Video Game franchise Madden NFL is a massive seller for Electronic Arts ($EA): it sold 130 million copies in its first week of sales alone. But throughout the season, sales — and interest — in the game plateau.

That is, until the Super Bowl creates renewed interest in the game, both in terms of online stream viewership and retail sales at Amazon.

During the final weeks of the regular season and the early rounds of the Playoffs, viewership for Maddenon popular video game streaming site Twitch died down. This coincided with a lull in content for Madden NFL's card-collecting mode Ultimate Team, much to the chagrin of players.

But, according to historical viewership and sales data, EA is about to see a nice boost in numbers on Amazon ($AMZN) as well as Twitch.

Tuning into the (virtual) big game

So far this year, Madden saw increased viewership on regular season Sundays as gamers and football fans tuned into Madden Twitch streams to fill their football-watching needs (or avoid watching their team if they were Buffalo Bills fans).

Last weekend, Madden viewership saw a large spike after three weeks of little activity due to new content, but it also signals growing excitement for the upcoming Super Bowl. Looking at the viewership numbers for last year's big game — Madden NFL 18 — shows this calm before the storm.

Of course, Twitch viewership for Madden peaks when it releases just before football season, with interest in the game plateauing as the regular season gets underway (and as viewers lose interest). But last year, one of the biggest peaks outside of the pre-season was just a few days before Super Bowl LII, as an average of 2,270 concurrent viewers tuned into streams throughout the Friday and Saturday before the big game.

Getting in on the action

Of course, many Madden players just want to play the actual game themselves rather than watch someone else play it on Twitch. To get an idea of renewed retail interest in the franchise, we turn to Amazon Best-Seller Ranking data.

Here's what the ranking trend looks like so far for Madden NFL 19:

As Of Date Name Category Rank
2019-01-08 0:00:00 Madden NFL 19 - Xbox One [Digital Code] 85
2018-12-09 0:00:00 Madden NFL 19 - PlayStation 4 89
2019-01-05 0:00:00 Madden NFL 19 - Xbox One [Digital Code] 89
2018-12-09 0:00:00 Madden NFL 19 - Xbox One 81
2018-12-12 0:00:00 Madden NFL 19 - Xbox One 89
2018-12-11 0:00:00 Madden NFL 19 - Xbox One 70
2018-12-10 0:00:00 Madden NFL 19 - Xbox One 85
2019-01-07 0:00:00 Madden NFL 19 - Xbox One [Digital Code] 79
2019-01-06 0:00:00 Madden NFL 19 - Xbox One [Digital Code] 95
2018-12-03 0:00:00 Madden NFL 19 - Xbox One 93
2018-12-03 0:00:00 Madden NFL 19 - PlayStation 4 100
2018-12-02 0:00:00 Madden NFL 19 - PlayStation 4 91

While gaps in data exist for Amazon this past year, the trend is already a little clear: there is some returning interest in Madden. Last year, Madden NFL 18 showed this second wind in full force. It even sold a bundle weeks after the Super Bowl at a discount.

As Of Date Name Category Rank
2018-02-26 0:00:00 Xbox One S 500GB Console - Madden NFL 18 Bundle 82
2018-02-23 0:00:00 Xbox One S 500GB Console - Madden NFL 18 Bundle 89
2018-02-22 0:00:00 Xbox One S 500GB Console - Madden NFL 18 Bundle 65
2018-02-21 0:00:00 Xbox One S 500GB Console - Madden NFL 18 Bundle 65
2018-02-20 0:00:00 Xbox One S 500GB Console - Madden NFL 18 Bundle 75
2018-02-19 0:00:00 Xbox One S 500GB Console - Madden NFL 18 Bundle 86
2018-02-07 0:00:00 Madden NFL 18 - PlayStation 4 97
2018-01-20 0:00:00 Madden NFL 18 - PlayStation 4 90
2018-01-19 0:00:00 Madden NFL 18 - PlayStation 4 90
2018-01-18 0:00:00 Madden NFL 18 - Xbox One 100
2018-01-18 0:00:00 Madden NFL 18 - PlayStation 4 88
2018-01-17 0:00:00 Madden NFL 18 - PlayStation 4 75
2018-01-16 0:00:00 Madden NFL 18 - PlayStation 4 64
2018-01-16 0:00:00 Madden NFL 18 - Xbox One 98

Combined with end-of-season discounts, the Super Bowl clearly creates renewed sales for EA's popular NFL game.

So if you're running a simulation of the Los Angeles Rams against the New England Patriots this week, or if you're rush ordering Madden on Amazon, you're not alone.

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