Madden NFL 15 News Post

EA Still Owns the NFL License Exclusively

11:32 AM - June 13, 2014 by RaychelSnr

While there has some some question as to the status of the exclusivity of the Madden license, owing to the fact the last mention of the license by EA only said there were a number of years left on it with no mention of exclusivity. That was never a guarantee that the license wasn't exclusive, as EA hadn't mentioned in official documents that the license was either extended or exclusive since the initial deal -- the news of the prior extension was never fully confirmed by EA.

Expecting a different approach where EA held a pomp and circumstance parade has led to a rash of unfounded rumors that another competitor, namely 2K, was developing a football game. There was even an unfounded expectation that 2K might even debut a football title at E3.

However, the biggest news to come out of the 2K camp at E3 might have been Ronnie2K confirming that not only was 2K not working on a football game, but that the license was still exclusively owned by 'someone else.'

This isn't surprising, considering the NFL license being open for other partners would have almost certainly leaked by now by someone. The current deal's term length which has been widely speculated and rumored is that Madden still has two to three years in its current deal, pushing the game well into this new generation.

It still remains unlikely, even if the license was open, that a competitor could rise up to compete with Madden in any reasonable amount of time given the more advanced needs of today's sports gaming audience. Thus, given the license's current status, it is possible that any possible competitor wouldn't be ready for release for at least 18-24 months after the license was actually acquired by someone, which puts the most reasonable timeframe for a Madden competitor at least four to five years from now, if ever. The most likely scenario remains that EA and Madden will remain the only major NFL gaming option on big box consoles for the foreseeable future.

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Member Comments

# 361 mestevo @ 07/07/14 12:22 AM

He's looking strictly from the context provided: mainstream video game review sites and the majority of purchasers for the most part.

What you state isn't incorrect, but it's only most important for a minority of buyers. All of that stuff is important to me too, yet Madden remains my most played game every year for probably the last decade (w/ NCAA really it's only competition for that title some years).

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# 362 kjcheezhead @ 07/07/14 01:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valdarez


	How is the game selling year over year? I put together this chart on Madden sales several years ago. At that time, EASports was claiming sales were down because of the recession.

I had to get the numbers off vgchartz, which I hear is questionable with its accuracy. I prefer finding articles from gaming sites that give first week sales, etc.

That said, here goes

Madden 11 12 13 25

360: 2.63 mil 2.62 2.75 1.95

PS3: 2.32 2.16 2.39 1.50

Wii: .70 .42 .46 NA

PS2: .50 NA NA NA

Xone: NA NA NA .56

PS4: NA NA NA .65

PSP: .35 .20 .27 NA

WiiU: NA NA .07 NA

Total: 6.5 mil 5.4 mil 5.94 mil 4.66 mil

There was a slight bump for Madden 11, but Madden 10 was down 1.34 million from Madden 09 and the lowest since Madden 05. Madden 13 has the only other rise year over year, but Madden 12s ps2 numbers were unavailable. Its probably a slight increase to flat sales if you include those. That was the year they added real time physics as well. Probably the most anticipated addition to the game in years.

# 363 CM Hooe @ 07/07/14 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SamuraiX


	Yes all that is great to have if your looking strictly from a video game point of view

Since Madden NFL is a video game first and foremost, it stands to reason that evaluating Madden NFL as a video game is a perfectly valid standard.

# 364 hanzsomehanz @ 07/07/14 07:33 AM

EA is lucky to of had John Riccietiello on board when their sales were languishing during the transition to PS3 and 360. They better count their blessings re the Ultimate Team communities too.

It was John who shed light on them regarding using the internet as a market for gaming and second: their game quality is not swell and needs polishing.

It was hard for them to accept the reality then, back in '07 as they were contentedly stuck in their ways but John shook them out of the trance.

John's no longer w them and I do not mean to glorify him as a Savior - he did leave some stains and damages they are still trying to repair but wihout him I do not think they would have survived to make it this far.

Along with John's severance pay was the severance owed to 1,000's of other employees which totaled an expense on the Millions - EA also added in the press article that they made these cuts as part of their strategy to lower operating costs which later led to the development of the Egnite Engine.

EA is still trying to break even on past games that did not bring in enough revenue to cover the operating costs.

As someone put it regarding NBA Elite (Live '11), "EA hurt EA."

When EA botched the server delivery for the latest Sims, it stirred the community into a frenzy of fits but there were other fails too like the ending to Mass Effect that was so bad the community complained still when EA released an alternate ending as a DLC.

I am one who firmly believes it is only EA who can undo this exclusivity to the NFL Liscense: not the Madden community nor a competitor.

They want to be the giant on every corner of the gaming market and it is to their own detriment each time they try to butt heads with the other chiefs who have planted flags in their proven markets .

The Madden SIM Community is not a community loud and effective enough to exact the type of change many are looking for, that is my firm belief.

EA is getting burned with lawsuits and are burning their own hands with their poorly delivered products: it will be them who bring their own demise upon themselves at this rate, not the Madden community.

The only whisper of a threat that I do hear could be spurnned by the Madden Community is a lawsuit on how EA conducts busines in the Ultimate Team mode from a gambling POV.

If EA loses that baby or their UT baby suffers an attack: that could certainlly spell disaster for EA Sports and EA as a whole as Framchise and Single Player Offline is no longer a pillar for their three Sports pillars: NBA, FIFA and Madden but Ultimate Team is the one pillar and gluttonous cash cow.

It would be devastating for anyone to put a mark on the UT mode which drives so much pure revenue for them and helps to offset the decline in sales.

Well, if the UT cow gets gutted: I hope they don't cry over the spilled milk.

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# 365 mestevo @ 07/07/14 08:53 AM

There a source for any of that, or wishful thinking?

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# 366 kjcheezhead @ 07/07/14 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 23


	The sales on NBA live were down the entire generation because they kept starting over and not enough people bought that junk. They developed the bad reputation they have. They didn't get it from 2k...make no mistake EA screwed EA. They lost their own loyal fans in the process. People like good games regardless of company. So Many People Loved live 10. Ot introduced stuff 2k didnt have like the authentic play calling system the pick and roll mechanic among other thinga but they decided it wasn't enough for them and put the hockey guy on the project and bam. They didn't listen to their fans and lost all of them. Not just because of competition but years of incompetence.

This is how I see madden. If EA had released madden 06-08 on ps3 in the state they were in while facing a quality nfl 2k, they would've lost their fans as well. Had that glitch I posted happened to madden 09 in this alternate reality, I do believe Madden would've suffered the same fate as Elite.

EA earned their reputation with Madden same as Elite. Exclusivity allowed them to keep going until they got the game to its current mediocre "good, not great" status.

# 367 ODogg @ 07/07/14 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valdarez


	Fun, much like beauty, is definitely in the eye of the beholder. I personally can only enjoy Madden on single player seasons/franchise, and that's for a limited time, with a strong imagination, and forgoing of the laws of physics. With the movement such as it is, I can't imagine playing online. I'd be surprised if the games online boil down to real football mechanics, and that's just not fun to me.

Yes it's subjective for sure. When I quit trying to expect Madden to be a highly realistic simulation of football and instead just a fun-to-play video game I've enjoyed the game much, much more.

# 368 SageInfinite @ 07/07/14 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ODogg


	Yes it's subjective for sure. When I quit trying to expect Madden to be a highly realistic simulation of football and instead just a fun-to-play video game I've enjoyed the game much, much more.

Even when I do that at times, problems with the game kill my fun and immersion. Like when I throw a pass towards the sideline and my receiver can't get his feet in bounds because 1 foot slides so far he can't get both down(true step? Lol). Or even if I do make a catch in bounds they call it out because the animation is so poor one foot just slightly hovers, so even with a challenge they rule it out. Or the fact that the challenge system is just broken so even when plays are clearly in bounds they still rule it out. Or how you can still run into a blockers back and fall like you got shot. Or poor controls because the game lacks transitional animations. Lineman who play matador.

This game can be fun, but there are still issues that keep it from being a consistently good game. The biggest problem with the game is its consistency. Even if you're not looking for this amazing sim game, even as an arcade game, Madden fails at times because things simply don't work well on the field at times. I'm not looking for perfection at all, just consistency.

# 369 bkrich83 @ 07/07/14 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SageInfinite


	Even when I do that at times, problems with the game kill my fun and immersion. Like when I throw a pass towards the sideline and my receiver can't get his feet in bounds because 1 foot slides so far he can't get both down(true step? Lol). Or even if I do make a catch in bounds they call it out because the animation is so poor one foot just slightly hovers, so even with a challenge they rule it out. Or the fact that the challenge system is just broken so even when plays are clearly in bounds they still rule it out. Or how you can still run into a blockers back and fall like you got shot. Or poor controls because the game lacks transitional animations. Lineman who play matador. This game can be fun, but there are still issues that keep it from being a consistently good game. The biggest problem with the game is its consistency. Even if you're not looking for this amazing sim game, even as an arcade game, Madden fails at times because things simply don't work well on the field at times. I'm not looking for perfection at all, just consistency.

Agreed. I just play the game at this point.

To be honest, I don't really need or want the simmy of simmiest games if that makes sense. I've already lived that part of my life for real. I just want a fun game that plays a believable game of football. While EA has come close to meeting those needs, they just haven't quite been able to put out a game that holds my attention for extended periods of time. And to be honest a super technical 100% accurate simulation of the game sounds tedious to me.

I can play MLB The Show pretty much year round, I can play Madden for a few days at a time then my enthusiasm wanes.

# 370 OhMrHanky @ 07/29/14 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A_Quiet_Pro


	I understand that people are frustrated with EA and Madden, (including me). And not to defend them, but to be fair..... Personally I think the PS3 and 360 were garbage consoles to code for, and (no excuse, as a AAA dev they should've figured it out), but EA never fully unlocked what could've been. NOW with the PS4, I think Madden gaming will return to what it was in the PS2 days. (AHH those were great).

Lol. Garbage consoles? How old r u? Try playing an old NES. No, not Super NES. Just NES. lol. How about colecovision? Ever play Halo? Gears of war 3? GTAV? I think a LOT was done with games/gaming on these 'garbage' consoles that was pretty amazing. Assassins creed 2? Madden absolutely did NOT try hard enough. Period.

# 371 The_Balm @ 07/29/14 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A_Quiet_Pro


	I understand that people are frustrated with EA and Madden, (including me). And not to defend them, but to be fair..... Personally I think the PS3 and 360 were garbage consoles to code for, and (no excuse, as a AAA dev they should've figured it out), but EA never fully unlocked what could've been. NOW with the PS4, I think Madden gaming will return to what it was in the PS2 days. (AHH those were great).

I'm not trying to jump on you, but to echo OhMrHanky a bit...

If last gen had "garbage consoles" or not is completely irrelevant as other devs made amazing games for years and years, sports games and not. Also, throughout the last generation, EA themselves made Fifa which is one of the best selling and best received video game franchises of all time.

# 372 juduking @ 07/29/14 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OhMrHanky


	Lol. Garbage consoles? How old r u? Try playing an old NES. No, not Super NES. Just NES. lol. How about colecovision? Ever play Halo? Gears of war 3? GTAV? I think a LOT was done with games/gaming on these 'garbage' consoles that was pretty amazing. Assassins creed 2? Madden absolutely did NOT try hard enough. Period.

Without the 360 and PS3 gaming as a whole would have suffered greatly. Even the PC guys can admit that because of the console boon last generation, it made gaming as a whole a legitimate form of entertainment for the masses. I would count that as a success on the hardware level if you ask me.

# 373 Caveman24 @ 07/30/14 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A_Quiet_Pro


	I understand that people are frustrated with EA and Madden, (including me). And not to defend them, but to be fair..... Personally I think the PS3 and 360 were garbage consoles to code for, and (no excuse, as a AAA dev they should've figured it out), but EA never fully unlocked what could've been. NOW with the PS4, I think Madden gaming will return to what it was in the PS2 days. (AHH those were great).

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

# 374 kehlis @ 07/30/14 12:31 AM

I don't know why this was bumped at this point but I'm going to close it.

Nothing further can come from this thread.

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