If you were the NFL, what would you do?

[bkrich83]

Quote: Originally Posted by xrams

bk... why are you under the impression that any other football game made is.. and (for all intents & purposes) only being made to replace madden.... it's an alternative.... not a replacement...!!!

Because to make the game viable from a financial standpoint it's obviously going to have to make a dent in Madden's marketshare.

Average Joe Gamer, isn't going to buy 2 football games.

[kodiak]

Quote: Originally Posted by bkrich83

Because to make the game viable from a financial standpoint it's obviously going to have to make a dent in Madden's marketshare. Average Joe Gamer, isn't going to buy 2 football games.

Yeah it was hard enough to get the average gamer to buy 2 in 2004 when 2k was at a 19.99 price point. Now I could talk to the sports gamer and get them to try both or in some cases even persuade them to buy it before playing Madden. Of course that was helped by 2k coming out a couple weeks ahead of Madden. However very few ever came in and asked when is 2k5 coming out, the majority wanted to know how long until they could get their Madden. Most do not see anything wrong with Madden, only those of us who want a ultra realistic game. I still wish they would just combine the two and make a near perfect game but this is far from a near perfect world.

[PlayaHataSupreme]

Quote: Originally Posted by rudyjuly2

I'm sure the NFL would demand more but what leverage would they have? If EA says we will give you half, what could the NFL do? Didn't EA pay about $600 million over 5 years? Could any other company come close to that? Heck, EA could bail on the NFL and still sell millions of copies of a generic Madden. That was one of the dangers of an exclusive license for the NFL in that they help eliminate the competition and essentially any leverage for the next round of negotiations. There is no company out there that could offer that kind of money and put out an NFL licensed game very quickly other than 2K which is also doubtful. Maybe MS could buy the license and 2K and make a 360 exclusive football title but EA has all the leverage imo.

You have a fairly valid point.........

I was thinking along the lines of EA needing the NFL more so than the NFL needing EA. I don't see EA bailing out on the NFL and releasing a generic game (though I assume you were using that as a hypothetical); that would be opening the door for competitors in the future after that, or at least leveling the playing field against themselves (EA).

The NFL name is one of the big things that keeps "Joe Gamer" coming back; I'm not convinced that EA would sell the same with just a generic football game. They would still sell big, but it would no doubt turn certain Joe Gamers off.

Now, EA may pay less by buying one or the other out of the NFL license or the NFL Players' License. Other companies could take the other non-exclusive license and make a game but EA has crippled them already with this current deal.