my take on the exclusive NFL license

[2legit]

Quote: Originally Posted by grunt

Ok, I know about the Direct TV deal but up to last years CBS, FOX, and ESPN/ABC all had portions of the NFL. The direct tv deal is a great idea because I cant get it for digital cable but I can the nba and mlb seasons.

Yet they could not show anything while the game was in progress. The NFL is built on exclusive deals. Only a certain number of players can wear Nike shoes. That is just the way big business works. The only way to get your point across if with your wallet. Yet if anyone complians about EA, then pumps money into the NFL product. There was no point in complaining. Also how many of the complainers use pc's that runs on windows with IE as their browser. Then play their console games on an X-box.

[wwharton]

along with that CBS only gets AFC games, FOX only gets NFC games, ESPN only got Sunday night games and ABC only got MNF. I think TV (and radio) is the one place where we're used to this type of exclusivity... it's definitely there (especially when you add in the blackout components).

Grunt, what you said is a bit confusing though. The directv deal is great b/c you can't get it for digital cable. I don't understand your logic there. When comparing it to the current situation with EA I think it's about the closest parallel you can get, but you say (and I agree) its a bad idea. How are you seeing it as different?

[Leahmic223]

I think it is bad idea for the NFL, they are only helping EA here.

NFL should be more like the NBA when it comes to games.

THE NBA supposedly turned down offers because it said that they were making more money off all of the individual titles(Live,2k,Ballers,NBA Street) each of those games brought in millions of dollars. So why would the NFL limit it only to EA? They could have had BOTH 2k AND Madden selling millions a year instead of just MAdden selling millions.

I just hope that it gets good competition, because I don't see how the team can be motivated to improve as much knowing that there is no one to oppose them and throw out out better ideas.

I don't like TakeTwo's exclusive MLB deal either, but atleast they allow 1st party games.

But I may be completely wrong though, so feel free to correct me.

Quote: Originally Posted by Leahmic223

I think it is bad idea for the NFL, they are only helping EA here. NFL should be more like the NBA when it comes to games. THE NBA supposedly turned down offers because it said that they were making more money off all of the individual titles(Live,2k,Ballers,NBA Street) each of those games brought in millions of dollars. So why would the NFL limit it only to EA? They could have had BOTH 2k AND Madden selling millions a year instead of just MAdden selling millions. I just hope that it gets good competition, because I don't see how the team can be motivated to improve as much knowing that there is no one to oppose them and throw out out better ideas. I don't like TakeTwo's exclusive MLB deal either, but atleast they allow 1st party games. But I may be completely wrong though, so feel free to correct me.

The NFL made more money on the deal with EA then it would have by allowing both companies access to its license. With the deal ranging from $315-$380 million, that's a huge amount of income for the NFL. Take Two and EA would not have combined for that much over the same period.

EA is essentially competing against itself. Sure there is not outside competition, but the company has to increase sales in its NFL game each year of the deal just to break even. They are going to have to be innovative. They are going to have to appeal to all aspects of gamer, not just the minority sim players. What little 10 year old Joey sees as innovation, you may not, but don't think for a moment that EA isn't facing pressure to perform. The company spent over a billion dollars on licensing this past year, and it needs to make its money back. Making the perfect game is secondary, as it should be. The focus is on profit.

[ultramag7]

to be real with the you the reason i fell in love with th 2k series is because it was the only one for dreamcast (didn't wanna' wait for PS2) and the graphics were so great. NFL 2K was a great idea and beautifully graphic wise, but it wasn't the greatest game. The series did however prove to be exceptional. i still followed becasue i needed my NFL fix, well i still need it!!! and if madden is the only game in town, well i guess i gotta ante' up!!

let's just hope ea is smart and appeases all fans!!! incorporate what everybody seems to think are the high points of madden and 2k. if u want a dumbed down version of football, throw in a "blitz" type side game for that crowd. i'm just saying since your the only game in town, now give us variety! not just a maddenite variety but what everybody is craving. we are into the next gen, ea don't let me down!!!!

i can get past exlusivity if you give me graphics, gameplay and innovation, that's all i'm asking for!!!!!!

[LIGHTNING]

Quote: Originally Posted by ObiWanJenkins

The NFL made more money on the deal with EA then it would have by allowing both companies access to its license. With the deal ranging from $315-$380 million, that's a huge amount of income for the NFL. Take Two and EA would not have combined for that much over the same period. EA is essentially competing against itself. Sure there is not outside competition, but the company has to increase sales in its NFL game each year of the deal just to break even. They are going to have to be innovative. They are going to have to appeal to all aspects of gamer, not just the minority sim players. What little 10 year old Joey sees as innovation, you may not, but don't think for a moment that EA isn't facing pressure to perform. The company spent over a billion dollars on licensing this past year, and it needs to make its money back. Making the perfect game is secondary, as it should be. The focus is on profit.

Without competition there is NO incentive at all to make a better product. Eventually people will get bored with Madden NFL football and move on.

The future of video gaming in general and EA sports football games in particular are going to suffer for several reasons: (1) The next generation consoles use in-order execution processors which in addition to low CPU memory cache and poor branch prediction is going to be a big problem for developers (2) The expectations for next generation games are very high and due to the poor design of the hardware much more money is going to be spent on software development overall without much improvement in the things that make games fun to play.

Anyone who thinks that EA is going to spend the money required to optimize code for each next generation console is dreaming. They are already spending a huge sum of money on licenses and will be under pressure to cut costs and this should limit the budget to make meaningful improvements to Madden game play. The future for football video gameing is very bleak IMHO.

[Shamrock_11]

Quote: Originally Posted by ultramag7

i don't get what you mean... if they knew. madden has always been huge!! no football game has ever outsold it. the money coming in from madden every year is money in the bank so why all of a sudden did they go exclusive. i've seen madden on genesis until now, all i'm saying is did espn get to close?

The reason EA got freaked is because of Take-Two. I don't think there's another third party game developer/publisher in North America that's as close to EA in size as Take-Two. We're talking about Grand Theft Auto cash backing up the 2K series, and EA was'nt going to stand for it. Just my theory.

[PodSquad]

I think that EA got pissed that 2k5 came out for $20, did their math, and realized they could buy exclusive rights, charge $50, and really never have to work hard on Madden again.