Buftex Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 I remember during the summer when there was considerable argument over which NFL vid game was better, Madden or ESPN NFL2K. Personally, I preferred Madden, because the game play is way better, in my humble opinion. I will confess though, that the 2005 version of Madden, after you got past all the bells and whistles of the anniversary edition, was essentially the same game that they have put out for the last 3 years. So, while I preferr Madden to NFL2K, I was still a little disappointed. I really tried to like NFL2K, but it never really grew on me. Well, it looks like we won't be faced with the same dilemma again, for at least another 5 years. Forgive me if this has been posted already......... Monday, December 13, 2004 By Darren Rovell ESPN.com Electronic Arts, the leading maker of sports video games, signed an exclusive five-year contract with the National Football League and the NFL Players Association, deals that will give the company sole possession of the licensed football video game business. The partnership, which will commence with the publishing of Electronic Arts' Madden game next August, eliminates the competitive battle EA endured this year with ESPN's NFL 2K5 game, a joint venture between Sega and Take-Two Interactive. Without the use of team and player names, generic games have struggled for survival in the current environment. Before this year, EA's Madden franchise -- which the company has sold more than 40 million copies of since its debut in 1989 -- previously dominated the football game marketplace. Bit players, including Midway, 989 Sports and Microsoft, dropped out of the licensed football game business this year. But the Madden 2005 game was seriously challenged by NFL 2K5, thanks to good reviews and a pricing war. NFL 2K5 was available in stores in August for $19.95. For three months, the Madden game was priced at $49.95, until the company finally relented on Nov. 8 and lowered it by $20. "We considered a whole variety of factors in making this decision," said Gene Goldberg, the NFL's vice president of consumer products. "We chose EA based on game quality, marketing ability and track record." As part of the deal, EA will have access to NFL resources, including video, audio and music scores from NFL Films. The partnership pertains to every aspect of gaming, including content for hand-held games, personal computers and cell phones. Goldberg said he's not concerned that the monopoly on the business will cause EA to relax the year-to-year innovations that have been pushed by recent competition. Though financial terms of the deal are not known, Goldberg said there is "a lot of self-imposed pressure to improve the product to make it stand out in a robust and diverse marketplace." Sports video games accounted for more than 20 percent ($1.2 billion) of the $5.8 billion video game market last year, according to the NPD Group, a market tracking firm. EA spokesman Trudy Muller said that the deal is not a financial risk for the company. "We believe this is a good investment for us, as well as the league and the players," Muller said. "We know we have a responsibility to our fans to continue to make the best game. We have plenty of competition with other games in the marketplace." Electronic Arts also has exclusive deals with NASCAR, FIFA and the PGA Tour. "This exclusive relationship will maximize the value of NFL players through EA's continued commitment to bring fans closer to the game," said Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFLPA and chairman of Players Inc., the organization's licensing body. In a statement, Take-Two spokesman Ed Nebb disagreed. "We believe that the decisions of the National Football League and Players Inc. to grant an exclusive license for videogames do a tremendous disservice to the consumers and sports fans whose funds ultimately support the NFL, by limiting their choices, curbing creativity and almost certainly leading to higher game prices," Nebb said. The game was "not a material contributor" to the company's profitability, "nor was it expected to be," Nebb said. An ESPN spokesman said the company will evaluate the impact that the deal has on the company's licensing business. The EA deal continues an unprecedented business year for the league. In January, the NFL signed Visa to a six-year deal worth $400 million. In February, Gatorade ponied up $500 million for the right to be called the official sports drink of the league for the next eight years. And PepsiCo signed a contract worth $560 million to use the NFL shield on its Pepsi, Frito Lay and Tropicana products in March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 i guess i have to make a Wrestling reference here... Back in the day, when ECW and WCW were in their hayday, WW(E)F actually had to compete for ratings, and put on a good show, although i prefered WCW by far... Once WCW and ECW went under, WWE started to suck. I hope that madden doesn't go like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestojan Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 "#11 Throws to #80... Touchdown!" Nope, can't deal.. back to Madden next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverNRed Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 i guess i have to make a Wrestling reference here... Back in the day, when ECW and WCW were in their hayday, WW(E)F actually had to compete for ratings, and put on a good show, although i prefered WCW by far... Once WCW and ECW went under, WWE started to suck. I hope that madden doesn't go like this. 159054[/snapback] That's a decent comparison. This sure sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?act=S...t=0#entry159091 Guess we won't get any new innovation in football games for a nice, long time. Regardless of whether you liked the NFL2k series or not, it was very innvoative; first online console football game, first online voice console football game, first online leagues, etc, etc. EA just spent *millions* for exlusive rights; you really think that they're going tp spend millions more on development? Doubt it. CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 EA just spent *millions* for exlusive rights; you really think that they're going tp spend millions more on development? No, YOU are. Welcome to the $65 Madden 2006. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 No, YOU are. Welcome to the $65 Madden 2006. 159162[/snapback] They'll probably leave the price the same because unit sales will pick up by such a large margin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 ISnt that like monopolizing football gaming, which would be illegal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted December 14, 2004 Author Share Posted December 14, 2004 ISnt that like monopolizing football gaming, which would be illegal? 159168[/snapback] Actually, I don't think it would be. If I understand correcctly, EA sports is paying the NFL for exclusive rights to use its' team names, logos, player names, and all other aspects of football, specific to the NFL. ESPN will still be able to put out an football game, they just can't use any NFL logos, player names, etc etc. Now, if you want to get in to the bigger question of "is the NFL a monopoly" then I think you are on to something...oddly though, it seems like the NFL keeps biting the hand that feeds it (in this case ESPN which does a pretty decent job of advertising their product).... I am not sure that some of the worries about EA not doing anything innovative in coming additions is valid. As much as I was disappointed with the 2005 edition, it was still better than any other football game out there. Again, only my opinion, but EA has by far the best sports games out there. NFL2K was a little different, sure, but some of the innovations were just silly. I am not an on-line gamer, so I can understand the appeal of multy player console games, I guess. I am srue EA will come up to snuff on that as well.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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