MLB 2K9 News Post

MLB 2K9 Blamed for Take-Two Losses

08:52 PM - December 3, 2009 by Steve_OS

Kotaku and Pasta Padre have both posted articles on Take-Two blaming MLB 2K9 for losses.

Quote:


	"The rest of Take-Two's bad news is financial. The company expects fourth quarter and fiscal year 2009 to be below guidance due to "the performance of its Major League Baseball titles in the fourth quarter" and "lower than expected initial performance of several of its key holiday releases."

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Member Comments

# 1 BigBlue @ 12/03/09 09:13 PM

What a complete shame. Had Take-Two invested the time and resources to putting out a quality title, I honestly believe that MLB2K9 would have sold more units. MLB2K9 is the only baseball title available on the 360. Why not allocate the same resources that you do the NBA product and assure yourself of a solid review. They would then give themselves a chance to compete with The Show on the PS3.

Reading through The Show's forums, there are quite a few fan's of Sony's product who admit to the 'staleness' of that game after some time with it. This is where Take-Two fails to take advantage of the demand for a competitive product.

The same needs to be said for the football side of the house. All Pro Football 2K8 is already a quality title. Bare-bones, yes. But a quality game, nonetheless. It can't possibly cost too much to build upon that foundation by adding all of the customized features fans of the game have been craving and compete with EA's title at SOME level.

Finally, the company's marketing strategy has not been well-thought out. They will never have the resources to market their games on EA's level. But there are better ways to market the product and create customer awareness so that people will want to buy your titles.

But first things first. Improve and release quality games!

I'm not a marketing or business expert, but I DID stay a Holiday Inn :-)

BigBlue

# 2 24 @ 12/03/09 09:33 PM

if 2k fails to produce a viable product this year than i believe the exclusive licsence they have with the mlb will be terminated. i actuallly think it is a good thing though. 2k is being pressured into making a decent playable baseball game

# 3 Bumble14 @ 12/03/09 09:53 PM

The 2K MLB exclusive has been a disaster ever since it was signed. Good to see that baseball gaming fans aren't the only ones suffering. Would it be so much to ask for a high quality 360 baseball game not names The Bigs?

# 4 Artman22 @ 12/03/09 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poopydude


	if 2k fails to produce a viable product this year than i believe the exclusive licsence they have with the mlb will be terminated. i actuallly think it is a good thing though. 2k is being pressured into making a decent playable baseball game

I completely agree with you. I really hope this puts a lot of pressure on VC so they can make a very good baseball game. If 2k would invest in mlb2k I could see it being successful. They have the third party rights. Why not take full advantage of that??? It seems like they put all their resources on NBA2k and screw the rest. Could mlb2k10 finally be a good game?? I hope so.

# 5 Trevytrev11 @ 12/03/09 10:18 PM

Did they expect the game to do well when they left it incomplete, failed to deliver on a final patch and failed to answer or comment on any part of the game after it released. IMO, the way they handled the game was completely unprofessional and a slap in the face to their consumers.

Hopefully this is the wake up call they need to realize that the consumers aren't going to put up with garbage again...and if they don't get that, then hopefully the game flops and goes to a company that will deliver results.

# 6 mkharsh33 @ 12/03/09 10:58 PM

good...glad to hear this. hopefully they won't receive bailout money from washington - let them fail...their product sucked.

# 7 yankeesgiants @ 12/03/09 11:53 PM

They have bailed out on supporting the product after the release for 2 straight years. The Ben Brinkman thing I get but they bail on it again last year.

# 8 brendanrfoley @ 12/04/09 12:31 AM

I disagree about baseball dying a slow death -- it's drawing more fans to the parks than it ever has -- but getting an exclusive license was not a smart idea.

I think another dismal effort will spell the end of the exclusive arrangement. While I'd love to see competition open up, it would likely mean another year or two of waiting for a decent non-Sony option.

Unless, of course, EA just re-released MVP '05 with new rosters and dramatically updated visuals.

# 9 boomhauertjs @ 12/04/09 08:42 AM

I think baseball is struggling in the small market cities where it has teams because the fans there know they will never compete for championships when the Yankees and Red Sox can spend more on their infields than most teams' entire rosters.

I wish Microsoft would revive the High Heat series since they own the rights to give 360 owners another baseball option since 2k's baseball has been very disappointing.

# 10 AustinOrgans @ 12/04/09 09:43 AM

Although they're not explicitly stating it, this might be the first time that 2K has publicly acknowledged that they made a terrible game.

I would really like Ron or a 2K Developer to come out and say, explicitly, that they recognize 2K9 was a disaster, and that they're sorry. I'm sick of them pretending like nothing is wrong.

# 11 GrandMaster B @ 12/04/09 10:20 AM

When this is all there is on the 360 and you want to run a baseball league with your friends, no effort is made to improve the product. Not sure why MLB can't see that the game sucks and open up the license for everyone.

# 12 nemesis04 @ 12/04/09 10:32 AM

Its painfully obvious that this exclusive deal was to solely box out EA to get back at them for taking away their ability to make a NFL game. Unfortunately 2k was better at making football games than baseball games and it has cost them dearly! On the other hand I saw a lot more effort made with the Bigs so a good playable game should not be impossible.

# 13 brendanrfoley @ 12/04/09 11:16 AM

I have hope as well. MLB 2K9 is full of problems, but a relatively good foundation is there.

# 14 Jistic @ 12/04/09 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grunt


	Good, the market is working. Put out a good game and gamers will come.

Bingo.

We always say if you don't like Madden, etc. VOTE WITH YOUR WALLET! After 2K9, this is a good thing. Maybe they'll actually make a good game this year.

# 15 Trevytrev11 @ 12/04/09 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brendanrfoley


	I have hope as well. MLB 2K9 is full of problems, but a relatively good foundation is there.

I agree, but I just think the problems were too numerous and touched all facets of the game that one year isn't enough to get to the majority of it and fix it.

# 16 WazzuRC @ 12/04/09 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.R. Locke


	MLB is not a popular sport anymore. Buying an exclusive license for it was beyond idiotic. The MLB is dying a slow death. Not americas past time.

This is probably one of the most idiotic posts I've ever seen on OS. Is that why minor league attendance has increased yearly? Is that why, in this economy, MLB attendance has only declined 8% in two years after a record attendance in 2007. Yep, sure is a dying sport.

It's still one of the most popular sports in the world, I don't know how anyone can disagree. Of course it's not America's Pastime, it hasn't been for years. Football has seemingly been America's sport for 20 years or more.

# 17 ehh @ 12/04/09 01:50 PM

I'm glad this is happening, this series has been a disaster on this generation of consoles and 2K deserves what they're getting. As someone else said, the market is working.

It was my second favorite sports series on Xbox/PS2 after NCAA Football and then it fell off like crazy and its fall is the biggest reason why I switched from 360 to PS3 this generation.

# 18 Artman22 @ 12/04/09 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.R. Locke


	MLB is not a popular sport anymore. Buying an exclusive license for it was beyond idiotic. The MLB is dying a slow death. Not americas past time.

You really don't know what you're talking about. It's the sport with the second highest ratings. It's right after football. Some dudes on OS have no idea what the hell their talking about. MLB the show sells well and it's a Sony exclusive. Bad products will do bad, and that's the main problem with 2k baseball.

# 19 SPTO @ 12/04/09 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.R. Locke


	MLB is not a popular sport anymore. Buying an exclusive license for it was beyond idiotic. The MLB is dying a slow death. Not americas past time.

I guess you haven't seen MLB's gate receipts and attendance figures lately. While they're slightly down (and really, that's not surprising given the climate we're in) it's still a money making machine and attendance levels are sky high.

MLB also is making a boatload of money off of their internet business being the one sports league that jumped into that early on and built a strong following for their online Extra Innings (or whatever it's called) package.

# 20 Ckhoss29 @ 12/04/09 05:56 PM

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6241967...dlines;title;5

Here is another article that just points to how the take 2 losses are directly related to paying such a high price for their exclusive deal. I just hope they put out a playable game this year.

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