What would you do if EA did for FIFA what they did for Madden?

[Mel Brennan]

Originally posted by Rport03
Well Madden has been a great game, gets better and better every years IMO with new features and graphics etc.. and what EA is doing isnt really a good direction for us consumers and possibly for themselves. I buy EA products and enjoy them for what they are, games. Im no super gamer where i buy every single video game that comes to market but I don't belive EA could and or will do to Fifa like they did to Madden and the NFL, because thats only one league. If they wanted to do the same with Fifa yea that have alot of leagues now but if they truly want to be that way they'll have to get more international teams and leagues and EVERYTHING has a price. Instead of buying out everything why wont you just come out with good games, more and better features, better graphics, better gameplay (AI etc..). Yes people want official products but thery also want great games and tougher opponents. Madden has been turning out great and I hope Fifa does too but dont buy out everything. i guess we'll all just have to wait and see.

Indeed; hope for the best, while lobbying to demand the fairest, outcome, is the optimum strategy, IMO.

 

[Shaft085]

Originally posted by antena
THAT'S MY MAN! Keep playing the game of REAL football fans.

People, EA is brainwashing you all. As 2 magazines in UK said (Gamesmaster and PSM2) "If you HONESTLY think Fifa is better then PES, you are either stupid or looking for attention"

Judging from what i have read on this and Other forums, in the last few weeks.
I feel that the above statements should be aimed towards PES fans...
Game magazine & site reviews, don,t count for s**t, Anyway...Too Biased

 

[deftonesmx17]

read my post before this one. it proves how dumb the PES arguments with review scores are, a PES fan said madden was the best football game year after year. review score speak differently, they say the sega 2K series is the best year after year, they always have the higher score

 

[Mel Brennan]

http://www.petitiononline.com/nfleacon/petition.html

To: National Football League
To the National Football League and NFL Players Association:

We, the Undersigned, have recently become aware of your agreement with Electronic Arts to give full and complete rights to NFL Players, Teams, Stadiums, etc. to the EA Sports Madden NFL franchise. We feel that this is a travesty, and we wish you to reconsider your decision, as it will adversely affect the standing of the NFL with thousands of fans.

Many thousands of people play Sega's ESPN NFL 2K series, and those of us that do find the game to be a much better and more accurate representation of the NFL than EA's product has ever been. We are given the opprotunity thru ESPN NFL 2K5 to host completely free online leagues, with living rosters that allow for season affecting trades and injuries, etc. This is supported by an excellent team from Sega/Visual Concepts, and they have done an excellent job in promoting the NFL in the process. ESPN's game is stellar from graphics to gameplay, and was a great buy this year. Your agreement with EA will prevent Sega and Visual Concepts from continuing their series, and decimate their Sports division. People will lose jobs as a result of your carelessness. We do not believe this is what the NFL stands for.

Electronic Arts currently has a Class-Action Lawsuit filed against them for poor labor practices, working conditions and unpaid overtime. They have built a poor reputation in the gaming industry as well as the tech industry as being slavedrivers who will produce less than finished work while driving their employees and their families to the brink of their sanity and physical exhaustion. Please see the following link for information:

http://news.com.com/Electronic+Arts+faces+overtime+lawsuit/2100-1043_3-5450316.html

If the NFL goes forward with this no-competition stance and continues to side with EA Sports, we the Undersigned will boycott the NFL for the duration of the contract with EA Games, and will continue to do so until competition in the world of NFL Football Video Games is reborn. We love the NFL and none of us wish to take a hardline stance against the sport we love, but when we are disregarded as fans to support a company such as Electronic Arts, you leave us with little choice.

We sincelerely hope you reconsider your decision on this contract, as your decision will have a very visable affect on the profits of the National Football League in the foreseeable future.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

 

[Mel Brennan]

EA's Ubisoft Threat
By Jeff Hwang
March 2, 2005

It's funny. Earlier this week, French video game maker Ubisoft announced its entry into the sports video game market by announcing the acquisition of Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) former sports video game assets -- simulation-style sports games such as NFL Fever and NBA Inside Drive among them -- and by signing golfer Vijay Singh to market a new golf game bearing his name. What makes this move interesting is that sports video game king Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) recently acquired a 19.9% stake in Ubisoft to become the company's largest shareholder.

So what does this mean?

Good question. For one thing, it's worth noting that Microsoft scrapped its sports game business because its games didn't stand up to the competition. Instead, Microsoft partnered with EA by finally getting EA to bring its lineup to Xbox Live -- the online video game service -- and by teaming up with EA in a World Cup promotion.

The parameters have also changed. Now that EA has monopolized the NFL, while rival Take-Two Interactive (Nasdaq: TTWO) has signed agreements with Major League Baseball that exclude third-party competition, we probably won't see another football or baseball game out of Ubisoft. But that's OK, considering the games it previously produced weren't much good, anyway.

Ubisoft does, however, have a shot with the NBA and the currently out-of-favor NHL -- two areas where Microsoft had at least gotten good reviews. Ubisoft also might be able to capitalize on other sports that are more popular outside the United States, such as soccer and rugby. And with the Singh signing, the company apparently believes it has a chance to win at golf as well.

But unless Ubisoft manages to blow gamers away with its new offerings, I don't think this is going to affect either EA or Take-Two very much. On the other hand, I do think this is a good sign that Ubisoft, which still views EA's acquisition intentions as hostile, is content to exist on its own and will do everything in its power to make it difficult for EA to pursue a full takeover...

 

[Mel Brennan]

http://www.thegate.ca/editorials/more.php?id=720_0_12_0_M

 

[Mel Brennan]

Electronic Arts, ESPN ink exclusive 15-year deal

ESPN brand and programming to surface in EA sports titles on all platforms; Sega Sports and Visual Concepts thrown for a loss, again.

Electronic Arts broke the calm of a national holiday today by announcing a licensing deal of epic proportions. For the next 15 years, EA will be the sole licensee of the ESPN brand in the area of sports games, which will include console, handheld, PC, and wireless games.


Games that leverage the ESPN brand will make their way to retail sometime during 2006, "upon the conclusion of ESPN's existing video game licensing commitments."

The news is the second blow to current ESPN license holder Sega (and its Visual Concepts development studio). It recently lost the right to publish sports games using the NFL license when EA scooped that license up. Now, it loses the right to the ESPN brand as well...

 

[Mel Brennan]

From Digital Sports Page...

Well, we should have expected something like this. Take Two/Visual Concepts had to push back after losing the NFL license, and rumor has it that they're pushing for an exclusive Major League Baseball license.

Rumors are circulating that the Take Two/Visual Concepts team is in negotiations to buy the exclusive MLB license, and negotiations are almost final. Visual Concepts is the company I had mentioned in a previous column as the ones who went out and locked up a long term deal with Major League Baseball after the NFL exclusive was announced, and now it looks like they were not only granted a long term deal, but are about to make it an exclusive. Word is, it could be an exclusive third party contract, meaning first-party publishers like Sony (989), Microsoft, and Nintendo will still be able to publish games using the real players and teams, but surprisingly, it's mega power EA who will be cut out of the loop.
It looks like the NBA is looking at giving out exclusive licenses as well. It's pretty simple. Exclusive licenses are terrible for sports gaming. Doesn't matter if Take Two, Konami, EA, or Bob's Bait Shop and Gaming Emporium gets the license. Exclusive licenses make it difficult for games to compete in the marketplace based on their own merits. Too bad it looks like we're headed to complete balkanization in sports gaming, where the "official" game for each sports will be mediocre, while non-licensed games either struggle to sell or aren't even produced.

and:

Electronic Arts and the NFL/NFLPA: Our Perspective

 

[napolistill#1]

It is so sad that with the next gen systtems on the horizon and all the truly wonderous things developers will be able to add to sports games, and this sh!t has to happen. I hope that in any non-official sports game, developers will be able to offer truly amazing gameplay experiences w/o official licences and the community will pick up the slack through option files and patches a la WE/PES. Unfortunately though, after perusing these boards for several months, there are just too many sheep out there to make a big enough dent in the official license game sales numbers to cause them to rethink their development policy. Too many folks drawn to eye-candy and official licenses like moths to a flame, and EA knows it all too well!

 

[Mel Brennan]

It is so sad that with the next gen systtems on the horizon and all the truly wonderous things developers will be able to add to sports games, and this sh!t has to happen...

Indeed.

I hope that in any non-official sports game, developers will be able to offer truly amazing gameplay experiences w/o official licences and the community will pick up the slack through option files and patches a la WE/PES.

No chance.

Unfortunately though, after perusing these boards for several months, there are just too many sheep out there to make a big enough dent in the official license game sales numbers to cause them to rethink their development policy. Too many folks drawn to eye-candy and official licenses like moths to a flame, and EA knows it all too well!

History's readily accesible data bears this out to be true, unfortunately; not just for FIFA, but for all genres...eye-candy, in the short run, generates sales.

Eye-candy combined with no other options means sales up the ying-yang...