First-Day Sales Of EA Sports' "Madden NFL 13" Up 7% From Last Year

EA Sports today said its first-day sales Tuesday for "Madden NFL 13" reached 900,000 units, up 7% compared to the first-day sales of last year's version of the title. The figure is the best yet for the current generation of video game consoles. The company also said online usage of the game on launch day was up 28% year-over-year, reaching a new company record for day-one peak users. The early returns are generally in line with analyst expectations, and mirror a strong uptick in critical reviews of the game. "Madden NFL" is typically the largest selling sports video game in the U.S. each year.