Peter Moore is “feeling very good” about where they are on the Wii, has high hopes for Madden

Industry Gamers:Regarding the Wii, EA and EA Sports both wrestled for some time with how to reach that Wii audience. On the sports side, you created things like “All-Play” but do you feel that EA Sports finally has the grasp on Wii it needs?

Peter Moore:I certainly think this is the best lineup coupled with the best technology in Wii MotionPlus and the best marketing that we’ve done with the best product portfolio. Tiger, Tennis, EA Sports Active, Madden in August, FIFA which has been great for us on Wii, new art styles as you can see particularly in Madden… so I’m feeling very good about where we are on the platform. It’s a question you’ll probably have to ask me again in December. We’re not afraid of trying new things, seeing what works, tweaking the formula… having All-Play we decided was better being a feature in all the games rather than branding, for example. We’re working hard on this; it’s 45% of the market so we simply cannot ignore it. You’ve got to do everything you can to get the recipe right, and I think we’re getting close.

IG:Right, I think for Madden it’s very important. Last year everyone noticed how the Wii version just wasn’t selling in comparison to the 360 and PS3. Are you anticipating big sales finally for Madden this year on Wii?

PM: You always hope and anticipate; we believe we’ve got that formula right, the marketing right, and we’ve got two great athletes on the cover. The game is a blast… but again, ask me when the first NPD numbers come out and I’ll tell you.

EA has shown a lot of support for the Wii and in many cases they have also came away with some of the best uses of the Wiimote (Godfather Backhand Edition I’m looking at you) on the system.  Unfortunately, they haven’t seen a tremendous amount of sales success until EA Sports Active.  Hopefully, their current lineup will change their fortunes.

Full interview here.

-Justin