EA/ESPN deal

[Nostromo]

Bye bye Sega, hello EA... According to Gamespot :

Electronic Arts broke the calm of a national holiday today by announcing a licensing deal of epic proportions. For the next fifteen years, EA will be the sole licensee of the ESPN brand in the area of sports games, which will include console, handheld, PC, and wireless games.

Games with leverage the ESPN brand will make their way to retail sometime during calendar year 2006, "upon the conclusion of ESPN’s existing video game licensing commitments."

The news is the second blow to current license-holder Sega (and its Visual Concepts development studio). It recently lost the right to publish sports games using the NFL license when EA scooped that license up. Now, it loses the right to the ESPN brand as well.

In a statement released just minutes ago, the world's largest game publisher said, "The relationship will include established EA SPORTS franchises--which will be enhanced by ESPN telecast, print and online content--as well as new sports games to be published by EA based on ESPN media properties."

The agreement is for fifteen years "with an option to terminate after ten years under certain conditions," the statement said. The agreement gives the publisher "exclusive first rights" to all ESPN content for simulation sports games.

Somebody must stop them...

[Gamecube64]

No one can stop... the corporate machine!

[BustaMike]

I have a friend who's gonna go ballistic.

EA must be stopped!

[Maquiladora]

So dont buy EA sports games and tell everyone you know to do the same. God knows theres better alternatives.

[Nostromo]

There's Sega's ESPN series, but now they're as good as dead...

[Grandpa Troll]

and I like EA games but could someone tell me why EA is a bad thing?

[Verto]

For the same reason Microsoft is evil.

It's teh popular thing to do!!

[Grandpa Troll]

oh..ok..money is evil and i reckon if all boycotted then some poor sum-a-gun would be out a job

the american way,eh?

I was just trying to see if it was founded or this bandwagon,barnyard tripe

[asleepathewheel]

EA
MS

[Maquiladora]

Other EA games are fine like Sim City 4 but they push it too far with their sports games, team updates and new celebrity music somehow qualifies as a new game every year?

As said in another thread, respect is everything and EA Sports havent had any for 10 years.

[Nostromo]

and I like EA games but could someone tell me why EA is a bad thing?

Its not a bad thing per se. But they're killing the competition with their monopolisitic moves, and in some cases the competition is simply making better games (Sega's ESPN hockey, for example.) What next? Pro Evo Soccer?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Well SEGA may quickly be getting out of the football business.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Well SEGA may quickly be getting out of the football business.

I doubt it, they've invested a lot into it and they have a great football engine. They'll probably just use college football, or maybe make up their own league. They'll still find a market.

I don't care about the real teams at all, I just like a good game. I'd buy a game with fake rosters and teams.

Their sales wouldn't be nearly as good as before, but I think they can still make some money.

Their NHL game, thank God, is still in good hands so far. I'm glad they got rid of ESPN for that, the ESPN hockey announcers are totally annoying.

They should license CBC for NHL 2K6.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Grandpa Troll
and I like EA games but could someone tell me why EA is a bad thing?

Because Sega's games are considered better by some. Sega was making huge headway in the past years, and Madden was EA's cash cow. They couldn't compete on a game design standpoint, so they've resorted to revoking the two main pillars Sega had: NFL license and ESPN license.

I like to see games compete based on their merits. EA Sports games are decent, but Sega's NFL game (and NHL game) are substantially better.

[Grandpa Troll]

Opinions are duly noted, Thanks all

Grandpa "Now enlightened" Troll