Is Madden about to cement its place in the world of Esports?

[woodsmall12]

With the recent revelation confirming Madden gamers will actually tune in to watch live championship events, the question is can Madden become a competitive Esport and generate the sustained interest to become the first actual sport in the Esports world to thrive in this arena?

Here is what we know: almost 200,000 gamers flipped their channel to espn2 to watch Frank 'Stiff' Sardoni Jr take down Eric 'Problem' Wright on a Tuesday night of all nights



Stiff came away victorious but Madden and Madden gamers could be the big winners here - Consider the fact that at this point in the calendar year, the folks at EA start releasing new info for the upcoming Madden release - most Madden fans have probably moved on to play other games until the new game is released so the new blogs, videos, and demos merely get the community's interest turning back towards Madden 17 - my point being, at Madden's high point during the first few months of release could have possibly produced a much larger ratings bump because Madden fans are in full Madden mode immersion which can tend to die off for some fans in Janaury / February

Another interesting fact is that Madden 16 was able to sell 7.2 million copies this year with 5.5 million coming from PS4 (3.13 mil) and XOne (2.34 mil)



All in all, this equates to 2.7% of the gamers that would have possibly tuned in on Tuesday evening - Earlier today Manny Anekal tweeted out the comparison for Madden viewers vs Sportscenter which was competing in the same time slot on ESPN - Not too shabby considering the Sportscenter audience came in at 490k viewers vs Madden's 197k ... How ya like them apples??



Just imagine what can and will be done now that EA has promised over $1 million dollars in prize money this year - That is a mighty large carrot being dangled out in front of the rabid Madden fans! Getting that national exposure and proving that a sports produced video game and it's hardcore followers can indeed command and possibly grow a spot in the Esports world!

 

[Tigers20]

Great read woods and I fully agree. I have been talking to Mike behind the scenes and with the exposure Madden 17 will bring to our sim community will be huge. If we can seperate ourselves from MBL and other sim leagues, we can put ourselves in a position to be recognized as the best sim league in the community. It will take the full buy in from everyone in our league i.e. Content, Twitter, Season Previews, mid season reviews, and season ending recaps. The more we all contribute the more positive attention and fans we will attract. Very excited for what we may be able to accomplish here!

 

[pack1797]

I feel like esports, as big as it already is, stI'll has a ton of growth potential. If any sports game can profit from this, Madden would be the most likely to do so in the USA. The added promise of a one million dollar prize will obviously drum up more interest. I believe that the sky is the limit for madden esports competitions, especially during the games peak season.

 

[woodsmall12]

Great read woods and I fully agree. I have been talking to Mike behind the scenes and with the exposure Madden 17 will bring to our sim community will be huge. If we can seperate ourselves from MBL and other sim leagues, we can put ourselves in a position to be recognized as the best sim league in the community. It will take the full buy in from everyone in our league i.e. Content, Twitter, Season Previews, mid season reviews, and season ending recaps. The more we all contribute the more positive attention and fans we will attract. Very excited for what we may be able to accomplish here!

Glad to hear your excitement along with packs as well ... No doubt we are all salivating and the creative juices are starting to flow yet again as a new Madden approaches ... I spoke w mike for probably two hours the other day along w a lot of back n forth texts lol ... Some excellent dialogue ... He seems to be laser focused on some of his ideas and that can only mean good things for the rest of px1 ... Obviously we all need to pull some weight, find what we do best, and expand upon it ... Mike has a strong vision and now it's time to put the moving pieces together within our foundation ... Definitely excited for the upcoming year

 

[abundantlife777]

I did watch the Madden Championship game and although not a fan of the type of gameplay that was used, see the potential for this becoming a regular programming feature with the broadcasting rights to be determined. There is definitely a niche and demand for this .

The foundation has already been laid with a few established madden leagues operating now for multiple madden cycles .
The network who gets the rights to broadcast madden will have these few leagues to chose from at first.The leagues that are established at this time with a proven track record will have the inside track due to their organization.and establishement.Once this takes off there will be numerous leagues trying to get in and be featured nationwide and the competition will be fierce.

Now is the time for the leagues that are legit and have been around to put forth the effort to take it to the next level. ( league content , structure , and leadership from the top down ) to put in the effort to get to the top of the Madden Franchise League ladder.
PX1 Sports is in prime position to achieve this and to maintain because of fresh ideas , strong leadership, media and social network utilization and the commitment of all who call this their league. It is time for everyone who calls PX1 Sports their home to commit to putting in the effort doing their their part in making this happen.( team articles, recaps, team content from the owners on a regular basis) If you have a suggestion for the league send it to the administrators . It just could be something that hasn't ever been considered and would advance the league.

Who knows, There may be a channel featuring PX1 Sports coming soon to a TV in your home as a regular program.

 

[Tigers20]

Couldn't agree more abundantlife777 glad to have you on board with us, Sir! I'm not a fan of the gameplay in the Maddden Championships either. But hey! If we have that many people tuning in to watch FB Dive over and over, just imagine how many people would tune in to watch the truest sim football they've ever seen! All that watch football on Sunday's I feel would be into our style and willing to root for their favorite team and watch them shoot for the crown at least 6-7 times a year!