The chairman of Take-Two Interactive - the parent company of 2K Sports - called his company's exclusive pact with Major League Baseball a "losing proposition" and suggested they would walk away when the deal expires in 2012.
Strauss Zelnick told Reuters that annualizing a video game risks producing one of lower quality and burning out consumers. While it's a relatively new concept to triple-A franchises like Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed, it's been a requirement of sports titles for the past 15 years. Zelnick sounded put off by that as well. While Take-Two is open to renewing its agreement with MLB, he indicated the economics of the deal have to be more favorable.
"It's a losing proposition and we don't have any interest in pursuing losing propositions."
2K's baseball deal expires in 2012. Last year, one analyst estimated its worth at $40 million over its lifespan.
Last year, Zelnick also singled out 2K's baseball titles, blamed a poor-selling and poorly-reviewed MLB 2K9, plus spinoff titles like The Bigs 2 and Front Office Manager, when the company came in under earnings projections (and lost more than $130 million for the year.)
Take-Two, following EA Sports' landmark exclusive pact with the NFL in 2004, secured exclusive third-party rights to produce a Major League Baseball-licensed video game the next year. As 2K Sports lost its popular NFL 2K franchise, EA Sports also said goodbye to its equally popular MVP Baseball series the next year.
Reuters Summit-Take-Two Sees Opportunity In Digital [Reuters]