Madden NFL and the industry. What affect does this have on you? - MattIntellect's Blog

MattIntellect's Blog

Madden NFL and the industry. What affect does this have on you?

Posted on May 12, 2009 at 08:25 PM.

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Before the start of the century, video games were mostly played at video game arcades because their arcade games were a lot better than the consoles that people played at home. Fast-forward to today and video games are best played at home compared to the old and outdated arcade games. Because of this, video games has become a popular past time for many of us at home. Sports fans rejoice when they're able to play with their favorite teams and relive the NFL joy that have left them during the season. NFL fans have only one choice when it comes to NFL football, and that's Madden NFL, a nearly 21 year old game. Madden NFL use to have a heated rivalry against ESPN NFL 2K games, but after 2004, Madden's the last game left due to the NFL exclusivity license. Many 2K fans cry foul, but others call it a good marketing decision. I personally believe that the NFL wanted an exclusive license and many companies were candidates. EA Sports was probably chosen over 2K because, ESPN 2K5 was sold for only $19.99, while Madden 2005 maintained its nearly $50.00 price and EA Sports probably offered more money. I don't think it's fair to say that the NFL exclusivity license is all EA Sports's fault. The NFL played a big role as well. I think that EA Sports just got lucky. I've always been a Madden fan, and still is today, but many of us always have Madden vs. 2K5 arguments. Madden NFL is still the only franchise allowed to make NFL games and it will be that way for quite some time. In the meantime, we all need to continue to work with EA Sports so that they can appeal to both 2K and new Madden fans as well instead of insulting the developers and hating everything with Madden or EA's name in it. Do you agree? Will this issue continue to affect you?

Comments

# 1 Brandon_c993 @ May 12

I agree with all of what you said, good read...and I think the fact that 2k5 was $20 and Madden was $50 was a HUGE factor in their decision...keep up the good work...(:

# 2 MattIntellect @ May 12

Thanks!

# 3 jWILL253 @ May 15

+1

But, people like loyshon and hmoob are gonna continue to bash EA when we should be helping them make a great game...

# 4 MattIntellect @ May 15

We have to move on and continue to help EA Sports make this year's game great. Bashing the game, the developers, and EA Sports as a company, will only make things worse.

# 5 droopizzle34 @ May 30

I was very upset with both EA and the NFL...but it's really on the NFL. They go exclusive with EA,exclusive with their own network(which makes ESPN presentation meaningless in Madden),and they go exclusive with their apparell. 2k and Visual Concepts would have been under the same scrutiny if they were the only game in town as well.
It is not fair to give exclusive rights in video games in my opinion,choice and competition makes great games,as evident by the great NBA games and the baseball games. But I also agree that instead of bashing EA we should be working with a willing dev team like Ian and co. to get the best game possible.

# 6 MattIntellect @ May 30

Visual Concepts actually used to be with EA Sports, but became their competition when they joined with Sega. You're absolutely right about 2k sports being under the same scrutiny as Madden and that exclusive rights in video games is a bad thing. IMO, the reason why this happened is because the NFL wanted one game to represent them, just as the NFL has an official sports drink, equipment, etc. We should absolutely be working with the Madden team instead of bashing because bashing will only make things worse.