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ONE FOOTBALL FUTURE - BYE-BYE VISUAL CONCEPTS & ESPN FOOTBALL

cja

Member
NYT is putting a more realistic price on the deal.

The N.F.L. and the players' licensing group declined to say how much Electronic Arts was paying for the exclusive five-year deal. But an industry executive said the contract was worth more than $300 million.
 

Eminem

goddamit, Griese!
[17:37] <etiolate> at the end of the season you get signed by a team or your QB takes his life

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol
I would totally buy that game. You could put the entire Bears offense from the last decade on there
 

vitaflo

Member
I've always been a fan of the NFL2k series over Madden, so this really irks me, but more so for the precident it sets than anything. Just think, it could have been Microsoft buying all the rights to this with the Fever franchise. What would people be saying then?

I have a feeling this won't be the last time we see something like this happen.
 

ChumsGum

Banned
Bring on ESPN Football 2K6

featuring-

create a player
create a stadium
create a team
create a logo

Think about it, all VC needs to do is allow you to name the players, the teams, create a logo, and bamm!!! you got your NFL game.
 
Indigo @ OA just mentioned that if EA were to also scoop the NBA and MLB to go along with the NFL, what's to stop them from releasing their own console in the future? They'd have the sports market cornered to go along with their other library of games.

:eek

:cry
 

Ristamar

Member
ChumsGum said:
Bring on ESPN Football 2K6

featuring-

create a player
create a stadium
create a team
create a logo

Think about it, all VC needs to do is allow you to name the players, the teams, create a logo, and bamm!!! you got your NFL game.

Some of that would actually kind of rock. I want a fictional league, PlayMakers style, rated M.
 

Firest0rm

Member
246574.jpg


Looks like their on their way ;)
 

Miguel

Member
ChumsGum said:
Bring on ESPN Football 2K6

featuring-

create a player
create a stadium
create a team
create a logo

Think about it, all VC needs to do is allow you to name the players, the teams, create a logo, and bamm!!! you got your NFL game.


Doesn't ESPN already have this?

I know a game that does...



2885528_640.jpg
 

Mrbob

Member
Found this on IGN boards. Here is a better link for all parties involved in this whole ordeal. Get to the heart of the issue and talk to the people in that press release:

Electronic Arts
Trudy Muller, 650-628-7323
[email protected]

NFL
Brian McCarthy, 212-450-2069
[email protected]

PLAYERS INC
Christy Moran, 202-496-2885
[email protected]

The more I contemplate this issue the more it pisses me off.
 
What a bunch of horse shit. Madden sucks ass and this is total bullshit that there won't be an ESPN NFL football game next year.
 

Cloudy

Banned
Damn, I guess I don't check this forum enough cos I just saw this on ESPN.

Total BS!!!! There has to be a way to sue EA and the NFL over this right? >_<
 

Eminem

goddamit, Griese!
Cloudy said:
Damn, I guess I don't check this forum enough cos I just saw this on ESPN.

:lol :lol Yeah, I saw this on espn.com and was like wtf. maybe i'll actually check the gaming forum.
 

Mrbob

Member
http://sports.ign.com/articles/572/572886p1.html

Looks like they are going after NBA and MLB next:

On a scarier note for these same publishers, rumors are already circulating that EA is attempting to negotiate similar deals with the NBA and Major League Baseball. When IGN contacted Trudy Muller, spokesperson for Electronic Arts about these rumors, she told us: "We cannot speculate at this time about any further plans these other leagues may have."

It looks like EA is gonna try to pull this shit IN ALL SPORTS GAMES. How long before NHL is theirs?!

But on the good news, Midway is now free of the NFL shackles and can make Blitz the Blitz of OLD again!

When IGN contacted Midway about the rumored Blitz: Playmakers, a spokesperson confirmed the game's existence and told us: "Enough of the 'No Fun League'…it's now time to talk about and prepare for the game the NFL wouldn't let anyone make…Blitz the way it should be played."
 

Gunstar77

GAF Madden 2006 Season 1 NFC Champ
Well I guess EA can be lazy again. Back to $50 price tags, weak online leagues, and perfect defensive AI.

One way VC could get around it on Xbox is to offer Downable content with the correct players for each team. They would be updating ESPN Football 2K5 which was released before EA bought the rights. It will take EA 5 years just to catch up to the visuals of ESPN Football 2K5.
 

kaching

"GAF's biggest wanker"
Lazy8s said:
It answers the question exactly: there is no benefit to the NFL brand from this. Gaining exclusive license does not allow EA to do anything more with an NFL game than could've been done before, and it only limits the brand's market penetration.
But the question wasn't, "does the NFL brand benefit from this?" the question was doesn't the NFL have the right to choose? You can claim all you like that this won't benefit the NFL or EA in the end, but that's speculative, the same kind of decision the NFL and PA need to make every year, I presume, and this year they just happen to arrive at a different conclusion, based on their own speculation.

This has nothing to do with the difference between a market that gets closed off to participants who were already established and a market that wasn't open to multiple participants in the first place, the issue you contested. An established competitor like SEGA Visual Concepts is especially hurt by this kind of anti-competitive practice because they'd already invested in some fixed development and publishing infrastructure specifically for NFL games which now goes to waste.
It's not a market, it's a property and these businesses all negotiate rights to that property, one way or another. The property holder has the rights to revoke that access as and when the lease agreement comes up for renewal. Whatever infrastructure Sega invested, they have to know there's no guarantee that returns on that investment were assured for years to come, because they never owned the property, unless of course the NFL entered into a multi-year binding agreement with them. If that's the case and the NFL broke that agreement, then I'm sure that Sega would promptly sue, which would be their right.

There isn't a major market for football games, just NFL games.
That's the defeatist spirit! The VIDEOGAME market didn't even exist 30 yrs ago and yet you're acting like everyone's course is set in stone. Do you have no faith in the ability of these companies to create opportunities of their own?
 

Malleymal

You now belong to FMT.
wow.......
jaw drops...
really pissed ...


but thinks Sega College football can be great next year..... UNLESS..

EA buys all Colleges and controls admissions as well...

EA LIFE!!!
 

Norse

Member
EA to MS "We want mega bucks from you to make madden 2006 for xbox2"
MS to EA "no way, thats extortion!"

Xbox2 launches with no NFL game...and no others are lawfully available.
PS3 launches 6 months later with Madden 2006.

Xbox2 sells 100,000 total units in first 6 months. MS pulls plug on Xbox2


EA now has direct influencee on the success or failure of a new gaming console. Just like it did with the dreamcast!
 

pilonv1

Member
The one console future is coming. Only it's not going to be Sony or MS and we're going to get screwed in an uncomfortable place.
 

DMczaf

Member
ManaByte said:
Madden fans would riot in the streets.

I'm talking about on this forum with a bunch of EA haters already. I'm sure they would have praised Take-Two for such a brave move! Go Take-Two! Take it to EA!
 

AstroLad

Hail to the KING baby
DMczaf said:
I'm talking about on this forum with a bunch of EA haters already. I'm sure they would have praised Take-Two for such a brave move! Go Take-Two! Take it to EA!

Yeah except that would never happen since EA would always offer twice whatever anyone else was offering. EA did it, no need to make up fantasy scenarios and have fantasy outrage when the shit is actually happening.
 

SickBoy

Member
There's no chance in hell it would happen, but I would love to see VC take on the CFL and any other sort of niche they could to make an interesting non-NFL licensed product.

Frankly, if it had good CFL action, it would wind up on everyone's Christmas list from me, whether they wanted it or not :D

EDIT: And god no, please don't take over the other sports licenses... If the NHL gives EA the sole ownership of the NHL license, to me, that will be worse than the lockout (actually I support the lockout, so maybe no big surprise there).
 
Holy crap. EA made a really smart move, but that's not the right direction a sports franchise should go to. But other sport genres show, that one can be successful even without the official licence or names. Look at Colin McRae Rally. Codemasters rally game sells very well even without the official WRC licence hold exclusively by Sony. Or the Pro Evolution Soccer series which is able to compete with EAs FIFA even with player names like "Holland 1", "Holland 2" and so on.

Of course it's even more difficult for VC to compete with EA now. They'll have though times trying to sell their football game, but if they keep the high levels I'm sure there will be a lot of people preferring better gameplay to current roster. And if they put a player/stadium editor in there there's a big chance that the players will do the rest.

Or maybe they should just forget about the whole football crap and do a good soccer simulation. :D
 

Xenon

Member
22.jpg


"You dont understand this is just the beginning. They will keep acquiring and acquiring They will not stop until everyone is dead."



Skynet is born........ and it all started from a NFL license.

robot.jpg

ITS IN THE GAME!
 
D

Deleted member 284

Unconfirmed Member
Nice!! One developer for NFL games! Soon one console to bleed our wallets dry! What a wonderful future. I can't wait!!! </sarcasm>

I'm with johntv on this one. This is going to screw over the whole industry if publishers try to gobble up everything.
 

FightyF

Banned
The CFL is way better than the NFL anyways...so yeah VC should go for it.

I mean...ask all the guys here who watch both the CFL and NFL...they'll agree with me! :p

What worries me is the trend...FIFA, Nascar...now Football.

When EA gets owned...they seem to want to buy out the Franchise.

EA's been getting absolutely schooled year after year...I wouldn't be surprised if the same happened with hockey games.
 

SickBoy

Member
Fight for Freeform said:
The CFL is way better than the NFL anyways...so yeah VC should go for it.

I mean...ask all the guys here who watch both the CFL and NFL...they'll agree with me! :p

I don't agree with you :)

Still, I think there would be a decent level of interest in a CFL game in Canada, actually... I think it would be really neat. But of course, "neat" and "smart business decision" are not the same thing....
 

FightyF

Banned
Yeah I was kidding about that. I like the CFL better...but then again I like sports that are a bit faster paced that the usual.

To do a game like that would be a massive risk. Sometimes risks pay off, and the other times...well...

It's a sad day for videogames.
 
At the end of the day this will just mean that American football games get worse. EA have every reason to make no changes but to rosters & intro screens, etc. Indeed, I suspect that they'll strive to make, say, Madden 2006 worse than the '05 edition (people will buy it either way) and then improve it a tiny bit for '07 so that the customers keep coming back with no complaints.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Its sad really. Exclusivity like this does nobody any favours. Look at Sony's F1 games. Since being completely Sony exclusive, they've been pretty lame.

To people making comments like 'VC should just make a kick-ass football game' - its too later. In the olden days it might have worked. Change a couple of letters in the surname, and you're good to go.

But now - and especially with the next-gen - its the whole package. Players will look like the real players, stadiums will look like the real stadiums. So VC will have to make a kick-ass football game where the names are different, the players don't bear any resemblance to the real ones (or get sued), and the stadia are different. I don't see consumers buying that.

Pro Evo was a hard sell, and I honestly don't know if they'd be competing strongly in Europe with FIFA if they hadn't got some licensing deals in place. Reading some of the comments on here shows that real stats matter.


Major sports should be protected. In the UK, Sky pays a shitload of money for Premiership soccer rights. But the government/FA does not allow them exclusive access - there has to be at least highlights available to free-to-view TV. They understand that some people cannot afford pay-TV, and it is important to keep the game viewable to all people, for the long-term future of the game.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
But other sport genres show, that one can be successful even without the official licence or names. Look at Colin McRae Rally. Codemasters rally game sells very well even without the official WRC licence hold exclusively by Sony. Or the Pro Evolution Soccer series which is able to compete with EAs FIFA even with player names like "Holland 1", "Holland 2" and so on.

But those are non-exclusive licenses. Colin McRae can't use the WRC name etc, but can use Colin, and some cars - independently licensed. Pro Evo *does* have licenses now, and almost immediately increased its marketshare against FIFA.

The difference here is it seems that NFL is a watertight ship. You do a deal with them, and no-one else can use player likenesses etc.
 
I also hope they don't do some malign deal and wrangle exclusives on every football player's name to kill off Pro Evo in future.

In the event of that, I would urge Konami to scrap the PES name & call their next installment "THE BEST FOOTBALL GAME ON THE MARKET BUT ONE WHICH CANNOT USE REAL PLAYER NAMES BECAUSE THE CREATORS OF FIFA HAVE AN UNFAIR MONOPOLY ON THE LICENSE IN ORDER TO STIFLE COMPETITION " in bold yellow text.
 

DJPS2

Banned
Willco said:
Madden will retail for $49.99 and nothing more, unless EA plans on offering CE content.

It'll retail for $49.99, but you'll be forced to tack on those online surcharges. And that's where they'll make some money.

I honestly think that EA will do both. I can easily see Madden NFL 2006 retailing for $59.99 USD and introducing a pay-to-play online scheme.

EA has got the consumer by the balls here. They're the only NFL game in town next year, and there are more than enough casual gamers and NFL fans who will pay to have Madden.

Who knows? Maybe this will finally start the upward trend of retail game prices that folks have been prophesizing for a while now.
 

AstroLad

Hail to the KING baby
TheDrowningMan said:
I also hope they don't do some malign deal and wrangle exclusives on every football player's name to kill off Pro Evo in future.

In the event of that, I would urge Konami to scrap the PES name & call their next installment "THE BEST FOOTBALL GAME ON THE MARKET BUT ONE WHICH CANNOT USE REAL PLAYER NAMES BECAUSE THE CREATORS OF FIFA HAVE AN UNFAIR MONOPOLY ON THE LICENSE IN ORDER TO STIFLE COMPETITION " in bold yellow text.

I would play WE over FIFA if it were fucking hamsters with pet names.
 

AstroLad

Hail to the KING baby
TheDrowningMan said:
Most people wouldn't & before you know it, series scrapped. PES dead forever.

I think many of the millions of people that are die-hards of the game would, it's not like it's exactly a game that needs to reach out to a bunch of barely-a-fan schlubs like EA does with their games.

Regardless, I was merely discussing my personal preference; I've made my opinion known on the FIFA license situation several times in the past and suffice it to say I share your concerns.
 
Though I don't really play sports sims, I think the best thing that can come out of all this if EA ends up owning the field, is Tecmo's potentially bright future with a new Tecmo Bowl. Who needs the god damned real names and team logos? Just put an editor in there and you're set. Tecmo Bowl (NES)...the only football game I ever loved.
 

ourumov

Member
B E N K E said:
I really wonder how this will affect the whole Sega / Take Two arrangement. If Take Two have already bought out Visual Concepts or signed the deal, Sega might just have made the best deal ever. If not, well it's just typical Sega I guess.

Anyway, what do I care, I'm European! :lol
I still remember when EA had exclusive rights over FIFA...This didn't stop Konami to grew and grew with the PES series...And now things are better for Konami than EA (regarding soccer games).
At the end the quality wins. Just that this has to be enough.
Anyways, Death to EA !
 

DarienA

The black man everyone at Activision can agree on
Jack Random said:
1. I don't watch Football
2. I don't play Football games
3. This is absolutely disgusting

Wasn't there rumor of this months ago?

The rumor has actually been floating around on and off for over a year now.
 
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