If this was Peter Moore’s idea of an April Fool’s joke, I don’t think many PC gamers found it very funny. In a post on his official blog yesterday, the EA Sports head honcho confirmed that EA will not be releasing Madden NFL 09 on the PC:
We knew that our decision to not develop this year’s Madden for the PC would be an unpopular decision in some circles. But I’ll reiterate what I said a couple of weeks ago in this space…the PC presents some very serious business challenges to us in the sports category, particularly because so many of you all are playing your favorite sports games on the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii. We are committed to shipping a limited number of our games on the PC this year, but we’ve also had to cut a few of our games from the platform. We do have ideas for how to revitalize the PC for sports games and the types of games that are best suited to the platform, and we’ll continue to explore those.
Translation: the PC version sold very poorly in comparison to the console versions, so we’re scrapping it. According to an article from IGN-owned PC gaming site Voodoo Extreme, the PC version of Madden NFL 08 came in at number eight on the NPD sales charts for August 2007. It doesn’t specify the number of copies that the game sold, but whatever it is, it’s likely nothing when you look at the overall console sales — the 360 version moved nearly 900,000 units in August alone.
Though I’ve never really had a computer that was powerful enough to play games, I’ve downloaded a few demos of sports games in my time. I’m assuming that anyone who buys PC sports games has some sort of gamepad, because trying to play Madden with a keyboard and mouse is a nightmare.
Still, it’s rather alarming to see that EA is alienating an entire market of gamers. And think about it: because they have that accursed exclusivity deal with the NFL, PC-specific Madden fans now have nowhere to turn for their football fix.
[via Peter Moore Blog — thanks, power-glove and Jonathan!]
Samit Sarkar is a founding Destructoid editor and go-to Sports guy. Samit was the son of the Duke of Knees, rescued from a burning village in the afghan desert by a golden condor. He is an ace Backgammon player and lost both legs in a whaling tour. He lives for free in a nursery in Scotland where he teaches monks how to capture butterflies without hurting them.
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Contest:
6:54 PM on 04.02.2008
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i don't play their shit sports gaems.
note that this is not an endorsement of PC gamer fanboyness, merely an opinionated response by Rockvillian
This is just one step closer to that goal
How sad :(
They can just mod one.
1500$ on a new, self built pc, and crysis still runs crappily... Pc gaming is begging to be put out of her misery.
Exaggerate much?
"We don't give a shit!"
looks like we'll be playing from the same franchise file for awhile.
I would assume that its a stretch that the PC version didn't at least come close to the DS in sales. Seems like the pc version would be easier to develop for considering its a port from the ps2 version.
In my honest opinion, i think they're sending out a message for those who pirate their shit. EA's throwing that middle finger at us PC gamers. I imagine they'll eventually phase out PC sales....they would much rather sale exclusively on the consoles....probably why they're thinking of making their own.
Also, pc gaming is there for me while the shitty hardware microsoft is doing continues.
I've always enjoyed them better on the console, and that'll most likely continue for Madden 09.
Remember you heard here first bitches.
doesn't mean i want to play it though.
I never bought madden in my life and I have been getting games since 1983.
Why is this madden guy famous anyway?
I never understood while people shell out 60$ a year for the same damn game... "OH NOES, AN UPDATED ROASTESTDTERTSER THINGUIS=NG!!!!11ONE".
Im kinda mad that we wont get the 360 ps3 engine but im sure a week after the draft 2008 will get a roster mod that makes it just about what you will buy when 2009 comes out
Why waste the millions in development/QA resources when you can re-allocate them to better and more fruitful projects?
With the borderline-monopolistic nature of EA's agreement with the NFL, they can't just phase out a portion of the market. NFL can't want them to do that either. Let's not forget that in the 1970s, an antitrust suit was brought against the NFL, and they barely won that case.
Essentially, EA is saying that if a gamer wants to play an NFL game, then they have to buy a platform of EA's choosing. To me, that's a pretty blatant use of a monopoly.
If there's a market for a product, then the market should be allowed to fill it. There's definitely a market for NFL games on PC, even if it is too small for EA. SOMEONE should be allowed to fill it.
I would read this translation more along the lines of: If people are going to continue to pirate our PC games and not buy them (see Tyson The Tool above) we aren't going to release another one until we have our own Steam-like system set up.
But wait, no Madden 09 on PC, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Oh wait, I never bought this game when it existed.
doesn't mean i want to play it though.
doesn't mean i want to play it though.