EA may be concerned about 2K Sport's All-Pro Football 2K8 and its effect on their very expensive, but very lucrative (and sometimes broken) Madden franchise -- but the concern looks to be a two way street. During the Take-Two conference call where everyone was focusing on GTA IV drama, Take-Two CEO Ben Feder said about All-Pro Football 2K8 sales, "We're not terribly pleased and not disappointed. We're watching closely and are going to react proactively when Madden comes out. We know we're in a competition with them." Whether Feder means stronger marketing or a price drop is a toss-up.

Although All-Pro Football 2K8 did feel a bit rushed -- especially compared to 2K Sport's other new IP, the arcade baseball game The Bigs -- it was a good attempt at trying to do a football game without an NFL license. Hopefully All-Pro Football's future iterations remain an irritation in EA's side, if only to spur the Madden franchise into attempting to be better. Although, with the right TLC All-Pro could work on its own merits with the teams and players taking on a life and style of their own -- let's just try to avoid opening up the option to future accidental OJ incidents.