EA to give up NCAA exclusivity in 2014

[bronconick]

EA agrees to give up NCAA Football exclusivity - GameSpot.com (http://www.gamespot.com/news/ea-agrees-to-give-up-ncaa-football-exclusivity-6388207)

Part of the class action suit filed eons ago against EA for driving every other football game maker out of business.

[Eaglesfan27]

Also, some speculation that this will lead to giving up Madden Exclusivity in the future, although I'm not sure I follow the logic behind the speculation.

[BillJasper]

It's probably not selling that well or else EA wouldn't have agreed to the sanctions.

[CleBrownsfan]

It's probably not selling that well or else EA wouldn't have agreed to the sanctions.

My first thought as well...

[Eaglesfan27]

Regardless of the reasons EA is giving up exclusivity, I'm excited and hoping 2k sports or some other company steps up and puts out a quality game.

[Julio Riddols]

2k ought to come out with a game with fully editable rosters and rules under the guise of a college football sim that can be made to perform like a pro football sim as well.

[BYU 14]

Regardless of the reasons EA is giving up exclusivity, I'm excited and hoping 2k sports or some other company steps up and puts out a quality game.

This, though I have had fun with the last two versions, competition is always better for the consumer,

[Eaglesfan27]

This, though I have had fun with the last two versions, competition is always better for the consumer,

Agreed.

[rjolley]

Regardless of the reasons EA is giving up exclusivity, I'm excited and hoping 2k sports or some other company steps up and puts out a quality game.

I hope they give us an updated College Hoops.

[DanGarion]

Regardless of the reasons EA is giving up exclusivity, I'm excited and hoping 2k sports or some other company steps up and puts out a quality game.

Yeah, because they have done such a swell job with their baseball games...

[CraigSca]

Thinking more long term, I'm wondering if this is the end of NCAA, period. I don't see many developers with the ability to purchase a license like this, especially with the next generation of consoles being up in the air like it is. Are the next platforms of choice going to be purely mobile? Is there enough profit to build a game from scratch when licensing is so expensive?

[RainMaker]

Yeah, because they have done such a swell job with their baseball games...

They still make the best basketball game and had the best football game for a long time even after they lost the rights.

[jbergey22]

They still make the best basketball game and had the best football game for a long time even after they lost the rights.

Agree. They had a great college hoops game at one time as well. Stupid EA Sports.

[sterlingice]

I wonder why EA is doing this. Do they feel that they don't need to pay the exclusivity fee to still make all the cash?

SI

[Eaglesfan27]

I wonder why EA is doing this. Do they feel that they don't need to pay the exclusivity fee to still make all the cash?

SI

They were sued for having a monopoly on football video games. They decided to give up NCAA exclusivity and Arena League Football exclusivity as part of the settlement. Also, anyone who has purchased the EA football games the last few years is eligible for a small refund. Here is a link that talks about it more:

http://kotaku.com/5927919/maddens-exclusive-nfl-license-survives-in-27-million-monopoly-lawsuit-settlement

[sterlingice]

Woo! $1.95! Is there anything good about class action lawsuits unless you're a lawyer?

SI

[Flasch186]

No

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I'll be interested to see how this all pans out. I don't expect much to change initially. If anything, I'd expect another company who wishes to get involved to start working on a game for the next generation of systems (which may come as soon as next fall). Don't even bother with the current gen. Get yourself out on the new consoles and establish a foothold there.

[JediKooter]

Wait...was Penn State on the cover of the last one? CURSE!!!

[Eaglesfan27]

I hope they give us an updated College Hoops.

Me too.