14 DAY TRIAL // The very existence of Madden NFL 12 is in danger as the owners and the players of the National Football League are still sparring in statements over the issues that lead to a lockout.
And one analyst says that if the season is delayed long enough and the video game is launched after Thanksgiving, it could be far less successful than previous installments in the series.
Michael Pachter, who is watching the video game industry for Wedbush Morgan, has stated, “That’s a lot of time to fix things, although most commentators don’t sound very optimistic. My guess is that a complete cancellation of the NFL season would cost Madden around 50 percent of sales, and a delay of the season would be far less impactful.”
He added, “If the season is only delayed a week or two and fans aren’t alienated, there would be only a very small impact; if delayed through Thanksgiving (when the holiday selling season begins in earnest), the impact would be far greater.”
Electronic Arts, the publisher that has the exclusive rights to the Madden NFL gaming license, has said that the company will be launching Madden NFL 12 regardless of a player strike during the month of August, complete with new features and more realistic gameplay.
The company needs to put out the game as close to its normal date as possible because the Madden series is one of the biggest revenue generators for Electronic Arts and a delay could have consequences on a financial level.
EA Sports has not offered a lot of concrete information on what kind of new features will be included in the new Madden NFL game, which to some fans suggests that the game might be on hold at the moment as the publisher waits for owners and players to resolve their dispute.