Okay, so I'm not big fan of football and its video games...

Ngangbius · Post by **Ngangbius** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 9:25 pm

...but even I think this is some messed up shit right here.

EA Enters into Exclusive Agreements with NFL and PLAYERS INC to Expand and Integrate Customer Entertainment Experience

Well, there goes Sega/Take-Two's ESPN NFL titles. Bye-bye competition. =/

Post by **Esrever** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 10:15 pm

I agree... it's not really a good sign, is it? I wonder what else EA will scoop up?

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 10:23 pm

Damn! I was just about to post this.

It's terrible, though. People finally started realizing that NFL 2K5 was a better option than the tired Madden series, and instead of EA trying to, you know, actually improve their product instead of merely offering a $50 roster update, they do this shit. Splendid.

Screw EA.

SuperKnux · Post by **SuperKnux** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 10:58 pm

I am so pissed off right now, god damn.. it ain't even funny. Don't get me wrong, I ain't a football fan, but geez, this is huge blow to the industry. I never, ever liked EA's football games. They were always so bad, I never enjoyed them. I never understood why people bought those titles, and this news only aggravates me tons. Sega's titles have always been the best. EA knew that, now look at them.

*Adds this to his list of "Why I hate the gaming industry"*

Ngangbius · Post by **Ngangbius** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 11:40 pm

Esrever wrote:I agree... it's not really a good sign, is it? I wonder what else EA will scoop up?

On a scarier note for these same publishers, rumors are already circulating that EA is attempting to negotiate similar deals with the NBA and Major League Baseball. When IGN contacted Trudy Muller, spokesperson for Electronic Arts about these rumors, she told us: "We cannot speculate at this time about any further plans these other leagues may have."

http://sports.ign.com/articles/572/572886p1.html

It's all a matter of time, folks. It's all a matter of time.

You know, EA is big and powerful enough that they can launch a whole console with their games and it would be a huge success.

Guess we can expect to see this for Madden 2006. ;)

Zeta · Post by **Zeta** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 11:58 pm

ALL EA has going for it is sports games. That's IT. Every other game they make ends up being comprised mostly of shit. And really, their sports games aren't even GOOD. They just have a popular brand name on a mediocre product.

And while they've cornered the market on the NBA, NFL, and such - another developer could concievably make a football, basketball - etc. game as long as they made up the team and player names. And if they did it really really well, it might even outsell those licensed piles of horse dung.

You know, EA is big and powerful enough that they can launch a whole console with their games and it would be a huge success.

I disagree. It would be a very limited console because, as I said before - their sports console games are all they can do. It would be the basketball/football console. And while there are some devoted fans who would purchase it, it's too much of a niche sort of thing. It would be like making a console exclusively for FPS. One for platformers. One for RPGs. Etc. It would be too specialized.

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 12:03 am

Who do you think 90% of Madden buyers are? They're not the smartest bulbs in the world, and they probably don't care about silly things like buying the same game year after year.

Even if somebody hypothetically creates the perfect football game, it still wouldn't sell because it wouldn't have the teams that people actually want to play with.

This is a huge blow for Sega, I think, because their Sega Sports line was one of their strongest and most marketable; not to mention, they were finally just gaining recognition.

Zeta wrote:
Ngangbius wrote: You know, EA is big and powerful enough that they can launch a whole console with their games and it would be a huge success.

I disagree. It would be a very limited console because, as I said before - their sports console games are all they can do. It would be the basketball/football console. And while there are some devoted fans who would purchase it, it's too much of a niche sort of thing. It would be like making a console exclusively for FPS. One for platformers. One for RPGs. Etc. It would be too specialized.

Well, they could get third party developers, too.

Even besides that, a console that could boast the only NFL game in town would sell pretty well. It would take a big chunk out of the PS2's base consumers.

Zeta · Post by **Zeta** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 12:11 am

Who do you think 90% of Madden buyers are? They're not the smartest bulbs in the world, and they probably don't care about silly things like buying the same game year after year.

I'm not saying it would fail outright. It would problably be some foot-ball shaped console with only 3 new games a year. It would have a very small but loyal customer base. But it wouldn't have the ability to compete with Sony, Nintendo, or Microsoft. And salves generated by it would be small, software wise. It problably wouldn't be profitable in the long run, though.

I mean, remember what happened to Apple? They decided to make their own computer and only sell their own software for it. The lack of variety in the software made it a monopoly that was very user unfriendly and drove people away.

Ultimately, forcing a select few people to buy a new console to play their games would drive away gamers. They'd loose their entire casual sports fanbase, and would loose the wide-ranging appeal that their sports games give now.

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 12:30 am

Okay.. what? I don't think anybody is talking about a football only console. If EA decided to create a console, it wouldn't drive away the casual gamer base. It would be those people that would buy this!

Sports games aren't just a small niche market. Look at the sales on any given week of the top selling video games, and you'll see Madden is in the top 10 all year 'round. An EA console would be able to say "hey, come buy this, it's the only place you'll be able to get your EA sports franchises!"

Which, as I said before, would put a serious dent into the PS2 base, specifically. There's tons of people that buy their consoles to only play sports games.

To be honest, I'm not sure the idea of an EA console is that far fetched. If they are able to get exclusive deals with the NBA, count on it. They'd sell tons of consoles on the EA Sports line alone.

Get some third party support from Capcom and Rockstar, and that's a pretty tough competitor.

Ngangbius · Post by **Ngangbius** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 12:41 am

Question, did the Sims console games sell well? If they did then dang, EA can bring in over 50% of potential female customers on that franchise alone on a proposed EA console.

And Ty the Tazmanian Tiger could be the company's mascot to bring in the kids. =P

Post by **Segaholic2** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 1:05 am

I hate EA. I hate The Sims.

Light Speed · Post by **Light Speed** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 2:22 am

Need for Speed Underground was pretty popular despite sucking ass.

Zeta · Post by **Zeta** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 2:43 am

Question, did the Sims console games sell well? If they did then dang, EA can bring in over 50% of potential female customers on that franchise alone on a proposed EA console.

Most of them flopped, if I remember. Busting Out for PS2 did marginally well for an average sort of title. Compared to the sales of the PC Sims - it went down in flames. You can pick up most Sims console games as bargain games because nobody wants them.

They're a lot less customizable than PC versions of the game because you can't download user-made content. That seemed to lower the demand for console versions of "The Sims". Which is why they went in a totally different direction with "The Urbz" trying to make it a companion game to the Sims, that was unique compared to the PC titles - rather than an inferior port. I don't know how well the Urbz is doing, though. It plays like a stripped-down version of the Sims with a couple of minigames thrown in - and set in the city. Yuck.

chriscaffee · Post by **chriscaffee** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 10:18 am

I played two football games in my time. One was a crappy game I spent 3.99 on for my Genesis, the other was some game I played at a friend's house on Xbox. Both were total shit. Especially since the latter was a two-player only game and we had like five people, three of which wanted to play Halo or Brute Force or something instead of watching two others play a stupid football game.

Light Speed · Post by **Light Speed** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 12:58 pm

The Madden games aren't total and utter shit to people that like football games. I have friends who are really into Madden games and I have seen some of the new modes, they are cool. Worth 50 bucks each and every year? Nope. Also these same friends owned Dreamcasts and loved the 2K series. They are both decent games, I think the 2K series was better because one, it's only 20, and two they probably add a more significant amount of stuff. I never really played either cause I don't like playing football games, but Madden isn't utter crap.

Still fucking stupid that it is now the only choice.

Light Speed · Post by **Light Speed** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 1:02 pm

Oh and on another interesting note, my dad met one of the main guys that made the Tiger Woods golf games, which I think is EA. After the first game was done, each year they had three fucking people work on the new one and they release it for 50 bucks. I'm sure there are more for the Madden games cause rosters change way more than golfers, but still. After each revamp they get like five 50 dollar games that sell really well and only cost as much as a port.

Double-S- · Post by **Double-S-** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 1:23 pm

I don't like the Madden series at all, and never did. The player movements just don't feel natural. They slog around and have a turning radius.

Anyways, doesn't this just mean that Madden can not improve at all for the next five years?

Also, they're going to create a 'management' game and sell that as a separate $50 bucks, rather than pack in that kind of feature into a new Madden game. Why? Because they can.

Kishi · Post by **Kishi** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 1:47 pm

Through some great cosmic mistake, I came into the ownership of a copy of Madden '94 back in the SNES era. A week or two ago I saw some people playing Madden '05, and it looked prettymuch the same.

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 2:52 pm

I wouldn't go that far. The only thing Madden 94 and 05 have in common is that they're both football games.

I think the 2K series was better because one, it's only 20, and two they probably add a more significant amount of stuff. I never really played either cause I don't like playing football games, but Madden isn't utter crap.

No, it isn't total crap as a game, but it is total crap that you buy the same game like five times before there's any real changes. The 2K series wasn't completely better than Madden yet, but it was making huge strides and in a couple of years it probably would've totally eclipsed it.

Light Speed · Post by **Light Speed** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 3:17 pm

Well know wonder EA did what they did. It is much easier to monopolize something than compete to be good.

Post by **Green Gibbon!** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 5:15 pm

I just heard about this today. Sports games are well out of my realm of interest, but yeah, this news is nothing short of horrifying. If I weren't exhausted at the moment, I'd probably go on a rant, but suffice to say that the possibility of me abandoning society completely and running off to become a hermit has just gained weight.

Post by **Esrever** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 6:19 pm

Meanwhile, in EA Sports news, we have this:

http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/product/246574.asp

Look closely at that boxart, hmm?

Locit · Post by **Locit** » Tue Dec 14, 2004 6:29 pm

The horror! THE HORROR!

I never really cared for EA, but now I actually hate them.

Light Speed · Post by **Light Speed** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 4:03 am

Was that a Mario Sunshine ad in there? It was too small for me to see.

Post by **Esrever** » Wed Dec 15, 2004 12:20 pm

The only text I could make out was "all-stars", but I gather it's an indication that they've made a playable Mario team for the GC version.