It's certainly no surprise that EA's newest Madden release Madden NFL 10 is selling like hotcakes at retail, but it seems this sales success doesn't include the Nintendo Wii version of the game. Although the game has sold nearly 2 million copies since its launch two weeks ago, the Wii version of the game has only sold a mere 67,000 copies to date.
It seems EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich thinks that it's last year's Wii version of Madden NFL 2009 All-Play's fault for the poor sales, stating "I believe many diehard Madden fans, who transitioned from the Playstation 2 to the Wii, made their yearly Madden purchase in 2008 and realized that the Wii could not offer the same experience they have grown accustomed to (online play, realistic graphics, in-depth team management)."
Of course it's also been speculated that some of the blame can also be laid off on the Nintendo Wii console's unique motion control system as well, since so many Madden fans have grown used to playing the games using a more traditional gamepad controller.
No matter what the actual reason is, this can't be good news for EA, who make a lot of their revenue from the legendary football video game series. Perhaps EA should offer both the new motion controls, as well as a more traditional control system, for those who'd rather make use of it. It certainly couldn't hurt at this point. We'd love to hear what you think about the whole thing.
[source videogames.yahoo.com]
Comments 54
That's a shame. I really like the Madden games on the Wii.
I hate these yearly sports titles. They are not that great, and most years there isnt that much of an improvement. It just feels like a yearly committment to getting ripped off.
GabeGreens, I agree!
You mind if I quote you on my sig?
Yeah gabe i agree. I can play football with friends for free, get excerise, and have good memorys instead of paying 50 dollars. Before anyone asks I don't have wii sports resort and I hadn't touch Wii sports since I got my wii so don't use that excuse.
I agree, those sport titles are the same games over and over again. Still, that's kind of sad since EA actually tried something different for Wii instead of a PS2 port.
lol Fail. xD
The problem is simply that is not a great game no matter what, that is all the game have bad graphics, even for wii, poor control, online suck (however that is more nintendos fault that wii friend code sucks) so what you expect? many people who have the wii also have a 360 or a ps3 so they better get that version
i would much prefer a wii madden with traditional controller controls.
...it also looks stupid.
I'm not trying to troll, but the new aesthetic was a poor choice.
The true reason for poor sales is that Madden sucks.
what did you expected? EA treated wii owners like retards and they get shocked that they didn't liked it?
They could have made a normal-looking woo game with great controls and more online options. instead they made a quirky version that nobody cared.
I haven't had the chance to try out Madden 10 yet, but I haven't been big into the Madden games since the 16-bit era.
Well I liked it! I wouldn't buy it though. It's my fault you're dying, EA! I'm sorry!
Haven't cared for the Madden series... ever. Much less their recent reinvention on the Wii. I'll stick with Tiger Woods so long as they continue to implement the fantastic Motion Plus scheme.
Besides, Wii gamers have better games to play at the moment than Madden. A lot more and a lot better.
Sports fans are more likely to have a high definition TV and if they didn't get an Xbox 360 earlier, last year's Madden on the Wii plus the Xbox price cut would have been a big hint. I think the Wii has lost this market.
Any game that's released year after year after year with little or no changes deserves to suck!
sorry ea i'm more of a rugby fan
The market for Madden is really only confined to one region (The states) why has there been no EA rugby game released yet?
Sports games dont have it easy on the Wii, because you will miss the almost realistic HD quality these games can show on the PS3 / 360 and their much better online modes.
The only way a sports game can be better on the Wii is the way how they are using the remote and WM+. Grand Slam Tennis might look cartoony, but it plays, controlls and sounds great and comes with one of the best online modes on the Wii (not that does mean much).
Tiger Woods 10 Wii got high reviews all around and combined "normal", serious graphics with the possibly best sport controlls ever.
And Madden ? I dont know the typicly Madden player, but I ask myself if they can get well with these even more cartoony graphics then in GST and eased down gameplay mechanics.
The next "lets get different on Wii" test by EA is going to be ,the very important in europe, FIFA 10. Lets see how that one will sell.....
I agree with you SeniorDingDong, I have an xbox 360 and a wii but don't play on them that much. Me and my brother often play on 007 Nightfire which was released in 2002 simply because it is one of the best multiplayer games ever released, no online, just classic split screen action, something that is missing these days.
Over the last few months I have dug out the old PS2 and bought the old games we used to love playing on like Smack down 4, SSX 3, TOCA race driver 3, Time Crisis 1. Its a remarkable coincidence that me and my brother made up 30 characters between us on Smackdown 4 who were all really ridiculous and one of them was called Senor Ding Dong after the Simpsons character.
Sorry if I got a bit off topic.
The new art style killed it for me. I enjoyed last years for the most part but I do not think I could push myself to buy the series yearly. I have owned only 3 Maddens in my life. The original, Madden 2005 and 09 all play
Only madden I ever got was Madden 07 for DS.
I don't know why people buy madden games new because in one year time the game is not worth anything.
...also if they made wii sports foot ball it would sell in the millions.
I really like the motion controls for 09, but I heard they weren't the same in 10, plus since my favorite team is the Chiefs, and nothing great happened to them in the offseason, there isn't any motivation for me to pay 50 bucks for this. I might get it next year when the price drops, unless Madden 11 is amazing, and the Chiefs do well this year (which probably won't happen).
Good. Now use the tackling engine for something useful and make a Rugby Union game.
If I want to see sports in HD, I'll watch an actual game. I don't play video games to see virtual athletes look "sort of" realistic. Bah. Not a huge fan of these series. I typically buy them a couple years after the fact. When a video game released at $50+ can be had for $5 the following year, it's something I can wait for.
I guess Wii-owners finally figured out Madden games get a 50% price drop in about a year after it's release and decided it would be wiser to buy it then. That's what I may do, I was never a big Madden nor NFL fan, but that "Point and Pass" system in 10 may help me get into it (Honestly it took EA this long to use the IR sensor for passing)
On a funny note anyone notice that the Walmart Comercials for 10 was the same one as last year.
um whats so great about yearly release games! like gabe said, there isnt any improvement only new ideas for modes which could be DLC anyway. theyre just trying to get your money and they certainely arent!
All I can say, the only EA yearly franchise worth owning this year is Tiger Wood PGA Tour '10. Well, on the Wii, because that game is the best version.
Why couldn't they do the same with Madden '10? They can keep the cartoony graphics, but let us have the same features as the HD counterpartners.
Oh well, Madden is the last EA game I'm touching anyway. By that, I mean I'll be getting Tiger Woods and FIFA way before I buy Madden. And never when it's like this bad of a port.
I think they should just go to releasing a game every other year that way the series does not grow into obscurity. Also a longer development time means a longer time working on the game. And hopefully with that EA and the people that play their games could both come out ahead.
Madden is better on the Wii than it is on any other console. Madden 09 was the best football game I've ever played. But Madden 10 looked like the same thing only with a visual style that I'm not a big fan of. The real problem is that people aren't going to shell out $50 every year for updated character rosters in these economically harsh times.
If they're going to make yearly sports titles, they need to make them more affordable. This game looks really cool, but I'm just not into football enough to spend $50 on a game when I already own a (perfectly good) earlier version of it.
Are you people going to start telling us to buy Madden now? rofl no way in hell.
Madden 10 isn't is actually worse this year on all console because of a button pressign scheme somebody at EA decided to throw in for kicks and giggles I guess. This isn't good news because EA is stating that if Dead Space Wii (best games of last year PC,360,PS3) doesnt sell well they will not be making Mature titles anymore for Wii and now this. This isn't looking good for the littl white box that Nintendo built.
I like the changes EA made for the Wii version this year. I'll probably sell Madden 08 and get this version but not until sometime early next year.
I think having franchise mode as an "unlockable" was a terrible, terrible decision.
Confusing and unneeded.
Or it could have to do with 99% of Latin America not giving a damn about American Football and thus sales being lower than other games? Or maybe the graphic whores - frat boys demographics overlaped and left no chance for the Wii version.
EA sucks. When their games sell poorly, I cheer.
I'm waiting for Lego Madden football
If only the wii was more powerful i mean lets face it thats the whole reason why the graphics are bad and it didn't sell as much as the other consoles because they are more powerful.(By the way i didn't say that the other consoles are better i just said they are more powerful its the truth
The Wii is capable of much better graphics than that. If anything, they should have just reused Madden 09 graphics and added more online options.
The problem was dumbing down the graphics and dumbing down the game. Madden is for HARDCORE fans, and it always will be. You either go all out to please the hardcore fans, or you go all out to please the casuals, but with this game it's a mistake to go in between since a better experience can be had on the PS3 and 360 versions.
Madden 10 could've been a great party experience if it were a more polished arcade-like experience. Instead your stuck with some sort of half-way game design between sim and silly. Even the graphics don't deserve to be called stylized as it's just the old engine with exaggerated character models. If EA was going different for Wii they should've went full on NFL Blitz: Madden Edition.
Sadly when it comes to Wii sales I look at that number and say "that many?" rather than "is that all?" Who knows though, this game could probably reach a million by the time 11 is released.
Who really cares about how realistic the players look in a sports video game? Not me. They knew they couldn't compete with the other systems with realistic looking players, so they gave them an arcade look, which I think works very well.
The gameplay is what really matters, and this is where Madden 10 outshines the previous Wii versions. The biggest improvement is IR point-and-click passing and the option of a more traditional (for the Wii) motion control method, neither of which make you waste time by having to cycle through selectable receivers before passing (I hate that in Madden 08). They've also toned down how many motion controls are used for different contact moves (another complaint I had about 08). You can also play a full game of 5 on 5, plus all the other modes that are in the other systems' versions. I don't think much of the different quirky game settings like fumblitis, but I can just choose not to use any of them.
Online play also works well. I just wish they would give the Wii versions of the game DLC roster updates for offline play. By the way, without friend codes, how do the other systems have you identify your friends in online play? Usernames? Of course, if you're going to play against random people, you don't have to worry about friend codes, anyway.
The Wii version should be selling better than this, but I guess too many video game sports fans prefer to play on the other systems.
Unfortunately, after getting creamed by the Seahawks 28-0, it looks like another long year for my Rams.
I'm not surprised. I like the Madden series, and this looked awful. A turn in the wrong direction. Better change it back next year.
Why does Nintendo (and others) insist using the Wii controller and not a traditional controller as an alternative?
I like the Madden series, but am probably not buying this year. Why? It's not the "stylistic" graphics, which are fine by me. It's not the use of friend codes online, because that would be a limited diversion for me at best.
The real reason I'm not buying is because it feels like EA wants to turn Madden Wii into a party game by forcing players to unlock key single-player modes and focusing more on gimmicks than core gameplay. Don't get me wrong - I actually like some of the gimmicks and enjoy the arcade-like mulitplayer options they are providing... but that is secondary to the core gameplay, doesn't see nearly as much play time, and definitely isn't enough to make me buy the game.
Most of my time playing Madden is single-player. I enjoy simulating the current season for my favorite team(s), playing through games that represent my pool picks before the weekend, and using franchise mode to create extra value with the game. But current reviews and previous experience suggest that Madden 10 is going to offer little improvement (and some actual downgrades) for those game modes I enjoy most.
If EA wants Madden Wii to sell, then they need to decide: is it a sim or a party game? Straddling the line as they are doing now is bad for marketing and leaves the player base confused. Cut down the number of modes and options, and ensure that modes you do include are better and easier to access. If truly embracing the "NFL party game" approach then drop the Madden branding entirely so that people understand what they are buying into... otherwise stop cutting out my core gameplay and wondering why I'm not buying.
I'm not surprised. These yearly sports games for me anyway get boring and old fast. I just don't enjoy these games like I did when I was a kid when Tecmo Super Bowl was around.
Refer to the review page for this game. No offense, but the reviewer didn't even play last year's version.
I think it's extremely naive to complain about a yearly release of Madden, where have you been? The series is approaching 20 years! The fundamental problems with the Wii version are the lack of depth (seemingly a penalty for true fans who are Wii owners), and the motion controls. Nothing sucks worse than missing a wide open receiver because the controller picked up the wrong motion! An accidental lob, bullet, or wrong receiver can cost you a game. Rather than just having a Gamecube configuration, I'd like to see the responsiveness from Tiger Woods motion controls. Seems like EA is lazy when it comes to making Madden on the Wii. They get what they deserve until they show up with their A game.
@ejamer - Just because they added some gimmicks doesn't mean the core gameplay is any worse. What exactly was made worse in the core gameplay in this year's version? I think the core gameplay is improved, because there's better passing controls, and they toned down how many motion controls you use for different contact moves. Are you just complaining about no traditional controller options like some of the other people on here?
a rugby game(made good) would have more market than the 20th remake of an American Football Game
DLC!!! Madden should be released every few years or so with roster updates available in between releases. People could still keep up with their favorite teams by downloading the rosters for a relatively low cost say $15 or so. I have 08 for the wii and i liked it a bunch but it was so buggy. they should have just fixed the bugs and left the rest alone. I never got the NCAA football every year so I went to gamestop and got NCAA football '03 for the gamecube. plays great with the GC controller and the graphics look about the same as the 08. best part... only costs $1.99. who cares about rosters on college teams. they don't even show names.
I've never bought a single Madden game in my life. The reasons? I'm not all that crazy about professional football, and I know that whenever I buy one, it'll be made completely obsolete the following year. I was tempted to get Madden '06 at one point though, since it would give me a free car in Burnout Revenge.
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