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Take Two to get MLB exclusive deal? Bad news for us?


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Take Two to get MLB exclusive? NBA to sell genre exclusive licenses?

January 18, 2005 - I can't ever remember a more tumultuous time in the history of sports video games. And just when you think you know it all, another bomb is dropped on your lap.

EA buys the NFL exclusive. EA buys the ESPN exclusive.

But now, here comes the counterpunch.

Rumors are circulating that the Take Two/Visual Concepts team is in negotiations to buy the exclusive MLB license, and negotiations are almost final. Visual Concepts is the company I had mentioned in a previous column as the ones who went out and locked up a long term deal with Major League Baseball after the NFL exclusive was announced, and now it looks like they were not only granted a long term deal, but are about to make it an exclusive. Word is, it could be an exclusive third party contract, meaning first-party publishers like Sony (989), Microsoft, and Nintendo will still be able to publish games using the real players and teams, but surprisingly, it's mega power EA who will be cut out of the loop.

On the NBA front, rumors are spreading throughout the industry that the league is now looking to sell genre-specific exclusives once current deals expire, meaning they want one company to publish sims (NBA Live, NBA 2K5), one to publish street-style games (NBA Street V3, NBA Ballers), and one to publish portables. Sources tell IGN Sports that there is already some major money on the table for each deal, and it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. The NBA has rejected initial bids for the all-encompassing exclusive, taking the competition from the courts to the negotiating table.

-- Jon Robinson

This can't be good news for this community. PC users may end up being totally left out when it comes to baseball games. I guess we better make the most of MVP '05. :(

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Obviously this is a move Sega is making to counter EA, and I can't fault them for that aspect, but the actual move is disappointing for gamers. At least first-party titles can still be made (looks like Sega was going right at EA with this move).

And NBA appers to be next, as they are dividing up exclusive licenses for each type of game (sim, arcade, portable).

This whole situation is just unreal. And the PC-only gamers really lose out.

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Yeah, this is getting ridiculous now. MVP is my favorite sports game, period. Consumers should protest. Its all EA's fault too for starting that dumb monoply sht.
Yep.

Thanks for opening Pandora's Box, EA.

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yeah, but the end of MVP would be horrific, EA did a great job of shapin this into an amazing series, and if they could continue to make it, only great things could come of it

Exactly! MLB better not let this happen. Or Take 2 better come out with a PC version of this game that's actually good.

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I posted this elsewhere to talk back to the ESPN football fans that were pissed that EA knocked them out of the football market. So many EA-haters say "EA started this mess" which is completely untrue. So this is my response to them:

For me, I am a huge baseball fan and MVP Baseball is heads and shoulders above the competition. I don't blame EA for buying the NFL rights because if some of you don't know, they were approached by the NFL and seized the opportunity to keep their highest selling game of all-time. Because if they did not get the rights, the NFL would have moved on to someone else and then it would have been bye-bye Madden (which I think is far superior to any other football game on the market).

This would suck so much. It would turn me off of baseball games altogether. I would just play MVP 2005 and download updates and never buy another baseball game. I hope EA counters and offers more money for the rights because I would be really sad if 2005 was the last year for MVP.

Get your facts straight. Everyone thinks EA sought out the NFL rights and started this mess. They were merely protecting their asses and it scared Take Two, who sucks anyhow. I really hope EA counters with more money (MLB would sell to the highest bidder regardless of quality, they are sluts for money).

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I think it is a done deal. Listen to the Senior VP of EA Sports Frank Gibeau's answer to the potential deal. Doesn't sound too good.

IGN Sports: One thing we're just finding about is Take Two's potential deal to get the exclusive MLB license. Does that mean the end to EA making baseball games?

Frank Gibeau: We're going to have an announcement about this shortly. This is the way business works. It's a pretty exciting time in the sports category. It's interesting because it has flown under the radar for so long from the leagues and the partners, and the business has just gotten so big, games are bigger than box office now, that people are paying attention to it. The business is changing. That's just a simple fact and you have to adjust to it. The days of when this was a fun, cottage industry are pretty much gone, unfortunately.

This deal would make playing MVP 2005 like playing with your dog before you go to have it put down.

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You know what??? EA could still make the game, they would just have to make it easy to change the ingame graphics, ie. team logos and such, and have player editting. Then all someone would have to do is input all the stuff. For the PC users of course.

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You know what??? EA could still make the game, they would just have to make it easy to change the ingame graphics, ie. team logos and such, and have player editting. Then all someone would have to do is input all the stuff. For the PC users of course.

All the player names, logos, team names - that would be so much work. If there is no MVP in 2006, I would stop buying new baseball games altogether or hope MLB changed their player models (they look tall and lanky and move weird) and included playable minors since I played the MLB franchise for the first PlayStation.

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They should make it anyway, fight the SYSTEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

but seriously, that would suck...really bad. Take Two better do a good job with it...or else...Sega should stick to like Sonic or something lol..

-viceman-

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I posted this elsewhere to talk back to the ESPN football fans that were pissed that EA knocked them out of the football market. So many EA-haters say "EA started this mess" which is completely untrue. So this is my response to them:

For me, I am a huge baseball fan and MVP Baseball is heads and shoulders above the competition. I don't blame EA for buying the NFL rights because if some of you don't know, they were approached by the NFL and seized the opportunity to keep their highest selling game of all-time. Because if they did not get the rights, the NFL would have moved on to someone else and then it would have been bye-bye Madden (which I think is far superior to any other football game on the market).

This would suck so much. It would turn me off of baseball games altogether. I would just play MVP 2005 and download updates and never buy another baseball game. I hope EA counters and offers more money for the rights because I would be really sad if 2005 was the last year for MVP.

Get your facts straight. Everyone thinks EA sought out the NFL rights and started this mess. They were merely protecting their asses and it scared Take Two, who sucks anyhow. I really hope EA counters with more money (MLB would sell to the highest bidder regardless of quality, they are sluts for money).

Actually, EA did approach the NFL first, the NFL just didn't offer the exclusive license until this year.

I'm disappointed as a sports gamer, but Take Two had to do something to counter EA.

By the way, do you play GTA? Because Take Two makes it. ;) Take Two who sucks anyhow. :wink:

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