, with things like pass interference being nonexistent and DTs being a bit overpowered. But for me, I'm having more fun because there's a dynamic quality to the AI I haven't seen before, especially on offense. Nearly every Madden I've ever played had a very generic quality to how the AI played offense. This year, I think teams do tend to play to their strengths and resemble their real life counterparts. In fact, and I say this as a big fan of The Show and NBA 2k, I feel like there's a little more variety in the team tendencies in Madden this year than both of those games. The Show has issues with lineups that don't take into account player strengths and roles, and NBA 2k AI offenses tend to run the same plays over and over and don't necessarily play to their strengths.

In Madden, at least after a dozen games, I'm seeing teams like the Panthers run a lot and teams like the Saints pass a lot. It's not perfect, but it's way better than anything on this generation or even the very solid offerings we had at the end of the Xbox/PS2 era.

Like others have said, I'm glad to see that a focus on gameplay has resulted in an uptick in sales. For years, we've complained about how the Madden team focused on all the wrong stuff, and sales have slipped. This year, while there still is a lot of room for improvement, they focused on a lot of the right things, and I hope the sales increase pushes them to continue in that area.

# 34 ultralow36 @ 09/09/11 11:06 AM

I find it stupid to get mad at ea because they do what every other company does and show there sales:....I think the people getting upset need to step away....find a new hobby because the lastthing a hobby is suppose to do is upset you......

# 35 BlackJackRabbit @ 09/09/11 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tazdevil20


	This sums up my feeling exactly. There is nothing revolutionary at all about the gameplay in Madden 12. In fact, I would argue that it's barely as good as the PS2 days (at that time). The same old issues are still there - challenge system is terrible, commentary atrocious, OL/DL interaction still bad with DTs slipping by guards and getting 3 sacks/game, penalties are awful and missing, game audio feels like you are in a dentist office as opposed to a football game, no footplanting so fast players can zig zag around defenders at will, online franchise is incomplete and bare bones with no sliders or adjustable settings - also requires a 3rd party tool to be playable, pass trajectory is bad causing way too many LB bat downs still, WR/DB interaction looks very dated and players still do the eyes in the back of the head animations when catch balls. That's just a few. It seems that they are very delusional about their game. They do a few things over a couple of years time and all of a sudden they want a huge pat on the back. They apparently worked on franchise mode for over 2 years re-writing it. Really? There's not a lot there to warrant 2 years worth of work. That's the problem when you think you are better than you really are at something. This game is not a next gen title, not even close. It's an allright football game with a lot of stale and dated features that are either copied from other games or 3 years late in the making. It's certainly not a bad game, it's just average at best. I think the developers have gotten so full of themselves with this title because it's the only game in town that they feel entitled to get high review ratings and praise just because they improved a few things over the span of many years. In reality, what have they improved? There's nothing in the game that wasn't in the last generation of consoles, in fact there is even LESS. Having been around these games for 30 years, and playing Madden since it's inception in 1988, I really want Madden to be great. I really do, but if you really think there is a dedication over at Tiburon to make this game something like what NBA 2k or MLB the show is, you are simply kidding yourself. In 6 years Tiburon has managed to make a colossal mess out of sports gaming's most storied franchise. It's been an absolute failure on all counts and has succeeded at alienating fans of the series while struggling to find an identity as to what it really wants to be. When I play Madden I don't see or feel dedication at all. I see complacency, laziness and lack of attention to detail. A rushed project that was written by college interns that is riddled with bugs and incomplete features that met a deadline and put a smile on the face of an executive in a corner office. Hopefully someday it all gets turned around either by EA themselves or by the exclusive deal being lifted and allowing other games to enter into the market.

Judging by your post, you're at least in your thirties. I'm in my early thirties and I think people around my age or older have a appreciation that younger gamers don't have. We've witness everything from Xbox 360 to Atari, and we've experienced all of the the jumps that games have made when new more powerful consoles come out. All this " you have to wait to you play it " or " it's only a trailer" is nonsense. When a game comes out on a new console with some new ****, it's doesn't take that long to realize it.

Madden has yet to make that jump. EA has made some improvements, but Madden is still the same game as it was on the PS2 and xbox, and the animations looked better last generation.

Some days I enjoy Madden; then I'll go for a stretch where I have absolutely no desire to play it. I could have nothing planned; I could have loads of free time, and I still have no desire to play it.

# 36 BlackJackRabbit @ 09/09/11 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giants4Natic


	You lost me with last gen had better animations. SMH

So you think that foot-planting,locomotion, and running animations are better this generation. You think the zig-zag running is an improvement ? The hunch back running is a step up from last-gen ?

I think you smacked your head too hard.

# 37 Lovesports @ 09/09/11 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackJackRabbit


	So you think that foot-planting,locomotion, and running animations are better this generation. You think the zig-zag running is an improvement ? The hunch back running is a step up from last-gen ? I think you smacked your head too hard.

I'm with you on this one.....player animations were much better last gen. Especially madden 04. Player movement on current gen is horrendous to say the least. Bunch of robotic, ice skating movements that completely ruin any feel of realism is the only way to describe current gen animations.

# 38 BlackJackRabbit @ 09/09/11 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giants4Natic


	I was actually playing madden 05 on ps2 the other day and had to turn it off after a few plays. Players moved like they had a coat hanger on their shoulders. I was able to zig zag on old madden easier then now... But to each their own.....

That's bull. I'm sorry, but it is. Last-gen was much more punishing when over using the sprint button. Now you can zig-zag all over the place.

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