MLBPA Shuts EA Out Of Video Game License With Take-Two Deal

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sman113

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got this from sportsbusinessdaily.com's morning buzz:

The WALL STREET JOURNAL reports that Take-Two Interactive and the MLBPA as early as this week will announce a seven-year deal for exclusive third-party publishing rights valued at nearly $150M, “including commitments by the company to market future baseball video games.” The deal “shuts out companies like EA from the category while allowing makers of game consoles such as Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo to publish their own” MLBPA-licensed games. Take-Two also has been negotiating "with MLB for rights to use team names and other assets "

this whole exclusivity thing is getting on my nerves. I would much rather have good games that compete against each other to make each other better (even if not at a low price) then one company controlling it all. I am in an antitrust class right now so i'll let you know in a couple months if there is an argument that these moves are illegal as against public welfare :)
 
[quote name='Strider Turbulence']Will Golf be next?[/quote]

Actually, Ithink EA already has exclusive license for the PGA tour.

Dear God, I hope Sega can still make basketball games. That's their best sport anyway.
 
I don't like this whole exclusivity thing for any sport by any company. Since it seems like EA sports isn't the only one doing this crap, I may have remove my sig since it's really not fair to bash EA but not Take-Two
 
[quote name='GuilewasNK'][quote name='Strider Turbulence']Will Golf be next?[/quote]

Actually, Ithink EA already has exclusive license for the PGA tour.

Dear God, I hope Sega can still make basketball games. That's their best sport anyway.[/quote]

At what point will EA just absorb everything, and I mean everything....from space a big EA mark will be clearly visible on the plant........DAM YOU, YOU DAM DIRTY APES YOU DESTROYED IT ALL.
 
Turnabout's fair play as far as I'm concerned, and (assuming it's true) it looks like Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony will still be able to publish first-party MLBPA games for their own systems so there will still be some competition.
 
So this just means EA's baseball games will be published by the respective platform companies. Microsoft has already killed their own inhouse devlopment for this sport along with several others, so it wouldn't be a big deal for them to make a deal with EA to get around the licensing issue. Overall this has much less value than the NFL deal.
 
Can anyone say MONOPOLTTY!!! ;)

And my first thought on this was in line with epobirs. Wouldn't surprise me if EA actually makes more money out of the deal by getting a sweetheart deal from MS and Sony.
 
I'm not a fan of any company getting exclusives like this. But, in retrospect, we could all see this coming. I mean, if Take-2/Sega doesn't go after this deal, then EA would have, meaning EA would have access to MLB as well as existing NFL, Nascar, PGA and FIFA and AFL deals. I'm just thinking to myself that EA will try and get around the deal by having Nintendo, MS and Sony release their game...
 
[quote name='wubb']Can anyone say MONOPOLTTY!!! ;)

[/quote]

No. I can't. Do I make a kind of stutter at the double t or what. Can you offer a phonetic version?
 
[quote name='gmzone']I'm just thinking to myself that EA will try and get around the deal by having Nintendo, MS and Sony release their game...[/quote]

i dont think you can get around this deal that easily. EA is a third party company. they cant just go around selling their games to first party publishers to have their game published. that would defeat the purpose of the contract and Take Two could easily sue and win.
 
$150 million over 7 years...that's over $20 million a year. Have that many baseball game EVER sold?

Also, epobirs stole my joke.
 
[quote name='sman113'][quote name='gmzone']I'm just thinking to myself that EA will try and get around the deal by having Nintendo, MS and Sony release their game...[/quote]

i dont think you can get around this deal that easily. EA is a third party company. they cant just go around selling their games to first party publishers to have their game published. that would defeat the purpose of the contract and Take Two could easily sue and win.[/quote]

It would hardly be an unusual circumstance. All three have done so in the past, most notably current monster title Resident Evil 4. Microsoft was getting their golf games produced by Access for years before they finally bought out the company. Sony has published too many to list including FFVII among games from companies who were well established publishers in their own right. EA handled Square's US publishing for a while, too.
 
[quote name='CrashSpyro123']Now it's only a matter of time until the rest of the sports fall.[/quote]

yeah and getting hockey will probably be dirt cheap......

its all up to who gets the NBA agreement. then they'll go collegiate. high school. pop warner. little league.....to infinity and beyond.


but i am happy that Take Two/Sega got the MLBPA agreement.
 
Yeah, now we'll see if this affects the price of the MLB 2K5 game coming out. Still no official price for that game.....

I'm happy though :) I liked SEGA's effort last year
 
[quote name='GuilewasNK'][quote name='Strider Turbulence']Will Golf be next?[/quote]

Actually, Ithink EA already has exclusive license for the PGA tour.

Dear God, I hope Sega can still make basketball games. That's their best sport anyway.[/quote]

i am sure that they already do
 
Those nay-sayers about microsoft killing in house, that was when they killed the XSN/Inside Pitch, they did buy the rights for High Heat from the 3DO sale, so they might pull it off the shelf now.

With the exclusion of All Star Baseball (Acclaim) and now MVP (EA), it might be a great time to pull out one that had excellent name recognition for a 1st party title.
 
This has gotten out of control. There is going to be no competition in sports at all now. And yes EA has a deal with the PGA tour. That is why you only see Tiger Woods Golf.
 
You can't blame Take Two and Sega. They are just trying to survive. If they did not shut EA out of at least one area then EA would own all the sports.
 
Yeah, as much as I'd love to say that Take-Two sucks as much as EA for doing this, I think, like gmzone said, we could all see this coming. EA has a lot of developers running scared now, I'd imagine, and they're just countering EA's tactics, from what I can see. EA is sending out the message "Hey, if you want to make any sports games in a couple years, you'd better buy some licenses, like we are!" and developers are hearing them, loud and clear. Yeah, the Baseball license is nowhere near as good a score as NFL is, but it's probably a good business move, before somebody else has a chance to score it.
 
After the steroid scandal (can I say after yet?), which is worth more, the MLB license, of the MLBPA license?

And, for those of you who just want to stir the pot and throw your pom-poms around for exclusive contracts,(cornfedwb and death2sanity I recall being the biggest defenders of exclusivity), what would you say if EA jumps in and grabs the MLB license with a quickness before Take-Two can?

We'll have two largely incomplete baseball games competing with each other. One with no real players, and one with no real teams. Hooray for the gamer, right guys?

myke.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']After the steroid scandal (can I say after yet?), which is worth more, the MLB license, of the MLBPA license?

And, for those of you who just want to stir the pot and throw your pom-poms around for exclusive contracts,(cornfedwb and death2sanity I recall being the biggest defenders of exclusivity), what would you say if EA jumps in and grabs the MLB license with a quickness before Take-Two can?

We'll have two largely incomplete baseball games competing with each other. One with no real players, and one with no real teams. Hooray for the gamer, right guys?

myke.[/quote]

Wow good point, never thought of that option. I can't blame either company for the decisions that they have made. They are doing what is best for thier business. I do think though that gamers are going to get screwed with all of this.
 
[quote name='BigDirty']Those nay-sayers about microsoft killing in house, that was when they killed the XSN/Inside Pitch, they did buy the rights for High Heat from the 3DO sale, so they might pull it off the shelf now.[/quote]

They better, the HH games on PS2 were the best baseball games on the market that emphasized great gameplay over graphics. I was pretty pissed that Microsoft bought the rights and did nothing with them and then dropped sports game development. Also, the whole Microsoft exclusive thing since I probably wouldn't buy an Xbox just for HH, though that would be a unique reason.
 
[quote name='Indiana']You can't blame Take Two and Sega. They are just trying to survive. If they did not shut EA out of at least one area then EA would own all the sports.[/quote]

One bad move doesn't give reason to do another. It's still a bad move and still hurts gamers just as much.
 
[quote name='CrashSpyro123'][quote name='Indiana']You can't blame Take Two and Sega. They are just trying to survive. If they did not shut EA out of at least one area then EA would own all the sports.[/quote]

One bad move doesn't give reason to do another. It's still a bad move and still hurts gamers just as much.[/quote]

Yeah, but you still CANNOT BLAME THEM for fighting back with this. If they didn't buy it, EA would've .
 
I'm sure only the lawyers know exactly how this exclusivity deal works with the MLBPA and Take-Two. However, I wonder if there is anything that would stop EA, or any other studio, from developing the game while Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony publish it for their respective consoles? After all, the developer and publisher are often separate entities. However, I'm sure the big 3 would each have to work out the licensing deal with the MLBPA independently.
 
[quote name='Morrigan Lover']We need a Minor League Baseball videogame. I'd buy one.[/quote]

I'm sure EA is on top that.
 
[quote name='Morrigan Lover']We need a Minor League Baseball videogame. I'd buy one.[/quote]

MVP allows you to play as the minor leagues as well as the majors.
 
[quote name='doubledown'][quote name='CrashSpyro123'][quote name='Indiana']You can't blame Take Two and Sega. They are just trying to survive. If they did not shut EA out of at least one area then EA would own all the sports.[/quote]

One bad move doesn't give reason to do another. It's still a bad move and still hurts gamers just as much.[/quote]

Yeah, but you still CANNOT BLAME THEM for fighting back with this. If they didn't buy it, EA would've .[/quote]

I know, but blaming EA is still not the way to go since they didn't supposedly sign this contract, Take-Two did. It would go either way no matter what happened so we should be blaming the leagues that sell their licenses exclusively since they are the ones that decided to sell it to just one publisher despite how they've been done for many years.
 
[quote name='greendj27'][quote name='Morrigan Lover']We need a Minor League Baseball videogame. I'd buy one.[/quote]

MVP allows you to play as the minor leagues as well as the majors.[/quote]

It's probably somewhat connected to the MLB license, but there might be room for something.
 
[quote name='GuilewasNK'][quote name='Strider Turbulence']Will Golf be next?[/quote]

Actually, Ithink EA already has exclusive license for the PGA tour.

Dear God, I hope Sega can still make basketball games. That's their best sport anyway.[/quote]

Tiger Woods Golf = chump.

Happy Gilmore Golf....now even I'd buy an EA game NEW for that. :)
 
[quote name='epobirs'][quote name='wubb']Can anyone say MONOPOLTTY!!! ;)

[/quote]

No. I can't. Do I make a kind of stutter at the double t or what. Can you offer a phonetic version?[/quote]

I think it'd be something like Monopolt-ty polt = colt and ty = tea or tie depending on your accent.
 
But that didn't stop John Olshan, the MLBPA's director for interactive games, from heaping praise on Take-Two. "The baseball video game business has been underdeveloped for years," he said. "The upcoming change in technology makes this the perfect time for us to implement our plan for growing the business, and we have no doubt that Take-Two's proven creativity and innovation, combined with their incredible distribution strength and powerful commitment to baseball, will add real excitement and depth to the video game marketplace. Baseball fans will be the big winners."

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/01/24/news_6116946.html

Yeah, we're all winners. :roll:
 
[quote name='CrashSpyro123'][quote name='doubledown'][quote name='CrashSpyro123'][quote name='Indiana']You can't blame Take Two and Sega. They are just trying to survive. If they did not shut EA out of at least one area then EA would own all the sports.[/quote]

One bad move doesn't give reason to do another. It's still a bad move and still hurts gamers just as much.[/quote]

Yeah, but you still CANNOT BLAME THEM for fighting back with this. If they didn't buy it, EA would've .[/quote]

I know, but blaming EA is still not the way to go since they didn't supposedly sign this contract, Take-Two did. It would go either way no matter what happened so we should be blaming the leagues that sell their licenses exclusively since they are the ones that decided to sell it to just one publisher despite how they've been done for many years.[/quote]

MOST LIKELY this never would have happend without EA's football deal. Thus thier fault (IMO)
 
[quote name='Wshakspear'][quote name='CrashSpyro123'][quote name='doubledown'][quote name='CrashSpyro123'][quote name='Indiana']You can't blame Take Two and Sega. They are just trying to survive. If they did not shut EA out of at least one area then EA would own all the sports.[/quote]

One bad move doesn't give reason to do another. It's still a bad move and still hurts gamers just as much.[/quote]

Yeah, but you still CANNOT BLAME THEM for fighting back with this. If they didn't buy it, EA would've .[/quote]

I know, but blaming EA is still not the way to go since they didn't supposedly sign this contract, Take-Two did. It would go either way no matter what happened so we should be blaming the leagues that sell their licenses exclusively since they are the ones that decided to sell it to just one publisher despite how they've been done for many years.[/quote]

MOST LIKELY this never would have happend without EA's football deal. Thus thier fault (IMO)[/quote]

EA wouldn't have purchased the NFL license if the NFL didn't decide to go exclusive, thus it's the NFL's fault.
 
[quote name='CrashSpyro123']
EA wouldn't have purchased the NFL license if the NFL didn't decide to go exclusive, thus it's the NFL's fault.[/quote]

:applause: Thank you!

I have been trying to get people to understand this for a long time. The NFL and the Players Association can license to whomever they want. If anyone is to get "blame" it is those guys. But think about it. We have been lucky over the years. You seldom see any other intellectual properties being licensed out to multiple companies like sports games have been. The fact that exclusivity hasn't happened more often is surprising.
 
[quote name='regisphilbi0']This is good/bad. Yes, at least EA feels the burn of Exclusivity, but also we are now losing the MLB 2k6/MV 2005 competiton.[/quote]

The games that are planned for this year will still be coming out. Starting next year, however, it'll be Take-Two's game and maybe MLB 2K or another first-party game.
 
[quote name='punqsux']watch ea come in and get the exclusive rights to the mlb and we'll have 2 incomplete sports games on the market :rofl:[/quote]

But we'd still have Mario Baseball. That's worth something, eh?
 
[quote name='punqsux']watch ea come in and get the exclusive rights to the mlb and we'll have 2 incomplete sports games on the market :rofl:[/quote]

*ahem*

[quote name='mykevermin']After the steroid scandal (can I say after yet?), which is worth more, the MLB license, of the MLBPA license?

And, for those of you who just want to stir the pot and throw your pom-poms around for exclusive contracts,(cornfedwb and death2sanity I recall being the biggest defenders of exclusivity), what would you say if EA jumps in and grabs the MLB license with a quickness before Take-Two can?

We'll have two largely incomplete baseball games competing with each other. One with no real players, and one with no real teams. Hooray for the gamer, right guys?

myke.[/quote]

I wouldn't be surprised if this, in fact, happened.

myke.
 
The MLB may end up doing that, but no one will want to play a game that has generic numbers and player names.

also I highly doubt that would happen as the MLBPA would probably get pissed off, and since baseball has the strongest union, I doubt the players would allow the owners to make money and not cut in the players
 
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