Madden 09 = Sales Flop

[GTheorenHobbes]

According to CAG, TRU is now selling the 360 version for $19.99.

Not one version of Madden made the top 20 in sales for the month of October, i.e., the heart of the NFL season.

According to VGChartz (not sure how reliable it is), sales for every version except PS3 is down from last year. The 360 version is trailing last year's sales by more than a million (good luck making that up between now and Christmas). The PS2 version is really getting killed, having sold 2.18 million copies last year, and only 600,000 this year. Even the sales on the Wii, for whom EA was shooting for this year, are less than half of last year's sales.

http://www.vgchartz.com/games/index.php?name=madden

I'm sure some people may want to blame the economy, but according to these articles, overall videogame sales in October were up 18% over last year.

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/18146/...-Cut-Pays-Off/

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...51&postcount=1

Hopefully EA is taking real good notice of this drop off in sales and a) finally gives us a good product next year, or b) gives up the expensive NFL exclusive license, which I'm sure is part of the reason why EA's stock is trading for less than $19 today.

[Renegade44]

I can only hope it gets worse, it needs to get a lot worse for anything to change. The problem isd, the NFL's pockets are already full with EA's money so they arent losing money from lack of sales, only EA is. So essentially, if EA is willing to continue to pay for the license, the NFL is only going to continue to make money. essentially, sales would have to be so bad, EA stops making madden and doesnt nrenew the license, I cant see that ever happening, at least until Dec 21, 2012.

[roadman]

I would think the holiday sales for Madden will show up positive.

Mom and Dad will want to be Jr. some presents.

[stewaat]

There are several variables that go into this, but hopefully one of them is this message board being a true reflection of how the rest of the gaming world thinks.

It might be time for change within EA in their thought process. Bells and whistles may not do the trick anymore. I'll say that I haven't bought the game the past two years because from what I read on the board it sounds like the same old game, same old NEXT gen game to be more specific. I loved Madden on the last gen consoles.

[7stringking]

I sure wish I wouldn't have bought this stupid game.

[SoxFan01605]

Yet they had the top three in August and one more in the Top Ten (In order: 360, PS3, PS2, Wii), plus one more in the top 20. They were going strong in September as well. A sales drop of in October, two months after release, isn't a sign of doom, it's a sign of reality. Most sports fans don't buy their sports videogames beyond the halfway point of the season. PS2 down is no suprise either. It's another year older and I would realistically expect it to decline as more and more console owners get the increasingly more affordable 360's and PS3s.

Plus for Oct/Nov you have: Fable 2, Dead Space, Fallout 3, Far Cry 2, Gears of War 2, NBA games, Resistance 2, Left 4 Dead, and I'm sure others I'm forgetting. "The heart of football season" doesn't matter in the videogame world. This is the heart of "videogame season" with big titles being pushed out before the Holidays.

None of what you referenced points to anything negative to Madden. This is just more wishful thinking, IMO. Madden sales are fine. In fact, just last month everyone was lamenting the article pointing to Madden's overwhelming success.
Of course, this is what happens in a community where people are unhappy with the product...lol. Oh well, may next year be better

[GTheorenHobbes]

Quote: Originally Posted by SoxFan01605

Yet they had the top three in August and one more in the Top Ten (In order: 360, PS3, PS2, Wii), plus one more in the top 20. They were going strong in September as well. A sales drop of in October, two months after release, isn't a sign of doom, it's a sign of reality. Most sports fans don't buy their sports videogames beyond the halfway point of the season. PS2 down is no suprise either. It's another year older and I would realistically expect it to decline as more and more console owners get the increasingly more affordable 360's and PS3s.

Actually, there was only one Madden in the top 20 for September (the 360 version), and it placed at #19.

Maddens sales are down, bud...whether you care to admit it or not.

[Ram209]

I really hope it continues because that is the only way we will ever see change!

[roadman]

I wonder what sources one is suppose to believe.

This source said Madden was up 6% from last year on an Oct 29th article at 3.5 million units.

I think since that article, Madden has sold 3.9 million units.


http://xbox360.qj.net/Madden-NFL-Foo.../49/aid/125554



Madden '09 garnered 3.5 million, which is an increase of 6% from the sales of the 2008 version.

[SoxFan01605]

Quote: Originally Posted by GTheorenHobbes

Actually, there was only one Madden in the top 20 for September (the 360 version), and it placed at #19. Maddens sales are down, bud...whether you care to admit it or not.

lol...I never said anything about september (other than they were still selling strong enough) I said top 3 in August. Sales are fine. It's not about my belief. They were the top selling game for Q3, 2008:

http://www.videogamer.com/news/11-11-2008-9895.html


I, apparently unlike some (not saying you), have no stake in their sales. I could care less whether it sets records or falls short. My point was and is, it still sells just fine. Sales being down in October is not particularly suprising to me in general, but given the titles coming out it's even less so. Also, you mentioned sales being up 18% from last October. Well, videogame sales were up 48% overall in August. So it has tempered (though I'd agree that neither of those figures are particularly telling in terms of Madden sales). You can disagree or take offense if you want, but I'm just saying I've seen this all before and it means little to nothing to us.

Some here like to look for every thing to "signal" the downfall of Madden. It's not happening anytime soon

Madden is here to stay, bud...whether you care to admit it or not...just having fun with that

This is not a defense of Madden, by the way (as I'm sure it was taken since if your not bashing it in every way, your labeled as a Madden supporter around here). This is just observation. Every year people point to sales and every year, things tend to be okay for EA.