X

Madden NFL 25 sells 1M units in first week, down versus 2012

EA's flagship sports game sees a solid first week, but sales are down from the 1.65 million units sold last year.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
Don Reisinger

Madden NFL 25 had a strong first week on store shelves, but things could have been better.

Electronic Arts on Thursday announced that it sold more than 1 million units of its flagship sports franchise during its first week on store shelves. The company's internal estimates contend it was the bestselling video game in North America in August, beating out titles from a wide array of other developers.

Despite that good news, the 1 million unit sales were down from the 1.65 million Madden NFL units that were sold during the game's first week of availability last year.

Although the decline hasn't been welcomed by analysts or investors, it might be understandable. As Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia pointed out in a note to investors on Friday, the upcoming availability of next-generation consoles could be hurting Madden NFL 25 sales, and it wouldn't be a good idea to fully evaluate the title's success until after the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 launch in November.

Still, it's hard to not acknowledge Madden NFL 25 was a success. In fact, the title's gamers played 6 million hours online in its first week on store shelves.