Madden scores $100 million hit

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SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Electronic Arts Inc. said Thursday sales of its latest Madden football video game grossed more than $100 million in its first week, the biggest launch in the franchise's 17-year history and the latest sign of an improving outlook for the industry.
EA, the world's largest video game publisher, said consumers snapped up more than 2 million copies of "Madden NFL 07" in its opening week, up 12 percent from last year's game launch.
The Madden game is the flagship franchise for the Redwood City-based game maker, with new versions each year ranking consistently as a best seller. To date, more than 53 million copies of the game have been sold. (Watch what the Madden mania is all about -- 1:55)
While a handful of other game titles have had more successful openings -- Microsoft Corp. said its Halo 2 game reached $125 million in sales within the first 24 hours in 2004 -- robust interest in the Madden game is a welcome development in a year where game makers are struggling amid a video game console transition period.
Along with other game makers, EA's sales have suffered as consumers have delayed purchases until the expected release later this year of next-generation consoles, namely Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Co.'s Wii.
An industry turnaround isn't expected until next year, and EA officials predicted during its quarterly earnings report on August 1 that video game sales for 2006 across the industry would be flat to down 5 percent.
Still, the success of the latest Madden game illustrates how lucrative the video game industry has become. Its opening-week gross sales rivals some of this year's biggest movie box office draws: "The Da Vinci Code" movie, for instance, drew $102 million in its first week, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.