I see this as an omen for the downfall of the videogame industry. People should not be buying this many copies of the same damn game year after year after year while many original and argueably better games reach only niche status. This is the same sort of mainstream idiocy that's ruined TV, movies, and music. Seriously what sort of dumbsh!t pays a company $50 each year for a game that is virtually the same thing as last year and doesn't clue in that they're being royally ripped off? If I liked football I'd buy this game like once a generation or at the most once every two years.

It really ticks me of when games off this calibur sell well... It's like people have no respect for good games anymore. Basically, I completely agree with Ian Sane.

I also don't understand who buys the same game year after year. I might buy one sport game a year but not the same game year after year.

Saying Madden NFL 2004 is the best selling football game on the Gamecube isn't saying much at all.

Hmmm... 2 million in 3 weeks? That's a lot of virtual PigSkin!

Why did it sell so well? Here is my simple formula:

Americans LOVE football.
Americans Love Videogames.
Americans LOVE Football Video Games!

The main reason people buy what is essentially the same game year after year is because of the updated rosters. Consumers are more than happy to shell out 50 dollars year after year to simulate the Current NFL season (Or play those fantasy matchups.)

Until there's a way to update rosters (online perhaps) on one particular title, expect the same trend, year after year.

I'm in the minorty here because I'm not A) A sports afficianado (The Olympics are the exception, my eyes are glued every time they're on) B)Buy sports games (Though NBA Street is the exception too.) I don't hate the genre, I just don't buy it.

This was the most promoted game I have ever seen with MTV ( which I only watch Jackass and Doggy Fizzle ) doing a 30 min. promo for the game. People see this crap on TV and see that the uber athletes and todays music superstars play this, and now they can be "cool" like them.

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Seriously what sort of dumbsh!t pays a company $50 each year for a game that is virtually the same thing as last year and doesn't clue in that they're being royally ripped off?

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Speak on it cubedcanuck! I own a GameCube and only a Gamecube so I am die hard Nintendo and try to cop each and every great game on Nintendo systems, but I love football, and truly enjoy video game football, I was to broke last year to buy a game so I made up for it this year and went out and got a Memory Card 251 and a fresh copy of Madden, you know who convinced me this game is the truth? Not tv (I dont even have cable), not the cool kids (I am a grown man), my dude Tim, who is a football genius (draws his own plays up in his spare time and everything) once he put his stamp on it as a true football simulation that is considerably better than years past that was enough for me to know this would be my first Football purchase since the Dreamcast version of NCAA two years back.

i personally love football and i love madden- its like a curse- i must buy the new version of the game when it comes out- and cubed is correct- there are so many new features in madden 04 that warrent a purchase- basically the new playmaker control is the greatest thing in a madden game since turbo button- you can actually control your recievers to come into the flats or run into wide open territory- and swiching the direction of the play with a flick of the control stick is genius- and that is only some of the offensive playmaker control schemes you can do- defense has a lot too- and the new owner mode is great and really deepens the already super deep franchise mode- and the addition of minicamp drills in offseason mode allows you to up the stats of key players for next season- it truely is a ton of fun

"Seriously what sort of dumbsh!t pays a company $50 each year for a game that is virtually the same thing as last year and doesn't clue in that they're being royally ripped off?"

i do!

I remember hearing something about Nintendo working with EA to add exclusive GCN/GBA connectivity features to some of EA's sports games. Do these games have any of them? If so, does anyone know what they are?

AMERICANS LOVE FOOTBALL!! dont underestimate that. people will buy the game because their team is upgraded. it is the most popular game in college dorms. everyone plays madden. its a culture phenomenon. dont forget that. football is probably at its peak now. and it has basketball and baseball strikes/lockouts to thank. football is the sport where its not so much about idividuals. its not a selfish sport. u cant be selfish in football and have a good team. people are probably drawn to that because if people like arod getting a quarter of a billion dollars and shaq wanting 40 million a year. absolute rediculous. another thing is that football doesnt have one or 2 teams dominating. every team has an equal chance. teams go from 3-13 to 13-3. so there is always something to look forward to. this shouldnt be a suprise. i think i may buy madden 2004 just cuz of my love for football. just because people buy it, doesnt mean they think its the best game. its a good football simulation, and better tehn segas football game. anyone who plays football at all will have to admit that. its the best simualtion sports game out there, and it has earned its place in the video game industry in my opinion.

I agree with Cubedcanuck, you people who complain sound like infants for god sake! And saying the downfall of the industry will come from a game selling great is ridiculous. It sells more because football itself is huge. Why is that so hard to understand? And with every nuance added, it makes the game that much more appealing. IAN SANE-If you liked football, you'd say differently. Its easy to say you'd buy it once every ten years when you don't like the sport. People such as myself who love football, watch and play it whenever humanly possible, love playing it in video form because its great fun. Do you really think the ads sell the game to people who dont like football? Give me a break. Not to mention that almost all the young pro athletes play it as well. So dont bring the 'its because you can't play it for real' excuse into the argument. 2004 has enough added to make it worth the purchase. Thats from a football fan, not an 'outside' observer.

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Seriously what sort of dumbsh!t pays a company $50 each year for a game that is virtually the same thing as last year and doesn't clue in that they're being royally ripped off?

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well, i have a problem when games like this sell extrodinarily well yet games like Eternal Darkness don't, i would much prefer that they both sell well.
im not decrying sports games, i dont personally like them that much, but when a franchise like madden sells, and continue to sells regardless of how little or how much they have changed it from the previous version, and inovative, unique and different games fail to sell much at all is a little troubleing to say the least.

My problem is people make sports game fanatics out to be the reason for, as you said, Madden doing better than Eternal Darkness. But i'd say thats untrue. I have 3 sports games and 12 other games, including ED. ED didnt do as well as it should have, no doubt, but thats because people in general didnt buy it, not because Madden sells well. Its not an either or. I'd love for every good game to sell well, but people have different tastes, and what we think is great, invariably someone else thinks its sh!T. Way of the world.