Spaceman Spiff Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 This is an awesome read. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=100805/madden What followed became one of the biggest secrets in video game history: EA built a "Montana" game for Sega that was designed to compete with "Madden." Sort of."We made sure it was totally inferior," Hawkins said. Working from the "Madden" code base, EA removed the 3-D field, slashed the pro-style playbook from 113 plays to 13 and added cartoony, big-headed player graphics. "Joe Montana Football" was a hit, but "John Madden Football" was an industry game-changer, spawning yearly sequels and creating a lucrative revenue model that still persists. Robust sales helped Sega pull neck and neck with Nintendo, triggering a second gaming boom -- this time around, retailers concluded gaming was here to stay. In 1990, EA had a market cap of about $60 million; three years later, that number swelled to $2 billion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 Hawkins: "You stayed with me. EA is about to have an IPO [initial public offering]. You can have as much stock as you want." Madden: "What do you mean by 'have'?" Hawkins: "Well, you have to buy it -- at the IPO price." "Hell, I'm just a football coach," Madden says now. "I pointed with my finger, all knowing, and said, 'I gave you my time. I'm not giving you my money.' I showed him!" From 1989 to 1999, EA's share price went from $7.50 to $70. Madden laughs. "That was the dumbest thing I ever did in my life." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattFancy Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 I posted this in the Madden thread earlier with that exact same quote SHF lol. I'm sure Madden is kicking himself everyday for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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