The NPD report confirmed that Madden NFL 10 was once again the top selling title in August with over 1.9 million units moved overall. Still, this total was down from last year, something that CEO John Riccitiello noted to EA employees via email, which was uncovered by the Wall Street Journal. (Update: According to analyst Michael Pachter, the Madden shortfall was "only $20 million" at wholesale.) Despite the decline, the executive was encouraged by the recent price cuts to the PS3 and Xbox 360.
"In recent weeks, both Sony and Microsoft announced significant price cuts for the Playstation 3 (the new slim) and Xbox 360," wrote Riccitiello. "Our early read on the market is that consumers are responding and console sales are up significantly, particularly for the Sony platform where EA has historically performed well. This is encouraging, as greater hardware sales have historically translated to stronger software sales. We’re hopeful that the Madden sales trend will strengthen as more consumers go to retail to pick up their lower-priced consoles."
Riccitiello also mentioned how proud he was about the company's increase in average Metacritic scores. He said he was confident that EA will beat its record of 14 titles with a Metacritic rating of 80 or higher.
"We are now five months into the fiscal year and the most important period of the year is still in front of us. Trend lines for the industry present a challenge, but our strategy and execution give me confidence. From here, our focus is on four priorities: great product launches, succeeding on the Nintendo Wii, continued expansion of our direct-to-consumer business, and cost control. In any economy, this is the path to success," he concluded.
1 Comments
September 12, 2009
I hope that console price cuts will lead to devs following suit and slashing game prices. How about that? No?