Take Two in Talks with Major League Baseball 129
After EA's ESPN announcement yesterday, it hardly comes as a surprise that GamesIndustry.biz is reporting a possible deal between Take Two Interactive and Major League Baseball. The deal, first reported in the Wall Street Journal, appears to be for exclusivity rights similar to EA's arrangements. While the move wouldn't hurt EA's baseball franchise, it would squeeze out other competitors who have used the MLB license in the past.
This would hurt EA (Score:2, Interesting)
Why not? EA won't be able to use real players in their baseball games. That will definately hurt them.
RTFA (Score:1)
Re:RTFA (Score:1)
Re:This would hurt EA (Score:3, Informative)
A deal with MLB would just prevent them from using the Team names. Anybody remember Tecmo Baseball on the NES?
Re:This would hurt EA (Score:2)
It was no big deal to Hardball fans, as we had the real players.
This will cut the # of players in half! (Score:2)
Re:This will cut the # of players in half! (Score:1)
Yet another EA article (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Yet another EA article (Score:2, Funny)
Here's why. (Score:2)
Reactions... (Score:3, Interesting)
one thing i don't get though...the article says that
Somewhat related to this is the fact that just announced today [go.com] MLB awarded exclusive rights to fantasy games to MLB's own MLB Advanced Media that controls MLB.com...presumably this means that other baseball fantasy game companies (ESPN, Sandbox, CBSSportsline, etc) would have to buy licenses from MLBAM in order to run fantasy games...
Re:Reactions... (Score:2, Informative)
I know this has been the case with MLB in other areas. Ever gotten those free baseball cards in a cereal box or something? You know, the ones with the team logos airbrushed off the players' caps. That was because the company producing the cards had permission from the players union, but not MLB.
Re:Reactions... (Score:3, Informative)
1st Amendment issues (Score:2)
Word is they won't be able to enforce that aspect of things, as fact-based information (like stats) has historically not been treated as part of an individual's "likeness." T
Video game monopoly (Score:1)
It doesn't use MLB branding? (Score:5, Interesting)
http://www.easports.com/games/mvp2004/home.jsp [easports.com]
Re:It doesn't use MLB branding? (Score:2)
The only way they'll win is if they made a football game engine so superior even the lack of real players wouldn't matter.
In Other News... (Score:2, Funny)
Oh, wait, there needs to be a hockey season first.
actually... (Score:2)
i hear they're gonna just simulate a full hockey season, and award the stanley cup based on that...
Re:In Other News... (Score:1)
Re:In Other News... (Score:2)
I've played it (Score:2)
I've played it. I put the the game in and it showed a rerun of the Simpsons.
Player Modeling (Score:4, Funny)
Chuck
Re:Player Modeling (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Player Modeling (Score:2)
Re:Player Modeling (Score:1)
This hurts consumers (Score:3, Interesting)
Perhaps every sports game that comes out of this will be great but my money is on the fact that they will become stagnant and boring.
Not really (Score:2)
Re:Not really (Score:1)
If anything, this encourages innovation in the genre, because Sega and the rest need a better "gimmick" than just having a relatively current roster for each team. (they're never truly up to date since the games are usually gold before trading season is over)
Only one (Score:1)
Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball [rottentomatoes.com]
None... (Score:2)
Re:This hurts consumers (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re:This hurts consumers (Score:1)
Hockey on Mars would be pretty cool.
yeah, that would be kinda cool. i guess i was speaking more along the lines of realistic sports games.
</fan type='cardinals'>
Re:This hurts consumers (Score:1)
Whaaa! Mommy! He cheated! (Score:3, Insightful)
No one likes losing, so a large group of people start cheating in order to win.
So the people who don't like the cheaters wind up having to learn to cheat themselves in order to keep the cheaters honest.
Outcome? No one wins. No one can get an honest game.
This is degenerating into a rights-grab, and only one company per sport will have rights.
I can hear the whiny-children in my head:
EA: Wha! He beat me. I don't like losing. I know! I'll cheat!
VC: Hey! I won fair and square!
EA: *raspberry* I'm taking my ball and going home!
VC: That's not your ball!
EA: It is now!
Don't get upset, just usual /. double-standard (Score:5, Insightful)
A lot of you are wondering why it wouldn't hurt EA any more than anyone else. Of course, it would, but remember - we're supposed to hate EA.
If we admitted that this could "hurt" EA, in the same way EA's deals could hurt Take Two (et al), we're admitting that competition in the video game market is alive and well, and that exclusive rights are par for the course in the industry.
Activision has exclusive rights to make Spiderman games, but you don't see any articles about that, do you?
So basically, just think of EA as Microsoft, and Take Two as Apple.
DRM in Media Player is an affront to our rights online, and threatens our very freedom. DRM in iTunes is a brilliant business strategy from a company that "gets it". Or, MSFT pursuing action againt mikerowesoft.com (even though they HAVE to defend trademarks) was evil, but Apple suing a kid for passing on a rumor about the mini mac, well that's different because, umm, iPods have neato little scroll wheel things.
I hope this clears things up. Slashdot is best read and understood when peering through your navel, with your head shoved far up your ass.
Mod parent up +5: Totally Gets It! (Score:3)
It's not the same. (Score:2)
Now, this year, after being beat senseless by competitor X, Activision slaps Marvel with a wad of cash and basically says "we're tired of being beat senseless and actually having to work for our money, give us exclusive rig
Re:It's not the same. (Score:1)
Konami, Capcom, and others have all made Marvel games in the past. Now it's just Activision. Because Activision/Neversoft backed a dumptruck full of cash to their door.
Every movie has a video game tie-in, and the maker of the game has exclusive video-game rights.
Exclusive deals for characters, and branding, are pretty much the backbone of the video game industry.
EA had exclusive deals with all the major leagues back in the 90s. So they got some new deals. Big whoop. It's
Re:It's not the same. (Score:2)
XFL - lasted one season and went under $35 million in the red. i don't see the publishing houses lining up to make an XFL game. Most football video game players and not video game nuts. they're football nuts. they want to play as their favorite team. they want simulation. they want the game to be as close to what they watch on sunday as possible. for major league sports video games licensing is key. why even try unless you're going to get that license.
Re:It's not the same. (Score:1)
I disagree, I'd say at best it's an even mix. I like playing football games, and I don't think I could name more than three current professional players, and even then, I couldn't tell you who they play for.
I like the game of football a lot, however I don't care for the NFL.
There's a big market that just wants the best game, whatever that means to them (best looking, best playing, best online experience).
Re:It's not the same. (Score:2)
Re:It's not the same. (Score:1)
This goes back to the days when I played Hardball! on the C64. Baseball Stars, heh, what was that robot one on the NES? It was a blast, like Basebot 2000 or something.
I look forward to seeing developers looking to improved gameplay, or other features, to sell the game, rather than using "we gots all the players names" as a crutch.
But then I'm someone who likes sports, and sports games, but doesn't care for professional sports (except for the NHL, and
Re:Don't get upset, just usual /. double-standard (Score:2)
And competition is NOT alive and well in the football video genre. What insentive does EA have to improve? If you want a pro football game, you have to go to EA. The next version of Madden will probably be just a re-hash of this year's version, with roster updates.
Re:Don't get upset, just usual /. double-standard (Score:2)
Maybe you, and they, wouldn't be wondering about why it wouldn't hurt EA if you read the article before commenting. Way to totally call me on my summarizing, dude.
Re:Don't get upset, just usual /. double-standard (Score:1)
EA is still selling an unbranded product, while the slashbot wisdom would say that Take Two has a "monopoly advantage" because they have a branded product. It still affects EA the same way it affects anyone else, in a very small and inconsequential way.
Turns out, that official logo doesn't mean jack-shit when the games are on the shelves.
Thanks for calling my atten
Re:Don't get upset, just usual /. double-standard (Score:2)
Re:Don't get upset, just usual /. double-standard (Score:2)
How are exclusive rights that prevent others from making games based on real sports teams indicative of competition being "alive and well"? EA has locked up football, and Take Two has locked up baseball. That sounds like a pair of monopolies in (slightly) different ma
Re:Don't get upset, just usual /. double-standard (Score:2)
Um, you don't think there was competition to get those exclusive rights? You think that the organizations involved just said "oh, ok, sure" when one company came to them?
Re:Don't get upset, just usual /. double-standard (Score:2)
Exactly. First they competed to sell more copies of their sports games, then they competed to get exclusive rights, and now the rights are aquired and there is no more competition. That is the death of competition. Vying for the exclusive rights was just the final struggle.
Re:Don't get upset, just usual /. double-standard (Score:2)
Now I finally understand where the term "navel gazing" comes from.
Not Upset, Just Disappointed (Score:1)
-G
www.g.pix.com [g-pix.com]
Re:Not Upset, Just Disappointed (Score:2)
Not saying this is the case, just saying that the competition has been happening, and one company is debatably the short-term victor. Debatably, because most financial institutions are guessing EA overpaid for the NFL license.
Is baseball that big for video games? (Score:2)
Is this more of an "if you don't have one, you look bad, but having one does nothing positive for you" issue?
what happened to the old EA games?? (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re:what happened to the old EA games?? (Score:1)
Re:what happened to the old EA games?? (Score:1)
Re:what happened to the old EA games?? (Score:1)
Re:what happened to the old EA games?? (Score:2)
/me doesn't care (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:/me doesn't care (Score:2)
Same here. I find that SuperBaseball 2020 on the SNES more fun than any branded baseball game on that system. Probably because it has robot players. Funny how that works.
Remember the good ol' days? (Score:2, Interesting)
All of these games were great and didn't have one legit team.
Re:Remember the good ol' days? (Score:2)
i did love nintendo ice hockey though, where you could build your team by picking out the number of fast/skinny, medium or slow/fat guys you wanted on your team...
Re:Remember the good ol' days? (Score:1)
Mutant League Football.
Re:Remember the good ol' days? (Score:1)
Great! (Score:3, Funny)
Favorite Quote in Outloaw Golf 2 Promo:
The shameless bunch from the Outlaw series returns to the repressed world of golf with their outrageously twisted antics.
I love twisted antics!
It's probably just me, but... (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't think anyone would consider it reasonable for Boeing to give Microsoft "exclusive rights" to simulate their aircraft. That would be stupid. Motor racing teams and racing tracks haven't set up "exclusive deals" on who can do what.
I might not be able to call a simulator "official", but if I wanted to write a game based on the Silverstone track and the typical behaviour of the various Formula 1 cars, I don't think anyone would seriously complain. And that's for a sport with a turnover ten times that of major league baseball.
Lock-ins are no good for the sport, as people are LESS likely to buy over-priced, over-hyped products in the long run, which means there's going to be a decay in interest over time.
If games manufacurers are so lacking in confidence that they can compete, they need to spend more money on development and less on "special deals" with organizers.
Re:It's probably just me, but... (Score:2)
Re:It's probably just me, but... (Score:1)
Re:It's probably just me, but... (Score:2)
Exclusive deals are fine for the sorts of services w
Re:It's probably just me, but... (Score:1)
Re:It's probably just me, but... (Score:2)
This would be similar to the C&C "Secret Missions", MS Flight Sim's "Star Disks", etc., only it would allow components to be added/upgraded, rather than just relying on what was already provided.
This would mean you can focus on developing those extensions, rather than rebuilding core components each time. (Actually, most game writers use some so
Re:It's probably just me, but... (Score:1)
Re:It's probably just me, but... (Score:2)
Re:It's probably just me, but... (Score:1)
Oh yes they have. Formula 1, Ferrari, NASCAR, Collin McRae, etc. The names of the drivers, the colour of the track surrounds, etc. are certainly targets for lawsuits based on trademarks or "passing off".
Re:It's probably just me, but... (Score:1)
Re:It's probably just me, but... (Score:2)
Stats already public domain (Score:2)
What's at issue is names and likenesses. There's nothing stopping Sega from producing a football game that plays identically and uses real stats but it would have to have differently named teams and players.
I don't think anyone would consider it reasonable for Boeing to give Microsoft "exclusive rights" to simulate their aircraft.
They probably could, actually. You'd probably be a
Re:It's probably just me, but... (Score:2)
Newspapers can use player names and photos without permission.
Authors can write a book about a player and even put their name on the cover without permission. There are tons of unlicenced sports stat books as well.
Movies, TV shows and radio programs can use player names and show pictures without permission.
But video games... they can't use real player names?
Thats crazy.
I want a MINOR league baseball game! (Score:2)
in related fantasy baseball news... (Score:2, Interesting)
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/sportsbusiness/news
Baseball, or just the teams, etc? (Score:2)
One could still make a football/baseball game with fictional teams and players... hell it might even be better than using existing ones.
Speaking of the EA deals (Score:2)
Warning: The site is 100% Flash, and initial feedback is that it isn't funny. Enjoy Slashdot!
Who else? (Score:2)
I'll Say It Again... (Score:1)
All of this land-grabbing doesn't have to be the death knell to any one company or another, but r
Why it shouldn't hurt EA (Score:1)
Now, if Take Two reveals that they've inked the MLBPA to an exclusive deal t
Import Names (Score:1)
2. Allow importing of team names and player names and stats from outside sources (eg: fan sites)
3. ???
4. Profit.
----
Remember all those NBA games that were missing Michael Jordan's name, yet there was a "super" player on the Bulls that looked just like him. Everyone just renamed him to MJ.
This Week...in Baseball... (Score:1)
Ummm, Baseball (Score:2)
Video game, smideo game, baseball games blow. Nothing worse than simulating sitting around for nine innings watching idiots run laps around a diamond shaped pit. Boooooooring!
EA buys Take Two (Score:1)
I see all these deals as bad for the game industy. Why do they have to try to make things better, just when Sega was close to making a better game EA pulls the rug out from under them, thats just wrong.
My dream used to be to make a company that Microsoft would buy from me for lots of money but now its to make one that EA would buy.
Just like NHL hockey ! (Score:3, Funny)
Just like with NHL hockey!
Re:Why? (Score:2)
Re:Why? (Score:2)
Re:Why? (Score:1)
Which reminds me, when EA inked the National Football League, did the
Re:Why? (Score:2)
Yeah, I believe that the NFL deal also included exclusive rights to the NFLPA.
As for the MLB issue, losing team names and stadiums would be a huge problem. I don't care if I can use Curt Schilling if he's wearing a Boston Green Socks uniform and pitching in Boston Field.
EA's greedy exclusivity moves are causing a huge mess all across the genre--EA's MVP Baseball and Sony's MLB line were the best baseball games available, and if I get stuck with Take Two's inferior product (and it is vastly inferior), I'm
Re:Why? (Score:1)
10 yard fight
John Elway's Quarterback
Bases Loaded II
And the best game ever, BATTLETOADS!
Sorry, battletoads that wasn't a sports game, but it came to mind for some reason.
Re:Why? (Score:2)
Rob
Re:Why? (Score:2)