Damn Ea, Give the license to Sega already, i love Nfl 2k and it was great.

Of course they are. And everywhere, gamers wet their selfs in the sheer anger of the very thought.

This just means Madden will continue to stay flat until the next time 2K puts out another All Pro game. Sucks for the die hard football fans. Competition breeds a superior product.

Oh, shut it Moore - you're just scared because if you let the license go to more than one developer, Tecmo Bowl is going to come back to destroy you and you'll be out of a job.

Really? The NFL asked for a single licensee.. thats odd.. especially for a league thats now whoring themselves to europe.. lol Just strange to me. I would think they would want everything under the sun with the NFL logo..

@TheAngryHeretic: And you, sir, are absolutely right.

I finally broke my Madden addiction this year (didn't buy it for once, despite my love for football and the Steelers) because I knew it would be more of the same. And you know what? Until someone else has the lisence, I'm not going back.

Drop in the ocean, I know, but it makes me feel better, at least.

Oh no....

I'll summarize all the posts now....

1) "GIVE UP THE LICENSE ANT LET 2k MAKE A GAME AGAIN"--NFL 2k5 was the exception and not the rule with the 2k football games. The others weren't all that good. Neither was their APF 2k8.

2) EA GOBBLES UP THE LICENSES THEY SUCKS--The NFL wanted this, EA just paid for it. NFL Properties--who does the licensing--does this for everything now. Look at how many products are "the exclusive X of the NFL".

3) MADDED SUCKS--show me another better football game, NFL 2k5 had one year, but that's really it. Sony never got there, neither did Microsoft. As bad as Madden is, no one has managed to do better.

Yes, Tiburon is known to be a bunch of hacks in the game industry. Yes Madden sucks. But in all the years of when there were multiple games, none really stepped up to the plate.

In reality, all sports games suck now. Maybe it's the shortened release cycles, maybe it's the top developers in teh industry don't code them, I don't really know. But can anyone remember a sports game of ANY developer, that didn't have enough bugs and glitches to make it really playable?

The ability to play as their favorite team is the sole reason Madden has such a following. The game is more an "NFL Simulator" than it is a football game.

@b1t0:

Yep the NFL asks for a single license. Thats how EA got it again until 2013. The NFL asked and EA said yes. Why wouldn't they? It would be dumb not to.

Thats why its so funny when people go crazy and blame EA for the NFL license "controversy". If you're gonna blame someone blame the NFL.

"...licensing remains an important part of adding realism to their sports titles ...".

you had the bleeping realism without the license being exclusive. sheesh, all you guys have done is put a clamp on competition, thus diluting your product for the past 3 years.

And when I said a game that didn't involve bugs and glitches, I mean a game in the last 5 years or so.

@Xerxes3rd: I meant to say, "The ability to play as their favorite team is the sole reason Madden has such a following of football fans."

...duh?

LOL

Licensing adds realism to sports titles? The NFL is the only league dumb enough to have done an exclusivity agreement.

I don't care how bad MLB 2K is- its hilarious to see EA get locked out of baseball. That and it still lets me play the Show on the PS3 :)

Well im down for not getting madden this year, only reason i picked it up last year i because of a b2g1 free, and you can tell which i got free =p

There's a reason I don't play football (or any sports) games. EA just seems to churn out the same game each year with minimal improvements, maybe a graphical improvement, and roster updates. Flame me if you want, that's how I see it- and when I say that exclusivity for a franchise isn't usually a good thing, I say it because- as already stated- 'competition breeds a superior product'.

@homerj: "NFL 2k5 was the exception and not the rule with the 2k football games. The others weren't all that good. "

i'm sorry but you make it seem like that's straight FACT. No it's not because it's your opinion. I myself think the 2K series as a whole is waay better than Madden post 1999, with the exception of 2004 where Madden reign king no exception (my opinion). I'll give you that AK8 wasn't that great, but neither was madden 2008 (although better than that crap called Madden 2007). I thought during the times when EA and Visual Concepts were competiting, gamers got the best of both worlds since they were both fighting for our wallets (or purses for any lady gamers on Kotaku). I don't buy that whole argument that NFL approached them for the license. And besides for someone who enjoyed A2K8 (i know it wasn't the best), i was anticipated a huge improvement for the 09 series. Now with the impending Take-Over, it seems that won't happen. So i'm sure you understand why people wouldn't take this news with cookies and cream.

@homerj: I would counter #3 with NFL 2k and 2k1, but that was back in the Dreamcast era, so maybe people don't count it.

monopolies are never good for anything
and that exactly what EA has going on

Damnit EA, GO AWAY!

It makes me laugh when people equate "exclusivity rights" to "monopoly."

@blackadvent:

What else can you really do? Trust me they add more than just roster updates, but really what more can you do? Football is football is football. It doesn't change.

@CCCombobreaker: There's a lot of long standing issues with Madden, that they neither have the ability or the will to fix.

The blocking has always been horrible, and despite every year of the devs saying "OH WE FIXED THAT THIS YEAR", it's still the same.

Lack of a decent AI. If you look at replays, you'll see how obvious this is. Their idea to stop "money" plays was to make defenders do super-human things to stop them. Linebackers jumping 7 feet in the air with 5ft. long arms to swat a pass to "warping" a defender to put him in a place to make a tackle.

Simulated stats for the franchise is bonkers. You'll have 4-5 running backs with 2,000+ yard seasons. They include the stat of "pankcake" blocks to the Pro Bowl voting, so all of your own lineman suddenly become Pro Bowl lineman.

Lack of presentation, they have the ESPN license, they haven't used it nearly as well as NFL 2k5 did.

There's a bunch of problems with Madden, that they could fix for a new version, and actually have it be an upgrade. They just either can't or won't.

I hope the NFL rip them off so bad that they won't ever want to touch nfl licensing. At this rate I will never get to play football. But who cares...it sucks.

The NFL claimed the exclusivity was to cut down on the number of sub par football games, so they licensed to the best one. Too bad sales were the only qualifying factor for the 'best one'.

As far as 2k football, 2k5 wasn't the best game ever, but it would have been if 2k6, 2k7, etc were made instead of the abysmal stillbirth demo known as All Pro Football 2k8. But if 2k8 had franchise mode, I would still rather play it than any incarnation of Madden.

@homerj: Are you on drugs son? NFL2k on the Dreamcast was better than Madden 2000 on any platform, and that was the case for 2k1, as well. And then in 2k2 through 2k5, they were on the same platforms (PS2, Xbox) and 2K WIPED THE FLOOR with Madden in terms of gameplay. Madden's name is what sold the game, though...

It's true: EA's exclusive possession of the NFL license has done so much to further the Madden franchise and has shown the NFL that they have produced a product the embodies the spirit and popularity of the NFL and its players. It has also done so much to push EA towards innovation with their product by creating new ways for consumers to enjoy their product.

Not.

Nobody likes you, Madden.

@ibelli: Whew, while i was reading your comment, i kept thinking "is this dude on something...EA shill are we not?". Then i saw the "Not" at the end. LOL. you got me.

@homerj: "MADDED SUCKS--show me another better football game, NFL 2k5 had one year, but that's really it. Sony never got there, neither did Microsoft. As bad as Madden is, no one has managed to do better."

no one will have a chance with EA having the NFL.

whatever. i still play old school tecmo bowl. the ONLY NFL game in my opinion....

Evidently the NFL heads have not touched a Madden game if they want EA to have exclusive rights. Come on, I liked have choices and with how little innovation Madden has added in the past 6 years, it's getting to be more than a bit annoying.

Maybe if they invested in some worthwhile AI that doesn't pull BS plays out of their ass when they're down with 2 minutes left to go in the game. Or if they added something more than just canned animation tackles. It's already lame enough that they're adding mulligans into the football mix.

If they have to retain exclusive rights, take a year off from Madden and focus two solid years on developing a worthwhile title. How's about that EA?

@Zips: "Evidently the NFL heads have not touched a Madden game if they want EA to have exclusive rights."

That's one of the reasons why i don't buy that mounting pile Bull Shit when Peter Moore said the NFL approached them.

@Zips: I think EA is more concerned about "new revenue streams" than, you know..."good games."

Hooray for monopolies. 2K was the shit -- think of how many genres would have been STIFLED if only one companies could develop games for it?

Unless I'm missing something, why would the NFL only want one licensee? Do they only want one company to make NFL team shirts and hats too? Should only one network broadcast NFL games?

Stop talking Peter...your breath smells like bullshit.

I still don't buy that the NFL went looking for a single licensee. Did they really have a problem with multiple sources of revenue?

@Silverbackne:

Yeah, it's bullshit. Moore talks about it as if he worked for EA when they made the deal with the NFL. The fact is, it was EA who lobbied for the exclusivity rights and gave bundles of cash to the NFL to get the contract through an "licensing auction".

@Silverbackne: the NFL went this way earlier in 2000. For a lot of stuff, including hats & shirts. Note that all NFL gear is now Reebok.

Supposedly the idea was they didn't want to dilute the NFL "brand" by licensing out to everyone that wanted to pay the fee. By exclusive deals with companies, they can more tightly control the "image" of the NFL. EA is just one company on a long list that includes the likes of Gatorade, Reebok, Visa, etc.

Sure Mr. Moore....i'm sure the NFL wants a single NFL baseball cap licensor or a single NFL t-shirt licensor too right?

errr..licensee

It looks like I won't be buying a NFL video game any time soon.

This is just disgusting. I realize that it won't make any sort of difference, but I wrote the following to the NFL via their contact form on nfl.com:

"I'm writing to you to express my extreme distaste for your insistence upon allowing any single video game developer to purchase an exclusive NFL license. EA Sports, the current holder of the aforementioned exclusive license, is undeserving of the exclusive license. Have a bit of decency and make some attempt to cater to the fans who preferred other football franchises by at least granting a pair of licenses this time around, possibly allowing a company such as 2K to develop a game that will force EA Sports to innovate, rather than simply allowing the Madden franchise to stagnate. At current, Madden players are paying up to $59.99 for little more than updated player rosters. Once the exclusive license has expired, please allow for more than one company to purchase a license. 2K's offerings in the past have met or exceeded those of EA Sports, so any argument as to protecting the quality of NFL games is completely invalid."

How many Maddens will it take until people realize its the same game each time with roster updates?

Boycott the NFL and EA, its the only way to show. I haven't bought an EA game since they fucked over NFL 2k6 and I never will. I still watch the NFL but don't buy stupid licensed crap. Money is the only thing that these companies listen to.

Weird, seeing as if they really buy Take2 they won't have any competition...

What's the use of getting the exclusivity anymore?

Afraid of NFL Gameday?

I stopped playing madden around 5 or 6 years ago and switched to NCAA. This was a good move until last year when the NCAA release was the worst I've seen yet. I bought last years NCAA for the PS3 immediately. Then immediately went back to the store and traded it in because it sucked so bad. Later on I played a demo of the 360 version and found it to be somewhat playable, so I went out and bought the 360 version. Course after playing for a few hours and not getting angry at how shitty it ran I started to notice how lacking of features and shitty the gameplay was, so I traded that in as well.

This year, I think I'll pass unless a demo proves me wrong. I guess it was only a matter of time before the changes in Madden that turned me away from the series trickled down to NCAA. My love of NCAA football has not wavered though and if they can show me something worth buying I might be back in. NFL wise? I've moved on.

I still hate to see no competition. Monopolies are only good for those whom are the monopolizers.

I haven't bought one since Madden '06.The people in my class asked me if I play Madden and they were shocked to find out that I didn't despite the fact that I am a gamer.

never bought a madden game, i still wont get one now.

You know, I just count this as a loss. You win some, you lose some. I'll never get Shenmue III, a Panzer Dragoon Saga sequel, Advent Rising continuation (shut up; it had potential) or BG&E sequel (not until its confirmed). And I will never get another NFL 2K game. Video game football has died for me. And it does make me sad.

But life does go on, I suppose ...

The 2K series received high scores through its entire run. I think some even outscored Madden in some years over at IGN. So you can all give up this idea that 2K5 was the exception to the rule. 2K5 was just the benefactor of solid progression throughout the series 6 year run. That's what made the series so great, each year they dared to make real improvements, real progression, unlike the Madden series.