12-17-2004, 07:13 PM
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All Star
OVR: 14
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Akron, OH
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The Battle for the NFL
Gamespot
By Brian Ekberg
With shockwaves still emanating from EA's bombshell announcement that it had secured exclusive rights to the NFL license for all games appearing on consoles, handhelds, and the PC for the next five years, many sports gaming fans are probably still dazed. While rumors of an NFL exclusivity deal had been making the rounds in industry circles for years--and speculation on the actual price tag of such a deal broke out in May--it took the actual December 13 announcement for it to finally become a reality in many people's minds.
In truth, this most recent turn is just one in a long history of competitive jockeying for market share between EA and Sega. While 2004 may have been the year in which the fight really heated up over perhaps the most valuable license in American sports video games, the actual conflict has its roots in the final days of Sega's Dreamcast console. Here, we take a look at the early days of the Sega-EA dispute over the NFL video game market, beginning with the emergence of the current generation of consoles.
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"If y’all see me in the news, and I make the news for something that I ain’t got no business making it for, don’t bash me. Say it was a young guy living."
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