What Do You Do When Your Franchise Series...

[Guest Flyboy]

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Two weeks ago, The Sports Business Journal, one of the most respected trade journals of the athletic entertainment business, revealed the identity of Madden NFL 2005 cover athlete Ray Lewis several days before EA Sports announced it.

 

Now it appears they may have broken one of biggest sports-licensing stories in the game industry's history.

 

The May 3 issue of the Journal contained a story with the headline "EA set to pay Players Inc. $1 billion." According to the article, Electronic Arts is in final negotiations with Players Inc., the NFL Players' Association marketing arm, to exclusively license all NFL player rights for the next four years. The Journal set the price tag of the deal at $250 million each year, which EA would pay Players Inc.; in other words, a literal billion-dollar contract.

 

Given the large sums reportedly at stake, the exclusivity of the EA/NLFPA deal would be almost certainly strict. If that turns out to be the case, no non-EA Sports game could license NFL player likenesses--an almost certainly fatal blow to the Madden series' rivals.

 

When provided with excerpts from the article by GameSpot, EA Sports representatives promised to pass them along to "someone who can answer your questions." As of press time, no official confirmation or denial of the EA/NLFPA negotiations had been given by EA, and The Sports Business Journal remains the only publication to have published the story.

 

GameSpot will have more details on this developing story as they become available.

 

I won't even comment.

[El Psycho Diablo 0]

..and to believe people bitch about Microsoft?

 

EA's a vampire, in terms of the gaming industry. They buy up more studios than any other company combined, and blatantly ignore large portions of their userbase, (Dreamcast fans, now Xbox fans*) in addition to releasing uncompleted software (C&C Generals, for starters).

 

*Especially when it comes to Live, and actually UPGRADING games to look like Xbox games, instead of PS2 ports..which most are.

 

I've refused to buy EA products for years, and this dosen't make me change my mind.

 

*dons eyepatch, screws on pegleg, and wanders off*

[Lightning Flik 0]

Well this is seriously low as low can get.

 

And to think I just supported EA because of MVP was a good baseball game.

 

Nice way to bury the competition, EA. Congrats. You just beat out Microsoft in that department.

[El Psycho Diablo 0]

Another reason I hate EA? They hold the rights to System Shock 2..a game better than anything they themselves could ever produce.

 

[Skywarp! 0]

And now they're set to shit on "Goldeneye," the only good Bond game, which was because EA had nothing to do with it the first time.

[BX 0]

Well, no more EA games for me.

[The Metal Maniac 0]

What's wrong with C&C Generals? Can the problems be fixed by getting patches?

 

I want the game, but I'd rather know this first.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Well, uh...this doesn't really have any effect on Gamecube owners since they weren't going to get any football games besides Madden anyway, unless you count Blitz Pro.

 

EA is the only company thats supporting the Gamecube with sports titles right now as it is and Im pretty sure that they'll keep it that way since they basically have no competition for sports games on the Gamecube. Accliam dropped ASB and Sega dropped their sports franchises.

 

And EA has enough money that I would expect them to go out and get the players liscenses for MLB, NBA and NHL. They already own the rights to NASCAR for games.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Well this is seriously low as low can get.

I agree.

 

I like it...

[Scroby 0]

Forshame on you EA, forshame indeed.

[Ripper 0]

They had better not get the lisense to NBA player when they have basically the worst one game and have for years now.

[Spicy McHaggis 0]

Flyboy, what are we going to do about NCAA?

 

I'll definitely go for ESPN NFL, but I don't think I can give up on EA for college.

[Renegade 0]

On the bright side, Harry potter 3 should be out at some point! I can hardly wait.

[dubq 0]

Bah, this doesn't bother me, I don't play football games. Go EA! Can't wait for Def Jam 2.

[Silence 0]

And now they're set to shit on "Goldeneye," the only good Bond game, which was because EA had nothing to do with it the first time.

Speaking of Goldeneye, what happened to Rare, anyway? The last game Rare made was one of the Banjo-Kazooie games on N64, I think.

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

And now they're set to shit on "Goldeneye," the only good Bond game, which was because EA had nothing to do with it the first time.

This new one has NOTHING to do with the film.

 

At all. GoldenEye is your villain's name. Plus, since they've just come off making a game arguably as good as GoldenEye, I cut them a bit of slack on that score.

 

No comment on the NFL thing.

[Skywarp! 0]

And now they're set to shit on "Goldeneye," the only good Bond game, which was because EA had nothing to do with it the first time.

Speaking of Goldeneye, what happened to Rare, anyway? The last game Rare made was one of the Banjo-Kazooie games on N64, I think.

Rare's "Conker's Bad Fur Day" ended up being the last N64 title, ever.

 

They then made "Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet" for the Gamecube, and then Microsoft bought them for an exclusive 2nd party. Most of Rare's staff fled and formed 3rd Party developer, Free Radical ("Timesplitters 2"), but the group offically named Rare is working on the next "Conker" title for X-Box.

[Skywarp! 0]

Plus, since they've just come off making a game arguably as good as GoldenEye, I cut them a bit of slack on that score.

I actually thought that game was pretty overrated.

[Ced 0]

What kind of income does EA rake in nowadays? A 4 year/$1 bil. contract for exclusive rights to the NFLPA sounds insane and has all the tendencies to blow up in their faces.

 

The thing is I'm way more jacked about NCAA 2005 than I am about Madden 2005.

[Scroby 0]

but the group offically named Rare is working on the next "Conker" title for X-Box.

 

And I can't wait for the next Conker game, that was the best game for N64, followed closely by No Mercy, then Goldeneye.

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

Plus, since they've just come off making a game arguably as good as GoldenEye, I cut them a bit of slack on that score.

I actually thought that game was pretty overrated.

It was a continuous string of markout moments for me. Just one after another.

[Guest El Satanico]

hooray go EA...

 

Cry about dirty pool all you want, but all that matters at the end of the day is if you defeat your opponent...not how you defeated them.

[Scroby 0]

hooray go EA...

 

Cry about dirty pool all you want, but all that matters at the end of the day is if you defeat your opponent...not how you defeated them.

 

There's a differance between having your comp. stop making a certain type of game due to low sales and paying the NFL off so no one else can use their players.

[Guest El Satanico]

Yes...there's a difference, but they provide the same results.

[Guest Flyboy]

Maybe if EA had any gusto they would *gasp* make BETTER football game instead of buying player rights' (even though it most likely won't happen).

[Scroby 0]

Yes...there's a difference, but they provide the same results.

 

Touche

[Guest MikeSC]

Plus, since they've just come off making a game arguably as good as GoldenEye, I cut them a bit of slack on that score.

I actually thought that game was pretty overrated.

So's "Goldeneye"

-=Mike

[Skywarp! 0]

Plus, since they've just come off making a game arguably as good as GoldenEye, I cut them a bit of slack on that score.

I actually thought that game was pretty overrated.

So's "Goldeneye"

-=Mike

I would say that it falls more into the "time hasn't been kind to it" category than "overrated".

[Toshiaki Koala 0]

but the group offically named Rare is working on the next "Conker" title for X-Box.

 

And I can't wait for the next Conker game, that was the best game for N64, followed closely by No Mercy, then Goldeneye.

Was I the only person who thought Conker SUCKED SHIT?

 

It was basically just Banjo Kazooie (one of the best games ever) with stiffer controls, more slowdown, and seldom-funny toilet humor. The only bright spot was the giant singing turd boss.

 

I mean, it wasn't as bad as Superman or Rugrats: Scavenger Hunt, but it always upsets me when people put it on the same level as Goldeneye and Zelda: OOT.

[AndrewTS 0]

but the group offically named Rare is working on the next "Conker" title for X-Box.

 

And I can't wait for the next Conker game, that was the best game for N64, followed closely by No Mercy, then Goldeneye.

Was I the only person who thought Conker SUCKED SHIT?

Was that a bonus level?

 

And no, you aren't alone. That's about the time Rare starting to suck, putting out that crappy DK64 and Conker, and since then they put out Star Fox Adventures (ugh).