Never keep a good football star down, I always say.  (And no, I don't mean Terrell Owens!)

EA Sports has announced the first sales numbers for its latest pigskin juggernaut, Madden NFL 13, which hit stores last week.  It's already moving and shaking big numbers over the previous year's edition, as EA has stated that the game has cleared 1.65 million copies in its first week -- a pretty big jump from last year's 1.4 million in sales.  This is probably due to the new features EA Tiburon threw into the game, like Connected Careers and the new Infinity Engine.

What's more, the game also has a pretty massive online audience.  Over 1.4 million players logged in for online action in Madden NFL 13, a 31 percent increase over what last year's game produced.  Since it's a bit more accessible this time around (though just as much fun), that's fully understandable.

Check out Madden NFL 13 now if you haven't already.  Good footballin' awaits.  (Yes, footballin' is a word.)