Ouch 2K Sports....

[iLLosophy]

I didn't know it was this bad... I read this from a Morningstar report for Take Two:

We are unenthused about Take Two's expansion into the
sports business. Take Two has secured exclusive
third-party rights to Major League Baseball content along
with other deals. The sports genre is attractive because
customers tend to make repeat purchases on an annual
basis to keep rosters current. While this offers the
potential for stable recurring revenue, we expect higher
levels of research and development spending as Take
Two's sports titles go up against sports leader EA.
Margins in sports are also compressed due to high
league-licensing fees. The 2K Sports label is unprofitable,

and we are skeptical of this changing in the near future.

I knew they were lagging EA but unprofitable? Damn.

[DaveDQ]

Re: Ouch 2K Sports....

I hate saying this, but I don't believe 2K Sports will be around much longer. Yes, they have put out some great games, but going against EA is an uphill battle 24/7.

[nyisles16]

Re: Ouch 2K Sports....

I hate saying this, but I don't believe 2K Sports will be around much longer. Yes, they have put out some great games, but going against EA is an uphill battle 24/7.

SOME is about right.. they still messed up the MLB series with bugs that never ever get fixed

[Skerik]

Re: Ouch 2K Sports....

The sports genre is attractive because customers tend to make repeat purchases on an annual basis to keep rosters current.

Unfortunately, 2K shot themselves in the foot when they created sports gaming perfection with NFL 2K5. They effectively eliminated the "repeat purchase" market since no game, even if it were forged in the fires of Mount Olympus by Zeus himself, could be better than NFL 2K5.

Only years later, when 2K realized the error of their ways, did they attempt to recover from this mistake by repackaging NFL 2K5 in a green box and calling it All Pro Football. But by then it was too late.

[bball_1523]

Re: Ouch 2K Sports....

why does there "need" to be competition to the point where there is a loser that cannot survive?

if 2k goes, then who is left? EA? Will there be anyone else trying to compete?

Does anyone else hate this "competition" and just want variety in games?

[tanis38]

Re: Ouch 2K Sports....

Unfortunately, 2K shot themselves in the foot when they created sports gaming perfection with NFL 2K5.

2K5 was great, but c'mon, it wasn't perfect. I was really looking forward for NFL 2K6 to address its shortcomings. Unfortunately . . . well, you know the rest.

[koebner]

Re: Ouch 2K Sports....

Unfortunately, 2K shot themselves in the foot when they created sports gaming perfection with NFL 2K5. They effectively eliminated the "repeat purchase" market since no game, even if it were forged in the fires of Mount Olympus by Zeus himself, could be better than NFL 2K5.

Only years later, when 2K realized the error of their ways, did they attempt to recover from this mistake by repackaging NFL 2K5 in a green box and calling it All Pro Football. But by then it was too late.

[ac11367]

Re: Ouch 2K Sports....

Take Two is unprofitable. Ends up selling the 2K franchise. Activition buys it up. Now 2K would have ample funding to at least put 5 more pages on their game manuals.

[Altimus]

Re: Ouch 2K Sports....

I just hope that in 2010 the only NBA game won't be NBA Live... oh and Sony's disaster of a game. But that doesn't count

[The GIGGAS]

Re: Ouch 2K Sports....

I thought I had just heard that because of NBA this year (I think) that 2k was profitable....

[bkfount]

Re: Ouch 2K Sports....

why does there "need" to be competition to the point where there is a loser that cannot survive?

if 2k goes, then who is left? EA? Will there be anyone else trying to compete?

Does anyone else hate this "competition" and just want variety in games?

it's the nature of business to be competitive. It's even more that way now with corporately owned developers ruling the videogame industry. They all want in on the same pie.

No one wants to go all out and make a great generic football title. Blitz is a story driven gimmick, and even 2k designed a safe non licensed game, which turned out to only appeal to their already hardcore fans. A game like backbreaker could do great things if it's done right. It is truely innovative, but is unproven.

[Glenn33]

Re: Ouch 2K Sports....

Quite Honestly - Based on these same parameters..how is EA Sports profitable? They paid huge exclusivity fees for NASCAR, PGA & FIFA. And we ALL know about the gazillion dollars they paid for the NFL license. the don't sell significantly more games than they did BEFORE exclusivity...and Madden in particular has flattened out.

I know they run a better shop than 2k for sure....but I doubt it's the cash cow it once was. I'm just saying.

[Misfit]

Re: Ouch 2K Sports....

Quite Honestly - Based on these same parameters..how is EA Sports profitable? They paid huge exclusivity fees for NASCAR, PGA & FIFA. And we ALL know about the gazillion dollars they paid for the NFL license. the don't sell significantly more games than they did BEFORE exclusivity...and Madden in particular has flattened out.

I know they run a better shop than 2k for sure....but I doubt it's the cash cow it once was. I'm just saying.

Flattened out in what way? If you mean in terms of quality, sure I'll agree with that, but as far as sales go Madden is usually the top-selling game every year. They make a killing off of that franchise alone. Yes having to pay the NFL for the rights took away from that profit, but it didn't put them in the red.

[Glenn33]

Re: Ouch 2K Sports....

Flattened out in what way? If you mean in terms of quality, sure I'll agree with that, but as far as sales go Madden is usually the top-selling game every year. They make a killing off of that franchise alone. Yes having to pay the NFL for the rights took away from that profit, but it didn't put them in the red.

Flattened out meaning they sold about 4+ Million copies every year BEFORE exclusivity...and that's about what they do today AFTER exclusivity.

[Knight165]

Re: Ouch 2K Sports....

Here...this will make you feel better....

EA's profits take a slide as Spore is delayed until 2008
by The Gamepros | 05/09/2007 | 11:17:11 AM P

The industry's largest publisher has suffered increased financial losses for the first quarter of 2007, and have also delayed the much anticipated Spore until 2008 at the earliest.

By Frederick Cannon

According to a recent report from GameSpot, Electronic Arts posted a net loss of $25 million for the three months ending March 31st, 2007, which increased from the $16 million setback suffered during the same quarter in 2006. The company took in $613 million in net revenue during the quarter, down 4% from $641 million last year. Stock in the company fell over more than 2.6 percent after the announcement, selling for $1.39 less than its $52.94 closing price.

As far as the past quarter goes, EA has only released a handful of major titles. The Sims 2: Seasons expansion sold over 1 million copies, while Burnout Dominator and Def Jam Icon pushed 500,000 units each. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars sold less than expected with only 128,000 copies of the PC version sold to date. Still, EA CFO Warren Jenson has referred to the game as a "successful relaunch" of the series.

Amidst all these facts and figures was the announcement that the much hyped god-game Spore has slipped out of this fiscal year, which means that the title will not see release until April 2008 at the earliest. The company is determined to see the game hit shelves as close to the date as possible though, as EA CEO John Riccitiello clarified

Now....Morningstar....hmmm....in the business of buying/selling stock. They love nothing more than VOLATILITY.....rate it good...poeple buy...rate it bad....people sell and they make money EITHER way.
I'm not saying that Take Two doesn't have a problems though...I just don't trust brokerage houses and analysts....they all have their agendas IMO and they don't include giving you the whole truth...THEY would be out of business if they did.


M.K.
Knight165