Why the NFL’s Labor Strife Might Be the Best Thing That Happened to Madden (Kotaku)

[Steve_OS]

Kotaku's Owen Good explains why the NFL’s labor strife might be the best thing that happened to Madden.

Quote:

"It appears to be a win-win: EA Sports gets cash relief in a year when it's telling investors that its flagship title may take a dive at the cash register because of the league's overall woes. The NFL can kick the can down the road another year and negotiate this license when its product is a lot stronger. But when the league does sit down with EA Sports, or anyone else, it still may not like what it hears."

[pietasterp]

The last point in the article is, I think, the most salient - I'm 100% sure that the NFL did not realize they were making the deal exclusive into perpetuity (and putting EA completely in the driver's seat for the forseeable future) when they originally agreed to this deal at the end of 2004. There will be no bidders other than EA left in 2012, or 2013, or whenever the license technically expires. EA holds all the cards, as they're the only ones willing to fork over major cash for the exclusive license given that they have an established franchise and sizable investment with serious pop culture (and monetary) cache that is a proven revenue stream. Everyone else has already been shut out by what will then be nearly a decade of inactivity. No one's going to spend $300 million on the hopes of growing a new football IP from the ground up. Game over.

What I find interesting (and slightly irritating, for some reason) is that people are just now seeing this in the major gaming media outlets. I believe we had this exact point nailed to a "T" way back in 2004 in the original "EA Gets Exclusive NFL License" thread - which actually would be interesting to dig up and see how dead-on the OS readers were at that time. I mean, how is it possible that we all saw this back then (or some of us, anyway) and it's only now becoming apparent to everyone else? Is the videogame biz still that underground/elusive to everyone else that they couldn't see what even casual sports gamers knew 7 years ago? It was obvious then, as it is now, that when that deal was made it would be the end of any non-Madden game for the rest of the modern age of videogaming. Welcome to the party, kotaku....

[thundergatti]

Quote: Originally Posted by pietasterp

The last point in the article is, I think, the most salient - I'm 100% sure that the NFL did not realize they were making the deal exclusive into perpetuity (and putting EA completely in the driver's seat for the forseeable future) when they originally agreed to this deal at the end of 2004. There will be no bidders other than EA left in 2012, or 2013, or whenever the license technically expires. EA holds all the cards, as they're the only ones willing to fork over major cash for the exclusive license given that they have an established franchise and sizable investment with serious pop culture (and monetary) cache that is a proven revenue stream. Everyone else has already been shut out by what will then be nearly a decade of inactivity. No one's going to spend $300 million on the hopes of growing a new football IP from the ground up. Game over. What I find interesting (and slightly irritating, for some reason) is that people are just now seeing this in the major gaming media outlets. I believe we had this exact point nailed to a "T" way back in 2004 in the original "EA Gets Exclusive NFL License" thread - which actually would be interesting to dig up and see how dead-on the OS readers were at that time. I mean, how is it possible that we all saw this back then (or some of us, anyway) and it's only now becoming apparent to everyone else? Is the videogame biz still that underground/elusive to everyone else that they couldn't see what even casual sports gamers knew 7 years ago? It was obvious then, as it is now, that when that deal was made it would be the end of any non-Madden game for the rest of the modern age of videogaming. Welcome to the party, kotaku....

Enjoyed your post.

I just have to question the assumption you made that no one else would be willing to invest in the license. Its the National Football League, and the game has demonstrated its profitability over time.

[statum71]

This is EXACTLY why I voted no in the front page poll.

I don't see NFL 2K coming back.

[permanent1]

Considering 2K already approached the NFL recently prior to this exension i would not be so sure about that.

[bonafied0034]

Not necessarily on topic here, but if the current CBA expires and the NFLPA decertifies (like they claim they will do), doesn't that mean that EA will not be able to include those players in the game unless they pay them each individually (since they couldn't give the union one lump sum to distribute)? Would EA fork out that cash to each individual player?

If that is the case, then that, to me, is why this might be the best thing to happen. In my opinion, that would cause people to lose interest in Madden. After all, APF2k8 did not sell as well because it did not have current NFL players in the game. Would this then cause 2k sports to release another APF game to compete with a no-NFL player Madden? Again, this all depends on if the above assumption is true.

[Nab_Impervious_XII]

Quote: Originally Posted by statum71

This is EXACTLY why I voted no in the front page poll. I don't see NFL 2K coming back.

The article doesn't say NFL 2k won't come back though. It's saying it won't come back in the PS3 era (which is scheduled to end around 2013-2014). Which is true. No arguing against that.

Overall, it's an article filled with bad news for the immediate future, but a potential silver lining scenario for the new console generation era. Since both 2k and EA have to essentially reset their developmental cycles to meet the demands of the new consoles in 2014, they will be able to more fairly compete for the license again.

At that point, it will be up to 2k if it wants to cough out the big bucks to potentially share dual-exclusivity with EA.

[unfriendlyghst]

Wow just wow. We have an entire generation of gamers that has no idea of what a half time show or draft class update looks like. Its sad that so many kids are growing up with Madden teaching them about football fundamentals that don't exist.