Madden NFL 13 tops 1.65 million units sold in its first week

After being available for a solid 7 days at retail, Madden NFL 13 (our review here) has reached another milestone according to EA.

According to their own internal sales figures, more than 1.65 million units of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions have been sold through during the first week of availability, putting it up 8% over Madden 12.

Online stats are also up with nearly 31% more online games being played, totaling more than 24 million online games so far.

Read on for the official announcement from EA for more info.

Electronic Arts Inc.,  announced today that Madden NFL 13 continues its record-setting launch performance with new records for both sales and fan engagement through its first seven days at retail (Aug. 28-Sept. 3). Based on internal estimates, sell-through for Madden NFL 13 was up 8 percent year-over-year on HD platforms with more than 1.65M units sold in Week One to mark its best start ever on this console generation.  Last week, EA announced that Madden NFL 13 had set a new Day One record on HD consoles as well.

Fans also continued to play Madden NFL 13 in record numbers.  In the first week following retail launch, there was a 31 percent increase in the number of online games played year over year with more than 24M contests recorded.  That?s the equivalent of a staggering 47,000 NFL regular seasons in just seven days, and, on Labor Day alone, an average of 3,000 Madden NFL 13 games were started every minute.

In addition, Daily Average User (DAU) rates on HD consoles have increased 14 percent over last year, shattering previous franchise records.

?We?re thrilled to see the great momentum continuing on Madden NFL 13,? said Andrew Wilson, Executive Vice President of EA SPORTS. ?The overwhelming feedback is that this is the best Madden NFL game in a generation.  Fans are competing in record numbers, and we expect that type of engagement to only grow with the start of the NFL regular season last night, as fans connect with their favorite teams and players through our game.?

?We have seen strong demand for Madden NFL 13 leading up to launch and through its first week on store shelves,? said Bob McKenzie, SVP of Merchandising, GameStop. ?Critic reviews are strong and the buzz from the Madden fan base is more robust than I?ve ever seen. We?ve seen this consumer momentum sustain throughout week one and we expect it to continue into the fall and holiday season.?

Among the additional notable accomplishments for Madden NFL 13 in its first week at retail:

• There were more than 1.4M fans who connected online last week.
• There were more than 702K unique visitors to the enhanced Madden Ultimate Team mode.  Fans opened more than 2.6M packs and competed in more than 2.2M challenges.
• There were more than 1.3M unique visitors to Madden NFL Facebook page and 450K Madden mentions on Twitter.

Madden NFL 13 on the Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system delivers physics you can feel on every play, and will connect you to the NFL and other fans like never before.  Powered by the all-new Infinity Engine, every impact on the field is more intense; every battle is more authentic; and no two plays will every look or feel the same.  With Connected Careers you’ll build your legacy as a player or coach within a completely new and fully connected universe, accessible on and off the console.  With deep new gameplay innovation, social integration, and an overhaul of the audio and visual presentation, Madden NFL 13 is the biggest game-changer in the history of the franchise.

Madden NFL 13 is developed in Orlando, Florida by EA Tiburon. Madden NFL 13 is now available and retails for $59.99 on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.  Madden NFL 13 is also available for $49.99 on the Nintendo Wii console, and $39.99 on PlayStation Vita System.  To learn more about Madden NFL 13, visithttp://www.easports.com/madden-nfl.