MLB 2K11 News Post

Take-Two Interactive Suggests MLB Exclusivity May End When 2012 Deal Expires

12:12 AM - December 3, 2010 by Steve_OS

Take-Two Interactive's chairman Strauss Zelnick believes the company could walk away from its third-party MLB exclusivity deal when it expires in 2012, according to Reuters. At this point, he feels like Take-Two is not reaping enough benefits from the current deal.

Quote:


	"It's a losing proposition and we don't have any interest in pursuing losing propositions."

While that comment almost makes it seem like it's a foregone conclusion that Take-Two will walk away from the MLB deal in 2012, Zelnick also made it clear he was not opposed to renewing the exclusivity agreement if the terms changed.

Quote:


	"He said the company is open to renewing its game licensing agreement with Major League Baseball, but only if the economics change."

The "economics" he is hinting could deal with how the game sells in the coming years or how much cash has to be doled out for the license, but in the grand scheme of things that does not really matter.

In fact, I could have just typed "blah blah blah blah MVP Baseball 2013 could happen blah blah blah blah" and it would have sufficed here, especially for Xbox 360 owners out there who have not been able to get their grubby green hands on The Show during this generation of consoles.

Source - Reuters Summit-Take-Two sees opportunity in digital (Reuters) via (Kotaku)

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Member Comments

# 21 DubTrey1 @ 12/03/10 10:46 AM

I think it's a great prospect for all involved. More comp for MLB the Show and great news for 360 owners who could again have a chance at MVP baseball coming back. I see it as a win-win..... also, what IF - and a big what IF - 2K took that exclusive license cash and carried it over to the NCAA folks in order to start up the Choops franchise again? Just a thought

# 22 GlennN @ 12/03/10 12:02 PM

Great news! I, like many others here, despise "exclusive" licensing deals. Purely breeding grounds for mediocrity.

I also disagree with the posts above, saying non-licensed games can sell as well as licensed games. They just can't. The casual fan, or casual sports gamer, is going to buy the licensed product to play with (as?) players they know. Personally, since I play franchise modes and soon have a league full of fictitious players, I couldn't care less; but, I recognize that I am not in the majority.

At the same time, I do not believe Backbreaker's disappointing sales figures were just because there was no licensing agreement (though that certainly put it at a disadvantage). To me, the game was a tremendous disappointment. They have some great ideas (so there is hope for BB2), but for an offline franchise guy, BB made a real quick trip to my shelf.

# 23 rooney8 @ 12/03/10 12:20 PM

TTWO share price is up 2% on this news.

# 24 ChampN252 @ 12/03/10 12:27 PM

To the poster talking about the money sports it making is wrong. Because baseball isn't on tv like football and basketball, doesn't mean it not doing good. Baseball just had their highest revenues ever and I think it outdid any other sport. That's likely to never change. It's the only sports that has stayed true to it roots for as long as it been played. Football, for example, is making new rule changes every game. If better baseball games were made on multiple platforms, it would out sell most other games.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big...urn=mlb-224508

# 25 Ollienyy @ 12/03/10 01:13 PM

Is anyone else actually a little saddened by this news? 2K10 was no where near as good as the other game but it was still very entertaining and light years ahead in Broadcast Presentation (not visuals and audio) then the other game. I had high hopes that 2k11 would improve on the sturdy foundations that 2k10 laid down and fear that now maybe they'll just phone it in if they think they won't be making any more. This seems like a strange time to make the announcement too, kinda like, well fans, you probably won't want to buy our next game as we've pretty much given up all hope on the series.

# 26 DickDalewood @ 12/03/10 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ollienyy


	Is anyone else actually a little saddened by this news? 2K10 was no where near as good as the other game but it was still very entertaining and light years ahead in Broadcast Presentation (not visuals and audio) then the other game. I had high hopes that 2k11 would improve on the sturdy foundations that 2k10 laid down and fear that now maybe they'll just phone it in if they think they won't be making any more. This seems like a strange time to make the announcement too, kinda like, well fans, you probably won't want to buy our next game as we've pretty much given up all hope on the series.

.... Where exactly did 2K state they would stop making baseball games?

# 27 Chef Matt @ 12/03/10 02:36 PM

Quote:


	blah blah blah blah MVP Baseball 2013 could happen blah blah blah blah

LMAO, yes that would suffice.

# 28 Beebe's Kid @ 12/03/10 02:42 PM

The Show is pretty, and it is a good game, possibly great...however, give MVP a crack at next-gen, and it's ovah!!

Maybe it's been to long, and some forget, or maybe some think The Show is the best, because it's all they've ever known.

Competition is absolutely the best thing that could happen to us. MVP will show everybody else what a baseball game should be, and they will all be scrambling to beat the champ... we get MVP, and we get the other companies to step it way up trying to beat MVP. Win/win. We can't freaking lose!

# 29 EnigmaNemesis @ 12/03/10 03:08 PM

Keep in mind people, the MVP team was dismantled and done with a long time ago. (so to think them coming with the same branding and all of a sudden "game over" for every other baseball game is crazy talk) Especially when The Show IMO far surpassed MVP in every way... just nostalgia keeps one in thei hearts.

With all the issues EA is having with NBA, etc, there is no guarantee for anything great or anything at all initially.

All Star Baseball team was dismantled, Microsoft has the rights to High Heat, yet did nothing with it.

So it will still be a rough first start for a new game 2013, especially how refined The Show will be, and hopefully 2K baseball as well.

# 30 Ollienyy @ 12/03/10 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DickDalewood


	.... Where exactly did 2K state they would stop making baseball games?

I meant in the series, but how would they make more if they don't get the MLB license?

# 31 EnigmaNemesis @ 12/03/10 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ollienyy


	I meant in the series, but how would they make more if they don't get the MLB license?

They will still have the license, but it will not be "exclusive" for third parties. Which means it is open for all companies to purchase a right to make an MLB game.

# 32 nemesis04 @ 12/03/10 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ollienyy


	I meant in the series, but how would they make more if they don't get the MLB license?

They are talking about an exclusive deal. They would continue to make a baseball game.

# 33 Artman22 @ 12/03/10 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MLB01


	I personally don't believe that applies to this situation because MLB 2K hasn't been any competition for MLB The Show since 08. MLB The Show is competing with itself anymore.

The show is blessed to have developers who don't add gimicks, but continue to build on a solid foundation. The same will evetually start to happen for mlb2k as well. If YOU don't see the improvements on mlb2k from 2k9 to 2k10 then I don't know what to tell you. The game will continue to improve. These things take time.

# 34 khaliib @ 12/03/10 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrivera34


	How much did backbreaker sell? The reality is the hardcore gamer is a small piece of sales. Without names people recognize, the average fan will not buy the game and that is where most of their money is made. I just want their to be competition in all games because at the end of the day that is what is best for the consumer and the industry as a hole.

First, clarity must be brought to the definition of Hardcore vs Casual.
When I speak to young people, I define Hardcore as the individual that will/willing to spend more than an hour playing a game day after day. Casual is the person that plays no particular game here or there just to blend into the social atmosphere there in. It's the time spent playing, not how much of a fan of the sport/game that decides if your Hardcore or not.

If the argument that sales greatly follow recognizable brand/players were true, then many of the PC Sports Text Sims would be thriving because they often more in depth than any of the console games. 99% of the threads after game release come back to "Gameplay"

NFL 2k5 is talked about still today because of the gameplay and the features that drew you into the game, not because it had a recognizable NFL visualization attached to it. Also, if your into seasons/dynasties, players become fictional anyway. So after one year in these modes, the game starts to shift towards generic, yet gamers continue to play the game.

In this climate, game developers have to look at ways to cut cost because gamers are being very selective and can't afford to buy every baseball, football or basketball game put out to see which one is the best.

BTW, lack of Backbreaker sales were contributed more to gamers being turned off by the futuristic player models, lack of camera angles, No player weight/size differences and some other external things, not because it didn't have an NFL license attached to it.

This article shows that a License does not equal sales.

# 35 Ikki @ 12/03/10 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoxFan01605


	Of course the exclusivity deal was a bad idea...they tried to respond to completely losing the most popular American sports brand (NFL) by only partially securing rights (meaning leaving open 1st party competition) to what was maybe the second most popular sport at the time and maybe 3rd now

Plus MLB 2K games aren't released outside of the USA, unlike NBA 2K and NHL 2K games.

# 36 BlackBetty15 @ 12/03/10 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by w1ck3d50xf4n


	2K Sports has never made a decent baseball game. Every year they produce garbage. I stopped buying their baseball games back in 2007 and haven't looked back. MVP Baseball was a great baseball series. It's the one game EA did really well. The Show is a good game and luckily I own a PS3 so I can get my MLB gaming fix but some of the things that are left out of this game baffle me. The weather is horrible. 95% of the time it doesn;t change. No rainouts, no delays. MVP had these in 2004. If you play at fields like Safeco the roof stays open all the time. In Boston the weather NEVER changes. Maybe once out of every 50 games you will get an overcast game, Anyone that has ever lived in New England knows how fickle the weather can be in the spring and summer. Also The Show doesn't have a Playoff Mode. A clear oversight. The Show has great graphics, no doubt about it, but I am starting to feel they are just producing the same game year after year. MVP always had something fresh to bring to the table. The Show is getting a bit stale in my opinion. And is it just me or does anyone else have trouble playing the NHL series by EA. The NHL is the only thing EA really has going for themselves right now, especially if they lose the exclusive NFL rights, but NHL 10 was so hard to just pick up and play. It was beyond complex. I'm no idiot but I also don't want to spend 3 weeks just trying to figure out the controls to a video game. With their NBA game a complete joke, Madden on the way down, and the funky controls for the NHL series. I almost scared what MVP Baseball 2013 might look like. I do hope EA the MLB license back and that they can regroup and produce some quality games again. Competition makes the games better.

See thats not really fair. Aside from the poor framerate, mlb2k7 was light years better than some of the things we had ever seen or played at that point. The models and lighting and all the things that ben brinkman (ala MVP dev) brought to nthat game were way better than the show that year and like I said aside from the poor framerate, it was a good baseball outing that had many of us pretty amazed. What we are all mad about and why 2K is such a poor company is that they never, never got better with their development of the series. Sony has year after year made a great game but then again...what does the show really bring you? Great graphics...yes...great animations...yes...great baseball sim...yes. But lets not all sit here for minute and say that sony is king. I mean, they have literally had the same player models/bodies since PS2 and havent done ANYTHING to advance in this area. I mean they know and all the smart guys know what would happen if they actually made the models realistic:
1. The animations and gameplay would have to be redone and the FPS would have to be tinkered with to the point where it would suffer in some places. (it already does in some ballparks you play in.) this for me is laziness and its been 4 years now and still the same lazy bodies and trex arms and textures.
2. Gameplay has literally been untouched since the days where eric chavez graced the cover of this game! Same pitching, same hitting, same fielding.
3. There is no player weight and momentum WHATSOEVER. The outfield and IF has the same running animation for years now. (where the legs move like a million times a minute and they can cut the corners better than any athlete on earth no matter. I could get big pappi in the outfield and he could cover it. I have done it for test and its quite hilarious.)
4. The same commentary team has been around since mlb 07. THE SAME. Enough said.

Despite this the show is a great game but lets not split hairs. They have done MINIMAL growth outside of improving an already stale system. There have been no innovations for gameplay, player models, or commentary; All of which we have been screaming for 4 years running. They are the gold standard IMO of presentation, player faces, and stadiums, and the "little thinbgs" but outside of that...lets be real with all of ourselves...you can find tit for tat with ANY game. What really makes a great game and why we all REALLY love SCEA and the show is because they actually LISTEN to us gamers and IMPLEMENT the community ideas (aside from the the bullleted points I mentioned above). Its called customer satisfaction and it seems like no matter what the only game 2K cares about is NBA which is unfortunate. I mean the simple fact they released that pic of 2k10 halladay which clearly was a bad photoshop attempt by accident for 2k11 is a perfect example of the leadership in the amrketing department and the upper staff of the company. Thats jsut me though.

# 37 Artman22 @ 12/03/10 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by w1ck3d50xf4n


	2K Sports has never made a decent baseball game. Every year they produce garbage. I stopped buying their baseball games back in 2007 and haven't looked back. MVP Baseball was a great baseball series. It's the one game EA did really well. The Show is a good game and luckily I own a PS3 so I can get my MLB gaming fix but some of the things that are left out of this game baffle me. The weather is horrible. 95% of the time it doesn;t change. No rainouts, no delays. MVP had these in 2004. If you play at fields like Safeco the roof stays open all the time. In Boston the weather NEVER changes. Maybe once out of every 50 games you will get an overcast game, Anyone that has ever lived in New England knows how fickle the weather can be in the spring and summer. Also The Show doesn't have a Playoff Mode. A clear oversight. The Show has great graphics, no doubt about it, but I am starting to feel they are just producing the same game year after year. MVP always had something fresh to bring to the table. The Show is getting a bit stale in my opinion. And is it just me or does anyone else have trouble playing the NHL series by EA. The NHL is the only thing EA really has going for themselves right now, especially if they lose the exclusive NFL rights, but NHL 10 was so hard to just pick up and play. It was beyond complex. I'm no idiot but I also don't want to spend 3 weeks just trying to figure out the controls to a video game. With their NBA game a complete joke, Madden on the way down, and the funky controls for the NHL series. I almost scared what MVP Baseball 2013 might look like. I do hope EA the MLB license back and that they can regroup and produce some quality games again. Competition makes the games better.

MLB2k10 was decent, but since you haven't bought a 2k baseball since 2007 you wouldn't know

..
I say 2k10 was decent, and fun to play. Just missing many things that were head scratchers in the gameplay department.

# 38 countryboy @ 12/03/10 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MLB01


	I personally don't believe that applies to this situation because MLB 2K hasn't been any competition for MLB The Show since 08. MLB The Show is competing with itself anymore.

of course it applies to this situation. Unless sales figures and posters at OS are lying, people are buying 2k(on both platforms) which means that the Show has to continue to get better in order to compete with it. While your opinion may be that 2k isn't a quality baseball title, for some it is and thats the crowd that SCEA is competing for.

Also, since the 3rd party exclusive deal is in place, the Show has become a "system seller" of sorts in which they are creating a game that people are buying a new console just to play, which in turn provides another sort of competition with 2k. Try and create a game that would have gamers consider jumping not only from 2k baseball to your game, but from a competitors system to yours.

2K provides competition for the Show and vice versa. And as we've seen from other titles, this is a very good thing thats only going to get better when the 3rd party exclusive deal ends.

# 39 playball11 @ 12/04/10 01:43 AM

I personally do not think that Baseball would be that stupid to give another exclusivity deal to Take-Two! I hope there is no exclusive deal with any company.

# 40 Knight165 @ 12/04/10 11:42 AM

Steve....this has all to do with the content of the story and nothing to do with the reporting of the news(for that....thank you!)...but is anyone surprised by this?
I think it's become readily apparent that an exclusive license does two thing.
1. Adds little or no unit sales to the product directly. I don't think anyone can say that because of an exclusive license....the masses flocked to buy one game either over another or because there was none other to purchase instead.
So...
2. The exclusive license was actually detrimental to the profits of the title by eating(devouring would be a better word) a pretty good portion of the plus side of the ledger.

While no exec of any of these companies will come right out and say it...but I'll bet that they all think the same thing.....they wish exclusive deals would just GO AWAY.

Anyone who wants in....pays a license fee and makes their game.

I do get a chuckle out of the thoughts of "watch out"...or "wait 'til this it's going to blow away"(paraphrasing) comments though.

M.K.
Knight165

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