EA Sports' Moore tackling the 'challenge' of Wii Sports

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Nov 24th 2008 at 4:20PM }

"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," EA Sports president Peter Moore told MTV Multiplayer. "That is a challenge for us at times."

That's the explanation for the notable disparity in sales between EA Sports titles aimed at the casual-friendly Wii, and those released on other systems. While selling over two million copies on PS2, Xbox 360 and PS3 combined last August, Madden NFL 08 managed around 100,000 copies on the Wii. Moore seems pleased with the success among the hardcore and sees indications of a "very strong multi-console ownership," but admits that there is work yet to be done. "We're going to keep pounding away," he said. "We know what we were doing wrong."

Well, that's easy then. Stop doing that. You can hire us at your earliest convenience, Mr. Moore.

Tags: EA-Sports, Madden, Peter-Moore, Tiger-Woods

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Titanium_Orchid @ Nov 24th 2008 4:25PM

"We know what we were doing wrong."

The plastic accessories division of EA hasn't been working hard enough?

Mr Khan @ Nov 24th 2008 4:26PM

Where do we start, though? The tremendous amount of overlap between the 360 demographic and the Madden demographic? The fact that the 360 version was the only version advertised, as if it were an exclusive? Or the fact that you specifically made the Wii version stand out from the herd right from the get-go, possibly confusing consumers as to whether it was the same game?

Titanium_Orchid @ Nov 24th 2008 4:50PM

I'm guessing that there is also a lot of confusion as to the difference between the "all play" and "normal" versions of these games.

I don't know the difference between the two, and I consider myself to be fairly knowledgeable when it comes to video games.

The box graphics are also nearly identical, which probably doesn't help.

kaneda @ Nov 24th 2008 5:30PM

They are advertising it improperly. They need to replace the "All Play" subtitle with "Jr." ie "Madden Jr. '09"

Or maybe, if they really want to avoid confunsion, just call it "Football Video Game". That's sure to sell tons to their target demographic.

BxGT @ Nov 24th 2008 4:36PM

The problem is there missing key words in the title that connects with the audience, throw in a "wii" and "party" somewhere in between madden and football .It will sell millions.

Sora @ Nov 24th 2008 7:12PM

Madden Party Wii Football?

JoeTheBlow @ Nov 25th 2008 4:25AM

"Wii Madden Football Party"
Complete with a cute grey heared Mii of Madden on the cover, and a "no online play" sticker.

Instant hit.

jumpshot @ Nov 25th 2008 12:47PM

Or, Super Madden galaxy

J.Goodwin @ Nov 24th 2008 4:39PM

What they're doing wrong here is making games for a Nintendo console. If you're losing money doing something, STOP.

Mr Khan @ Nov 24th 2008 4:52PM

correct me if i'm wrong, but i thought it was part of the "legal monopoly" agreement they had with the NFL Players that they would have to release Madden on every console. Could they stop if they wanted to?

bobartig @ Nov 24th 2008 4:40PM

How does Wii Sports compete with EA's stable of franchises? You get:

Decent Bowling game - No competition from EA.
Batting cage simulation - No competition from EA.
Boxing Game - No Fight Night on Wii (no competition)
Golf game - TW PGA series - and a flooded market of golf games on Wii
Tennis Game - No competition from EA.

So, what exactly is he talking about?

samfish @ Nov 24th 2008 4:49PM

I would hardly say the market is flooded with golf games.

That said, Tiger Woods does consistently outsell the competition on the Wii.

samfish @ Nov 24th 2008 4:47PM

And here I thought Sony's LBP excuse was a gargantuan load of bullshit.

Shagittarius @ Nov 24th 2008 5:17PM

I have an idea, try to craft your logo so at a quick glance it appears to look likt the nintendo logo.

Biff_McFresh @ Nov 24th 2008 5:33PM

Having Favre in a packers jersey gives off the aura of "outdated sports game"?

Deezul @ Nov 24th 2008 5:38PM

How come only Wii users get the "All Play" version? I wouldn't mind one for my 360 to ease my sons into Madden/NCAA...

WiiFTW @ Nov 24th 2008 6:33PM

Be my guest, we (Wii Riipo) will just take GoW2, Fable II, Halo 3, GTA IV, Burnout Paradise, and any other games your sons might not be interested in.

Deezul @ Nov 25th 2008 8:38AM

My sons enjoy Halo 3 and Gears 2 very much, so I'll be holding on to them. I never said they didn't play them, but I would like more options for them than another FPS/TPS.

Darbo @ Nov 24th 2008 7:41PM

For what its worth, the infamous VGChartz estimates that the titles shown have sold the following numbers since release:

Madden NFL 09 AP 380 000+
Tiger Woods PGA 09 AP 400 000+
FIFA 09 AP 200 000+
NCAA Football AP 90 000
NBA Live 09 AP 20 000

The methods of VGChartz have been called into question lots, but if we are to accept them as reasonable "ballpark" figures, this indicates that the Wii's version of Tiger Woods 09 is perhaps the best selling sku thus far, and if Madden 09 All Play sells as well as Madden 08 Wii did, it should top out at about 1/3 of its X360 counterpart's sales (approx. 850 000 Wii / 2 500 000 X360).

JoeTheBlow @ Nov 25th 2008 4:23AM

Tiger sold because everyone instantly assumes that it has friendly Wii-Sports style golf swing mechanics.

Thats how you sell Wii games, with waggle.
No waggle, no sale.

AC @ Nov 24th 2008 8:06PM

'"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," EA Sports president Peter Moore told MTV Multiplayer. "That is a challenge for us at times."'

funny how they still haven't even come close to making a sports game as good as wii sports for the wii. you know what EA? study wii sports, see how it should be done by the masters, put more effort and time into games for the wii, and then release your game. the nba lives that you guys made on wii are among the worst games ever made of all time. you people should be ashamed. try to get down the wii controls, as hard as it is...please. stop releasing crap on the wii and put more effort in there. that's my advice to you guys. put your A team on this project instead of your D team.