EA Makes Me Sad

Posted in Games and Sports 3 years, 10 months ago.

It is no secret that I am not a huge fan of EA but more specifically of EA Sports. If you recall I wrote a letter to EA and the NFL concerning the 5 year exclusive deal they reaching during December. I was concerned that such a deal would hinder growth and true development of football video games because of a lack of competition. In the video game industry and product/service industries, competition is a driving force for individual companies to release the best possible product they are capable of.

Now before I get to my point, let me provide some background information. EA publishes/develops Madden NFL Football every year for the price for $50. Sega and Visual Concepts publish/develop the ESPN series (formally the 2k series) and up until this year have also retailed for $50. Take-Two, a worldwide publisher, partnered with Sega and Visual Concepts to provide the larger marking push behind the ESPN line of video games and subsequently made the decision to release this years (the 2005 version which is actually released in 2004) at a retail price of $20. Now, no content was taken out of the games as a result but instead the game was developed as though it was to be sold for $50. Quickly the effect of this pricing model would be seen. In 2004, ESPN NFL 2k5 became the 4th best selling game of the year with 1.5 million units sold on the Playstation 2 alone. Now compared to the number3 title, Madden 2005, selling 3.2 millions units, ESPN hardy sold as well. However, when compared with the 2003 top ten where Madden 2004 ranked number 1 and ESPN NFL could not be found, it was clear that ESPN was gained and gaining quickly. EA began making moves.

While the EA/NFL deal seemed to be a vicious blow to the developers of Visual Concepts (the makers of the ESPN series of video games), it seemed as though they would still have rights to the ESPN branding along with other professional sport licenses. Not having a NFL licensed game surely would hurt Visual Concepts but it did not seem the end. Many believed ESPN would look to other professional football leagues like the Arena Football League. Quickly that thought was smashed by another EA exclusive deal with the AFL, virtually ending any hopes of Visual Concepts capturing an “American” football license. As if to push the final dagger in the heart of Visual Concepts the ESPN series of video games, on Monday EA announced another exclusive deal. This time with ESPN. The 15 year (yes 15 years when I am 37) deal was estimated to cost EA between $750 and 800 million dollars. Now combined with the $60 million a year deal with the NFL, EA seems to have complete control of the sports video game market.

I’m no expect in the matter but it seems odd that the first year the EA feels some real pressure on their best selling franchise, Madden, they run around with bottomless pockets buying everything possible to relieve the pressure. And while there are still methods for Visual Concepts to “get around” the massive wall EA has constructed in front of them, I would be extremely surprised if they are able to survive EA’s brute force. No matter if your a fan of Madden or ESPN video games, you the gamer are the one to lose by EA’s massive strangle hold on the sports market (especially in football).