EA Exclusive NFL License Nearing It’s End?

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First and foremost, I feel for the individuals who lost their jobs when the Chicago EA office closed. Times like these are never good, but one is left wondering if the recent closing points to better days for a particular group of gamers who had their right of choice stripped away a few years ago.

The following is an excerpt from Patrick Klepek of 1up, who recently had a talk with a former employee of the EA Chicago office who asked to remain anonymous.

“Part of EA’s mantra for the future has been the development of original IP — look at the recent purchase of BioWare and Pandemic Studios, companies well-known for crafting new properties — which our source said was a likely reason EA Chicago didn’t fit the new mold. Two of the three games coming from EA Chicago were apparently based on licensed properties”

Interesting, I thought EA liked inking deals that gained them exclusive rights to licenses. The NFL, NCAA, and AFL all come to mind. While I admit that this is a very big stretch, if true it would be seen as an overwhelming victory for sports gamers.

When you examine the facts, there must be an end in sight. EA has already bought themselves a few years of exclusivity, how many more do they actually need for a title that was #1 in terms of sales before the deal went into effect? I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

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  • O’rly

    All empires have their rise and fall and EA is no different. They have shown in the last 3 to 4 years that they don’t care about the customer or anything quality wise in order to achieve a good product. We as customers have paid the price of this mynopolitic business. Now lets see what another company can do.

  • Phoenix

    How did you make that connection? EA Chicago doesn’t develop the sports games.

  • http://www.ripten.com Chad Lakkis

    Hey Phoenix,

    EA Chicago developed Fight Night, last I checked boxing was still considered a sport.

    In terms of the connection, check out the full story on 1up. The statement made insinuated that one of the reasons the office was closed was because it depended heavily on third party licenses and went against the new business model of developing original IPs.

    Chad

  • http://www.gamer20.com Anthony Perez

    Some within EA probably feel that buying those licenses was a bit of a waste, I mean they were kind of kicking 2K’s ass in sales in the first place and they will probably continue to as 2K doesn’t particularly have the marketing bravado to turn themselves into the new Madden.

    The big question on the minds of EA execs, and the newly acquired Peter Moore will be, “Was there enough return on the NFL license deal to justify a continuation of it.” If it accounted for more in revenue than it cost to buy, then it was a success. Anything lower than that and it was kind of a waste of money.

  • jeff

    No Anthony Perez, EA were not “kicking 2k’s arse in sales”…2k Football outsold EA on XBOX in 2004-2005…if they were both allowed to make an NFL game again, their sales would be even…I like 2k, they are about quality, not advertising

  • http://www.gamer20.com Anthony Perez

    Jeff, I was unaware of the sales figures I was just throwing out a two cents.

    And yeah 2K was by far the better series. I had already made the jump, but I had made that jump with NFL 2K2 on the Dreamcast. Personally, I pray they don’t buy the rights to the license again because I want another NFL 2K.

  • jeff

    That is cool Anthony…glad to hear it…Have a great day

  • greg

    Just a random unrelated question; 2k lost the license to NFL football, why didn’t they just continue to make college football games, this way they can still innovate football-wise until EA’s NFL license runs out, at which time 2k’s football technology would have evolved enough to challenge the madden series. I’m assuming that the layoff actually hurts them as far as competition with madden, especially considering the rave reviews the latest madden, 08, got.

  • Chris

    EA was “smart” enough to buy the collage rights also.

    I made the jump to the 2k series as soon as I played the first NFL 2k game and have´nt been able to play Madden after that. I´ve bought Madden every year but have returned it a couple of days later realizing that it´s the same game like the year before, in other words, crapy gameplay!

  • Dom

    I agree Madden us horrible when my 5 year old can get on and beat someone and he does not even know the 1st about how football is played, this is a sad moment.
    Madden 09 looked good and play became worse player ratings mean nothing anymore and player skill has no determination on the outcome of the game its all probabilty codes now and who’s AI is playing better no matter what your skill level is.

    2k is the better game by far no question, this coming from someone that has had football part of his life since he was 5 and now 35.

    Thank you

  • bronxbomber

    Let me just say this. With Backbreaker coming out before Madden, sports fans like me will get the chance to try something fresh and new. Madden is crap! It’s been this way for years and years. They just care for the money. If they didn’t care for the money, they would produce a very good football game everytime. Instead, they don’t. However, this is year is the start of a new breed. Backbreacker is going to be like “in your face” type football game. Yes, the game might have a few flaws. However, this is their frist year! If it sells, good bye madden! The NFL will consider their relationship with EA and end it. BB is going to be great!!