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Thursday, February 18, 2010
Posted on February 18, 2010 at 10:46 AM.

I'm going to take a break from topical blogging next week to start a multiple part series on a new way forward for sports games in the face of a tougher market, shrinking sales, and in many cases, a more demanding audience. I've proposed there are several things broken in sports gaming over the last few months, from dynasty modes to difficulty levels to the ovr rating.

Next week I'm going to (hopefully) show ... Read More
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Posted on February 16, 2010 at 03:41 PM.
2009 was a make or break year for several games, and a couple -- NCAA Basketball and possibly NHL 2K -- didn't make the cut. I think this year is a huge make or break year for three titles in our genre specifically. Check out my list of 3 and respond with your own thoughts:

1. NBA Live 11
NBA Live is in a position where it must perform this year. NBA 2K is absolutely killing Live in sales and it still has an edge -- some would still say quite sizeable -- in quality. While ... Read More
Monday, February 15, 2010
Posted on February 15, 2010 at 06:44 PM.
I've got a beef with an age old system in sports gaming: the overall rating.

I think it hampers the experience of sports video gaming. I mean, how can you effectively communicate an overall rating for a pitcher who can throw a 100mph fastball and is incredibly effective at the set-up or closer role? What about a running back with awesome speed but a tendency to fumble? What about a shooting guard who is very un-athletic but can shoot from anywhere and make it?

The problem ... Read More
Posted on February 15, 2010 at 02:43 PM.
Here are a few more tidbits on the current legalese action going on in California over the current NCAA Athletes lawsuits against the NCAA:
  • There are numerous suits working their way through the courts right now. A quick Google and database search brought up several similar cases to Keller's, including a suit by former Rutger's QB Ryan Hart.
  • Claudia Wilken, the judge in the O'Bannon vs. NCAA suit, combined the claims of the Keller lawsuit into the O'Bannon case in the ruling issued last
... Read More
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Posted on February 11, 2010 at 03:25 PM.
First 2K Sports decided it wasn't profitable to make a college basketball game. Then EA, with the market all to itself, couldn't muster a title which could sell very well (much less be of good quality).

And now, with the NCAA under fire from multiple directions via lawsuits about how it's licensing player likenesses, it seems as if College Basketball gaming might just be dead.

At least for now.

Unfortunately, in the near term, it might be a tough sell for ... Read More
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Posted on February 10, 2010 at 09:46 PM.
Welcome to 2010.

This is the year where media convergence will come full force and will finally rear it's head in an (as of yet) untouched and pristine frontier: video games. While it should hardly be a surprise -- in fact it may be more surprising we haven't talked about this sooner -- but 2010 will be the year convergence fully comes into full focus in our industry.

Media convergence, for those not in the know, is basically the moving together of media control into ... Read More
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Posted on February 9, 2010 at 01:26 PM.
I may be wrong, but if you are planning on killing off a game, you probably shouldn't be looking to round out it's music soundtrack. The posting was posted on January 6 and expired on January 20. All of this was after the speculation that NHL 2K11 was dead surfaced in December. Hopefully we see the game in September, because the 2K lineup of games was getting rather thin to say the least.

Quote:
2K Sports is looking for a band who can provide a song to help round out the NHL 2K11 soundtrack.
... Read More
Posted on February 9, 2010 at 12:37 PM.
You may have heard about the Ed O'Bannon lawsuit against the NCAA. Or, like me, you might not have really heard much about it until several sports writers tweeted about it yesterday.

But it's a big one for sports gamers -- much less anyone remotely involved in college athletics.

You probably have heard about the Sam Keller vs. NCAA lawsuit on how the NCAA handles licensing athlete's likenesses in video games. Well O'Bannon vs. NCAA is along the same thread, and it has to ... Read More
Monday, February 8, 2010
Posted on February 8, 2010 at 06:17 PM.
I just checked out of the conference call, and while they were still taking questions, I unfortunately have to move on to other things. Here are a few notes from the investors conference call. Some interesting tidbits were mentioned in regards to sports:
  • EA's focus of fewer and bigger titles was heavily drummed during the call.
  • EA officially confirmed what was suspected and all but confirmed for quite awhile: EA Sports Active is coming to the PS3 and 360.
  • FIFA sold over 7 million copies
... Read More

In their Q3 FY 2010 earnings press release, EA lists their upcoming planned major sports titles and in Q4 FY 2011, EA lists a "Fighting Game TBA" as their only major title. Also, for PC gamers, EA only lists FIFA games (Online and FIFA 11) as their only games on the platform once more, once again a firm signal that the PC Sports Gaming platform is all but dead outside of text-sims.

Also of note is that FIFA 10 ... Read More
Posted on February 8, 2010 at 04:10 PM.
Just a quick note before the EA investors conference call set to begin shortly. EA's Earnings barely beat their much lower outlook issued earlier last month. Investors aren't pleased as the stock plummeted in after hours trading. I'm going to get some details in the conference call and post more in the next couple of hours, but this is just more bad news for the company. I'm going to be very interested in what (if anything) is said about buyout rumors from both Disney and Microsoft as well as what ... Read More
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Posted on February 4, 2010 at 01:56 PM.
A lot of people have talked about the 'Madden Cover Curse', where the Madden coverman typically ends up with an absolutely atrocious season due to any number of factors. I think there is a bigger and even more important curse surrounding Madden, it's the curse of Madden being Madden.

It's the curse of being held in a much higher regard by people, many of which will never be pleased with the game. The curse of Madden being Madden stems from the moment EA bought the exclusive NFL license ... Read More
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
First off, a stern apology to Mike Wang for my blog title of choice. But it's just such an easy target in this case. Secondly, let's all take a collective deep breath before assuming all sorts of things about this story.

While many will undoubtedly want to blow this story out of proportion and even make it out to be something along the lines of a death blow to the NBA Live series, let's just think this whole thing through. While reading between the lines in Wang's interview here on ... Read More
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Posted on January 28, 2010 at 11:57 AM.
You may or may not admit it, but I know you hate it. You have pulled your hair out at it, you have cried over it, and you have been frustrated by it. In fact, it has probably made you both hate and love it. While you can't change it, and while you know you can't live peacefully with it, you have learned to grow in an understanding with it. What is it?

It is a canned animation. It is the reason why you feel some sense of hatred about your sports games.

It has to go. ... Read More
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Posted on January 27, 2010 at 12:00 PM.
Thanks to OSer jaosming for the idea for this blog. I wrote a couple weeks ago about difficulty levels, and how I wanted them to be more customizable.

Today it is simulation engines. I want to just ask a very fundamental question about sim engines: Why were they not developed with user customization in mind? And how can we get there from here?

My grand idea centers around making sim engines a customizable option much like difficulty levels. There are a lot of OSers ... Read More

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