The Process of Creating Top Spin 4

Tennis holds a unique position in the US these days. The sport is dominated by international players, and the biggest rivalry is Federer versus Nadal rather than Federer versus Roddick. Nevertheless, the sport remains popular here. To put things in perspective, would the same hold true in golf if an international rivalry like Harrington versus Goosen dominated the headlines for years rather than a rivalry like Mickelson versus Woods?

Regardless of where you stand on that topic, that’s not the only unique thing about tennis in the US. It is also a unique entity in the video game world. In fact, no other sport can be compared to it on a licensing and marketing front, according to Chris Snyder, the director of marketing at 2K Sports. In other words, a worldwide sport that lacks an overarching license -- like in the NFL or MLB -- can lead to headaches. And even though 2K Sports does have another experience with something like this in the form of All-Pro Football 2K8, even that does not compare.

“It’s the same process of signing individual players,” said Chris Snyder. “But All-Pro was all people in the US; it was all former NFL players. This is much more worldwide, so I think it’s a bit more difficult than All-Pro.”

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