The Faceless Master
Member
so they dont even have to try any more, they can just release a roster update for the next 4 years... i guess it saves them some money that way...
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ONE FOOTBALL FUTURE - BYE-BYE VISUAL CONCEPTS & ESPN FOOTBALL
- Thread starter sonycowboy
- Start date
Jonnyboy117
Member
Lots of thoughts running through my head right now.
First, props to EA. This is a smart move on their part and probably worth whatever they paid. You can be brilliant and evil at the same time.
Next, shame on you, NFL. The Madden series is going to go to pot in the next five years, because you cared more about your money hats than about competition and quality.
Next, my condolences to VC, Midway, Sony, Microsoft, and any other company with an NFL series. This sucks for you guys, and it's going to be hard to find ways to stay in the market without these licenses. It's especially biting for VC, who have actually dared to innovate in this genre and, in my opinion, easily surpassed Madden in terms of quality this year. I hope you guys turn your talents towards college football or another sport.
Next, my appeal to Nintendo. This is your chance to feed Mario Football to a starving market.
Finally, my appeal to all gamers: don't buy Madden and Street every year just out of habit. More than ever, EA needs to hear your demands for progress and innovation, and they need to feel the absence of your dollars if the games aren't up to snuff.
First, props to EA. This is a smart move on their part and probably worth whatever they paid. You can be brilliant and evil at the same time.
Next, shame on you, NFL. The Madden series is going to go to pot in the next five years, because you cared more about your money hats than about competition and quality.
Next, my condolences to VC, Midway, Sony, Microsoft, and any other company with an NFL series. This sucks for you guys, and it's going to be hard to find ways to stay in the market without these licenses. It's especially biting for VC, who have actually dared to innovate in this genre and, in my opinion, easily surpassed Madden in terms of quality this year. I hope you guys turn your talents towards college football or another sport.
Next, my appeal to Nintendo. This is your chance to feed Mario Football to a starving market.
Finally, my appeal to all gamers: don't buy Madden and Street every year just out of habit. More than ever, EA needs to hear your demands for progress and innovation, and they need to feel the absence of your dollars if the games aren't up to snuff.
Smiles and Cries
Member
Jonnyboy117 said:
Not only teh Sexies man but also wise
More Mario Football Love
This has always been the way of things with soccer. EA have always had the official license with Fifa etc. But other games still came out, just with changed names (usually editable back to the original) - like David Beckham might become David Beckhom or something like that. Although the latest games from Konami etc. seem to have the right names, so I don't know what happened to see that change..
In other words, this doesn't necessarily spell the end for any non-EA American Football games. EA's sales might though..
Just means that non-licensed games have to be really top notch quality, better than EA's, in order to carve out a market for themselves. Like Konami have done with ISS and Pro Evo.
In other words, this doesn't necessarily spell the end for any non-EA American Football games. EA's sales might though..
Just means that non-licensed games have to be really top notch quality, better than EA's, in order to carve out a market for themselves. Like Konami have done with ISS and Pro Evo.
Ninja Scooter
Member
:lol THis is some funny shit. First of all "VC almost beat us..." :lol they had to lower the price to $20 and STILL didn't outsell Madden (and by all accounts, they weren't planning on keeping that price point, so more than likely they would have upped the prices and the sales would have plummeted again). Secondly, if, as you guys say, VC gave EA some stiff competition, wouldn't this be a good business move? I guess Sony wrapping up GTA series exclusive (or MS buying Bungie and getting Halo exclusive) is bad for gamers too, right?
Marty Chinn
Member
Nobody is denying that its not a good move by EA. It's a great move. What we're complaining about is how this will play a role in the competition and further development of football games. With one football game out there and no competition, EA could just easily stagnate on how much effort it puts into improving it.
Sure ESPN didn't beat Madden but it sold quite a bit and improved their exposure. They likely would have stuck with a low price point for the next year adn probably increased for the next generation. Nobody expected ESPN to overtake Madden in one year.
Sure ESPN didn't beat Madden but it sold quite a bit and improved their exposure. They likely would have stuck with a low price point for the next year adn probably increased for the next generation. Nobody expected ESPN to overtake Madden in one year.
Wellington
BAAAALLLINNN'
joshschw said:
Don't bother chiming in if you know nothing about the topic at hand.
worldrunover
Member
Look what EA did!
DMczaf said::lol :lol :lol :lol
Holy shit, I just busted out laughing in the computer lab.
One console, one developer future is coming. BEWARE! :lol
The Sony/EA console, fueled by Madden!
Anyway, great move by EA, but I don't like the ramifications. I think those of us who may want to play ESPN just for the online leagues might be fubar next year. Did you guys notice in the press release the NFL is also granting EA some exclusive online features as well. Which means some of the stat tracking features of ESPN may be gone for 2k6! Only thing else I have to add right now is that EAs online leagues better be up to snuff next year and not the crap they gave us this year.
You know, now that Madden 2006 survey is starting to make a lot more sense. Here are the features they were hinting at for next year.
a) More online mini games like Rushing Attack
b) Prizes for tournaments, leagues, events, etc.
c) A feature that enables wagering
d) More community events
e) More visual differentiation in VIP Status
f) Online Franchise mode
g) Situations & Scenarios - An online -only game mode that provides dynamic game situations such as "Replay the last 5 minutes of Saturday's Ohio State vs. Michigan nail biter"
h) Spectator Mode - Ability for players to watch live or recorded games
i) Clubs & Rivalries - Provides players with the ability to self-organize into groups for clan-style rivalries and achievements.
j) King-of-the-Hill Mode - Special player identification and adornments for the top online players "at the moment"
k) Virtual Currency w/ Challenge Rewards - Ability for individuals or clubs to earn credits/tokens through accomplishments and challenges.
tahrikmili
Member
Drey1082 said:
Best post of the thread..
Bauer Action Hour
Member
$65 Madden NFL 2006-2010 here we come!
VC was laughing to the bank when their $20 game gave Madden a run for their money and forced EA to lower their prices.
Now EA is laughing last saying, "Hope you enjoyed your 15 minutes of fame, chumps. Don't mess with the big boys."
This is so evil, yet so beautiful at the same time.
Now EA is laughing last saying, "Hope you enjoyed your 15 minutes of fame, chumps. Don't mess with the big boys."
This is so evil, yet so beautiful at the same time.
Three crucial differences between Konami's situation and the one Take-Two/Sega/VC find themselves in.gofreak said:
1. Konami have signed a deal with FIFPro to license most player names. EA have made sure with this deal to get an exclusive contract with both the NFL and Players Inc so this avenue is out of the question.
2. While FIFA is the world body for Association Football it doesn't have any jurisdiction over the financial goings on for any of the continental or country organisations. Afaik an individual conference, league or team in the NFL can't go and sign a seperate agreement. Unlike with Konami who have always been able to sign up with organisations such as the J-League, and this year the Spanish, Italian and Dutch leagues.
3. Konami have had the leverage of the 1m+ units sold in Japan, which gives them some chance of competing with EA for licenses in Europe.
That picture is hilarious :lol :lol :lol
Btw, thank god I don't play football. I hate monopolies.
Take-Two's got some deep pockets doesn't it? Couldn't they theoretically buy up almost every pro-sports license remaining? I'd love to see EA decimated. Gotta root for the underdogs, and anybody compared to EA is the underdog!
captmcblack
Member
I almost spit soda on my laptop @ work, this was so funny.
What better way to deal with intense competition than to simply remove the opponent's ability to legitimately compete? :lol
GG EA; I hate you, but I can't help but salute this move. That's the kind of shit they teach in business school.
What better way to deal with intense competition than to simply remove the opponent's ability to legitimately compete? :lol
GG EA; I hate you, but I can't help but salute this move. That's the kind of shit they teach in business school.
Agent X
Member
This is really sad news. I have no qualms about the generally very high quality of EA's Madden NFL series, but this really seems like a low blow move that was calculated for the sole purpose of eliminating competition.
Other companies can put out football games, but they just can't use real NFL teams and players. This wasn't really a problem 10-20 years ago, when the teams/players weren't that common in games (and therefore not really essential), but in today's market it's almost suicidal to have a game based on a major team sport that doesn't have a license. That's how much the...uh, playing field has changed.
Now that I've said that, I want to outside the "good vs. evil" topic for a moment and have a bit more of a thought-provoking discussion. A few people in this thread made a good point about licensing. Is what EA has done really any different than THQ signing exclusive rights to WWE, or Activision signing exclusive rights to Marvel Comics? If you're a big WWE fan, you hope the games turn out good. But, if you don't like this year's WWE video game from THQ, or don't feel it's made enough progress over previous offerings, then you simply don't buy it. You can't buy Sega's WWE game, or Konami's WWE game, or Namco's WWE game, and why? Because they don't exist. Yet no one has raised an eyebrow about it up to this point in time (not even The People's Eyebrow).
If we're in an uproar about EA tying up exclusive video game rights to a football league, then why aren't we equally outraged whenever some publisher grabs exclusive video game rights to a cherished movie or TV show?
Another thought: Is there a way around this? Could Sega (or another company...I'm just using Sega as an example) release a "generic" football game with no real teams or players, but instead with an extreme amount of customization? Say, they would allow you to create players, or entire teams, or even an entire league with lots and lots of teams. There would also be a "paint program" (bitmap editor) so you could make your own team logos. Then, they could have some generic stadiums...or someone with a bit of time on their hands could use the included 3D editor tool to lay out their own stadium designs. Then they allow the users to upload their created players, teams, logos, and stadiums to the Internet, where other people could download them and use them? Do you see where I'm going here?
Other companies can put out football games, but they just can't use real NFL teams and players. This wasn't really a problem 10-20 years ago, when the teams/players weren't that common in games (and therefore not really essential), but in today's market it's almost suicidal to have a game based on a major team sport that doesn't have a license. That's how much the...uh, playing field has changed.
Now that I've said that, I want to outside the "good vs. evil" topic for a moment and have a bit more of a thought-provoking discussion. A few people in this thread made a good point about licensing. Is what EA has done really any different than THQ signing exclusive rights to WWE, or Activision signing exclusive rights to Marvel Comics? If you're a big WWE fan, you hope the games turn out good. But, if you don't like this year's WWE video game from THQ, or don't feel it's made enough progress over previous offerings, then you simply don't buy it. You can't buy Sega's WWE game, or Konami's WWE game, or Namco's WWE game, and why? Because they don't exist. Yet no one has raised an eyebrow about it up to this point in time (not even The People's Eyebrow).
If we're in an uproar about EA tying up exclusive video game rights to a football league, then why aren't we equally outraged whenever some publisher grabs exclusive video game rights to a cherished movie or TV show?
Another thought: Is there a way around this? Could Sega (or another company...I'm just using Sega as an example) release a "generic" football game with no real teams or players, but instead with an extreme amount of customization? Say, they would allow you to create players, or entire teams, or even an entire league with lots and lots of teams. There would also be a "paint program" (bitmap editor) so you could make your own team logos. Then, they could have some generic stadiums...or someone with a bit of time on their hands could use the included 3D editor tool to lay out their own stadium designs. Then they allow the users to upload their created players, teams, logos, and stadiums to the Internet, where other people could download them and use them? Do you see where I'm going here?
Smiles and Cries
Member
Firest0rm said:
don't hurt GAF more than it need to... that would be scary
Nintendo should pay a Billion for this
:lol :lol :lol
Mike Works
Member
As long as they don't do the same with the NHL games, I think this is funny.
But so help me god if they do with this the NHL...
But so help me god if they do with this the NHL...
kaching:
Exclusivity does not benefit the NFL brand in any way -- the existence of multiple official NFL licensors did not restrict each other's access to NFL property. This move simply limits the NFL brand's exposure since the NFL 2K titles had expanded the market with their sales and reached a new price demographic.
Established competitors aren't suddenly disallowed from even competing in book or movie license markets since those licenses weren't being granted to multiple parties in the first place.
Smiles and Cries
Member
bishoptl said:Can't wait to pull this thread out of the archives when Madden 2006 is released.
ONLY ON NINTENDO REVOLUTION
dskillzhtown
keep your strippers out of my American football
What a way to kill competition. But I thought this would come to reality. After EA got the NASCAR excluive deal, I figured they would go after more. Can't blame EA, it is a great business move. I would like to see the money numbers on this one though. Must be a huge deal. NFL must think that it is beneficial to them to only be with EA.
But this has been in the works for a couple of years. So to say it is a direct reaction to VC's price drop is a bit of wishful thinking. This has been talked about for 3 years and in talks for atleast 2. Also, some of the personel additions that were hinted to me a few months ago really make sense now. Alot of the design discussions REALLY make alot more sense now as well.
As far as the quality of the games, I am not convinced they will go to shit now. For all I know, things could even get better for the games. I think we all will have to wait and see.
But this has been in the works for a couple of years. So to say it is a direct reaction to VC's price drop is a bit of wishful thinking. This has been talked about for 3 years and in talks for atleast 2. Also, some of the personel additions that were hinted to me a few months ago really make sense now. Alot of the design discussions REALLY make alot more sense now as well.
As far as the quality of the games, I am not convinced they will go to shit now. For all I know, things could even get better for the games. I think we all will have to wait and see.