2K Sports Confirms They Are Done With Baseball

[nbman]

Re: 2K Sports Confirms They Are Done With Baseball

Seriously?
Can you provide any links?

I looked it up on their website. Visual Concepts studio in Korea is hiring for a baseball game.

[24]

Re: 2K Sports Confirms They Are Done With Baseball

I'm Sure either EA or Microsoft will pick up the license. I would not be surprised if High Heat or MVP Baseball made a come back.

[RangersCruz]

Re: 2K Sports Confirms They Are Done With Baseball

Imagine if MS made a baseball game that was great and made it exclusive for their consoles like Sony did with the show

[KingofATL]

Re: 2K Sports Confirms They Are Done With Baseball

Capitol was never the problem between 2K and the NFL.
The NFL was mighty ticked-off when 2K sold 2K4 for $19.99. They felt it undervalued their brand.
So when they decided to go the exclusive route, they went to EA first - who had no problems handing over a truck load of cash to be the only game in town.
And that's how it's going to be for good.

There is probably a greater chance of 2K developing another baseball and hockey game before they get the NFL license again.

So you telling me that the NFL is holding a ten year grudge over a $19.99 game???

I have a hard time believing that after all these years they won't give the rights to 2K Sports for something that happened 10 years ago. I think it has more to do with EA strongly having a hand in the process of blocking them. EA and the NFL have formed a strong bond over the years due to the popularity, money and fan base Madden has brought to the NFL. But it would make more business sense to just let 2K make a game, they would triple the profits. I don't think they would pass up money because of some stuff that happened ten years ago. Especially after the super large following that NBA 2K has right now. But if they don't let them make a game, then the NFL is truly dumber than I thought.

If what you say is true that it's over the price of the game, then that problem is easily solved. We all know that the prices of new games are pretty much set at $65 now-a-days. So whatever happened 10 yrs ago has nothing to do with now. A lot of things were different then. It has to be more "under the table" stuff going on here we just don't know about, that is preventing this from happening.

But hey, that's just my opinion....

[lhslancers]

Re: 2K Sports Confirms They Are Done With Baseball

NFL 2k5 on an emulator. Still eats Madden's lunch nearly ten years later. This is the game they need to make again for the PS4.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLcevqUIjRw

[havoc00]

Re: 2K Sports Confirms They Are Done With Baseball

why the hell couldn't MS, buy the rights or pay Konami to port over Konami PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL for the One? Sucks we wont have a baseball game this year

[Money99]

Re: 2K Sports Confirms They Are Done With Baseball

So you telling me that the NFL is holding a ten year grudge over a $19.99 game???

I have a hard time believing that after all these years they won't give the rights to 2K Sports for something that happened 10 years ago. I think it has more to do with EA strongly having a hand in the process of blocking them. EA and the NFL have formed a strong bond over the years due to the popularity, money and fan base Madden has brought to the NFL. But it would make more business sense to just let 2K make a game, they would triple the profits. I don't think they would pass up money because of some stuff that happened ten years ago. Especially after the super large following that NBA 2K has right now. But if they don't let them make a game, then the NFL is truly dumber than I thought.

If what you say is true that it's over the price of the game, then that problem is easily solved. We all know that the prices of new games are pretty much set at $65 now-a-days. So whatever happened 10 yrs ago has nothing to do with now. A lot of things were different then. It has to be more "under the table" stuff going on here we just don't know about, that is preventing this from happening.

But hey, that's just my opinion....

That's how it started.
But right now, the NFL loves it's exclusive deal with EA. They're dealing with one of the top developers in the world, who's brand is highly visible.
I also believe the NFL is making more money with this exclusive deal than they would with opening it up to more companies.
On top of that, the NFL is very controlling with what it wants in it's games. So only having to deal with 1 company as opposed to 2 or 3 makes for less hassles.

I don't have all the answers and I'm not saying I'm 100% right about all of this, but I've read enough and been told by a few insiders (on both EA and 2K's side) that this exclusive deal is and was not EA's idea. It all came from the NFL.
EA didn't approach the NFL to squeeze out the competition. But when the NFL offered this, EA jumped at the chance, which any company would. 2K would have done the same.

As long as Madden keeps selling millions of copies this will never change. The NFL is making a boat-load of money off of this deal. So until this partnership becomes a financial burden on EA (like MLB was with 2K), don't expect anything to change anytime soon.

[Money99]

Re: 2K Sports Confirms They Are Done With Baseball

I looked it up on their website. Visual Concepts studio in Korea is hiring for a baseball game.

Weird. I wonder if they're going to make a game for the Japanese league?

[DJ]

Re: 2K Sports Confirms They Are Done With Baseball

I'm in the same boat. I think this is the year I quit video games altogether.

I hear you, Greazy. You should look into getting a 3DS or Wii U. I picked up a 3DS a couple of months ago and it's been a breath of fresh air for me. I've also started to go back and play a lot of non-sports games on my 360 and PS3, so there's still plenty out there to keep you entertained.

The news from 2K wasn't surprising, but it was still crushing. While MLB The Show has been a system-seller for me (PSP, PS3, Vita), I still enjoyed what 2K brought to the table with its baseball offerings, and it was nice to have a baseball option on my 360.

NBA 2K/NBA Live
Madden
MLB The Show
NHL
UFC

That's all we have left for sports games on the PS4/Xbox One. That is very sad. We had it so good in the PSOne/PS2 days where you had 2-5 options for each sport.

I don't think sports games will ever completely go away as there's too much money for the leagues to make off their respective licenses, but, it surely looks like the days of having multiple games for each sport is over.

So, that leaves us gamers with some tough decisions. Either adapt and learn to like the one game that is being made for the sport you like, or find something else to play.

The Wii U is looking more and more appealing each day ...

[m1ke_nyc]

Re: 2K Sports Confirms They Are Done With Baseball

I think EA will eventually bring back MVP Baseball. Maybe in a couple years. I would like to hope 2K is taking a few years off to rebuild the game from the ground up and reintroduce it. As far as the whole NFL 2K talk, I think we are still a long ways away from seeing another football game in town. EA and the NFL consider eachother one of their top partners. Besides the NFL is going exclusive in almost all aspects of its business to control its image. I just dont see them partnering with anyone besides EA for a football game.

[Flaxseed Oil]

Re: 2K Sports Confirms They Are Done With Baseball

I probably played MLB 2K7 more than any baseball game ever. It was and still is my favorite. However, I don't think they would have ever gotten back to that level. I also think they need to sell the pitching mechanic code to Sony.

[lhslancers]

Re: 2K Sports Confirms They Are Done With Baseball

I probably played MLB 2K7 more than any baseball game ever. It was and still is my favorite. However, I don't think they would have ever gotten back to that level. I also think they need to sell the pitching mechanic code to Sony.

The mechanic is fun for a while but I would prefer not to have the finger gymnastics in The Show.

[DrJones]

Re: 2K Sports Confirms They Are Done With Baseball

That's how it started.
But right now, the NFL loves it's exclusive deal with EA. They're dealing with one of the top developers in the world, who's brand is highly visible.
I also believe the NFL is making more money with this exclusive deal than they would with opening it up to more companies.
On top of that, the NFL is very controlling with what it wants in it's games. So only having to deal with 1 company as opposed to 2 or 3 makes for less hassles.

I don't have all the answers and I'm not saying I'm 100% right about all of this, but I've read enough and been told by a few insiders (on both EA and 2K's side) that this exclusive deal is and was not EA's idea. It all came from the NFL.
EA didn't approach the NFL to squeeze out the competition. But when the NFL offered this, EA jumped at the chance, which any company would. 2K would have done the same.

As long as Madden keeps selling millions of copies this will never change. The NFL is making a boat-load of money off of this deal. So until this partnership becomes a financial burden on EA (like MLB was with 2K), don't expect anything to change anytime soon.

This is more or less correct.

Making AAA games is much more expensive than it used to be. I don't see NFL 2K or MVP Baseball coming back anytime soon.

[strawberryshortcake]

Re: 2K Sports Confirms They Are Done With Baseball

That's how it started.
But right now, the NFL loves it's exclusive deal with EA. They're dealing with one of the top developers in the world, who's brand is highly visible.
I also believe the NFL is making more money with this exclusive deal than they would with opening it up to more companies.
On top of that, the NFL is very controlling with what it wants in it's games. So only having to deal with 1 company as opposed to 2 or 3 makes for less hassles.

I don't have all the answers and I'm not saying I'm 100% right about all of this, but I've read enough and been told by a few insiders (on both EA and 2K's side) that this exclusive deal is and was not EA's idea. It all came from the NFL.
EA didn't approach the NFL to squeeze out the competition. But when the NFL offered this, EA jumped at the chance, which any company would. 2K would have done the same.

As long as Madden keeps selling millions of copies this will never change. The NFL is making a boat-load of money off of this deal. So until this partnership becomes a financial burden on EA (like MLB was with 2K), don't expect anything to change anytime soon.

Here's a thought. the NFL license is a hot commodity. Charge the same licensing amount to a second or third party that wants to develop an NFL football game. The NFL likes money, this way the NFL gets double or triple the amount they would get. Even more money in the bank for them.

The NFL currently oversees more than 30 different teams throughout the year. I guess having a minimum of 2 or 3 video game developers would be simply too difficult, since controlling more than 30 teams is somehow easier. Or how about hiring someone for $150,000 to $200,000 annually to oversee the operation (which would be a mere fraction of the cost of the exclusive licenses). More money for the NFL.

[DrJones]

Re: 2K Sports Confirms They Are Done With Baseball

Here's a thought. the NFL license is a hot commodity. Charge the same licensing amount to a second or third party that wants to develop an NFL football game. The NFL likes money, this way the NFL gets double or triple the amount they would get. Even more money in the bank for them.

What do you mean "charge the same licensing amount" to a second or third party? EA is paying the NFL $60M per year for exclusivity. The last I heard, Madden 25 was projected to sell about 5 million units. At $60 a unit, that means the NFL is getting approximately 20% of the gross, which is a much higher percentage than when the league was paid a percentage for each unit sold.

Sure, if the NFL allows the exclusivity deal to lapse, they can ask whatever they want from EA, 2K, or whoever, but no way in hell would anybody pay 60 million for a nonexclusive deal. The NFL might as well ask for a billion.

The NFL currently oversees more than 30 different teams throughout the year. I guess having a minimum of 2 or 3 video game developers would be simply too difficult, since controlling more than 30 teams is somehow easier. Or how about hiring someone for $150,000 to $200,000 annually to oversee the operation (which would be a mere fraction of the cost of the exclusive licenses). More money for the NFL.

I have no idea what any of this means.