EA Sports thumped its chest today and proudly announced that Madden NFL 11 was the number one selling game in North America during August. The data, which is based on internal EA estimates, shows that sales were up about 5% year-over-year. Lazard Capital Markets' Colin Sebastian points out that this was on a dollar basis, not units. On a units basis, Sebastian believes sales were actually flat or even slightly down.
Sebastian added that his checks indicated a "meaningful increase in PS3 unit sales, roughly flat Xbox 360 unit sales, and lower Wii/PS2 unit sales."
With the help of its social game developer Playfish, EA today also launched Madden NFL Superstars.
“Madden NFL 11 is the number one selling game in August, and the game has created enormous enthusiasm in the online community,” said Peter Moore, president of EA Sports. “Each day on consoles, fans are playing as many games online as the equivalent of 750 full NFL seasons. Now on Facebook,Madden NFL Superstars will bring a whole new dimension and audience to the Madden NFL experience.”
EA also released several other important Madden statistics, outlined as follows:
- On the strength of the Madden NFL Ultimate Team game mode being released this year at launch, digital revenues for Madden NFL 11 are up more than 200 percent year-over-year.
- Madden NFL 11 gamers have averaged more than two million online connected game sessions each day. Nearly 20 percent of all online play has been logged on a brand new feature, Online Team Play. The mode allows fans to go online and play 3-on-3 with, or against, their friends.
- The new GameFlow play calling system in Madden NFL 11 has been a hit, with 85 percent of players having used the new feature that streamlines play calling and shortens overall game length for a more accessible experience.
- Madden NFL 11 debuted as the #1 top grossing application for Apple’s mobile platforms on the day it launched – the first time one game franchise has held the top grossing position in multiple platforms in the App Store.
