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In Depth Reactions to EA / ESPN Deal

Posted by Zonk on from the considerations-from-the-sidelines dept.

Gamespot has a piece up about industry analyst reactions to the EA / ESPN deal. They span the gamut from appreciation for a smart business move to a frustration with a company throwing its weight around. From the article: "Has the fat lady finally sung in the sports-game wars? Should all the other publishers pack it in and head for the showers? Opinions are mixed, but this week's news was one of the year's biggest wins--for Electronic Arts. Now, the industry girds for a string of earnings calls where executives at publicly traded companies--EA and others--will surely face a grilling from curious analysts."

7 of 206 comments (clear)

  1. Damn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Awww shucks,
    that looks like an interesting article.
    However, I can't spare the time to read it.

    Sincerely,

    EA Employee.

  2. Sega won't go away by Shadow+Wrought · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Just because EA locked up ESPN branding doesn't mean the others are going to just go away. If the EA line stagnates because they rest on their branding prowess, then others will step in. I can't say its good for the gaming industry, but I certainly don't think its a death knell.

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    1. Re:Sega won't go away by Fizzlewhiff · · Score: 3, Insightful

      No, EA has the two big fanchises and the exclusive NFL contracks. The big draw to sports games is playing your favorite team. EA has locked in the NFL and taken ESPN away from SEGA. I played the Sega NFL game and for the past 2 years they have shown more innovation than Madden, to the point where I don't buy EA's Madden anymore. THis year the $19.99 price tag for Sega made a good thing even better. I don't see how Sega can have success now with a generic football game. I like seeing my team, my city, my players. Sega is going to have to do alot more innovation now to get players.

      Next year will be interesting to see what Sega does. It will also be dull only having one choice.

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  3. I'm going to hate the day.... by matth1jd · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When there's one football game, one baseball game, one hockey game simply because companies have exclusive rights to the NFL, MBL, and NHL and their respective entities.

    I could care less about whether it's branded ESPN, but if EA signs a deal with the NFL and Madden's the only football game on the block I'm going to be pissed.

  4. long contracts mean weak projections by Speare · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The first thing that came to my mind when I heard it was that "long contracts mean weak projections." You have to have a lot of years to demand a lot of dollars. If ESPN's projections for growth in this arena were better, there'd be a lot more pressure for shorter contracts so they could return to the auction block sooner.

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  5. My biggest problem by hollismb · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Isn't so much that they screwed Sega over, yet again, or that real NFL players won't be in any Sega football game, or that the teams won't be either. You could very easily create fake teams that looked like their real-life counterparts, and players that mimicked the real ones, then jsut give options to change the names on everything. The thing you can't get around, however, is that they can't use the real stadiums.

    And, as far as I know, they don't have an exclusive license on college football. I think Sega should refocus their efforts on college football, and simply blow away the market while they still have a chance.

  6. Generic Sports != Sales by Moby+Cock · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Wake me up when Mario Golf out sells Tiger Woods PGA Tour.