> heh...keep Googling, EA also bought the ESPN license.
> so expect Madden 2006 to be full of ESPN crap
>
> LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. on Monday said
> it has signed a 15-year licensing deal with sports broadcaster ESPN, giving it
> the rights to use the network's brand and to develop new games based on ESPN
> properties.
>
> The deal strikes a further blow against what was EA's chief competition in the
> sports market, the line of games from Sega Sammy Holdings and Take-Two
> Interactive Software Inc., which previously held the ESPN rights and used the
> ESPN name.
>
> However, at least initially, any potential changes to the EA sports games will
> be more subtle.
>
> "We don't anticipating changing anything significantly from what we are
> currently doing," Larry Probst, chairman and chief executive of EA, said in an
> interview. EA games will not necessarily be branded with the ESPN name, he said,
> though they will potentially include ESPN data, graphics and sportscasters .
>
> ESPN executives said they had a good relationship with Sega and Take-Two but
> felt the time was right to move on to a larger partner.
>
> "If you think about who the logical partner for ESPN (is) given our position in
> media and where we are and EA's position in video games ... it is a natural two
> companies to put together," said John Skipper, an executive vice president with
> ESPN.
>
> Skipper and Probst said the two sides would look to a number of ESPN properties
> as potential video games, including the "X Games" extreme athletics
> competitions, poker and even bass fishing.
>
> Last year, the Sega-Take-Two partnership challenged EA's dominance in pro
> football with a $20 game, "ESPN NFL 2K5," that received reviews just as strong
> as those for "Madden NFL 2005," the EA flagship that sold for $50.
>
> Used to years of outselling Sega's football games by almost a 10-to-1 margin, EA
> was forced to respond when last year's Sega title gained a 40 percent market
> share.
>
> The company slashed the price of "Madden" and moved quickly to lock up an
> exclusive licensing deal with the National Football League, keeping any other
> publisher from using NFL player or team names or likenesses in their games.
>
> At least in the short term, Madden's name will stay on the pro football game,
> rather than being replaced by ESPN or another brand.
>
> Madden is under contract to EA for the current season and the company said it is
> in negotiations with him on future versions of the game.
>
> © Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
>
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> TheDarkAbyss
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