EA and ESPN deal (merged)

[DocHoliday78]

Electronic Arts, ESPN ink exclusive 15-year deal

[UPDATE] ESPN brand and programming to surface in EA sports titles on all platforms; Sega Sports and Visual Concepts thrown for a loss, again.
Electronic Arts broke the calm of a national holiday today by announcing a licensing deal of epic proportions. For the next fifteen years, EA will be the sole licensee of the ESPN brand in the area of sports games, which will include console, handheld, PC, and wireless games.


Games with leverage the ESPN brand will make their way to retail sometime during calendar year 2006, "upon the conclusion of ESPN’s existing video game licensing commitments."

The news is the second blow to current ESPN license-holder Sega (and its Visual Concepts development studio). It recently lost the right to publish sports games using the NFL license when EA scooped that license up. Now, it loses the right to the ESPN brand as well.

In a statement released today, the world's largest game publisher said, "The relationship will include established EA SPORTS franchises--which will be enhanced by ESPN telecast, print and online content--as well as new sports games to be published by EA based on ESPN media properties."

Addressing ways EA intends to leverage not only ESPN programming but also technology, EA's vice president of marketing Frank Gibeau told GameSpot today, "When everything is online, and we’re going to be able to have live feeds, there's a lot of sports information content from ESPN that's really going to expand what EA Sports already does."

When asked to elaborate, Gibeau decline to go into specifics, but did say, "I think you can start to think about some of the core technology capabilities that are going to come online in the next few years with portability, wireless...you can think about the live feeds that can start to come in from ESPN inside of the games." For example, "being able to set rosters based on that night's rosters, brought to you by ESPN."

Gibeau also said the deal "goes upstream as well as downstream," suggesting ESPN will gain from the alliance as well. "Being able to use our technology to help illustrate games and analysis, being able to use some of their franchises with our games as programming opportunities [also] becomes part of this deal."

Gibeau seemed intent on dispelling chatter that has suggested the ESPN deal means a hasty departure from any future work with John Madden. "If you think about the deal, it’s not an inevitability that he goes away…I'm not sure where those stories are coming from," Gibeau said. "I think the simple fact is we've had a long-term, great relationship with John Madden. And he’s in our games next year."

The agreement announced today is for fifteen years "with an option to terminate after ten years under certain conditions," the statement said. The agreement gives the publisher "exclusive first rights" to all ESPN content for simulation sports games.

Elaborating on that first right option, Gibeau said, "With regards to the first right of refusal, all it means is that if ESPN has a program that we're not interested in making a video game about, they have the opportunity to be able to go and figure out how to produce it, without our participation." However, Gibeau added, "The likelihood of that occurring is very low."

While a fifteen-year term in the world of licensing is nothing new, it is unusual in the game space. "The term is really a signal and a commitment level between the two partners," Gibeau said today. "It's like saying we're going to get married without a pre-nup."

Watch for a complete interview with Frank Gibeau, and more on the EA/ESPN marriage, tomorrow in GameSpot News.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/01...s_6116473.html

This is nuts, they are taking over everything man. Now with this 15 year espn deal, it done. They are officially unstopable................

[Ford Mustang]

Yeah...They make substandard games but they buy their way all over the marketplace so nobody else can compete.

[mattgame]

This was just posted in the news by yours truly. It just happened today. It is a disaster of epic proportions. EA is teh monopoly. All they need now is Boardwalk.

[DocHoliday78]

Yeah, i read it off of your post. T hizzle give the newsizzle. Atleast the NBA stayed true

[laughs]

EA=Cow Turd

[wbio]

EA=Cow Turd

or Elf Anus, whichever you prefer

[mattgame]

or Elf Anus, whichever you prefer

Elf- anus?

[Soda Jones]

I like EA, they should get bigger, create a larger monopoly, that way, when they control the prices, the product quality, and everything associate with that, I'm sure that as a responsible company, they'll never overprice their games, or ship a nonrefined game....Cause, we all know how dependable Windows is, look how responsible Microsoft has been, my computer only gets the BSOD one a week.

EDIT* not really, my PC kicks ass, prolly the fastest one in XBA....

[mattgame]

They are going to destroy the industry and it's our fault.

[lllSmokelll]

omg this is so ****in gay


EA DOESNT EVEN NEED ESPN FOR MADDEN, MADDEN ALREADY RULES THE WORLD IN SALES



im gona miss the ESPN presentation in the sega basketball games, they were so much better than ea's peice if **** live

[mattgame]

Sega spooked EA with that 19.99 deal and EA showed them. You gotta give them credit, one way to beat your competition is make sure you don't have any.

[faceoff508]

This sucks. At least it will make Madden better.

[LTM360]

This sucks. At least it will make Madden better.

How do you figure. It will be better only by compairison of; Nothing. From this day forward Madden won't need to change at all since it doesn't have any competition. They can now go back to what they were doing, rehashing older versions and calling it different, with a new sticker and cover star. EA is a disgrace to games, gamers, and life itself. They should rot in the ground.

[Xer0Mercy]

You guys put down EA too much. I'm not buying that they will stop trying on their football games.

I think I've figured it out: People who are true football fans like Madden. Those who aren't too sure what a first down is, play NFL2K5. That has to be it.

[Duke]

You guys put down EA too much. I'm not buying that they will stop trying on their football games.

I think I've figured it out: People who are true football fans like Madden. Those who aren't too sure what a first down is, play NFL2K5. That has to be it.

Apparently you failed to notice that they stopped trying some time ago.

As far as true football fans liking Madden? Sure, plenty do. The majority of which just haven't played ESPN.

[CRAYMAN]

I think I've figured it out: People who are true football fans like Madden. Those who aren't too sure what a first down is, play NFL2K5. That has to be it.

You mean where multiple audibles in Madden makes the opposing team 'exhausted' so that you can convert first downs with ease??/?/1/1

Or where the game FORCES you to punt on fourth downs?!?!?1/1?

If the game was ANY good you could shut down 4th down attempts to convert with relative ease, but since it isn't, Madden FORCES you to punt in order to attempt to keep the game realistic. In short, their engine is dated and in need of an overhaul, not cosmetic either(although that needs help also).

If you like Madden better than ESPN...great, but don't make foolish comments.

[Casper]

You guys put down EA too much. I'm not buying that they will stop trying on their football games.

I think I've figured it out: People who are true football fans like Madden. Those who aren't too sure what a first down is, play NFL2K5. That has to be it.

Yea, that must be it, cuz lord knows, I'm not a football fan at all - but have for some reason always stuck with the Sega series since the days of the DC. As well as bieng involved in Fantasy Football for the last 5 years of my life - I hate the sport.

[Xer0Mercy]

You mean where multiple audibles in Madden makes the opposing team 'exhausted' so that you can convert first downs with ease??/?/1/1

Or where the game FORCES you to punt on fourth downs?!?!?1/1?

If the game was ANY good you could shut down 4th down attempts to convert with relative ease, but since it isn't, Madden FORCES you to punt in order to attempt to keep the game realistic. In short, their engine is dated and in need of an overhaul, not cosmetic either(although that needs help also).

Yes, EA made a mistake with this. Easy fix: turn fatigue off. Who needs fatigue, anyway?

The game doesn't force you to punt on first downs. If you are playing online, and you are playing a "fairplay" game, you must punt unless you're in certain situations. This is to stop people from going for it on 4th down in unrealistic situations.

Shutting down 4th down conversions is no easier than they are in real life. I guess you just suck at the game and therefore, can't stop it.

Get your information right next time. It sounds like you don't have much of any valid arguments.

Yea, that must be it, cuz lord knows, I'm not a football fan at all - but have for some reason always stuck with the Sega series since the days of the DC. As well as bieng involved in Fantasy Football for the last 5 years of my life - I hate the sport.

Basically my comment implied that I will never figure out why everyone like 2K5 better. I mean, don't get me wrong, there are some things that are very cool about the game, such as the presentation and a few other things. It must be the graphics, or something.

The fact that you can break tackles so easily it about retarded. Tap the 'A' button as fast as you can and you can evade the tackle! It's bull****. Doesn't really matter what difficulty it's on. That's just one thing I don't care about in the game. Just the feel and flow of the game messes me up.

I owned a DC and was quite loyal to the 2K series, owning all of the 2K's up to 2K3. I HATED Madden before this time. Then I gave Madden a try, and liked it better.

I guess it's kind of weird - I can never tell which game someone will like better. It's kind of a toss-up in that one person may think it's a great game where the other thinks its not that great.

I think it's a good game, I just think Madden has a better feel to it. That's probably the main reason why I prefer Madden of 2K5.

[CRAYMAN]

Yes, EA made a mistake with this. Easy fix: turn fatigue off. Who needs fatigue, anyway?

The game doesn't force you to punt on first downs. If you are playing online, and you are playing a "fairplay" game, you must punt unless you're in certain situations. This is to stop people from going for it on 4th down in unrealistic situations.

Shutting down 4th down conversions is no easier than they are in real life. I guess you just suck at the game and therefore, can't stop it.

Get your information right next time. It sounds like you don't have much of any valid arguments.

(Oops! You really stepped in it this time!)

WHO NEEDS FATIGUE???!?!?!? How about ANYONE that wants a realistic simulation of FOOTBALL!!!!

If it's sooo easy to shut down 4th and 30 in MAdden....why take out the option of players to attempt it??? I'll tell you why they take it out. It's a lot easier for EA to remove the option than to go through the trouble of FIXING the problem. Their football engine is dated and in need of an overhaul.
It looks like maybe you don't have "much of any valid arguments".

[lllusion]

Its hard to see, what will happen.. Ea do bring innovative things to the tables at times...

We will have to wait and see what happens... And it better be good!