EA signs a 5 year exclusive deal with NFL

[Jobber of the Week 0]

None of their Xbox games take advantages of the system's power, and most look like crap if you've got a decent video setup.

Neither does Grand Theft Auto, but nobody bitches about that game for one reason. It's fun. Graphics aren't the be-all, end-all and certainly aren't equivelant to quality of a game. There's too many whiny bitches these days who are only interested in visuals and either don't know or don't remember the ton of fun games on the S/NES.

 

Command & Conquer sucked because they shut down Westwood Studios. Even when Westwood was active, however, C&C wasn't exactly what you would call a golden surefire franchise. Tiberian Sun got all the hype in the world (USA Today says it's the best game ever!! Stars James Earl Jones!! WOW!) and it sucked the big one.

 

While EA is an awful employer (a lawsuit has started up) and their management ideas rival the pointy-haired guy from Dilbert (Let's not release Ultima Online 2, because it will compete with the aging Ultima Online!), the games aren't as bad as they're made out to be.

 

Online console gaming is a bit of a new idea, I don't think the experiation on online support will last. The PC versions of these titles have had online support forever.

 

Not to mention they held out on Live play for the longest time because they wanted to charge extra to play their stuff.

That's bullshit. Microsoft has the ability to charge you for things in Live. They've released MechAssault and TopSpin content with a charge attatched once those games got older.

 

The real reason is because EA wanted to have control of the customer information and integrate it into their system. So your login to the EA.com site would integrate with your online game profile and shit. Microsoft is trying to do the same thing, integrating Xbox Live gamertags into Microsoft .Net Passport.

 

So, if EA's acting evil they weren't any more evil than Microsoft was, they were just having a spat over who would control customer infromation.

 

How about all the people having trouble playing Sims 2 (EA's best-selling property, I believe) because of copy protection software glitches? Guess what EA's doing? Nothing.

 

And that's something every PC publisher is doing. People who bought boxed copies of Half-Life 2 found that the publisher had put a stupid CD check application on it that caused glitches for some people. This was actually redundant because the program went through the developer's authorization system (called Steam), so there was no way you could pirate it with or without the CD. But the publishers demanded anyway, because they're stupid like that. And the publisher in that case was Vivendi-Universal.

 

While I don't love EA by any means (the only games of theirs I own are the ones they didn't develop, like Battlefield and Burnout 3), come up with a better arguement before you start raging against the machine.

[El Psycho Diablo 0]

*snip* 

 

 

I hate to tell you, but yes, they do. I seem to remember a lot of people weren't happy that all the graphical glitches from the PS2 version made it in. I particularly complain about EA because there are other developers without the massive resources that DO take advantage of the Xbox features.

 

Take Ubisoft, for example. The Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell games are among some of the best looking (and selling) games on the system. They develop for Xbox/PC first, then scale it down for the PS2 format. Let's face it, the PS2 just can't handle a lot of things that the Xbox can. The levels have to be chopped up to allow for loading times, and the whole outside part of the CIA level was cut.

 

EA just develops for the PS2, and ports it over.

 

Just for the record, I've been playing games for a long time, and most of the ones I like aren't exactly graphical masterpeices. I'm not your average graphics-only whore, but it irks me to see things left the same when it could be made better. Given EA's resources, there's no excuse for the Xbox versions of games to be carbon copies of the PS2 ones.

 

No, Westwood wasn't the best, but at least they gave it a try. C&C Generals was a blatant attempt to cash in on current events, and using the Command and Conquer name to get fans to buy a completely unrelated game. That's just about as bad as Interplay using the Fallout name on BoS right before they died. Generals isn't just bad..the game itself isn't complete, terrible multiplay (in fact, the last "patch" broke the AI, and made it take up a huge ammount of CPU resources. Playing a LAN game against Hard AI..even with two high-end systems, turns it into a slideshow.). The worst part is that they turned their back on people asking them to fix what they'd broken, and they just ignore it.

 

..USA Today isn't the most credible source in the world, either.

 

MS has also released a lot of content for free, though.

 

EA's biggest demand was that old versions of games couldn't be playable online once the new game came out. I don't know if that made it into the agreement or not, but we'll see sooner or later, eh?

 

Looking at the press releases, EA controls all the servers for their games..so I'd imagine anyone wanting to play will be forced to upgrade games every year.

 

[i think the whole HL2 double-check bit was likely because of the source getting leaked. *shrugs* Just my view, though.

[KingPK 0]

Bah, I highly enjoyed the change of pace that 2K5 gave me, so it powerful sucks that ESPN Videogames is essentially cut off at the knees with this.

[Lightning Flik 0]

I wonder if some video game company will challenge that this contract creates a monopoly on the making of NFL games.

 

I just want to see what the ruling would be.

[Matt Young 0]

I've been a fan of EA Sports- well, Live and Madden- for a decade now and I am beginning to love the Tiger Woods games. However, ESPN/Sega Sports games have been my preferred series since getting NFL2k for Dreamcast on 9/9/99.

 

I knew the $20 price point that allowed me to own all of this year's ESPN Sports games wouldn't last, but now they won't be able to make licensed games period?

 

Fuck EA. First WCW dies, now Sega Sports. Fuck.

 

Why must all that I love be stolen from me?

[Guest Flyboy]

The ESPN games were going to go back up to $50 anyway, 2004 was just a promotional special to possibly get Madden buyers to also throw down a mere $20 to check out the competition.

I'm pretty sure their prices for their games were going to be the same for next year's games as well... doesn't surprise me.. I started the first thread it was rumored. I'm pissed, but hey.. fuck EA and their overrated games.

[GreatWhiteNope 0]

Petition -

 

Petition to NFL requesting they reconsider deal with EA

[Jobber of the Week 0]

LOL @ above post. Since when have online petitions ever done anything? Especially convinced a company to be less greedy and take less money?

 

I particularly complain about EA because there are other developers without the massive resources that DO take advantage of the Xbox features.

But the Xbox isn't the dominant platform, which is the primary focus for someone who wants to make sales. The reason the multiplatform games for Xbox feel like PS2 games is because the PS2 version was developed first.

 

Almost all the big multiplatform games do this. The Tony Hawk games do this. Spider-Man 2 did this. Etc.

 

MS has also released a lot of content for free, though.

Sure they have, but there's no rule that says they have to. I was correcting what you said, which was that the ability wasn't in there in XBL to charge people for content.

 

EA's biggest demand was that old versions of games couldn't be playable online once the new game came out. I don't know if that made it into the agreement or not, but we'll see sooner or later, eh?

Well, EA's deal with the NFL calls for "exclusive online features," so I think the NFL will be shutting down the NFL2K servers on Live. We'll see where it goes from here.

[Scroby 0]

First off... EA can kiss my ass. The only thing they're trying to do with the whole NFL deal is scare other developers off from competeing with them. And no EA doesn't use the Xbox to any full ablities. Most of the EA racing games does not use custom soundtracks or the higher grapchics EA could use. EA favors the sony system over any other system and thats that. Oh I wouldn't use the Tony Hawk game as an example since Activison won't let the Xbox use its internet for their game while Activison lets Sony use their internet service for the Tony Hawk games. Also when EA releases a sequal to one of their games, they only really update one feature with it. Madden is a prime example. Last year was the play making, while this year they updated one of the defense features. Well if you look at the ESPN football this year, it updated a hell of a lot of features....I've probably gone a bit of track, basically when it comes to games EA sucks. The next football game will probably only have one updated feature and be the same excat game it was last year. Screw EA and I hope they screw up on this deal.

[The Man in Blak 0]

I wonder if some video game company will challenge that this contract creates a monopoly on the making of NFL games.

 

I just want to see what the ruling would be.

It wouldn't hold up in court, but the only argument you could really make is that this agreement mutes competition and stifles the sports gaming industry because of the exclusivity of the NFL license.

 

This isn't a situation where you can make a different game with similar gameplay elements and attempt to build up a new intellectual property. Though football games are merely a subgenre in video gaming, the NFL license represents the whole of professional football, which serves as the entire basis for that subgenre. To make a game based on an alternative "intellectual property" - in this case, a fictional football league - would be virtually impossible, as such a company would not only be competing with Electronic Arts, but the NFL as well.

 

In a sense, you'd have to prove that the NFL was not an intellectual property, which would involve going down the painful road of defining how NFL football is different from college football and Arena Football and arguing whether those differences are valid enough to consider each of them as separate sports (and, thus, rendering the EA's exclusive hold on the NFL license as a monopoly on a particular sport).

 

As I said, it'd never hold water in a court room.

 

Ultimately, I think ESPN should pull a counter-strike and get an exclusive license from the NFLPA, if they can. Such an agreement is not unheard of in the industry (example: Ken Griffey Jr.'s baseball game for the SNES). After all, what good are the NFL image and the team licenses going to be if you have to stock the teams with fictional players?

[2GOLD 0]

If ESPN did that it would be the greatest comeback in a long time.

EA cuts off the knees of ESPN so ESPN cuts off the legs of EA SPORTS.

[EricMM 0]

this is all rediculous.

 

yet another reason to boycott EA.

 

Can't handle a little comp? Not making enough money? Bitches!

[TheBigSwigg 0]

This doesn't sound like anything drastic to me.

 

Disney owns ESPN. Disney competes with Madden. EA puts up money to make Madden exclusive. Now, do you think Disney would rather cough up money to top EA, or would they rather sell the ESPN brand and likeness to EA for use in the upcoming exclusive Madden game.

 

I don't see this as eliminating competition. The competition (ESPN) probably realized they could make money instead of spend money.

Actually, Disney owns ABC AND ESPN, which means that Disney pays John Madden to be a commentator on MNF.

Disney doesn't own the ESPN games, they just pay SEGA for the naming rights.

 

 

Here's a question: Could ABC pinch Madden for allowing his name on the games?

[Guest CronoT]

Knowing Disney, they won't just sit back while someone takes money from them in a back-room deal. For all intents and purposes, the NFL is just as much a monopoly as Major League Baseball is. Sure, there's AAA and Minor League Baseball, and the Arena Fotball League, but that doesn't change the fact that it's the only football league that's nationwide, and has major TV and radio contracts all over the country.

 

This will most likely be taken to court, by several parties, claiming that this contract wil create an illegal monopoly, and will do undue harm to the plaintiffs, ie, Sega Sports, ESPN, Disney, and any other video game company that makes NFL football games.

[Slayer 0]

It's time for a CFL game

[Lightning Flik 0]

It's time for a CFL game

Or Arena Football League.

[TheBigSwigg 0]

It's time for a CFL game

Or Arena Football League.

There were AFL games. They sucked.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

EA has the NFLPA as a part of this deal.

[Guest CronoT]

Someone made these pics to "comment" on the situation. I thought you all might find them as amusing as I did.

 

 

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

SEGA could jump on an exclusive deal with the NCAA for Basketball and Football..that wouldn't be nearly as expensive and they would probably be able to keep selling the games for $20.

 

Not that I care as long as Sega doesn't want to support the Gamecube.

[GreatWhiteNope 0]

LOL @ above post. Since when have online petitions ever done anything? Especially convinced a company to be less greedy and take less money?

I know they don't work - but the point is they get people talking about the situation.

[Guest Vitamin X]

^^

 

Aren't we already doing that?

[The Man in Blak 0]

EA has the NFLPA as a part of this deal.

Then the monopoly argument is made more valid.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Looking at it harder, there's really no detail as to what "exclusive online features" are. It doesn't necessarily mean online play, it could mean some deal for online gamers being provided by NFL.

 

Although five years is a really long time (we'll have new systems by then), I think in the meantime VC can survive by continuing to sell NFL2K5 upgrades over Xbox Live. Imagine if you could just spend a little bit of money instead of a new $50 game to upgrade a roster or a jersey?

[GeneMean 0]

 

So does that mean that the Allies won thanks to the Madden curse?

[nogoodnick 0]

Sega is such a shitty company. They don't make very many original games and the ones they do make suck. This company has been run into the ground and has really just been on life support for the last couple years. This is just another blow to a crippled company. I wonder how long theyll even be around. Maybe we should blame Sega for sucking at business and not having the money to throw around and challenge for a stake on any market. The Genesis was king and since then theyve made bad decision after bad decision.

[Guest Ronixis]

Sammy (the new owners of Sega) will keep the name alive. As for future games, Sammy will take over part and parsel of Sega now. The only issue know is can they compete with the big boys in Japan (Capcom, Konami, EnixSquare)? I truly believe they can with just Gulity Gear alone.

 

But they have to be pissed off at this. I truly believe that Sammy can do a Cel-Shaded animated football game in the vain of Tecmo.

 

As for this whole issue of ESPN, EA, the NFL, Disney, and Madden himself, Madden at last point was NOT too happy on where his franchise was going. As for ESPN - they should be ashamed. 25 years, you put out a great game, and you dont have the capital to beat out EA? Berman was even quoted he liked dealing with Sega. So I would watch this weekend NFL sunday countdown for sly comments towards John Madden. No, I shit you not.

 

This is NOT over. I feel that ESPN feels REALLY jipped at the NFL right now. All we made was a decent game- put our name on it and now yall going to shaft us because the other guys cant make a better game? How much more shafting we are going to get come NFL TV rights time?

 

And i feel that the NFL is having a problem with Spilt Personalities- you have the Corprete Boys giving blow jobs to EA, but then at the same time you have all these deals with other companies, when News Corp wanted the WHOLE NFL, The Football Men said NO and CBS was still able to keep NFL rights for AFC games. And now the Corprate boys still want to talk with Cable and other networks for Thursday Night games, which Undercuts both Monday Night and Sunday Night Games (the latter mostly because the NFL is punshing ESPN because of Playmakers still.)

 

Come on NFL...make up your mind. Stop this silly grudge over a TV show.

[EricMM 0]

I hope this plus those blogs recently convince some people not to support EA.

 

I certainly can't. And, you know, I LIKE some of their games. SSX? Fine by me. But it's certainly not worth it to support a company that blatently tries to legally beat their comp instead of quality-wise.

 

Pussies.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

Sega is such a shitty company. They don't make very many original games and the ones they do make suck. This company has been run into the ground and has really just been on life support for the last couple years. This is just another blow to a crippled company. I wonder how long theyll even be around. Maybe we should blame Sega for sucking at business and not having the money to throw around and challenge for a stake on any market. The Genesis was king and since then theyve made bad decision after bad decision.

"cough"

 

Shenmue

Jet Set Radio

Panzer Dragon

Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution

Space Channel 5

Crazy Taxi

Samba de Amigo

Seaman

 

and there are more out there.

 

Yeah all these games suck.

[claydude14 0]

Sega is such a shitty company.  They don't make very many original games and the ones they do make suck.  This company has been run into the ground and has really just been on life support for the last couple years.  This is just another blow to a crippled company.  I wonder how long theyll even be around.  Maybe we should blame Sega for sucking at business and not having the money to throw around and challenge for a stake on any market.  The Genesis was king and since then theyve made bad decision after bad decision.

"cough"

 

Shenmue

Jet Set Radio

Panzer Dragon

Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution

Space Channel 5

Crazy Taxi

Samba de Amigo

Seaman

 

and there are more out there.

 

Yeah all these games suck.

And a lot of those are just Dreamcast.

This generation:

Super Monkey Ball 1 & 2 (and Deluxe I think for the other platforms?)

Shenmue II

Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg (Underrated)

Phantasy Star Online I/II and III (although I can't speak for III)

And for the DS, the only game worth owning at this point, Feel the Magic: XX/XY

 

And I don't really play football games, but fuck EA for doing this to SegaSports. Competition makes you better, see: WWE.