EBM Assignment: Final Draft
EA Sports Madden Franchise
Joshua McKenzie
02/08/2020
Carol Wonsavage, Entertainment Business Models
Why I chose this Company/Franchise
It was a simple choice for me to select the Madden franchise. I have played every
Madden game since its first release on Playstation in 1997. I am also an avid football fan, more specifically the NFL. Another reason for my choice is the interest I have to join the gaming industry. I want to gain much-needed knowledge on how the studios and the industry operate.
One day I want to become the head of a studio or start a development studio of my own.
Background Information
The parent company and publisher of the Madden franchise are EA (Electronic Arts) based out of Redwood City, California. The Madden franchise is one of the flagship sports games in the console/mobile market for EA. EA is a developer and publisher of a multitude of gaming genres which include Madden, Battlefield, and Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order. Madden, along with other sports titles, is developed by Florida based studio EA Tiburon.
Since 1988, the Madden franchise has sold upwards of 130 million units. In 2019 alone,
Madden 20 managed to earn over 762 dollars in just one month. The estimated valuation of the franchise is believed to be around $4 billion. Other product lines developed by EA Tiburon include FIFA, NHL Hockey, and NBA Live. The first Madden video game released in 1988 for
MS-Dos and apple computers. The first copy of Madden to feature licensed NFL teams was released in 1993. In 2005, EA purchased the exclusive rights to NFL games. Since then, EA and
Madden have been on top of the NFL gaming hill.
Customer Segments:
§ Males 18-35: The main target group for the Madden franchise are American males
between the ages of 18 to 35 that watch the football. From data gathered by Global Web
Index, 65% of adult males would consider themselves NFL fans. (Global Web Index,
2015). The age group with the highest average of gaming related purchases is the 18-24
range. (Pairitz Morris, 2018). The rate of gaming related purchases by consumers is
consistent across all age groups and income levels. The average gamer spends an
estimated $216 per year on video games. (Game Shift, n.d.)
§ NFL and Nike: As the exclusive producer of NFL licensed video games, EA provides
brand awareness for the NFL. Nearly all players, coaches, stadiums, and NFL related
product are included into the games. Advertising for new Madden releases also provide
additional marketing and reach for the NFL and exclusive partners. Nike is the primary
provider of NFL gear and equipment shown throughout the game.
Value Proposition:
§ Exclusive Rights: In 2005 the NFL sold the exclusive rights to the league along with the
NFL Players Association to EA. (Good, 2013). This agreement gave EA sole access to
all NFL team names, uniforms, and logos. It also allowed EA to use all players
associated with the teams and NFLPA. (Good, 2013). No other developer or publisher
can use any likeness of players, coaches, uniforms, or logos.
§ Ratings Adjusters: What makes Madden different is the use of ratings adjusters. These
adjusters observe and scout all players to determine attribute ratings for the game. At the beginning of training camp through to the final games, ratings adjusters tweak player
stats accordingly.
§ Ultimate Team: The Madden Ultimate Team is a unique in-game system that is an
interactive card trading side game. Gamers can play and earn new cards with special
attributes and then use those players to create their own teams.
§ Roleplaying: Fans of the NFL can play several roles within the league from superstar to
team owner. These different game modes allow fans to live out their own professional
football dreams.
Channels of Distribution:
§ Retail Stores: Disc copies of the yearly released Madden games can be purchased in most
major retailers and specialty stores. There are now online retailers that offer purchase of
disc versions of the games as well. Madden NFL has averaged 2 million copies sold each
week from retail stores and online. (Smith, 2020)
§ Console Marketplaces: Both Playstation and Xbox offer digital download versions of the
Madden games for the same price as the disc version.
§ EA Store: All games produced and published by EA are offered on their own digital
Store. Madden NFL is no exception to this, even the previous year’s game is offered for
purchase.
§ Mobile Stores: With the increasing popularity of smart devices, Madden NFL can now be
downloaded from mobile stores. While these are not the same as the console and PC
versions, they are still part of the Madden Franchise. Madden NFL has received nearly
73 million downloads. (Smith, 2020). Customer Relations:
§ Online Communities: EA offers several online communities for gamers and developers
to interact. Each has specific experiences for everyone to be included in discussions and
ask questions.
§ Social Media: The Madden franchise has a strong social media presence. EA and
Madden have established a Facebook page along with an Instagram and Twitter account.
This is another avenue for fans and developers to connect and discuss Madden topics.
§ Championship Series: EA has created a tournament series for the more series players.
These tournaments bring together some of the best players regionally, nationally, and
worldwide to compete.
§ Community Outreach Programs: In an effort to give back, EA has organized several
community outreach programs. These programs range from child education programs to
charity work and also include donations to other charitable organizations.
Key Activities:
§ Programming: This is one of single most important activities that the studio has.
Programmers are one of the highest paid members of the studio at an average of
$108,065. (PayScal, n.d.). They are responsible creating the code that runs and controls
the physics of the game. Reprogramming and editing the games code enhances how the
game will operate and improve the consumer experience.
§ Game Design: While each variation of Madden NFL builds on the previous year’s game,
game design is still important. The game design team each year will reassess the game and determine what features remain or removed. They also find and use new technology
to add more realism or improved player models. (Kogod, 2014).
§ Sponsor Partnerships: This is also a very important part of what makes Madden NFL a
successful video game. Building these sponsorship relations has allowed EA to operate
the Madden NFL 20 Club Championship. (Noah, 2019). This is a tournament with
multiple locations where players compete against each other.
Key Resources
§ NFL License: To ensure that EA can continue producing games with the NFL logos and
player likenesses, EA must maintain a licensing agreement. Without this deal EA would
have to use generic team names, logos, player models, and player names for all future
titles. (Good, 2013).
§ Development Equipment: In order to develop Madden NFL games, equipment is a must
have. Computers are the first things that come to mind, but game engines, coding
software, and art design software. (Campana, 2019).
§ Tournaments: One important element of EAs resources are the use of Madden NFL
tournaments. These tournaments allow for millions of people to tune in and watch
players compete one another. (Press, 2018). This promotes the game and it also generates
revenue from viewers. The current tournament began August 30th in Arlington Texas and
was last in Redwood City California for qualifying. (EA, n.d.).
§ Staff: Without the staff at a studio nothing gets made and there will be no new game.
Everyone from the head of the studio to the game testers are important to the entire game development process. Top tier talent is a must have to produce the best possible game,
this is especially true when it’s a yearly release.
Key Partners
§ NFL & NFLPA: In order for EA to use the NFL teams and logos along with stadiums
and player likenesses, EA must partner with the NFL and NFLPA. Currently EA has an
exclusive deal with both the NFL and NFLPA that makes them the sole gaming studio
allowed to produce NFL games. (Good, 2013).
§ Snickers and Pizza Hut: The Madden NFL tournaments have become a big part of the
studio and gaming franchise. Snickers and Pizza Hut have stepped up to become major
sponsors for tournaments events after the release of Madden 20. (BusinessWire.com,
2019). The qualifier tournament in Arlington Texas was sponsored by Starbucks.
(EA.com, n.d.).
§ John Madden: Since the 1980’s, John Madden has been associated with Madden NFL.
His name has been on the cover of every copy of Madden NFL since the early 1990’s.
He has even appeared on the cover of the game as well. (Gallagher, 2019).
Cost Structure
§ Staff Cost: A highly talented game development staff is not cheap. There are many
departments that contribute to each and every game. Most positions in a game studio
have salaries that range from $46,000 to 108,000. (PayScale, n.d.). When you consider
that there are multiple positions that work within EA Tiburon the salary costs alone
become high. § Madden License Fee: EA must pay a fee to John Madden for the use of his name for the
game. John Madden earns roughly $2 million dollars a year from EA to use his name.
(Gaudiosi, 2013).
§ NFL & NFLPA License Fee: For the exclusive rights to produce NFL and NFLPA
licensed games, EA has paid $50 million dollars. (Gaudiosi, 2013). While this is a
limited time exclusivity agreement, it is highly likely it will be renewed going forward.
§ Software & Equipment Costs: The software used to create video games can vary it cost
and complexity. Each software includes an initial cost and may include a monthly
license fee for their use. It is even possible that certain software may require additional
hardware to be purchased. (Yury & Tryfanava, 2018).
Revenue Streams
§ Software Sales: The Madden franchise surpassed 130 million copies sold worldwide.
During the first week of release for Madden 19, a total of 788,006 copies of the game
were sold. (D’Angelo, 2018). To break it down further, 62 percent of copies sold were
on PS4 and 38 percent on Xbox One. (D’Angelo, 2018). The first ten weeks saw
Madden 19 sell a total of 2.21 million copies on PS4. (VGChartz.com, n.d.) As for the
Xbox One, Madden 19 sold a total of 1.51 million copies during the same time. While
these are impressive numbers, the past five years have seen a decline in retail sales.
Madden NFL 15 sold roughly 1.6 million units in retail stores, while Madden 19 sold
788, 006 in 2018. (D’Angelo, 2018). This is due to more consumers taking advantage of
digital offerings on the console marketplaces. § Services: EA uses the term “Services” to categorize anything that consists of digital
content, mobile, and subscriptions. It is estimated that EA makes $1.3 billion a year from
the services it provides. (Handrahan, 2016). Nearly half of this revenue comes from the
‘Ultimate Team’ content in the FIFA, Madden, and NHL franchises. (Passalacqua, 2017).
The services don’t stop there; EA has generated more than $650 million a year from
mobile sales and an estimated $300 million on subscriptions. (Gravelle, 2016).
Conclusion
The Madden Franchise has garnered a massive following over 31 years. While part of this is due to America's love for professional and Collegiate football, the other part is the business model used by EA. As a yearly release, Madden NFL is mostly a refresh of the previous year's game. All players, stadiums, coaches, uniforms, and many other elements rarely have drastic changes from year to year. Each iteration does not require a complete rebuild.
This is a luxury that allows EA to save money by only updating and completing slight upgrades during development.
EA's use of digital content generates an incredible amount of revenue for the company.
Digital content, mobile, and subscriptions earn nearly double the revenue than game sales. The
'Ultimate Team' alone brings in more revenue than some games produced. (Passalacqua, 2017).
Based solely on the sales data, digital content will continue to be a major part of EA's business model. There is no question extra content is here to stay.
From the research I have conducted, EA's business model is solid. It is part of a resilient industry that has seen success even during recessions. The Madden Franchise has also found success each year regardless of the economy and changes in society. There is no doubt that as times and consumers change, EA will evolve to meet consumer wants. This includes growing its digital and mobile markets that already see billion-dollar revenues. As long as the studio listens to consumer criticism and there is a passion for football, the Madden franchise is here to stay.
EA and Madden NFL is a financial powerhouse that looks poised to continue dominating the industry.
References
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