For those football fans who now hate EA
by Steve Parsons 
{ Dec 14th 2004 at 3:00PM }
The announcement today that Electronic Arts have obtained the exclusive rights to the NFL
franchise
has upset a good number of people, and rightly so. Electronic Arts
already crushed the best NASCAR title out there by offering a big bag of cash to NASCAR that simply couldn't be beaten.
Now they've done the same with the NFL. Electronic Arts are the Microsoft of the game industry, crushing all who oppose
them.
Time for a change?
Maximum Football has been a long time coming, but finally has a distribution deal. Since licensed NFL titles are now
the exclusive domain of EA Sports, if you wish to vote with your wallet, you may want to keep an eye on this title as
it looks very promising, and can be considerably customized. Sure, it may lack some of the glitz and glamour of the EA
title, but at least you don't have to suffer that jerk Madden. Plus it can do Arena Football and the CFL too.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Steve @ Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM
Perhaps you'd just rather take it up the tailpipe from EA and accept the situation instead of trying to actually DO something, right?
Plus you seem to make the assumption that shareware=crap, when, if the game is being distributed by Matrix Games (who are not exactly a small time distributor), it quite obviously ISN'T shareware.
Get a clue.
Tyler @ Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM
Hmm. That looks brutal. Hello 1999.
What I want is a good college football game for the PC.
Steve @ Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM
Given the huge popularity of college sports, I'm surprised EA have never put out the NCAA Football title on the PC.
Best guess: EA will go all out for 2006 to show that they're going to respect the license. Then 2007 will be a minor iteration... Then it'll be coasting out the rest of the license in typical EA style.
striegs @ Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM
EA is the Microsoft of the games industry? But I though Microsoft was the Microsoft of the games industry...
Perhaps a better analogy would have been, "EA is to video games as Microsoft is to operating systems." A little SAT preparation never hurt anybody.
B @ Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM
The NFL is the one that wanted there to be only 1 game. Similar deal with Reebok and Sirius. They want control over EVERYTHING.
Steve @ Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM
Someone on Slashdot posted the theory that the NFL did it because they didn't want to be associated with the ESPN series "cheapening" their brand.
The only real WINNER in all this is EA. The consumer loses, since the consumer automatically loses when there's only one choice. As for the ESPN series... Remains to be seen.
Lot of people seem to be really choked at the NFL, though I don't buy the theory that this will effect them the most.
capone2421 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:47PM
I think one of the biggest problems I have with this is the fact that our freedom of choice is being taken away by EA and we basically no longer have a freedom we were guaranteed in the Constitution of the United States. We cannot let big business become a dictator that tells us it's their NFL EA sports games or nothing. Monopolies stop freedom of enterprise and freedom of choice..This is a felony and illegal. It is the same reason AT&T was split up and why Microsoft paid a billion dollars in fines.I think it is time consumers stopped being shy and start being heard. We need to stand up, voice our opinions, and get the word out that we will not be blackmailed, dictated to, or stand by and watch our freedom of choice be taken away. It only takes one person to make a difference. Perhaps we could all make a difference and change the outcome of things by speaking out, writing the company, or boycotting any new football games that come out on the market produced by them.What do you think--do we got it in us or are we going to sit idlly by while big business gives us no more choice in the matter?