> I disagree there, i don't believe their products are good enough, they have the
> revenue because they've been taking over all the other smaller companies that
> had hits and milking them dry. That and choking the average Joe demographic with
> more ads than any other company can afford to have. They waste more money
> advertising the fuck out of everything than investing in their production staff.
> Another reason they get so much money is because people are dumb enough to shell
> out cash to them every goddamn year in the annual sports titles, that haven't
> changed in a fucking decade, aside from "updating" the rosters, which become
> obsolete within a couple of months.
> Kinda easy to make money when you churn out the same fucking crap year after
> year, at a minimum cost and maximum price.

I'll start at the top. You don't think their products are good enough? You must be in the minority, considering the sales. And it looks like that money isn't wasted, if they're selling that much via advertising.

I listen to a local sports station up here. Before every Vikings game, they have Jordan Edelstein, the product manager for EA sports. You know why? They have such a good football simulator that they run a matchup, then call the local radio stations and report the statistics of the simulation. It's a great bit. From listening to those bits, I've learned that they have 100 people in the Madden department working on the game 24/7/365. I think they do some work on it.

You're also telling me people are dumb enough to buy the new Madden for the roster. It's clearly not the same thing, since the roster has changed. Apparently, that's enough of a change for most people. I can tell you that I probably wouldn't buy the new game if it JUST had a roster change, but if you actually played one version of Madden to the next, there are thousands of subtle changes. And hell, the roster is a pretty big deal.

I guess you could equate it to all the "dumb" people that shell out dough every couple months for another Britney Spears album, or another recycled pop star. You and I might think they're dumb, but those gold records probably don't look very dumb on the latest pop stars' wall.



CSP