NCAA's exclusivity ends in a year or two according to wiki

[canes21]

When you look at the sales and how much the NCAA wanted for a basketball license, it was ridiculous compared to what they asked for with football and its sales. Thats why no one makes a basketball game anymore.

And 2k could profit. They have basically the base for the game. All they would need is the license, the uniforms, and whats makes each team unique. They would need to improve their engine, but they could have very easily done that causally over the years. If not, it would not cost them much money to improve it. They wouldn't be creating a whole new team and hiring 50 new employees, they would be taking employees from the old 2k5/2k8 teams and from other sports teams as well.

As for career modes. They may not have one right now exactly in their football code, but they have College Hoops and even though we're led to belive you can't just paste the dynasty from Choops into a football game, thats actually a possibility.

If 2k were to purchase the license this coming year, I could see them profiting from the get go if they market correctly and the old 2k fans support them. Most people who still want 2k to come back are older now, have jobs, etc. They have the money to spend and would buy 2k if it was truly 2k football. They're smarter than the average 10 year old and can see the differences between the game. If 2k came out, attracted their old fans back in as well as brining in new ones, I could see them profiting. If they also charge less than $60 for the game, they'd get a boost in sales as well.

[vatechfan44]

I cant believe this is a big deal. First of all there is 0.0001% chance that 2k ends up getting the rights. Second of all my first point is irrelevant because of the fact that it we're talking about EA. They always get what they want and they can cause they're a billion dollar company. So Im thinking that EA will end up getting the rights.

[DonkeyJote]

Quote: Originally Posted by canes21

When you look at the sales and how much the NCAA wanted for a basketball license, it was ridiculous compared to what they asked for with football and its sales. Thats why no one makes a basketball game anymore. And 2k could profit. They have basically the base for the game. All they would need is the license, the uniforms, and whats makes each team unique. They would need to improve their engine, but they could have very easily done that causally over the years. If not, it would not cost them much money to improve it. They wouldn't be creating a whole new team and hiring 50 new employees, they would be taking employees from the old 2k5/2k8 teams and from other sports teams as well. As for career modes. They may not have one right now exactly in their football code, but they have College Hoops and even though we're led to belive you can't just paste the dynasty from Choops into a football game, thats actually a possibility. If 2k were to purchase the license this coming year, I could see them profiting from the get go if they market correctly and the old 2k fans support them. Most people who still want 2k to come back are older now, have jobs, etc. They have the money to spend and would buy 2k if it was truly 2k football. They're smarter than the average 10 year old and can see the differences between the game. If 2k came out, attracted their old fans back in as well as brining in new ones, I could see them profiting. If they also charge less than $60 for the game, they'd get a boost in sales as well.

I disagree that it wouldn't take much to improve it. For one, I seriously doubt it's been touched for a couple years. It's outdated. They'd probably be better off using the backbreaker technology for a lot of it. But even if they had been updating, the gameplay upkeep costs of 2k would be higher than it would with EA because EA can split the cost between two games, whilst 2k cannot.

And I also think you are overestimating 2k's customer base. Contrary to what you may think from looking at these boards, 2k was, even at its peak, not really in Madden's neighborhood. They only did 58% of Madden's sales despite a price tag $30 cheaper than Madden. And that was six years ago. Most of that 58% is gone. They'd have to rebuild most of their customer base over time.

[canes21]

Quote: Originally Posted by vatechfan44

I cant believe this is a big deal. First of all there is 0.0001% chance that 2k ends up getting the rights. Second of all my first point is irrelevant because of the fact that it we're talking about EA. They always get what they want and they can cause they're a billion dollar company. So Im thinking that EA will end up getting the rights.

If EA was going to renew the contract, they would have most likely done it sometime last year or before. These kind of deals usually do not go down to the last few months unless both sides are really having a hard time agreeing.

As for EA being a very rich company, that is true, but EA has been losing a ton of money the past few years thanks to the recession. They might be back on track, but just because it is EA and they have over 50 different franchises does not mean they can just buy any license they want. They are a company and still have to make a profit too.

[49UNCFan]

Quote: Originally Posted by canes21

I want 2k to try and make a game for a few reasons. 1) Competition always brings the best out of both games. 2) I love 2k football and I think that they could do a great job. 3) I want options. If 2k is better, I;ll go with 2k's game. If EA's is better, I'll go with EA's. I just want to have options when choosing my video games, and right now, I don't have any in the football department.

Agreed

[prowler]

Quote: Originally Posted by DonkeyJote

There's no way the game could be made cheaply however. EA's NCAA is cheaper to make than most games because they just build on the game every year, and they share most of their gameplay developments with Madden. 2k's game wouldn't have that. They'd have to build from the ground up. They'd have to do artwork for 120 teams and all their various uniforms, 120 home stadiums, which is expensive, come up with a good recruiting and dynasty system and implement that, massive advertising to get a new game out there, and that's without touching with the on the field stuff. There's no way that game makes money in year one, and there probably looking at a 3-4 year commitment until it takes any kind of significant chunk out of EA. All Pro did .4m in sales, and that wasn't enough for 2k to keep making it. I think it's just a pipe dream for people to think that 2k is going to make an NCAA game if or when the rights expire. 2k already dropped College Basketball, and I really don't see how college football would do too much better, especially early.

Also consider where gaming will be in the timeframe it would take them to cut into EA's NCAA audience. Let's assume another developer releases a college game to compete with NCAA 13 (since 12 is already in development) and giving them the benefit of the doubt let's assume it only takes 1-2 years (instead of 3-4) to establish a very strong college football game; that would still put them at the very end of this console generation's lifespan. It would not be financially viable to invest that much time and effort into a product to only have a year or two (at best) of substantial returns.

I strongly believe EA will eventually have legit competition in football but I don't see it happening in this console generation. It'd be smarter for developers to wait for new technology and build off of that since it would put them on a more level playing field with EA having to do the same thing.

[Cryolemon]

I don't think this console generation is only 1-2 years from ending. It's probably 4-5 years away, for the PS3 anyway.

[Rocky]

It really depends on if 2K sees the NFL as a viable goal. If so, then you want to hold off and put your best foot forward for an NFL game.

If not, however, than I think some of you guys are really underestimating 2K's ability to put out a quality college football game in a hurry. This is if they put the same resources that they do their NBA and MLB games, than I can see 2K making a monster college football game.