cdj
02-19-2011, 10:57 PM
Kotaku's Owen Good weighs in on why the league's labor issues might be a benefit for Madden (http://kotaku.com/#!5765167/why-the-nfls-labor-strife-might-be-the-best-thing-that-happened-to-madden).
It appears to be a win-win: EA Sports gets cash relief in a year when it's telling investors that its flagship title may take a dive at the cash register because of the league's overall woes. The NFL can kick the can down the road another year and negotiate this license when its product is a lot stronger.
But when the league does sit down with EA Sports, or anyone else, it still may not like what it hears.
If 2K/Take-Two changed hands, NBA 2K is the only sports game in that shop that's safe. And even if that company isn't acquired in the next two years, it last made a football game of any type in 2007. Given how resentful Take-Two's executive leadership has been of its exclusive arrangement with Major League Baseball, plus the ever-increasing development costs and the layoff between football projects, it's hard to see Take-Two with the will or the cash necessary to kick out Madden and resurrect NFL 2K in 2013.
Sorry. It's just not going to happen.
It would take a new console generation pushing reset on development to make the gamble worth it and even then, it's probably still too rich for 2K, given that the NFL is one of the world's most valuable brands, sports or otherwise. The league's deal with EA Sports is rumored to be second only to its network television contracts.
Click here for the full article (http://kotaku.com/#!5765167/why-the-nfls-labor-strife-might-be-the-best-thing-that-happened-to-madden).
It appears to be a win-win: EA Sports gets cash relief in a year when it's telling investors that its flagship title may take a dive at the cash register because of the league's overall woes. The NFL can kick the can down the road another year and negotiate this license when its product is a lot stronger.
But when the league does sit down with EA Sports, or anyone else, it still may not like what it hears.
If 2K/Take-Two changed hands, NBA 2K is the only sports game in that shop that's safe. And even if that company isn't acquired in the next two years, it last made a football game of any type in 2007. Given how resentful Take-Two's executive leadership has been of its exclusive arrangement with Major League Baseball, plus the ever-increasing development costs and the layoff between football projects, it's hard to see Take-Two with the will or the cash necessary to kick out Madden and resurrect NFL 2K in 2013.
Sorry. It's just not going to happen.
It would take a new console generation pushing reset on development to make the gamble worth it and even then, it's probably still too rich for 2K, given that the NFL is one of the world's most valuable brands, sports or otherwise. The league's deal with EA Sports is rumored to be second only to its network television contracts.
Click here for the full article (http://kotaku.com/#!5765167/why-the-nfls-labor-strife-might-be-the-best-thing-that-happened-to-madden).