EA Sports Didn't Need the NCAA's Logo (kotaku)

[Big T120588]

k-bigpic.jpg

Quote:

The NCAA added, at a cost of half a million dollars, its name and a logo. That's it. That is all the NCAA has ever done for this game. Why? If EA Sports already had all this stuff—and if the NCAA's license was purely cosmetic—why pay $545,000 a year for that? Well, know what was released seven months after NCAA Football '98? NCAA March Madness 1998, by EA Sports. This week I was told, by someone very knowledgeable with how the college football series was licensed, that the only reason EA Sports sought the NCAA license was to get at the symbols the NCAA did own—March Madness and Final Four, principally—for its college basketball debut. It was, apparently, a package deal. Buy NCAA for football, get NCAA for basketball.

http://kotaku.com/ea-sports-didnt-ne...-did-860124604

[JLoco11]

Yep, this was widely speculated years ago when the games came out.

Of course, the NCAA denied it and just needed the name.

It's probably the same rumors for the Madden series, and how this will be the final "Madden" named game, and they will just use NFL after this year.

[Birdman18]

Quote: Originally Posted by JLoco11

Yep, this was widely speculated years ago when the games came out. Of course, the NCAA denied it and just needed the name. It's probably the same rumors for the Madden series, and how this will be the final "Madden" named game, and they will just use NFL after this year.

But the Madden name carries a lot of weight... More than any other sports game ever has.

[Eagle34]

Quote: Originally Posted by Birdman18

But the Madden name carries a lot of weight... More than any other sports game ever has.

[JLoco11]

Quote: Originally Posted by Birdman18

But the Madden name carries a lot of weight... More than any other sports game ever has.

Not anymore. He's not even used the game at this point, and one can argue that an NFL name is more valuable these days than Madden.

Take Madden's name off the title, what exactly do you lose?

[JayD]

We all know that next year someone is going to say "no NCAA patches on uniforms, this is a game breaker for me".

[XxJustAguessxX]

Interesting read.

[ThaGuru58]

I think maybe it will be for the better. Maybe EA can put back in all the cool stuff the NCAA made them take out. Like player discipline, fans rushing the field, taunting while scoring a TD, and mascot celebrations. To name a few.