January 18, 200521 yr Link Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood Take Two to get MLB exclusive? NBA to sell genre exclusive licenses? January 18, 2005 - I can't ever remember a more tumultuous time in the history of sports video games. And just when you think you know it all, another bomb is dropped on your lap. EA buys the NFL exclusive. EA buys the ESPN exclusive. But now, here comes the counterpunch. Rumors are circulating that the Take Two/Visual Concepts team is in negotiations to buy the exclusive MLB license, and negotiations are almost final. Visual Concepts is the company I had mentioned in a previous column as the ones who went out and locked up a long term deal with Major League Baseball after the NFL exclusive was announced, and now it looks like they were not only granted a long term deal, but are about to make it an exclusive. Word is, it could be an exclusive third party contract, meaning first-party publishers like Sony (989), Microsoft, and Nintendo will still be able to publish games using the real players and teams, but surprisingly, it's mega power EA who will be cut out of the loop. On the NBA front, rumors are spreading throughout the industry that the league is now looking to sell genre-specific exclusives once current deals expire, meaning they want one company to publish sims (NBA Live, NBA 2K5), one to publish street-style games (NBA Street V3, NBA Ballers), and one to publish portables. Sources tell IGN Sports that there is already some major money on the table for each deal, and it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. The NBA has rejected initial bids for the all-encompassing exclusive, taking the competition from the courts to the negotiating table. Personally I think this sucks. I don't know if the game companies are to blame or the organizations themselves seeking exclusive contracts, either way in the end I think this sucks. Less competition means less incentive to make a better game. I like having choices :plain
January 18, 200521 yr Author No...more...MVP...Baseball? No more NFL 2k games either and soon enough there will only be one NBA game.
January 18, 200521 yr Author Rough. I don't mind just playing Madden, but man, I loved MVP baseball... 658923[/snapback] One of the reasons Madden got so much better year after year was because the Sega 2k games were right on its tail. Now they have no motivation to improve so dramatically every season so the quality of the game just won't be the same. Same goes the other way around for baseball if this happens. :thumbdown This is a crappy trend.
January 18, 200521 yr Damnit this sucks This is kind of bad comparison but its like when wwf bought wcw and they merged or whatever the product went down incredibly just because there was no competition.
January 18, 200521 yr I'm tired of these pissing contests. God freedom of choice is so overrated anyway, No one really likes the right to pick what's the best game for them. anyway.
January 18, 200521 yr Looks like the gaming companies don't care about the people who actually play their games. :thumbdown
January 19, 200521 yr Capitalism at its suckiest. 659108[/snapback] What a better time for the french monoply board then now!
January 19, 200521 yr What is take two? What games have they made? What are the graphics like? Does anyone know?
January 19, 200521 yr What is take two? What games have they made? What are the graphics like? Does anyone know? 659161[/snapback] Take Two made the ESPN sports games.
January 19, 200521 yr What is take two? What games have they made? What are the graphics like? Does anyone know? 659161[/snapback] Take Two made the ESPN sports games. 659215[/snapback] Oh ok, well those games are not bad, but I love MVP.
January 19, 200521 yr Author What is take two? What games have they made? What are the graphics like? Does anyone know? 659161[/snapback] Take Two made the ESPN sports games. 659215[/snapback] Take Two partnered with Sega to publish this year's 2k games in all sports. Their partnership is what allowed all of the Sega Sports games to be sold for $20.
January 19, 200521 yr I'll take it. If I can't have ESPN NFL 2k6, I can live with the MLB for a few years. :thumbup I like this!!
January 19, 200521 yr Damnit this sucks This is kind of bad comparison but its like when wwf bought wcw and they merged or whatever the product went down incredibly just because there was no competition. 658984[/snapback] I agree completly, I liked ESPN but wasnt really going to mind it going away, but no more MVP completley sucks, I can still play that game, in fact I just finshed a game of it and I usually get bored of games pretty fast. :mad
January 19, 200521 yr Take Two is huge. They own Rockstar and they nearly publish all games not EA now.
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