EA now owns all things NFLPA

skidmark · Post by **skidmark** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:16 pm

Leebo33 wrote:Maybe it is time for me to get another hobby

That's the sad truth... enjoy what you got right now, because that's the last of the good stuff.

Videogame sports is now officially dead.

EA's going to sit on their fat license advantage and not produce anything worth playing for the next several years while the rest of the world won't risk the venture capital into something that can't be licensed. Even if some of these alternatives did lead to things like NCAA 2k6, you're not going to see the investment that they put in to get them on the radar to begin with. No football market means all your other lines take very substantial hits as well.

Heck, it might have a larger impact than just sports games, as Sega as a company has invested huge dollars in making the NFL line have a heartbeat - dollars that were only going to begin to see a substantial return on investment in the coming years.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:17 pm

Bill_Abner wrote:I'm not giving out a contact here because it's listed on the Yahoo Biz article:

Contact:

Electronic Arts
Trudy Muller, 650-628-7323
tmuller@ea.com
or
NFL
Brian McCarthy, 212-450-2069
McCarthyB@NFL.com
or
PLAYERS INC
Christy Moran, 202-496-2885
christy.moran@nflplayers.com

I think a phone call is warranted.

I suggest everyone write to each one of these individuals and tell them your thoughts. Be respectful but let them know how you feel.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:19 pm

JRod wrote:
Bill_Abner wrote:I'm not giving out a contact here because it's listed on the Yahoo Biz article:

Contact:

Electronic Arts
Trudy Muller, 650-628-7323
tmuller@ea.com
or
NFL
Brian McCarthy, 212-450-2069
McCarthyB@NFL.com
or
PLAYERS INC
Christy Moran, 202-496-2885
christy.moran@nflplayers.com

I think a phone call is warranted.
I suggest everyone write to each one of these individuals and tell them your thoughts. Be respectful but let them know how you feel.

It's a nice thought but I doubt that will do anything. I'd rather contact VC and thank them for their products the last 3-4 years.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:19 pm

JRod wrote:
Bill_Abner wrote:I'm not giving out a contact here because it's listed on the Yahoo Biz article:

Contact:

Electronic Arts
Trudy Muller, 650-628-7323
tmuller@ea.com
or
NFL
Brian McCarthy, 212-450-2069
McCarthyB@NFL.com
or
PLAYERS INC
Christy Moran, 202-496-2885
christy.moran@nflplayers.com

I think a phone call is warranted.
I suggest everyone write to each one of these individuals and tell them your thoughts. Be respectful but let them know how you feel.

I will definately wait a day or two before I write or call.
I dont think they want any mail about KY or vaseline.

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:22 pm

So who's the bigger grinch here?

EA Sports for using a boatload of cash to effectively drive the opposition out of business and land a monopoly giving videogaming fans no choice

-OR-

The NFL for selling exclusive rights for a boatload of $, effectively screwing the fans that keep it in business and the players employed.

As mad as I am at EA Sports I think that the NFL is a greedy, soulless, bunch of MotherF*ckers who would sell their own children for a few more $$.

I think this is just one very small example of how totally out of control the corporate world is.

Best wishes,

Doug

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:23 pm

Weaver2005 wrote:
JRod wrote:
Bill_Abner wrote:I'm not giving out a contact here because it's listed on the Yahoo Biz article:

Contact:

Electronic Arts
Trudy Muller, 650-628-7323
tmuller@ea.com
or
NFL
Brian McCarthy, 212-450-2069
McCarthyB@NFL.com
or
PLAYERS INC
Christy Moran, 202-496-2885
christy.moran@nflplayers.com

I think a phone call is warranted.
I suggest everyone write to each one of these individuals and tell them your thoughts. Be respectful but let them know how you feel.
It's a nice thought but I doubt that will do anything. I'd rather contact VC and thank them for their products the last 3-4 years.

Wrong! While the chances are slim, its doesn' hurt. Coming from a political background, when a representative or senater (national or state) they take notice. Believe me when you get tons of letters, calls or whatever people tend to get nervous.

bdoughty · Post by **bdoughty** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:23 pm

Leebo33 wrote:Maybe it is time for me to get another hobby

I tried that and stopped playing console games untill the next gen. Only game I was going to play was TW 2005 for the PC and WE8 when it arrives. Now I feel dirty every time I even look at the TW CD case.

Just remember the beginning of the PS2 launch. How EA routenely takes out the most basic things from their laucnch titles so they can introduce them slowly througout the generation. I hate to think how bad they will be w/o any competition.

Madden 2006

Compete in Exhibition mode... Why play a season with one team when you can play exhibitions with all of them?

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:23 pm

Weaver2005 wrote: If EA gives us basically the same game year in and year out, whats it worth.

Of course that's what a lot of Madden detractors have been saying for the past 4-5 years. After making this engine for the current consoles, they put out tweaks and new rosters for $50 every year.

And people kept buying it, in greater numbers every year. So EA accumulated the money to pull something like this off.

However, their bar is over 5 million copies every year. They don't get that automatically, whether or not there are other NFL games. Because they still have to compete for gaming dollars against other genres of games.

It's very conceivable that Madden sales are affected by games like Halo 2 and GTA:SA. A lot of gifts to boys which might have been Madden last year are going to be Halo 2 or GTA instead.

So if EA cuts back it's development staff and puts out bare-bones releases after the initial development of the technology for new hardware, I think they will alienate a lot of customers, who will have plenty of other gaming or entertainment alternatives.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:26 pm

bdoughty wrote:
Leebo33 wrote:Maybe it is time for me to get another hobby
I tried that and stopped playing console games untill the next gen. Only game I was going to play was TW 2005 for the PC and WE8 when it arrives. Now I feel dirty every time I even look at the TW CD case.

Just remember the beginning of the PS2 launch. How EA routenely takes out the most basic things from their laucnch titles so they can introduce them slowly througout the generation. I hate to think how bad they will be w/o any competition.

Madden 2006

Compete in Exhibition mode... Why play a season with one team when you can play exhibitions with all of them?

I was just going to post this as well. It's the same cycle we'll see from EA, but 10 times worse with this license. The first PS3 Madden game probably won't have half the features of the last Madden PS2 game they produce.

Post by **Jared** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:27 pm

Someone's already got a petition up:

http://www.petitiononline.com/nfleacon/petition.html

I think it's more important right now to contact/petition the other leagues (NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS) before EA eats up exclusive contracts with them as well....

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:30 pm

sf_z wrote:Sony holds the exclusive F1 license and doesn't even see fit for a token US release of their PS2 F1 title.

Z:

That's true, but considering the last great F1 game to be released in the U.S. was Formula 1: Championship Edition by Infogrames in 1996 for the PSX, the F1 market is basically lost here anyways. Grand Prix Challenge was decent a few years back on the PS2, but I thought F1:CE still played, raced and drove better even though it was a generation old.

Take care,
PK

bdoughty · Post by **bdoughty** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:31 pm

Weaver2005 wrote:
JRod wrote:
Bill_Abner wrote:I'm not giving out a contact here because it's listed on the Yahoo Biz article:

Contact:

Electronic Arts
Trudy Muller, 650-628-7323
tmuller@ea.com
or
NFL
Brian McCarthy, 212-450-2069
McCarthyB@NFL.com
or
PLAYERS INC
Christy Moran, 202-496-2885
christy.moran@nflplayers.com

I think a phone call is warranted.
I suggest everyone write to each one of these individuals and tell them your thoughts. Be respectful but let them know how you feel.
It's a nice thought but I doubt that will do anything. I'd rather contact VC and thank them for their products the last 3-4 years.

Good point on contacting VC.

Yea I contacted EA with this reply...

Dear Football Fan,

Thanks for your intrest in the EA/NFL/Players Inc deal. You can preorder Madden 2006 at many of the fine retailers on the internet.

Yours Truly,

Larry Probst

P.S. Were rich b*tch
P.S.S. If you were e-mailing me regarding my soul, it was purchased by Satan years ago.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:33 pm

I'm playing ESPN NFL 2K5 tonight as a sort of wake. Seems only fitting for a fine franchise that was just starting to get its running legs in the competition against Madden.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:36 pm

dougb wrote:So who's the bigger grinch here?

EA Sports for using a boatload of cash to effectively drive the opposition out of business and land a monopoly giving videogaming fans no choice

-OR-

The NFL for selling exclusive rights for a boatload of $, effectively screwing the fans that keep it in business and the players employed.

As mad as I am at EA Sports I think that the NFL is a greedy, soulless, bunch of MotherF*ckers who would sell their own children for a few more $$.

I think this is just one very small example of how totally out of control the corporate world is.

Best wishes,

Doug

EA, without question.

The NFL's job is to produce a premium sports entertainment product on the field and reap as many dollars as possible off of it. This deal does nothing to alter that mission.

EA's job is to produce premium sports videogames and reap as many dollars as possible. This deal DOES alter that mission. The exclusive licensing rights help EA reap a lot of money, but they also reduce the impetus for EA to make significant improvements in its annual NFL franchise, which hurts gamers, EA's direct customer.

I don't blame the NFL one bit for this deal. It's not its job to ensure all is right in the videogame world. It's the NFL's job to administer a professional football league.

It's EA's job to make premium videogames and make a profit. It will make a profit all right, but it won't make a premium video football game with annual improvements spawned by competition anymore.

Take care,
PK

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:37 pm

Why am I no longer p*ssed at Konami?

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:39 pm

Leebo33 wrote:Why am I no longer p*ssed at Konami?

Wait until EA Sports gets the exclusive rights to, FIFA, and all the major European leagues and teams.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/sportsbu ... id=1945691

EA Sporst owns the rights to the NFL, NASCAR, PGA, and FIFA.

What is going on here. They are trying to take over the market by buying up the licenses. We are really screwed if no one takes this on.

Bill_Abner · Post by **Bill_Abner** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:42 pm

This is going to be like NCAA 2005 for every...single...game.

skidmark · Post by **skidmark** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:44 pm

Bill_Abner wrote:This is going to be like NCAA 2005 for every...single...game.

Madden 2006 - "Even better than whatever your wife came up with to try to curb your videogame addiction. "

Play here or don't play at all

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:45 pm

PK,

I agree with the logic of your argument but on a purely emotional level I feel like the NFL is as reprehensible for this deal as EA SPORT is. The one saving grace for me is that soccer is my number 1 sports game of choice over football.

But if they use the same, or similar, tactics to force Winning Eleven off the market then I'd be willing to burn EA's corporate headquarters down. Luckily, Konami don't have the marketing acument to pose the kind of threat to Fifa soccer that Sega were beginning to pose to Madden so EA might not bother to use the same tactics against Konami.

Best wishes,

Doug

Post by **Jared** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:46 pm

Take Two responds...

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/12/13 ... 14977.html

This afternoon, Take-Two issued the following statement: “While sports games in general are an important part of Take-Two's product diversification strategy, the licensed NFL game we distributed on behalf of Sega this year was not a material contributor to our profitability to date, nor was it expected to be a meaningful contributor in the upcoming year. We remain committed to continued diversification of our product portfolio, including sports.

"We believe that the decisions of the National Football League and PLAYERS INC to grant an exclusive license for videogames do a tremendous disservice to the consumers and sports fans whose funds ultimately support the NFL, by limiting their choices, curbing creativity and almost certainly leading to higher game prices.”

bdoughty · Post by **bdoughty** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:49 pm

Jared wrote:Take Two responds...

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/12/13 ... 14977.html

This afternoon, Take-Two issued the following statement: “While sports games in general are an important part of Take-Two's product diversification strategy, the licensed NFL game we distributed on behalf of Sega this year was not a material contributor to our profitability to date, nor was it expected to be a meaningful contributor in the upcoming year. We remain committed to continued diversification of our product portfolio, including sports.

"We believe that the decisions of the National Football League and PLAYERS INC to grant an exclusive license for videogames do a tremendous disservice to the consumers and sports fans whose funds ultimately support the NFL, by limiting their choices, curbing creativity and almost certainly leading to higher game prices.”

Easy for them to be lax about it when they have Grand Theft Auto to fall back on. Unfortuantely Visual Concepts does not have such a luxury.

rayray00 · Post by **rayray00** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:50 pm

Here's something I haven't seen mentioned yet...

Guess who just became the biggest player in the next generation of consoles. Imagine if EA does an exclusive deal with either Sony or MS for the first year of their next console. Will we will see what happened with the DC repeated?

I bet both Sony and MS are calling in now offering MILLIONS for an exclusive window for Madden 2006 or 2007. That would be a CRIPPLING blow for whoever didn't get that deal.

I truly believe that Sony did a deal with EA to effective kill of the DC.

-Ray!!!

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:50 pm

Jared wrote:Take Two responds...

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/12/13 ... 14977.html

This afternoon, Take-Two issued the following statement: “While sports games in general are an important part of Take-Two's product diversification strategy, the licensed NFL game we distributed on behalf of Sega this year was not a material contributor to our profitability to date, nor was it expected to be a meaningful contributor in the upcoming year. We remain committed to continued diversification of our product portfolio, including sports.

"We believe that the decisions of the National Football League and PLAYERS INC to grant an exclusive license for videogames do a tremendous disservice to the consumers and sports fans whose funds ultimately support the NFL, by limiting their choices, curbing creativity and almost certainly leading to higher game prices.”

So basically it looks like Take Two won't even try to fight the decision, although it probably wouldn't have made any difference anyway. Simply no business case from their standpoint, even if there were a legal case.

best wishes,

Doug

Bill_Abner · Post by **Bill_Abner** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:53 pm

Jared wrote:Take Two responds...

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/12/13 ... 14977.html

This afternoon, Take-Two issued the following statement: “While sports games in general are an important part of Take-Two's product diversification strategy, the licensed NFL game we distributed on behalf of Sega this year was not a material contributor to our profitability to date, nor was it expected to be a meaningful contributor in the upcoming year. We remain committed to continued diversification of our product portfolio, including sports.

"We believe that the decisions of the National Football League and PLAYERS INC to grant an exclusive license for videogames do a tremendous disservice to the consumers and sports fans whose funds ultimately support the NFL, by limiting their choices, curbing creativity and almost certainly leading to higher game prices.”

That seals it.

In the immortal words of Bud from Wall Street: "How many yachts can you water ski behind?"

NYJets · Post by **NYJets** » Mon Dec 13, 2004 8:56 pm

Well great, there goes any possible hope of them surviving.