EA Lays Down the Law

[hukarez]

Good grief!

Is this the only genre of sports they plan on doing this with, or do you think attempts with other titles will come into play as well?

[Calis]

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/041213/135991_1.html

Uhmm, wow...what a blow to Sega if this is legit which it appears to be.

Personally not a big deal to me, as it'll be easy enough to change it up, but I'm sure it'd cost Sega loads of sales.

[Danny]

It pisses me off. It is now effectively a one man competition for NFL titles. I wonder if Sega will even bother releasing another football game.

[Calis]

I'm really hoping someone tells me that my reading comprehension skills are horrible, and I've completely misunderstood this.

Somehow I doubt it though...

Not sure on other sports, Football is the biggie so they might only be concerned with it. Wonder how much cash they had to pay for this?

[cougarfreak]

EA Sports Sims suck ass. Guess I won't be buying a console football sim unless they improve their's dramatically.

[hukarez]

5 years. Looks like ESPN 2K5 is the last football title I'll have to play with for my console sports fix. Not that I was any good in the first place, but still...

[Bomber]

This sucks Madden was forced to get better because of Sega. Maybe Sega will move its franchise into the college market.

[Adamski47]

Why would SEGA stop making a game? Now they can sell it even cheaper and we can use a third party roster like we do for every other game we play.

Problem might be the stadiums and such...either way, I'm done with EA. This is a dick move IMO and they've lost me forever now.

Go SEGA! Thanks for making a better game.

[Franklinnoble]

This is a drag... I really liked the ESPN game this year... especially at the $19.95 price.

Piss on them... I won't buy Madden anyway. I'll bet Sega still does their version, and makes it more customizeable, so you can download rosters, etc... just like FOF.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

So this basically means EA has all rights to fantasy/all football related things on video game market right?

[Danny]

Originally Posted by Adamski47

Why would SEGA stop making a game? Now they can sell it even cheaper and we can use a third party roster like we do for every other game we play.

Because they will not make any money. Most users would not purchase a game that didn't have the NFL teams and rosters.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Originally Posted by Bomber

This sucks Madden was forced to get better because of Sega.

Agreed. Madden has basically purchased a monopoly.

It's a sad day for console football games.

[JonInMiddleGA]

My son will be disappointed to learn there won't be another edition of Backyard Football any time soon.

It sucks for the consumer, but it's a smart business move on EA's part (assuming they didn't overpay).

[Kodos]

I was thinking the same thing. This may encourage Sega to make their game the ultimate in customizabilitly. And as the resident EA Sports Whore, I have to say I don't like this move. It can only hurt the competition level.

I actually may stop buying the new football game each year. I'm slowly learning that there are always going to be aspects of the game that eventually kill it. Madden isn't customizable enough. I want to be able to rearrange divisions (including the number of teams in each division) as I see fit. The AI doesn't handle the draft well, so I've found myself running the draft for everyone, which is a pain. I think in the end, NCAA may always be the more fun game because the recruiting angle works better than the draft and free agency. AI teams recruit better than the fare as GMs in NFL games.

[Franklinnoble]

I'm waiting for SEGA to announce that they've bought out Solecismic Software.

[Ajaxab]

I agree that this is horrible news. I'm sure it will be fun to get years and years of mediocrity as EA rests on their laurels as the sole owners of the NFL license.

I do know that they purchased exclusive rights to the English Premier League a few years ago and yet have failed to match the gameplay of another soccer franchise. Konami's Winning Eleven series has always received rave reviews in spite of EA's monopolization of arguably the most famous soccer license on the planet. So if Konami's past is a picture of Sega's future, then it may not be the devastating news it seems to be. Sega, like Konami, will just need to work that much harder to put out a better product and hope that the next gen consoles will allow users to mod their games. It's till a sad day though.

[Zippo]

can we finally look forward to a CFL or AFL game?

[kingnebwsu]

There was talk of this happening a few months back and it never materialized. Sad it has now. I've been EA-free for over 2 years and will continue to be that way!

[digamma]

Do we have any plaintiff's lawyers on the board? How about a class action antitrust lawsuit against EA, claiming their actions creat a virtual monopoly and a de facto vertical price fixing scheme?

[Solecismic]

What EA is doing may be the best possible thing for the industry.

Now, SEGA has incentive to challenge what's likely never to hold up on court - the claimed restriction on using real player names.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by digamma

Do we have any plaintiff's lawyers on the board? How about a class action antitrust lawsuit against EA, claiming their actions creat a virtual monopoly and a de facto vertical price fixing scheme?

Just so happens I am an antitrust lawyer, usually do more defense work thain plaintiff's, but been involved in a few class actions. Not that I've looked into the issues all that much here, but I don't think our case has much of a chance, digs...

[Anthony]

i don't get it - since when is it financially feasible to put out an inferior game just because of a lack of competition. as if people will have no choice but to purchase that game rather than *gasp* continue playing the previous year's version or simply go without console football. you all have a weak arguement. you assume that EA purchased the exclusive license just so they could lose money by not making the best games possible. has anyone considered how good this might be, or what the benefits are? NFL Films will be incorporated into the game, i'm interested in seeing how that works out.

my point is no company as large as EA with the rep they have (mind you no one outside of FOFC cares that EA left Solecismic hanging in the wind) will willingly put out a product that they think will fail just because there are no other competitors. sure, there won't be competition for a football game, but there ARE other good games out there. no one is being forced to play only football. in the end when faced with yet another version of football or a new 5 star, genre-busting game like Halo 2 or GTA:San Andreas (i have neither game) i'll opt for the 5 star game.

i hate the tired arguement of "no one is forcing you to buy the game" but this is an instance where a lack of competition doesn't mean a weaker product is expected. believe it or not game designers don't look at the competition when it comes to improving upon their games. new game features aren't made public until production is well underway. by the time SEGA announced what they were putting in their game it wasn't like EA had time to go back to the drawing board and steal the idea. the only thing a game company can do is look at their previous work and build on that. take the $19.95 pricepoint that SEGA introduced as a surprise. i'm sure it caught EA by surprise because they didn't budget their game to be sold for that low. i think what you guys are worried about is the incentive for EA not to throw in "the kitchen sink", if you will. if there's no competition you assume EA will hold some features and save them for future releases. i'm sure that happens anyway.

[riz]

Always sad to see these exclusive deals, which kind of limits the options for customers as well as other developers

Interesting to see the blurb about management games in there though...separate from arcade and action games.

[DeToxRox]

the common console football fan doesn't go to FOFC.

what we like puts us in the minority.

we gotta learn to live with it.

[Franklinnoble]

Originally Posted by Kodos

There are plenty of people who aren't FOF fans who are pissed by this move. Hell, I hate it, and I love Madden. This honestly may cause me to stop buying the game.

You're risking a nasty beatdown by your pimp at EA with that sort of talk...

[Kodos]

There are plenty of people who aren't FOF fans who are pissed by this move. Hell, I hate it, and I love Madden. This honestly may cause me to stop buying the game.

[Ajaxab]

HA, I agree with you to an extent. Of course no one is forcing anyone to purchase the game. That is an entirely legitimate claim to make. You're probably right in saying that EA designers don't overhaul their existing games after hearing what Sega might have in the works. You're also right to say that EA will continue to build on what they've already done and save some features for future releases. You also may be right in seeing some potential benefits to the deal.

However, competition encourages innovation. Without viable competition, there is less of an incentive to take risks and attempt to innovate. That's not to say that EA won't take risks with Madden, but there is suddenly less motivation for them to do so with ESPN NFL 2K6-10 effectively out of commission.

[TroyF]

Not a big deal for me. I'll d/l the names from another site anyway.

I'm not sure why the NFL agreed to this. It seems the more people using your name the better. . . unless EA grossly overpaid.

So what does that leave us with? If they overpaid for the rights, the games will get even worse. Great news for gamers.

Ah well, there is always FOF.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Ajaxab

HA, I agree with you to an extent. Of course no one is forcing anyone to purchase the game. That is an entirely legitimate claim to make. You're probably right in saying that EA designers don't overhaul their existing games after hearing what Sega might have in the works. You're also right to say that EA will continue to build on what they've already done and save some features for future releases. You also may be right in seeing some potential benefits to the deal.

However, competition encourages innovation. Without viable competition, there is less of an incentive to take risks and attempt to innovate. That's not to say that EA won't take risks with Madden, but there is suddenly less motivation for them to do so with ESPN NFL 2K6-10 effectively out of commission.

Time for the XFL video game.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by DeToxRoxDVHStyle

the common console football fan doesn't go to FOFC.

what we like puts us in the minority.

we gotta learn to live with it.

exactly. sorry to say but EA isn't concerned with FOFC. hey, i'll admit i try to limit my EA purchasing out of loyalty to Jim and his company but EA isn't going to lose sleep over me not buying the Sims or whathaveyou. in any event i rather focus on the positive and see what they have planned. i still don't know why they're lumping fantasy football in that article, i'm not getting the connection.

[digamma]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Just so happens I am an antitrust lawyer, usually do more defense work thain plaintiff's, but been involved in a few class actions. Not that I've looked into the issues all that much here, but I don't think our case has much of a chance, digs...

Yeah, I was kidding. I worked on one antitrust case (defense side) before I became a transactional lawyer. I think you're overstating our chances--I think we'd have no chance!

[Eaglesfan27]

Gamespot has an interesting article on this:

Big Deal: EA and NFL ink exclusive licensing agreement


Five-year contract gives EA sole rights to the NFL, including teams, players, and stadiums. Take-Two reacts, calling it a "tremendous disservice to the consumers."

Electronic Arts has signed the biggest sports free-agent on the market. In a devastating blow to competitors--and in a deal sure to reshape sports gaming--the software giant signed an exclusive agreement with the National Football League and the NFL Players Inc., a subsidiary of the NFL Players Association.

The deal, one EA admits to having lobbied for over the past few years, is an exclusive five-year licensing deal granting EA the sole rights to the NFL's teams, stadiums, and players.

The arrangement encompasses action simulation, arcade style, and manager games made for PCs, consoles, and handhelds (both the DS and PSP, included), giving EA a firm hold on the football gaming market. The deal does not include titles for mobile phones or internet-based games, but does include online features of consoles. With next-generation consoles scheduled for release next holiday season, EA looks to handily dominate the professional football market for the duration of the license.

EA's current roster of NFL games includes the top-selling Madden franchise and the extreme football NFL Street franchise. Given that EA currently has no "manager games" per se, there is clear writing on the wall that the publisher will announce a new sports management lineup of products, though it refused to comment on when.

A source close to the negotiations said it was at a spring, 2004, off-site meeting attended by top NFL officials that the league determined it would take the league license exclusive. GameSpot was told the league put the license up for bid and that EA was among as many as five software publishers competing for it. An EA spokesperson said today, "Obviously, exclusives are more expensive. We are most certainly paying a premium."

In a statement, Larry Probst, Chairman and CEO of Electronic Arts said, "We are excited about the opportunity to further enhance our relationship with the NFL and PLAYERS INC. The five-year agreements will usher NFL fans through the console technology transition with new ideas and innovative game play experiences."

The deal is obviously bad news for EA's competitors, particularly ESPN Videogames, Sega, and Take-Two who stole a respectable chunk of EA's Madden football market with their NFL 2K series and it's budget price tag this year of $19.99.

Arguably, the deal will impact consumers negatively as well. With less choice, theories of competition no longer apply. Some industry insiders speculate the exclusive deal was embraced by the NFL after it saw Take-Two lower the price of its 2K5 product earlier this year. No licensor likes to see a price war being fought with its brand value at stake. At the same time, exclusive licenses in the sports world are more the norm than non-exclusive licenses. The NFL's apparel license is a Reebok exclusive, as is its beverage license with Gatorade.

This afternoon, Take-Two issued the following statement: “While sports games in general are an important part of Take-Two's product diversification strategy, the licensed NFL game we distributed on behalf of Sega this year was not a material contributor to our profitability to date, nor was it expected to be a meaningful contributor in the upcoming year. We remain committed to continued diversification of our product portfolio, including sports.

"We believe that the decisions of the National Football League and PLAYERS INC to grant an exclusive license for videogames do a tremendous disservice to the consumers and sports fans whose funds ultimately support the NFL, by limiting their choices, curbing creativity and almost certainly leading to higher game prices.”

"I really respect them, but the consumer really loses," one analyst told GameSpot. "EA is both evil and really smart."

As for such a deal affecting quality of future football products, EA's vice president of corporate communications Jeff Brown told GameSpot, "The onus is on EA to keep making a better game each year…that's the hurdle you have to clear every year."

Even before the news was released, trading of EA stock had its value spiking north. On trading nearly three times its usual amount, EA stock was up more than $3 today. The stock closed at $57.57, up $3.38, or 6.24 percent, with 16,574,606 shares trading hands on the NASDAQ. In after hours trading, the stock at press time had jumped another $2.88 to trade at $60.45.

By Tim Surette, Curt Feldman -- GameSpot
POSTED: 12/13/04 02:53 PM PST


Particularly interesting is the thought that EA is developing a management game?

Also, I found it interesting that the NFL may have been persuaded to enter this deal due to the impending price wars between the two companies. Perhaps their licensing gives them a percentage of every sale and they didn't want to lose money if EA had to keep lowering their prices in response to Take Two?

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by digamma

Yeah, I was kidding. I worked on one antitrust case (defense side) before I became a transactional lawyer. I think you're overstating our chances--I think we'd have no chance!

Well, never say never! Then again, we could get laughed out of the court room and a Rule 11 sanction with some fines to boot!

[Calis]

Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic

exactly. sorry to say but EA isn't concerned with FOFC. hey, i'll admit i try to limit my EA purchasing out of loyalty to Jim and his company but EA isn't going to lose sleep over me not buying the Sims or whathaveyou. in any event i rather focus on the positive and see what they have planned. i still don't know why they're lumping fantasy football in that article, i'm not getting the connection.

I'm not following this, I don't think people are speaking out against EA because of the ordeal with Jim, but because of the thought process in general...and that's definitely not something only seen here..seen complaints quite a few places.

Does EA care though? Of course not, they'll still get their sales.

I don't see a way that one football game being made is better than two, and I see nothing that EA gains from this deal other than pushing Sega sails further down, so I fail to see how this helps out the genre. It does help out EA though, that's for sure.

Personally though, I enjoyed Sega's game much more last year, and will be purchasing it again this year unless more than likely. Just hope they can keep things going without a license, they'll definitely be forced to up their game quite a bit.

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

I think this is a great thing personally.

Career modes in console games have sucked.

If sega stays in the market, this will force them to come up with a cutting edge career mode. Think about all the text games (FBCB, FOF, OOTP) We all use fictional players in those, so i think this could work if sega stays in the game

[CamEdwards]

sounds like the NFL is really the one to blame here. Either way, though... I'm not interested in buying Madden.

Lets hope the NCAA doesn't decide to do the same thing.

[ISiddiqui]

I just saw this on ESPN.com and almost spit out my soda! What a horrid decision! Man, I really liked NFL 2k5. The price point was definetly right, since paying $50 every year for a roster update and some minor fixes gets old fast.

[Bomber]

So we shouldn't expect anything more than a roster update for Madden for the next 5 years.

[Dave66]

EA also has the PGA Tour and FIFA exclusively!

[MizzouRah]

This sucks! Damn you EA!!

I really don't understand how they can do this. Isn't this like Dell purchasing exclusive rights to Windows or something like that?


Todd

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Dave66

EA also has the PGA Tour and FIFA exclusively!

They must only have FIFA exclusively for video games and not text simulations, though. Because FM05 has all the FIFA players, for one.

[Ajaxab]

I'm also interested in hearing more about Jim's comment. Care to elaborate?

[Calis]

I dunno how that works since as mentioned before they've been doing it for a while now on a couple different things, believe Nascar as well.

I know nothing of the legal side of it though, and kinda curious about Jim's comment earlier. What's the reason to believe it wouldn't hold up? I actually have no idea, curious.

[Crapshoot]

Aye- Im not going to be buying Madden ever - this just stinks.

[Ajaxab]

If anyone is interested in signing a petition (albeit a poorly worded one), here's a link:

hxxp://www.petitiononline.com/nfleacon/petition.html

[jbmagic]

Originally Posted by Calis

I dunno how that works since as mentioned before they've been doing it for a while now on a couple different things, believe Nascar as well.

I know nothing of the legal side of it though, and kinda curious about Jim's comment earlier. What's the reason to believe it wouldn't hold up? I actually have no idea, curious.

i wish EA never got the rights to Nascar.....

Nascar Racing 2003 season is still the best game for Nascar...most of the real drivers use that game to play..very realistic

and you can find the game for like 10 bucks

[SunDancer]

Originally Posted by LastWhiteSoxFanStanding

I think this is a great thing personally.

Career modes in console games have sucked.

If sega stays in the market, this will force them to come up with a cutting edge career mode. Think about all the text games (FBCB, FOF, OOTP) We all use fictional players in those, so i think this could work if sega stays in the game

See, people in the minority want career modes to be the top goal. Also, they want to do it with real teams. The focus on the autheticism and the on-the-field graphics, gameplay, ect. People would buy FOF if they wanted a career-GM/focus game first.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by Bomber

So we shouldn't expect anything more than a roster update for Madden for the next 5 years.

I doubt it. They'll continue to add things and innovate. I think they realize that if all they did was add a roster update, people wouldn't buy it in the numbers that they do. However, this will most likely slow it to a crawl. Except in the graphics department. They need to make those better since that's what most console players seem to care about (honest general observation, not a cheap shot).

[Francis_Cole]

Interesting to note they will hopefully introduce a mangment branding of games as well to presumly go with their other managment games (like total club football)

[Fonzie]

Originally Posted by CamEdwards

sounds like the NFL is really the one to blame here. Either way, though... I'm not interested in buying Madden.

Bingo.

The NFL is the guilty party here - they're the ones who decided to go exclusive and put their licensing up for bids. Between this and the Sunday Ticket I'm seeing a disturbing pattern of NFL behavior - maximize $$$, and to hell with consumer options.

Of course, with such a popular product they don't have to worry about the bad PR that comes with this decision - most customers will 1) keep coming back to the NFL, no matter what and 2) probably blame EA anyway (as we've seen here).