If MVP Returns, Someone Else Must Leave - RaychelSnr's Blog

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RaychelSnr's Blog

If MVP Returns, Someone Else Must Leave Stuck

Posted on April 19, 2011 at 12:45 PM.

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Amidst all the speculation that EA is bringing three new franchises -- and gamers everywhere postulating one of those new franchises is actually the return of an old friend, MVP Baseball -- there remains a sobering reminder for this generation of sports games.

It's the old west equivalent of the statement, "This town ain't big enough for the both of us."

In this day and age, the resources that a big box high budget sports game requires every year guarantees the number of publishers who can develop is actually quite small. For that model to remain profitable in 2011, the market can't be split up more than two ways. Get three or more competitors in the market and someone (or possibly everyone) is losing money.

Thus, if EA is developing a new MVP Baseball, then it's fair to begin speculating which of the then three MLB games are going to end up defunct.

The Show has the PS3 locked up -- in fact it is not going anywhere. So The Show stays in this war of attrition in almost every situation you can dream up.

Then we have to consider whether EA or Take Two would be able to one-up the other for the rest of the market The Show can't touch. That's where the MLB battleground is going to be at its best.

Picking a winner, especially initially will be tough. If EA ends up bringing back MVP then they need to give it three years before they make any key decisions. MVP is going to have to do a lot to catch up with the other two games on the market. If EA does make a push towards a new MLB game, I'd expect it to be marketed heavily and reviewed pretty well.

And if that happens, MLB 2K is going to have to counter with improvements in every facet of the game in order to stay competitive sales wise. However, market conditions will eventually dictate that either MLB 2K or MVP will have to go the way of the DoDo.

Of course, the end result will depend upon a number of factors we haven't even begun to discuss. What if Activision were to buy Take Two? What if EA were bought out by big media? What if MVP doesn't appear immediately as expected?

But the unfortunate side effect of a potential new baseball product entering the market is that someone has to leave to make room -- or else no one makes money. In business, the man with the best product and deepest marketing pockets usually wins. Which given the already known conditions of EA and Take Two, doesn't bode well for the latter.

So in that spirit, it is all speculation until it is not. Regardless, the baseball gaming wars will be interesting to see unfold over the rest of this console generation -- there's no denying that.