A few weeks ago, EA CEO John Riccitiello talked about the weaker sales for Madden NFL 2010, and he noted that EA's hopeful sales would pick up as consumers head to stores to purchase new consoles, following the price drops. Sales for Madden were tracking behind by about 19% in terms of units, and investors reacted causing a 25% dip in the publisher's stock price.
According to the latest channel checks from Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia, it appears Riccitiello's optimism was warranted. Sales are faring better now, thanks in part to the increased store traffic from the console price cuts. "We believe sales of ERTS's Madden NFL 2010 have
rebounded meaningfully in the month of September. Combining August and September, we believe sales of Madden are now down an estimated 5% to 10% after being down 19% in August," said Bhatia.