OS Roundtable: EA's Exclusive NFL License

Feature Article

Submitted on: 02/27/2008 by OS Staff

Word came a couple of weeks ago that the NFL and EA Sports were going to extend their exclusive agreement until at least 2013. It can certainly be argued the deal has been bad for the industry - putting the up and coming NFL 2K series on the chopping block.

But has the deal even been good for EA Sports? Operation Sport's roundtable will discuss.

Chris Sanner: Right now gamers have two options when it comes to new NFL games, buy one from EA Sports or don't buy one. In that sense, this is a winning situation for EA Sports as they have the market cornered. On the other hand, sales for Madden have declined this past year, which can probably be directly correlated to the decline in quality. This would be excellent for EA if they could get the quality of the game at a high level, but right now the jury is still out if that's possible or not.

TJ : It's certainly possible but I think the bigger question is whether or not it's even necessary? Like you said, Chris, the sales dipped a bit last year but I would attribute that more to the transition between this generation of consoles and the last. There are a lot of people out there still with PS2's and the original Xbox as their main gaming console and I think there's no question that that version of the game received minimal improvements over the last couple of years.

As more and more people pick up PS3's and Xbox 360's, I would imagine that the sales numbers will go back up, which will be even less motivation for EA to spend a lot of resources on improving the product.

Patrick Williams: EA's stranglehold on the NFL market at this point pretty much only benefits one group of people, and that is EA. The lack of competition for the most part has made the NFL products stale. Innovative ideas are at a standstill it seems, and the game of Madden doesn't seem to know what direction it wants to go in, with any progression coming at a snails pace anyway.

With this new deal it is unlikely that anything will change in the near future. Just like on Groundhogs Day; expect 5 more years of dullness. Thanks money hungry NFL and EA, I guess the only thing that could todays youth outside is more lousy video games.

Chase Becotte: TJ - I think you've been listening to too many Peter Moore interviews if you think the quality can't be attributed to the lower sales TJ. Metacritic average be damned, Madden still hasn't made a huge leap gameplay wise in quite a few years. Also if you're going to take the sales route don't attribute it to the lack of new consoles on the marketplace, blame EA for not lowering the price of the last-gen game to $40 -- something even John Riccitiello admitted was a mistake. Either way 2008's sales were lower than '07 and '06's sales.

From a PR perspective it also hasn't been the best deal, since when people think about Madden -- if they don't think of the exclusive license first -- it's now the first title most people make fun of in terms of yearly franchise rehashes. I'd still say it has been more positive than negative, but I don't think it has been been quite the slam dunk EA thought it would be.

Chris Sanner: One thing that Madden has going for it is simply the fact it is THE NFL game on store shelves. Like it or not, people want to play as their favorite teams for the most part, so I don't think you will ever see the sales of Madden go through the floor. The NFL is sports' biggest brand right now and I honestly don't think we will see any type of huge movement over the coming years sales wise. Quality wise, I think there are some issues internally that need adjusting, but that's another story for another day.

Chase Becotte: Yes, but isn't that just stating the obvious? Sure it's the only NFL game on the market but has EA really capitalized on the exclusive as well as it should have to this point? NFL Tour and NFL Head Coach have both flopped in my eyes, and the Madden sales are the lowest in 3 years this year. From a games perspective it hasn't exactly been the best showing for EA. Now maybe it has helped the company in other ways outside of the game itself -- such as the tighter relationship with ESPN, but nonetheless we play games.

Member Comments

# 21 adriano @ 02/28/08 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyingFinn


	This is probably one of things that grinds my gears the most. I remember when exclusitivity was first announced, EA stated it would be a good thing because they would have access to things they never had before with NFL so the game would definitely benefit. Based on the past 3 interations of next-gen Madden, the license was purchased only to eliminate competition. Although the NFL put the license up for sale , I bet if EA didn't pony up so much cash, the NFL would have withdrew the NFL exclusive proposal because it could have made more money by not being exclusive.

After 2k3 EA started heavily selling the NFL on exclusivity. The NFL didnt listen until they saw their brand selling for 19.99. That gave EA bargaining power and we all know what happens next..

EA tries to spin it as is the NFL wanted this all along, they did after years of EA making them offers for exclusivity..EA Promised them so much Money and a Guarantee that their name brand would not be sold at a discount.. The NFL is very image conscious

# 22 unfriendlyghst @ 02/28/08 08:03 PM

Yes, this is very sad. The whole idea of exclusivity has become complete garbage. The Madden hate war wagon wont stop until they start to fix things. And I am personally tired of all these people telling us to keep our mouths shut. Last time I checked, this is the US(or at least the internet), not China. There is, I think, a stark difference between being a true fan of Madden, and a "blind sheep". This pot has been boiling over for years and the arguments never seem to change. "Not enough features", "Lousy gameplay", "Terrible glitches", "No commentary", and the absolute worst "No ESPN integration". That last one my friends is the most absolute example of laziness that I have ever seen. That fact that ESPN NFL2k5 had this, with the halftime show, weekly sportscenter, and the "25 year anniversary Challenge" in 2004, on a lesser console is INDEFFENSABLE. It has been 4 years, and an entirely upgaded set of consoles, and what does EA have to show for it? Something needs to give because 4 years is a long time to ask football gamers to be patient. Espescially when we are being duped year after year. You know what, if you weren't ready to release the absolute best game possible, then make us wait a year or 2 until you get it right. It beats getting suckered every year with no end in sight.

Thats all.

# 23 Rufus @ 03/04/08 07:45 PM

[quote=unfriendlyghst;2038177335]Yes, this is very sad. The whole idea of exclusivity has become complete garbage. The Madden hate war wagon wont stop until they start to fix things. And I am personally tired of all these people telling us to keep our mouths shut. Last time I checked, this is the US(or at least the internet), not China. There is, I think, a stark difference between being a true fan of Madden, and a "blind sheep". This pot has been boiling over for years and the arguments never seem to change. "Not enough features", "Lousy gameplay", "Terrible glitches", "No commentary", and the absolute worst "No ESPN integration". That last one my friends is the most absolute example of laziness that I have ever seen. That fact that ESPN NFL2k5 had this, with the halftime show, weekly sportscenter, and the "25 year anniversary Challenge" in 2004, on a lesser console is INDEFFENSABLE. It has been 4 years, and an entirely upgaded set of consoles, and what does EA have to show for it? Something needs to give because 4 years is a long time to ask football gamers to be patient. Espescially when we are being duped year after year. You know what, if you weren't ready to release the absolute best game possible, then make us wait a year or 2 until you get it right. It beats getting suckered every year with no end in sight.

Thats all.[/QU

I totally agree with you, Next Gen football has been really disappointing, Im talking Madden and NCAA on the 360, I havent purchased one copy of either since I purchased my 360 a few months after launch. I have rented them every year, just to try them out, no purchase for me. I keep waiting to see what happens every year, and they just cant get next gen right, and I prefer playing last gen versions. I'm still waiting to play a next gen football game on my 360.

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