Madden Wii: Tough Sell? Peter Moore Speaks
November 25th, 2008 | Written by Jacob Stutsman | Topic: Industry News, Wii
In a time when change was most needed, the industry was seemingly ambushed by the Wii, and many developers had to repudiate former dogma in order to cater to an audience that was not their core strength. The developers who adapted this new strategy to their old games had to refurnish mechanics and make them resplendent again. Not all gamers converted. No better is this ambivalence on display than in EA’s own sports lineup. EA Sports President Peter Moore, speaking with Stephen Totilo of MTV, acknowledged the difficult transliteration of the Madden formula to the Wii.
The challenge we face is that that consumer gets ‘Wii Sports‘ right out of the box and that’s a sports experience that’s good enough for a lot of people. That is a challenge for us at times.
Secondly, we’re doing very well with the core consumer, migrating them to the Xbox 360 and PS3 and, quite frankly, if they’re looking for that hardcore experience that’s where they’re buying that … We are seeing multiple copy purchases in the home. As you well know, I was the proponent of the Wii60 in the early days. I think there’s going to be a very strong multi-console ownership in homes. And I think that’s bearing out. We are starting to see, anecdotally, two copies of ‘Madden’ — one for the 360 or PS3 — and another copy for the younger kids or even for the wife or girlfriend on the Wii.
The problem is that the Wii version has only sold 176,000 copies in two months, a small fraction of a franchise that sells millions each year, ceding the greater territory to the 360, PS3, and PS2. When it is argued that a rising tide lifts all boats, this is not a dramatic increase over the toxic Gamecube figures.
The essential element in creating a game is that it reflects the audience it is being created for. Mario is for the imaginative people who are young at heart. Street Fighter is for people who can bend their fingers like a plastic spoon. Madden is the proprietor of a young, tech savvy fanbase that grasps the nuances of videogame football, and this also happens to be one of the few key demographics that the combined force of the 360 and PS3 excels at. This audience doesn’t consider the Wii version a tenable option, and there are no new consumers to fill the void as long as the sheer unassailability of Madden subsists for the average person. In other words, Madden, even in the All-Play incarnation, is not enough. There will need to be greater reverence for the consumer that EA is making an appeal to, and that means shattering the remaining barriers. What barriers remain and the necessary steps that need to be taken are questions that EA will have to answer for itself.
As noted by Peter Moore, the Wii is a harbinger for the Tiger Woods franchise, competing with and even exceeding the other versions on the marketplace. Tiger Woods also happens to play perfectly to the audience: golf is a relaxed, intuitive game that is the kind of thing that the Wiimote was designed for. The Wii is too divisive to be all things to all people, and cultivating Madden for the Wii audience is going to be a harrowing task. Moore admits the difficulty but confidently declares the propensity for lucrative progress. The road would be weary, but EA is in a position to try regardless of whether they end up making Madden in a new image.
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Comment by Danreb on the November 30th, 2008 at 7:11 am
Aside from the obvious issues with graphics and sound, the main thing with the Wii version is that it shows EA is making an attempt at making a good, third-party title.
If they want to attract core titles to the Wii version, I don't see why they don't just allow the option to use the GameCube controller. In the previous generation, I've always preferred the GameCube's shell and button layout for Madden anyway.
Comment by Dan on the December 11th, 2008 at 9:08 am
I think they are being stubborn with their generic wii controller. They think that they will just be another system if they cave and use a standard style controller.
Comment by Keith on the August 14th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
The thing that gets me is the difficulty. I had only played the game a few times and it was so easy that I turned it up to All-Madden difficulty level and set all user A.I. to as low as it goes and the computer A.I. to as high as it goes and it I'm still able to beat the Patriots with the 49ers 70-0. Wide-open computer receivers just drop the ball 80% of the time. It really makes the game get old quick.