And even while Madden's home has normally been on PS2, one can also look at the months in 2004 in which the Xbox beat PS2 in sales: April ($30 price drop to $150), July, August, November (Halo 2 launch) and December (Halo 2 plus slimline PS2 shortage). July seems to be a solid month for console sales, period, with even PS2 doing well thanks to its post-E3 '04 price drop. August could also be attributed to the debut of Madden on Xbox Live with Madden NFL 05 on Xbox, and while not breaking the Top 10 for the year thanks to NFL 2K5, it still sold exceptionally well and certainly played a role in Microsoft's hardware gain against Sony during 2004. Again, the Madden Effect at work.

Then there are software sales. Hate on EA all you want; I've read damn near every possible justification for why people hate EA, and while I'm not fanboying for anyone (if there were moneyhats involved, why am I still taking the bus to work?), it's impossible to deny the impact of the publisher on the industry. They managed to convince the NFL Player's Association to sign an exclusivity contract. I disliked the move as much as anyone who picked up NFL 2K5, but they secured their nest egg regardless. Madden 06 pushed 1.7 million units total in its first week, although I don't have the figures in front of me to separate it by console. It is consistently in the top NPD rankings for months following its release, and hovers in the top ten annually. What does that mean outside of money for EA's coffers?


Because of Madden, all of this hoopla about video games becoming mainstream is a reality. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly some diehard gamers will diss Madden players in one sentence (and question whether sports gamers are "real gamers"), then turn around and cite the average gamer's age as an adult male in his late 20s. I think it's safe to say that most of the guys I know in their late 20s and 30s who aren't in some way involved in gaming (via media or the industry itself) mainly play Madden. Sure, they play some Halo and GTA, but most of them buy one game a year, guaranteed. And it ain't an obscure Japanese RPG. Sorry. It's those guys who are making gaming more socially acceptable. And while most of them won't read this column, it's they who are driving this industry, whether you like it or not.

While message boards blaze with the flames of ardent gamers complaining about EA's audacity to charge $20 for a pay-per-view infomercial, the fact remains that this is the exact point on the radar where gaming has arrived, like it or not. The fact that a publisher, through partnerships with TV networks, can even come up with such a thing and be so upfront about it speaks volumes about how far gaming has come as a mainstream activity. Plus, I can't be the only one who remembers those god-awful dust-magnet VHS tapes that one could rent that gave tips on how to beat old NES games. This is the grown-up version of that.