For gamers and NFL fans, the wait is over.
“Madden NFL 08” hits store shelves today, as area video game retailers brace for the onslaught of players eager to get their hands on America?s most-popular title.
“We jokingly say that the day Madden is released is like Christmas in August,” said Dave Cibula, district manager in charge of 14 GameStop stores in the Baltimore area. “It?s typically our biggest seller of the year.”
With two NFL teams ? the Ravens and the Redskins ? nearby, the Baltimore/Washington region is regularly the nation?s leading area in terms of Madden preorders and sales, Cibula said.
Thirteen of Cibula?s 14 GameStop stores planned to open their doors and sell copies of the game just after midnight.
“Madden is absolutely huge,” Cibula said. “Everybody loves football, and it launches the beginning of the football season.”
The Madden franchise, which has been releasing football games for 17 years, has sold more than 60 million copies and generated more than $2 billion in sales for California-based game developer Electronic Arts Inc. EA, one of the world?s largest video-game developers, totaled revenues close to $3 billion in fiscal 2007.
More than 7.4 million copies of “Madden NFL 07” were sold in 2006, easily making it the top-selling video game of the year in North America, according to market research firm NPD Group.
The Madden franchise has transformed into something that closely mirrors America?s obsession with real football, said Bryan Intihar, news editor of the video game magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly.
“They call baseball America?s pastime, but in the realm of video games, it?s football,” Intihar said. “It?s become like a Mario. Madden is in many ways a video game icon.”
The game?s release comes at a crucial time for EA, which recently saw fiscal first-quarter 2008 losses widen by 63 percent amid a seasonal slowdown and few major game releases.
EA is estimated to sell close to 5.3 million copies of Madden NFL 08, according to Michael L. Savner, an analyst for Bank of America.
Madden NFL 08 is sold for 10 different gaming systems, ranging in price from $30 to $60, depending on the game console.
Top-Selling Video Game Franchises
In number of copies sold
1. “Super Mario Bros.” ? 193 million
2. “Pokemon” ? 155 million
3. “The Sims” ? 90 million
4. “Final Fantasy” ? 75 million
5. “Madden NFL” ? 60 million
Source: Developer totals worldwide
Information from The Associated Press was used in this article.
