The first day of EA Sports' "Season Ticket" premium subscription, offering a three-day (or more) full preview of Madden NFL 12, does not reflect wide acceptance among the hardcore community it was meant to appeal to.
As of 11 p.m. EDT, Madden NFL 12 showed 3,559 users connected to the game through Xbox Live. On PlayStation 3, 1,115 were said to be connected to the EA servers through the game.
These are the numbers of people playing Madden NFL 12 with an online connection. Actual multiplayer numbers showed 465 users in a multiplayer game on the 360, 115 on the PS3. Earlier in the day, Xbox Live's numbers hovered in the area of 1,000 connected and 100 to 200 in a multiplayer game.
"Season Ticket" is a premium subscription ($24.99 on PSN, 2,000 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live) allowing at least a three-day, full preview of five titles before their release date, Madden NFL 12 being the first. It hits shelves on Tuesday.
While celebrities and some in the specialty press were provided full retail copies before release for review or promotional purposes, these are estimated to be fewer than 1,000. So a day-one showing of 4,600 subscribers does not look good, even as a fraction of a title selling in the millions.
We'll continue to peek in on the total as the weekend wears on.
[Update, Aug. 28, 4:50 p.m. EDT] Season Ticket saw improved numbers on Saturday and Sunday but nothing to call it a success. There are currently about 6,000 players playing Madden 12 with an online connection now, roughly the same figure seen last evening. The Madden NFL 12 trial ends Monday at 6 a.m. EDT.
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