And then there was one..

[pcgd]

Looks like I'll be keeping 2k5 for awhile. The only game I would have bought would have been 2k6, etc. Until I get a higher paying job...I'll stick to the ESPN series.

There's no way I'd buy a hockey game or a basketball game unless they were 20 bucks. The only games I throw the money at is the FIFA series, cause nothing can match it. Except Winning 11 or whatever, but who wants to play with made up teams and players? Unless I make those teams, no thanks.

[Phil]

Smart move... although EA will still be wise to keep upping the ante, especially since they put out a new product every year.

Unfortunately, it'll probably hamper the quality somewhat, but I don't care... Madden is wicked awesome already.

[Cyclopsis Joe]

Randy: I like them too, but jesus..if they had no competition, we'd still be in 16-bit brother.

And buzzcut: *slams face into desk again* Quiet! I'm not done fuming.

i wonder what this new first-racing will have to offer us, seeing in how they are made up of papyrus and project wildfire members?

You seen their site? Supposedly, they're looking for beta testers.

[randyc]

ya they are i applied but i don't think i'll make it, it doesnt hurt to apply anyways

[gosioux76]

This is really disappointing news.

While I like both games, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of ESPN games for the $20 pricetag. I really though that the lower price point could be revolutionary, changing the outrageous prices consumers are forced to pay for videogames. That's especially true when you consider many of us would like to buy the new updates each year if they weren't $50 a pop.

And ESPN was really giving EA a run for their money. As noted in that story -- and as I saw at a Best Buy store this weekend -- EA dropped their price to $29 for the sports in which they compete with ESPN.

Now it looks like we'll be back to the high prices we're used to -- if not higher yet. EA's shelling a lot of dimes for this exclusivity deal and it's gonna be costly for them. Anyone wanna guess who gets to pay the tab?

[Nick 1733]

Madden is my favorite, it's a better quality game. I also have 2k5 and it's a very good game as well. However I buy Madden every year and so this pisses me off because I was hoping the prices would continue to go down. This sucks b**** big time.

Let's start taken bets on how much Madden '06 will be.

[See Red]

Thank god! I can't stand ESPN 2k5, and having to play it if any of my friends have it. Madden is far more realistic as I don't have my #1 WR dropping every pass, and my #5 WR catching everything like I've had happen in ESPN too many times to count. Sure the graphics of ESPN 2k5 are nice, but it's not like Maddens are bad.

[CaolinaJoe]

If Microsoft owned EA Sports, congress would be holding special hearings tomorrow.

[fiasco!]

Hooray for EA Sports!!! The King of Football is now the UNDISPUTED king of football ESPN was a darn good game, but it ain't no Madden.

madden is skater20na????

holy crap, we had a celeb on the boards and didn't know it!

[rockchalk]

I'm a Madden fan, but this still really bites, because now the quality may or may not suffer, but the price tag will stay up at $50 or more. However, I hope they can take advantage of this opportunity and make the game even better.

[ColeJ]

i'm a long time fan of the madden series, so this doesnt really bother me that much...

however, if EA gets exclusive rights to NHL games, i may not buy a next generation console. ea's hockey has gotten so awful that it's not even playable.

[yh]

Okay, I'll take the hopeful optimist's outlook here.

Re: EA -- It is my sincere hope that this exclusive license gives the NFL the right and ability to insist on an absolutely top-tier product. With a projected $300 mil coming EA's way as a result of this relationship, there is no reason why the NFL shouldn 't insist that they produce the highest quality game possible and to improve upon that quality each of the five years of the contract. There should be no reason why EA cannot produce a game offering the most realistic gaming experience possible and push the envelope of each year's best available technologies and to do so without pushing the purchase price beyond its present value (adjusting, naturally for whatever the year's inflation rate might be). There should be no reason why future issues of Madden shouldn't include a huge library of classic teams, classic stadiums, throwback uniforms and perhaps even playbooks from days of yore - and all accurately rendered. And these options should be available without the need for codes, rewards or cheats. The NFL is clearly the premier pro sports league in North America and should insist upon a video game worthy of that position.

Re: Sega -- In order to continue producing a pro-football game, it will be necessary to trade upon the imagination and creativity of your target market. Create a multidimensional game that maximizes the consumer's ability to customize teams, stadiums, playbooks. Make it as easy as possible for players to import logos, uniforms and other customizing elements. Provide huge libraries of clip art and uniform templates. Provide greater flexibility in setting rules. Try to get a Canadian rules option as well (I'm not sure if the CFL-NFL arrangement would allow Sega to use CFL teams, but if it would, they should do it). Try to obtain the rights to include USFL and WFL, heck even XFL teams in your game. You are going to have to change your market focus from those looking to play NFL football to those who want to see their own teams or teams of the past in action. I challenge you to let your consumers exercise nearly limitless creative control, but provide an attractive product for those who perhaps aren't so creative or only want a little bit of input into their gameplay. You should be able to do all of this and hold your present price point.

I am going into this deal with the hope that all parties involved see the immense opportunities and hope they seize upon them. Guess we'll find out in about 8 months.

[buzzcut]

If Microsoft owned EA Sports, congress would be holding special hearings tomorrow.

Actually for the past few years, the rumor around Wall Street was that Viacom (not MSFT) was the one interested in EA. I'm not sure if that is still possible, given Mel Karmizan's departure for Sirius, but it would be interesting to wonder what EA would be like under Viacom ownership.

To Cyclopsis: if you can't compete in today's marketplace, get out of it. EA clearly perceived ESPN to be a potential giant killer in the football gaming landscape.

[Sterling84]

Hooray for EA Sports!!!  The King of Football is now the UNDISPUTED king of football  ESPN was a darn good game, but it ain't no Madden.

Wha?? I don?t care if you named your first-born Madden after this game series, how can you celebrate it having no competition and being able to rest on it?s laurels for five years? I?ve loved Madden. I?ve owned ten versions of it and wasted 100s of hours with it?s brilliance. But it?s due to Gameday, Tecmo, and Sega keeping the pressure on over the years that Madden continued to excel. This is BAD NEWS. No two ways about it. With rationale like yours we wouldn?t have affordable vehicles, vaccines, food, phone service??.heck we wouldn?t have landed on the moon!

Re: Sega -- In order to continue producing a pro-football game, it will be necessary to trade upon the imagination and creativity of your target market. Create a multidimensional game that maximizes the consumer's ability to customize teams, stadiums, playbooks. Make it as easy as possible for players to import logos, uniforms and other customizing elements. Provide huge libraries of clip art and uniform templates. Provide greater flexibility in setting rules. Try to get a Canadian rules option as well (I'm not sure if the CFL-NFL arrangement would allow Sega to use CFL teams, but if it would, they should do it). Try to obtain the rights to include USFL and WFL, heck even XFL teams in your game. You are going to have to change your market focus from those looking to play NFL football to those who want to see their own teams or teams of the past in action. I challenge you to let your consumers exercise nearly limitless creative control, but provide an attractive product for those who perhaps aren't so creative or only want a little bit of input into their gameplay. You should be able to do all of this and hold your present price point.

I am going into this deal with the hope that all parties involved see the immense opportunities and hope they seize upon them. Guess we'll find out in about 8 months.

Couldn?t have possibly said it better myself. Sega needs to go Half-Life/Counter-Strike on the football sim world. Allow for Canadien rules, college, high school, even Arena ball. Make it so open and flexible that you can pick any one of seven different franchise modes, and completely design every aspect. You guys (SEGA) work on the football part???we?ll make it accurate to the various leagues on our own. Just put in the most advanced pronunciation software available so the game can ?say? all we want it to?

Except Winning 11 or whatever, but who wants to play with made up teams and players? Unless I make those teams, no thanks.

Related to Hollander?s point. I?ve got a PS2 version of Winning Eleven 8? Whichever one isn?t out in the States yet. And a soccer-mod community has updated all the players names and numbers ( yes ALL of them) and the unis are so accurate they are better than any licensed game out there. IF and it?s a big IF??if Sega were to hand us the creative keys like Yale said??you wouldn?t have to do the work. Fans, uni junkies like us, would do the modding and it would be readily available for download on Xbox live or some other method.

Here?s hoping Sega and Take-Two read enough posts and feedback like this and go that route. Don?t take this lying down please!

[pcgd]

If YH's game comes out, I'd pay 60 bucks for that and buy a copy of Madden just to burn it.

[Sterling84]

If YH's game comes out, I'd pay 60 bucks for that and buy a copy of Madden just to burn it.

Here here!!! I'll do the same!

btw - as much as I love Madden and give it all due respect for being an innovator and staying SO consistently good o'er these long years when all others have fallen by the wayside...........a little respect for history if you will. (Not you pcgd, just in general).

Much of Madden's success has been reactionary, not innovative. Tecmo had a season mode and the ability to track detailed stats YEARS before Madden. Anyone just old enough to have gone to college in the late 80s/early 90s knows what I am talking about and which game people had dorm-wide leagues in and which they didn't.

[Sterling84]

Oh yeah! One more thing. For actual evidence of what happens when EA is unchallenged. Someone mentioned NASCAR. EA's NASCAR game was the one WITHOUT system link capability (the ability to link XBoxes to race your friends) back when there were multiple distributors. What was the competitor called again? NASCAR Heat?

Now that EA has it all to itself. It STILL does not have system link and shows no signs of putting it in. They just don't have to bother cause nobody has an alternative.

[rockchalk]

Actually, maybe this could be a good thing for everyone, b/c now we can have the different games with the appropriate rules. (Arena, CFL, etc.) Does anyone remember a game on the SNES in the early to mid 90's that had like 3 or 4 sets of rules and you could play as a pro, college, or HS team? I played it at a friends house once and thought it was the coolest, maybe now something like that will be in the works from Sega.

[gosioux76]

Actually, maybe this could be a good thing for everyone, b/c now we can have the different games with the appropriate rules. (Arena, CFL, etc.) Does anyone remember a game on the SNES in the early to mid 90's that had like 3 or 4 sets of rules and you could play as a pro, college, or HS team? I played it at a friends house once and thought it was the coolest, maybe now something like that will be in the works from Sega.

I'd hesitate before getting too excited about this. Yale's idea -- compounded with Sterling's suggestions -- make for an incredible sounding game. But Sega hasn't proposed anything yet, so all we can do is hope.

I wish I could be more optimistic about this whole issue. But regardless of which game you find to be better, competition in the market is healthy and of utmost signficance to all consumers.

Simply put: it's the difference between $20 videogames and $50 videogames of equal quality. Which would you rather have?

[TBGKon]

maybe now that Sega cannot make and NFL games, they can be the first to create an Arena football game, I know theres a market out there for a game like this, it may not seel like Madden, but if you make it good enough it will be bought