Are Exclusive License Deals Ruining Sports Games? - statum71's Blog

statum71's Blog

Are Exclusive License Deals Ruining Sports Games?

Posted on February 18, 2009 at 10:48 PM.

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If you're a versatile sports gamer like myself, maybe you can understand the frustration on these forums with certain sports games. Especially next-gen sports games. When we PS3 and X360 gamers bought our new machines, we were expecting sports games to almost leap out of our HDTV's.

Now some of you have been next-gen longer than I have. And I think its safe to say that some sports are on the way up. While some others...seem to be stuck in neutral.

Neutral meaning not that its not making a gigantic leap year-after-year. That's unrealistic. But neutral meaning its not much better than...or in some cases worse than...when I was playing with a much weaker PS2.

Now this is just my humble opinion, but let's take a look at where each sport stands in sports gaming:

1. Pro Basketball... NBA games continue to improve. The NBA 2K series is one of the most popular sports games out. EA's NBA Live made big leaps last year and continues to improve. And while Sony's NBA game doesn't quite measure up, I wouldn't be surprised if they re-made their game in the wake of strong competition. Condition: Very Good

2. Baseball... MLB games are probably in the best shape. While MLB 2K was a disappointment to many last year, its looking pretty good for the coming year. Sony's MLB The Show is maybe the best sports game period. Nothing against the X360 but I wouldn't be without The Show. I'm glad I'm PS3. But even if The Show wasn't phenomenal, I'd scoop 2K in a flash. Its a good thing 2K hasn't used its third party license to keep Sony from making baseball games. Where there's competition, there's better games.
Condition: Excellent

3. Pro Football... With Madden being the only NFL game there is really no need for them to push the envelope. With that said, even though the game DID improve last year, compared to other sports it has been a major disappointment for many years. Especially next-gen. Is Madden as terrible as many say? Of course not. But imagining where it SHOULD be by NOW is indeed frustrating. Condition: Average

4. Hockey... EA's NHL series right now is one of the top 2 or 3 sports franchises in video games. You can credit that to their knowing that 2K was coming out with their own game as well. While NHL 2K isn't among the best, its at least there to compete. Condition: Good

5. Soccer... PES Soccer is a decent game; and some even like it more. But once again EA has one of the best in sports games with their FIFA series. With PES around, there is no telling how good FIFA will get. Condition: Very Good

6. Nascar... Only one Nascar game. That being from EA. I happen to like it. But I do think it would be better off with another game on the market. Condition: Average (no choices)

7. Tennis... Top Spin from 2K might've been missing alot but it was a good looking game. Sega's coming out with another Virtua Tennis which I think will put a little pressure on 2K. Speaking of pressure...I hear the big dawg EA is getting into tennis. Now that's a game I wanna see. Condition : Rising

8. Wrestling... Another exclusive deal (as far as WWE). When THQ announced their proudest new feature for SmackDown vs. Raw 09 was tag teaming??? Hot tags??? ....... WHAT??? Needless to say, this is the first time in 7 years I didn't buy a wrestling game. Because I also hear TNA was terrible. We have got to do better. Condition: Falling Fast

9. Boxing... Not a lot of talk either way due to the falling stock of the sport itself. But at least there is a couple of games to choose from. EA's Fight Night and 2K's Prizefighter. But sometimes great games can increase interest in a real life sport. Hopefully that'll happen this summer with Round 4. Can't say its too good at this point. Condition: Below Average

10. Golf... EA's Tiger Woods is the only PGA game. Not sure if its an exclusive deal or not. But honestly, its been declining. Question: Isn't TV presentation what companies are shooting for now days? What the world was the deal with changing to that terrible lady commentator? Condition: Good but declining

It just seems to me that the sports where companies are competing are in better shape. Don't get me wrong...I don't hate the evil empire that is EA Sports. I just think they are a better company when they have competition.

The last REAL good Madden to me was Madden 05...which was the same year as NFL 2K5.

Coincidence?

Comments

# 1 rudyjuly2 @ Feb 19

Exclusive deals suck for everyone regarless of the sport. Competition is always good to push the envelope as well as provide a different choice. Some love R-stick controls and may prefer 2K baseball over the Show. Others may feel the opposite.

Even with 2K5 and Madden '05 - each game had its merits but both were quite a bit different. If you didn't like one style of gameplay you could go with the other. That's not possible in football right now.