Patch #1 now Available

[TJdaSportsGuy]

Quote: Originally Posted by italianguy

It's 14 pages long.

[fantasysportsguy]

Quote: Originally Posted by djep

I don't mean to make this a debate about the exclusive deal but you think the NFL, NCAA and Arena Football league all approached EA in the same year about an exclusive deal?

Some history on this:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/12...s_6114977.html

Quote:

A source close to the negotiations said it was at a spring 2004 off-site meeting attended by top NFL officials that the league determined it would take the league license exclusive. GameSpot was told the league put the license up for bid and that EA was among as many as five software publishers competing for it. An EA spokesperson said today, "Obviously, exclusives are more expensive. We are most certainly paying a premium." In a statement, Larry Probst, chairman and CEO of Electronic Arts said, "We are excited about the opportunity to further enhance our relationship with the NFL and PLAYERS INC. The five-year agreements will usher NFL fans through the console technology transition with new ideas and innovative game play experiences." The deal is obviously bad news for EA's competitors, particularly ESPN Videogames, Sega, and Take-Two, who stole a respectable chunk of EA's Madden Football market with their NFL 2K series and it's budget price tag this year of $19.99. Arguably, the deal will impact consumers negatively as well. With less choice, theories of competition no longer apply. Some industry insiders speculate the exclusive deal was embraced by the NFL after it saw Take-Two lower the price of its 2K5 product earlier this year. No licensor likes to see a price war being fought with its brand value at stake. At the same time, exclusive licenses in the sports world are more the norm than nonexclusive licenses. The NFL's apparel license is a Reebok exclusive, as is its beverage license with Gatorade. This afternoon, Take-Two issued the following statement: “While sports games in general are an important part of Take-Two's product diversification strategy, the licensed NFL game we distributed on behalf of Sega this year was not a material contributor to our profitability to date, nor was it expected to be a meaningful contributor in the upcoming year. We remain committed to continued diversification of our product portfolio, including sports." "We believe that the decisions of the National Football League and PLAYERS INC to grant an exclusive license for videogames do a tremendous disservice to the consumers and sports fans whose funds ultimately support the NFL, by limiting their choices, curbing creativity and almost certainly leading to higher game prices.”

[TJdaSportsGuy]

When I say to get it back on topic, I mean it. Thread locked.