EA Sports and Planned Obsolescence - Wordplay and the Discourse of Video Games - page 100

broaden the potential audience for the games, which makes sense if one is
trying to sell as many copies of the game as possible. Further, by establish-
ing a dedicated hardcore user base, outreach to casuals did not pit one
group against the other and EA has shifted their ef orts to target casual
players. In the case of Madden NFL 11 , the primary new game mechanic,
GameFlow, “was tailored specifi cally with the casual audience in mind, as
many have been intimidated by Madden in the past, and for good reason.” 10
The problem is the system “isn't nearly as comprehensive as you might
expect for such a highly touted addition,” which means that “Madden vet-
erans will quickly see the systems limitations and revert back to traditional
play calling.” 11 Casual players were able to take advantage of GameFlow to
speed up play, while the hardcore could turn it of and retain an additional
level of control over their play calling. Additions like GameFlow allow EA
Sports games to capitalize on their established link to the hardcore, while
reaching out to a broader audience. The transition toward casual players is
notable, particularly because the hardcore players are likely hooked on the
game anyway and striking an appropriate balance between various interest
groups is crucial to further growing sales totals. With sales numbers gener-
ally trending upward since the games began targeting a broader audience,
it would be reasonable to expect EA to continue reaching out to a more
heterogeneous group of players.
The fi nal key piece of EA Sports is the massive cultural impact of their
games, particularly the power of their lead franchises. EA has a long his-
tory in game development, backed by hits likes Dr. J and Larry Bird Go
One on One and the original Madden games, the company has had a sub-
stantial role in the evolution of sports video games. In the United States,
Madden NFL games are talked about in reverential terms, with a display
about the game included in the professional football Hall of Fame, and the
game hailed as “the new Nike, sports' oi cial arbiter of cool.” 12 The cul-
tural power of Madden is marked by
grown men lining up outside Walmarts for the game's annual midnight
release; rock bands, such as Good Charlotte, going mainstream via
inclusion on the Madden soundtrack; a pokerlike underground circuit
of cash tournaments; 13 the black-cat mojo of the Madden cover curse
superseding the Sports Illustrated cover jinx; Madden himself being
recognized less for his Hall of Fame coaching and broadcasting career
than for a game that beat him into Canton. 14
From the public recognition to the launch day holiday, “when it comes to
sports games, Madden is the undisputed king of them all.” 15 FIFA Soccer 's
impact is felt primarily outside of the United States, where many of its more
than 100 million copies in lifetime sales have been racked up. Benefi ting
from the multiple soccer competitions that can be leveraged for supplemen-
tary releases, FIFA Soccer is often marked by multiple versions a year, from