EA Disparages Take-Two's MLB Deal

Gamespot has the news that EA's corporate communications vice president Jeff Brown sees the MLB deal as 'stupid money'. From the article: "As far as we're concerned, this looks like stupid money. They are paying an exclusive price for a nonexclusive agreement."

Comments

Translation

[keiferb]

"We want the rights, damnit! Waaah!"

It doesn't have to be exclusive.

[2Flower]

All it has to do is lock EA out of a market, and that's what Take Two has done. Without EA as a competitor they have an area of exclusivity, of sorts... they have to compete with first party offerings, but since when has Sony or Nintendo cared that much about baseball? Microsoft is keen due to buying the High Heat franchise, but that's it.

Time for open-source player lists

[AtariAmarok]

"Wanna make a game featuring the Lakers? Gotta pay up"

But what can they do about open-source player rosters? The NBL (National Basketball League)'s "L.A. Fakers" featuring Tactille Surreal and Toby Plyant? The mighty "Washington Lizards" with Mickey Gordon? The "Detroit Pissed-off's" featuring Claney Pullups? The Utah Spazz and Chicago Boo? Go ahead and sue, I dare ya. EA will have to face this soon enough when they have to create hockey players for "NHL 2005-2006"

Re:Time for open-source player lists

[jpu8086]

FYI, Tactille Surreal got traded to the Miami Feat this past off season. Maybe you were thinking of Lamer Hoodlum.

Correct me if I am wrong

[AtariAmarok]

"Baseball is not exclusibe. The MLB is."

Not sure on this, but I think that professional baseball is ALL controlled by the "MLB" due to a congress-granted monopoly. Every minor-team I know if is affiliated with major-league team. Someone clarify this for me?

If true, then NFL is not all pro football, but MLB is all pro baseball. Outside of MLB, what is there in the U.S.? Maybe, just maybe, you can name your neighbor's kid who is in Little League.

Re:Correct me if I am wrong

[PapaBoojum]

Congress has granted a monopoly to MLB.

No, congress granted MLB exemption from antitrust laws. Not the same thing.

The St. Paul Saints are AFAIK the only minor league team not affiliated with a major league team. They made a big deal about this when they first started about 10 years ago, but I haven't heard much lately, so there might be more now.

I don't know how they can claim that. There have been independent teams, and entire independent leagues around for quite a while. More now, since MLB contracted its minor league affiliations 10-15 years ago, but IIRC there have always been ~some~ independent teams. The Frontier League, Independent League, Northern League are all (at least mostly) independent teams.

License is important

[tm2b]

A lot of people replying to this seem to think that the only significant allure to a baseball game is to, well, play baseball. That is, to simulate hitting a ball and running around bases, or to catch the ball and throw it to the right person fast enough.

That's not what this is about. Many, many people (I believe probably the majority of these games' customer base) are interested not in the game as an abstract activity, but as competition among the teams and players they know so well.

They're already personally involved with the characters, both sympathetically and antagonistically- viewing this as about the game of baseball is like ignoring the difference between a random space opera shooter with some new characters and a licensed Star Wars game where you can play Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Han Solo, or Boba Fett and where you can kill Jar Jar Binks. It's providing interaction with the characters they know.