NFL 2k COMEBACK? License not exclusive?

[CM Hooe]

Quote: Originally Posted by coogrfan

I was under the impression the case was settled out of court. Or am I mistaken?

You're not mistaken, it was settled out of court.

[Steelers4190]

Hahaha That would be a sight

[coogrfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by CM Hooe

You're not mistaken, it was settled out of court.

Hmm. If the paper trail was as damning as FaceMask claims why would the plaintiffs settle?

[Big FN Deal]

Maybe I'm looking at this from the wrong way but it always seemed reasonable to me that 2k or some other developer would take another crack at a football game on the new consoles, NFL licensed or not. It seems to me that a fundamentally well done generic football video game, with a full franchise/season capability and vast customization options, would incentivize the NFL to want to license that game to capitalize on its' potential profit. It's for that reason I could see 2k putting something like that out there.

I read where people use APF2k8 to dismiss the notion others espouse about a generic football game having enough ROI for a developer to bother but I don't understand the correlation. A better correlation, imo, is to NCAA football, in which EA provided things they legally could, ie teams,logos, stadiums, etc and left the rest on the gaming community. If 2K were to release a PS4/Xbox1 graphically updated version of APF2k, with all the features from NFL2k5 and more customization, minus the NFL/NFLPA/ESPN properties, it would dwarf the sales of both NFL2k5 and APF2k8, imo.

I think some people may be approaching this matter from an outdated prospective because I think new consoles, social media, mass nostalgia and just a general interest in playing something different for the younger generation makes even a generic football game viable. Again, which in turn incentivizes the NFL to want to get in on those potential profits, imo.

[CM Hooe]

Quote: Originally Posted by Big FN Deal

A better correlation, imo, is to NCAA football, in which EA provided things they legally could, ie teams,logos, stadiums, etc and left the rest on the gaming community. If 2K were to release a PS4/Xbox1 graphically updated version of APF2k, with all the features from NFL2k5 and more customization, minus the NFL/NFLPA/ESPN properties, it would dwarf the sales of both NFL2k5 and APF2k8, imo.

Not a good model because EA Sports NCAA Football had a license to use team names and team logos from the second-biggest football league in existence, the NCAA. Those team names, conference names, the BCS name, etc. alone sell the game to a major extent, regardless of real players on the roster, especially in the southeast United States where NCAA FBS college football's popularity can trump even the NFL's in some areas. Further, college football fans are quite used to interchangeable players on the roster, it's the nature of the sport, and many fans are cheering on their teams based on a connection to a particular school or institution rather than a connection to any particular player. As long as they see the appropriate digital laundry on the screen when they open the box and put the disc in, they're good to go.

As I said before, there's no model for an unlicensed game not named "Blitz" performing well at retail. Without such a model present, no publisher is going to invest multi-millions into any developer's proposal for a simulation sports console game. A video game publisher places bets it thinks it can win with, and publishers now more than ever are particularly choosy about their partners. They want to see games that can make money, they want proof that the game can make money beforehand, and they want examples before opening the purse strings. Visual Concepts as a studio has a track record of success big-picture, absolutely. However, the specific project proposed - a console football video game lacking a major league license - has several of examples of economic failure, be it APF, Backbreaker, Tecmo Bowl Throwback, or BCFX. Between that and a juggernaut of a competitor in the same video game space - Madden NFL - no publisher is going to make that bet. Even absent that, the grassroots support for 2K football seen in this community is nowhere near large enough to justify funding the game on its own.

It's not outdated thinking. It's economics.

[Big FN Deal]

My point is that those games you listed as examples, aren't, at least not to the type of unlicensed football game others and I have espoused. All those examples were lacking much more than just NFL licensing.

That said I understand your general POV but I see it differently.

[inkcil]

Taking chances, dealing with uncertainty, creating "new markets," creating specialized goods and applying new technology is also a part of economics. Certainly 2k must have had some projections calculated before producing 2k8. And were there many shining examples of successful unlicensed sim sports games back then? But they still took that chance.

A new market, new technology, unpredictable factors...sounds familiar to what we have right now. So it wouldn't surprise me if they gave some type of football game a try on the new consoles at least once this generation. We just have no idea when that could be.

[blacboy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Big FN Deal

My point is that those games you listed as examples, aren't, at least not to the type of unlicensed football game others and I have espoused. All those examples were lacking much more than just NFL licensing. That said I understand your general POV but I see it differently.

To this day when i play 2k8, the what if they had put a generic 2k5 franchise engine in this game question always comes to mind. Every single time i play!!!