EA Sports scores big...
Monday, December 13th, 2004 - 7:34pm
That sound you hear is the ESPN NFL gaming franchise dropping dead on the floor.
"Men like sex, thus boobies! Oogaba!" - dejanzie
"If ads put your sanity to the test
come on down to Rat Boy's nest!
light up a stogie, and soon you'll see
how rock can be commercial-free!
'I'd hit it!'" - HP Lovesauce
Wow, EA must have paid quite the chunk of cash for that license. Talk about revenge against Sega for undercutting Madden this year.
Didn''t we hear about this last year some time?
For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance. ~Ron Shelton, Bull Durham, 1988
Yes before the season began, EA was in talks with the NFL for just such a deal. The rumored purchase price was $1 Billion. This is truly a sad day for sports gamers
. I have already begun ruing this day. 
edited for spelling
Edit #2: You know what? F*CK EA!! I don''t care if they got that license, they still aren''t going to get my money. Sure, they will dominate the market and Joe Mainstream and his frat brothers will be lining up to pay for a crappy game. But I sure as hell wont. In fact, I am so pissed off right now at EA, and the gaming monopoly that they are creating, that I will never spend money on an EA product EVER AGAIN. Screw them.
"I like to hear people talking when they're not talking to me," I said. "It's soothing to know that I don't have to listen." -- Bill Harris describing a truism.
Plan to be spontaneous... tomorrow
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I don''t even like football games and this is still manages to piss me off.
This is one of those things that just shouldn''t happen.
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Welcome brother Dutty. Here is you complementary beer mug.
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Well, when your employees work 90 hours a week but you only pay them for 40, you tend to have loads of extra money lying around for acquisitions.
I sure hope that class-action suit works out. That''s just wrong.
Graktar, Orc Hunter
Wow. **** EA. That''s just... wow. I hope that Total Pro Football will be good next year.
Quote:
XBL Tag: Prederick
Game, set and match.
"I think Elysium has the right of it" - Certis
The article says there were five publishers competing for the rights, so it is not like EA is more evil than any other publisher. I blame the NFL for its decision to go with an exclusive license. I would rather SEGA have won the bidding because I like their game better. If they fix NFL Street and Volume 2 is as great as NBA Street Vol. 2, I will forgive everything.
I''m still maintaining my boycott of EB Games, though.
"Raise high the black flags, my children."
-- Gebhard von Blucher.
This means bad things for the quality of the Madden franchise with no player name competition. I wonder how SEGA will respond?
Certis beat me to it. - Elysium
Not so. EA was pushing for this a while ago. Everyone else had to get into the bidding process just to try and stay alive (and at least ensure EA didn''t walk away with the license for pennies).
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One wonders if this is merely the beginning. What''s to stop EA from cornering the market on exclusive licensing deals? Allow me to state for the record that this tongues cow ass.
"THE HELL ASS BALLS." - Prederick, expressing frustration in the time-honored way.
Not for my f*cking money, it''s not. I''ll play ESPN with fake players and teams, or nothing at all. I won''t have my arm twisted into buying EA''s increasingly sh*tty offerings, which will no doubt get even worse due to the lack of competition.
I''m about as mad as a person can get regarding a game related issue!
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Whats to stop the FTC from bringing up monoply charges? Racketering? I don''t know the law at all but something here just doesn''t smell right. I know it isn''t me I just got out of the shower.
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Sure, but that''s because you give a crap - that''ll put you in with a relatively small percentage come Madden time next year. Frankly, I''m with the other ninety percent that doesn''t mind at all. Part of that is, secretly and mostly privately, I thought 2k5 was mediocre. Mostly, it''s a fair marketplace, and either companies like EA either do good things with their advantages or customers move on while they spend in the wrong direction. If the games are bad, the marketplace will correct itself.
"I think Elysium has the right of it" - Certis
True, free market self corrects over time, but during that time things can get pretty dim. Whether you thought ESPN was mediocre or not, whether you are the biggest fanboy of Madden to walk the earth, being denied choice still is a bad thing. Can anyone honestly think this will make EA work harder to make a better game, or provide their customers with better value? One thing they won''t have to worry about is ESPN''s $20 pricepoint hurting them. I hope Madden sells for $60 or $70 next year.
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I''m forced to agree with Captain Thesaurus on this one. All 2K5 had going for it was the price tag. EA knew there was no way to match that price, so the only way to protect their brand was to take out their competitor. It stinks and is dirty business, but until some court says different, it''s perfectly legal. Now, the NFL is just like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings: one license, one publisher.
"Men like sex, thus boobies! Oogaba!" - dejanzie
"If ads put your sanity to the test
come on down to Rat Boy's nest!
light up a stogie, and soon you'll see
how rock can be commercial-free!
'I'd hit it!'" - HP Lovesauce
And if it does, I''ll join a lot of people in skipping it.
"I think Elysium has the right of it" - Certis
Me, I''ll be playing the better game. Which is never EA''s. I don''t care if every player is denoted by his jersey number, and I have to play as ""that Washington team."" Or maybe Sega can focus on a good NCAA game now. Not like it matters, this is a death blow to any competitor. This upsets me.
I generated a virtual world in the toilet bowl this morning.
-- Podunk on the PS3's mystical, magical abilities
Just because it is legal or a good business move, does NOT mean that it is ethically good or something we should applaud. With all the money that EA spent on this deal they aren''t going to do a damn thing to improve their game before next year rolls around. As most of you know, without real players, there will be no sales for other titles. Therefore, there will only be one football franchise for the next five years and then some. If you, as a gamer, are pleased with this state of affairs, then all I can say is that I envy your joy and wish I could join in.
"I like to hear people talking when they're not talking to me," I said. "It's soothing to know that I don't have to listen." -- Bill Harris describing a truism.
EA should burn in hell.
Amen brother Swamp. f*ck EA. I''ll buy ESPN next year at a $50 price point and gladly play with fictional teams. EA can bite me.
Morrolan wrote:
Hey, if we''re lucky, maybe ESPN will adapt their next football game to take place in the fictional league from Playmakers. Cheerleader screwing QBs...awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!
"Men like sex, thus boobies! Oogaba!" - dejanzie
"If ads put your sanity to the test
come on down to Rat Boy's nest!
light up a stogie, and soon you'll see
how rock can be commercial-free!
'I'd hit it!'" - HP Lovesauce
I like EA!
:D 
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""ESPN-CFL-Battle for the Grey Cup""
This post sponsored by cheese.
I know that you are joking Druid, but I would actually like it if they included a CFL rules mode into one of these games. I think it might be fun play a more wide open style of football.
"I like to hear people talking when they're not talking to me," I said. "It's soothing to know that I don't have to listen." -- Bill Harris describing a truism.
OK how''s this theroy ...
ESPN ate too much into EA''s market share with the $20 price point that they have obtained these rights in order to force their competitors to acquire the NFL rights through EA. The cost of which would force Take Two to raise its price back to $49.99.
SEGA already announced that they would be moving their price point back up a few weeks ago.
Certis beat me to it. - Elysium
But that was talking about Next Generation console games.