[DaveDQ]

Quote: Originally Posted by spankdatazz22

Not to sidetrack the thread but I'd also like to throw out another thing to possibly consider about the MLB exclusivity agreement. When the NFL/NCAA/Arena League deals went down, they happened all within months of each other - might've been weeks. I'm not going to make the argument that anything EA did was illegal, but the moves were certainly aimed at eliminating it's competition. And at the time, many of us felt the NBA was next - and in fact, the NBA was in play for a while until David Stern wisely opted to allow competition. So at the time, there was a distinct possibility 2KSports could've been eliminated as a viable sports developer had they not done something. EA already had exclusivity deals with FIFA & NASCAR, when it added the NFL & NCAA. In retrospect, the MLB deal is looking like it may not have been good for 2K. But at the time, there was a very real danger that all the major sports leagues were going to be wrapped up to an exclusive deal with someone. I think that needs to be considered when people on these forums play Monday morning QB and cite how foolish they think this deal was (not directed at the person I quoted obviously)

You can throw in the ESPN license there too. They went from being called ESPN Video Games to losing it all. Whether you like Sega Sports, ESPN VG, 2K Sports or not, by the time 2004-2005 rolled around, they had set themselves up to be a very valuable alternative to EA Sports. Several licensing agreements really crippled them.

When you look at a potential EA license with the MLB, I'm sure Take Two thought that it was the best business decision, but the development of MLB 2K has not been parallel with that gutsy decision, not to mention the door being open for a first party to develop. It would be interesting to know why there was that stipulation in the contract.

I would agree too that 2K's baseball offering is along the lines of EA's football. This is the first season I'm still playing Madden after October. Still, I tried real hard last year to keep it going with MLB 2K9, but there were just too many issues that prevented me from doing so. That's where the exclusive deals are so different. Madden doesn't have an annual game challenging it, MLB 2K does and they are paying the price.