Video Game Business
Take Two locks in MLB game franchise for 7 years
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Uh oh, more bad news for sports gamers. In what one could consider a defensive move, game developer Take Two Interactive has bought exclusive third party rights to the MLB license.
My take is the developers of the Grand Theft Auto, Midnight Club and other popular games needed to do this in order to gain a foothold in a major sports franchise.
Seems like sports games have become cash cows for EA and they need to protect it. Similar releases with similar engines year after year. Yes, yes I’m sure I’m grossly exagerating and I do not mean to belittle the work of the game creators here but I’m sure EA has turned this into a science.
What I’m saying is that there’s a lot of work that is already done for game companies in sports. You don’t need a new story for each version, the rules and how things behave are laid out already. No need to design completely new weapons or vehicles that behave uniquely, no new maps or worlds. The goals of the game remain the same. Then there are the renewable assets like stadium and player models. Take-Two surprised everyone last year by selling millions of copies of an excellent NFL game for $20, proving you CAN make a profit selling a sports game at a consumer friendly price. Now they feel the need to play by EA’s rules in order to compete.
The MLB deal isn’t 100% exclusive like EA’s deal with the NFL as it’s for “third party” game manufacturers’ only. So Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo can still have a license if they choose to make a MLB baseball game. (Provided they don’t get into a bidding war too for exclusive first party rights.)
Still, this whole trend stinks. Innovation and improvements are most likely to start falling by the wayside. Without competitive pressure companies can sit on their exclusivity and put out mediocre games without consequence. Sure, they can be counted on to be at the very least competent but without another company to shake things up, things won’t be the same. Many gamers I know buy the annual version for the latest rosters so EA is guaranteed a chunk of change from this group simply because of the license.
Can this be what the future holds? For NFL football you can only buy EA’s version, for basketball you can only buy from company x, for Baseball your only choice is Take Two’s and perhaps one other game manufacturer’s version (for their platform only of course), take it or leave it.
Of course what incentive would the companies have for lowering prices? They just signed off a ton of cash to the game leagues and now have locked in the rights. No point in giving the game away now.
The leagues can’t really be blamed. Put yourself in their shoes. A large company with a history of producing some decent product offers you a fortune for the exclusive use of your name. Hell, why not.
For sports game fans though, there is no upside. Less choice, less innovation, higher prices, for years and years.
It’s a lose lose scenario, for gamers and other game developers who want to rely on creativity rather than exclusivity to sell games.
Some links to chew on.
Cnet
MSNBC
EA to gamers, no deals for you
{dpadz-img}Expect prices to remain the same for current console games and HIGHER prices for next gen titles. EA CEO and CFO explain in today’s after hours earnings call.
See Gamespot for details.
Full conference call.
EA third quarter revenue drops, commments on Ubisoft share purchase
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EA announced their 3rd quarter numbers today. Revenue dropped 3.2 percent over last year but their stock went up anyways in after hours trading. Guess investors are feeling good about their exclusive lock in to the NFL and ESPN franchises.
Good for them bad for gamers. Just when we thought $20 sports game might be the norm, EA pays an exhorbitant amount to the NFL for exclusive rights. Bam! With one quick blow their margins are protected and high prices are maintained.
EA doesn’t rule out a total takeover of Ubisoft and plans to keep on it’s aquiring streak. EA, you so agro!
Investor wonks can get the official financial announcement and webcast here.
Synopsis on Gamespot.
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