Madden NFL 2004 Sells More Than Two Million Units in Three WeeksElectronic Arts,
the world’s leading developer and publisher of videogames, today announced that
based on internal tracking, two football titles launched in July and August have
broken records. Madden NFL 2004 has sold through more than two
million units in just over three weeks. NCAA® Football 2004
has sold through close to one million units.

“The data we’re getting from retailers indicates this could be another
record breaking year for Madden NFL and NCAA Football,” said EA Senior
Vice President of Marketing Frank Gibeau. “The season is just beginning
and serious fans have already been to the store twice for football games made
by EA SPORTS.”

Major retailers have confirmed a record-breaking launch. “Based on
the first three weeks of sales across all platforms, Madden NFL 2004 is the
fastest selling game in the history of EBGames,” said Jeff Griffiths,
President and CEO. . . .

“EA broke the record,” said GameStop President and Chief
Operating Officer Dan DeMatteo. “Madden’s first week numbers made it
the fastest-selling game we’ve ever had in our stores.”

Based on internal tracking, EA estimates:

  • Both games are maintaining strong momentum at retail.
  • To date, total sales of the two EA SPORTS™™ football games are
    just below three million units.
  • Madden is the #1 football title on the PlayStation® 2.
  • Madden is the #1 football title on the Xboxâ„¢.
  • Madden is the #1 football title on the Nintendo GameCubeâ„¢.
  • Madden is the #1 football title on the PC, the Game Boy® Advance and
    the original PlayStation.
  • NCAA Football 2004 is the #2 football title on all platforms.
  • Both games are currently tracking ahead of the record volume established
    in 2002, when independent data showed they were the number one and number
    two selling football titles with a collective category market share of 82.1
    percent. Historically, sports represent roughly 27 percent of the market for
    games in North America. Football titles represent roughly 28 percent of the
    sports category.
  • In the past six weeks, EA SPORTS football titles have registered 200,000
    new user accounts to play online through the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment
    system.

“We couldn’t be happier with the way this game has been received by fans
and critics,” said EA’s Tiburon Studio General Manager Steve Chiang. “Gaming
critics have overwhelmingly chosen Madden NFL 2004 as the top rated game and
we’ve achieved our highest ratings in the history of the franchise.”

“Consumer enthusiasm for our football titles suggests it’s going to be
an unprecedented year for the entire EA SPORTS brand,” said Frank Gibeau.
“September releases include NASCAR Thunder 2004, NHL 2004 and Tiger Woods
PGA TOUR 2004. In October, we’ll launch a major marketing campaign to promote
breakthrough game play innovations in NBA LIVE 2004. We’ll finish up the year
in sports with FIFA 2004 and NCAA March Madness 2004 launching in November.”

About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world’s
leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, Electronic
Arts posted revenues of $2.5 billion for fiscal 2003. The company develops,
publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems,
personal computers and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under
three brand names: EA SPORTSâ„¢, EA GAMESâ„¢, and EA SPORTS BIGâ„¢. EA’s
homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products
and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

Madden NFL Football 2004, developed by EA-Tiburon, is rated “E” (Everyone)
by the ESRB and is available on the PlayStation 2 console, the Xbox video game
system from Microsoft, and the Nintendo GameCube, PS One, PC, and Game Boy Advance.
For more info on PlayStation 2 online (service, play, capabilities, features)
for Madden NFL 2004, go to www.madden2004.com.

NCAA Football 2004, developed by EA-Tiburon, is rated “E” (Everyone)
by the ESRB and is available on the PlayStation 2 console, the Xbox video game
system from Microsoft and the Nintendo GameCube.

Filed under: Games

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