NBA to sell genre exclusive licenses? from IGN

[kp4life]

http://sports.ign.com/articles/580/580468p1.html

After the shocking ESPN and EA deal yesterday, the big contract signing rumors between other sports leagues and the game companies are spreading rapidly. Who knows what's next?

[Old School Fool]

It's official. World War 3.

[Yessie]

wow i know things will only get more interesting in the weeks to come. i played last year's MVP game and i though it was the best out there. hopefully MLB goes with quality the EA represent. , ive never played NBA streets but i did play NBA ballerz i think EA should stick with LIVE and let Midway take the streets. it be cool if they had AND1 Ballerz

[JP_Frost]

this would suck, cuz I fell in love with Mvp Baseball this year and have been looking forward to the new game ever since I got last year's game.

EA would look like a bunch of schmucks if they let these deals slip through their fingers. Buying the rights of a certain sports brand ( espn, tnt, etc. ) is one thing, but buying the rights of an entire league is another ( even though I don't care about football, I dislike the fact of ea being the only one to develop NFL games )

[GloveGuy]

What the fuck is happening?

We're all getting screwed here. I wanna buy NBA Street Vol. 3 and I wanna buy ESPN NBA 2K6(I can still call it that, right?)! I also don't wanna see this site die, which it probably will if the NBA hands basketball sims rights to VC.

I'm sorry, but I'm gonna complain. I have a right to. Fuck EA for buying the NFL rights, and fuck them again for taking ESPN! And fuck VC if they buy the rights to the MLB(though I do prefer ESPN Baseball)! This is wrong. I don't give a damn about what's smart -- it's wrong. It's hurting me, and it's hurting everyone at this forum, and could potentially go to shit.

It's gotta stop, though I know it won't.

[fgrep15]

Why does everyone have to be exclusive, the other ones don't both me as much, but I don't want the NBA ones to become exclusive, I want their to be both an NBA Live and NBA 2K6, and both a NBA Street Vol 4 or whatever, and NBA Ballers 2.

[ignatu]

NFL rights for games held exclusively by EA doesn't mean there are no more possible NFL games besides theirs. Is the game about the marketing, glitz and hype of the player names, graphics, sound and music, etc? or is it about gameplay? EA didn't buy an exclusive license to great game play, did they?

This gives other companies a chance to focus on the game play and the experience of YOU THE PLAYER as the center of attention in a game rather than on virtual simulations of real life athletes. I worked with EA on the Madden Challenge - made the rules, format, and was commish for 2 seasons - and when players made a long TD people would say "what a catch by Randy Moss." But it wasn't Randy making the catch, it was the guy holding the sticks (Big Gene, or the Beast, or the Natural etc.)

The same goes for basketball games if NBA sells the license exclusively. Yes, people want to see the real stars, but will a good game without the real names not be good? It will give players a chance to make their own franchises, maybe focus more on head to head play, and instead of LeBron flying in for a dunk or making an assist, it will be "GENERIC NAME" or more importantly YOU.

EA's MVP baseball is a good game, not terrific, but good. It has the real players, stadiums, good music, sound, graphics, etc. along with some pretty good game play (yes there are some problems with the game play.) But have you tried Ultimate Baseball Online? It puts you as one player on a team of nine. The graphics aren't great, it's no where as polished as MVP, but the game is a lot of fun because it is YOU trying to build a character and working to become a star.

ESPN isn't the end all and be all of sports. Losing the ESPN name won't stop Sega from putting out more games. How about "NBA On NBC" or "TBS/TNT NBA Basketball"? IF EA gets exclusive license with NBA, or if someone else does, it won't stop others from a quality product. Maybe it will motivate them to look for ways to put the player more in the middle of the experience. Build a star in your own league, instead of mimicking the stars in the real NBA. How about a game where you are one player on a team of five, playing against another team of five human controlled players? Ever played NBA Live 2 on 2? It's a blast being the guy cleaning up the boards as much as it is to be the guy scoring the points.

EA tried streaming real scores in NBA Live via the Internet. It didn't go over well because when people played the game, they weren't there to see the scores of real games. Features like the game dynamically setting rosters based on the real NBA starting rosters game by game is interesting, as would be setting hot and cold streaks based on the hot and cold streaks of real life players. But people don'y only play NBA Live game by game along with the real season. I don't want my rosters changing because Kobe got injured in real life, or because someone got suspended, or because someone got hot.

Don't worry about sports games. The competition won't end if EA corners the market on all the pro sports. EA makes great games, and some interesting features may come of this. Other companies will keep producing quality features as well.

As for me, I want to see an NBA Live Challenge and some focus on those competitions as a brand of their own.

[GloveGuy]

You're living in a fantasy world, ignatu.

The competition WILL end if EA grabs up all the licenses. They probably won't, but stop saying that there's hope beyond the major sports leagues. Regardless of what you think, and what you prefer, people aren't going to buy a football game if it's not NFL. They won't buy a basketball game if it's not NBA(or NCAA for that matter).

Stop day-dreaming and get the fact that monopolies can only do bad for sports gamers and will kill anything company that doesn't hold it.

[ignatu]

If you're a baseball fan, give Ultimate Baseball Online a try, and then tell me if games must have pro sports licenses.

[ShivaSquad]

oki jus wnana say that i posted that ESPN and NBA Live made an agreement, and that i had read it somewhere, then ppl postd to me sayin "taht rumor was 99% false." and other ppl spazzed

WELL WHOSE LAUGHING NOW BITCHES, WHO?!

lol i had to get that out... im done

(I WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG!!)

[dsigns]

They won't buy a basketball game if it's not NBA(or NCAA for that matter).

I agree with you somewhat, but they could still tap into the streetball circuts. Go beyond And 1 and make custom teams from different cities. There's still other options...but not many.

[GloveGuy]

If you're a baseball fan, give Ultimate Baseball Online a try, and then tell me if games must have pro sports licenses.

I'm not a baseball fan. Go Red Sox though.

I agree with you somewhat, but they could still tap into the streetball circuts. Go beyond And 1 and make custom teams from different cities. There's still other options...but not many.

I was talking regarding 5-on-5 sims. Street ball games are totally different.