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EA scores exclusive AFL deal

For those that have been following the recent events in video game football.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/01...s_6116065.html

Quote:

Electronic Arts continued its downfield drive against its rivals in the football gaming war today. The game publisher and developer today announced an exclusive licensing agreement with the Arena Football League, second in popularity among gridiron enthusiasts only to the National Football League. The game will join EA's current roster of football franchises, including Madden, NCAA, and NFL Street.

The announcement comes less than a month after EA made headlines with its purchase of the rights to the NFL, a move considered by many to be the proverbial "nail in the coffin" for rivals in the football gaming market, most noticeably Take-Two Interactive and ESPN Videogames' NFL 2K franchise and Midway's Blitz series.

In a phone conversation with Todd Sitrin, vice president of marketing for EA Tiburon, developers of the upcoming game, Sitrin said, "The AFL had been talking to us for quite a while, about a year, and the deal finally came to fruition recently."

While the deal promises that an AFL game will be ready for the market by the start of the 2006 season, the agreement is more than just about fun and games. It also "allows EA to share in the proceeds of future expansion team sales," effectively giving EA financial interest in the league beyond the gaming aspect.

"We believe that the business model the AFL has created will provide for a new football experience for video game fans and provide EA with an incentive to partner with the AFL to expand the league," said Larry Probst, chairman and CEO of EA. "The AFL is a unique brand of football and we intend to deliver a unique football-gaming experience from any the industry has seen before. We're pleased to be working with the league during this exciting growth period for the AFL."

The four-year deal begins with the onset of the 2005 AFL season, which kicks off January 28, at which time the two parties will begin the marketing and production of an AFL game.

The AFL previously inked a similar partnership with television network NBC. NBC has the rights to televise AFL games and also receives a cut of AFL teams' value increases.

The AFL is embarking on its 19th season and is one of the country's fastest-growing sports. Part NFL and part National Hockey League, the AFL is played on a smaller field and with fewer players than its fully grown cousin and is known for its high scoring and fast action. The league has produced several NFL players, most notably two-time NFL MVP Kurt Warner.

When EA set out to be the dominate force in video game football who knew they'd go this far? Questions, thoughts or comments?

Geesh, I thought they meant Australian Footy when I saw the headlines *grin*

EA needs to die. Quickly. Petition your government to break them apart before it gets too Microsoft-y in the game world, please.

Huh? People actually watch the Arena Football League?!?!? EA is getting out of hand, they aren't going to make a AFL game because noone would buy the shit. They just want to prevent Sega from making ANOTHER superior game to EA's yearly rehashed shit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hulk

Geesh, I thought they meant Australian Footy when I saw the headlines *grin*

hehe, same here hulk :p
the last couple of footy games (Australian Rules Football!) sucked really bad.... :(

I personally think this is a BAD idead. If I recall correctly, Kurt Warner's Arena Football bombed worse that Hiroshima. The only factor about an arena football game that i like is smashing the shit out of people into a wall.

I'm tired of the EA monopoly. Don't get me wrong, I like EA games. But the saying is true, when companies compete, the consumer wins. The quality of EA's nascar games has gone downhill since they became the only company making one. Their latest is still a fun game to play, but the game seems a little roughly finished in places, and the AI does very unrealistic things at times. With EA being the only company making football games, the quality will drop.

I also thought aussie rules - that would kick ass.

I remember back in like '96 when I was an intern with nothing to do and "surfing" around the early web pages, I tried to find some aussie rules stuff for sale. I had been watching it on espn2 late at night and really liked it. I ended up writing the league a letter trying to get them to send me a catalog to order from and the league sent me a big adelaide rugby style shirt free o' charge. Very cool.

Of course, I am a pretty short guy and they send me a XXXL. :)

I will still play it. They could make a women's proffesional football league game and i would still probably play that. I have every madden and qb club going back to snes and will still buy them b/c football games for me are really fun and they can be replayed over and over agian