Take-Two: College Hoops 2009 Cancelled - EA Strikes Again?

[WaltJay]

In response to a rumor posted by Kotaku earlier today, 2K Sports parent company Take-Two has confirmed College Hoops 2009 has been cancelled.

From the article:

2K Sports has decided not to continue negotiations with the CLC for the license for its top-rated College Hoops franchise, which would have been released next in November 2008. We are committed to providing fans with high-quality, critically-acclaimed sports games, but given our disciplined approach to the business, we do not believe the current discussions would result in an acceptable outcome.

Link (http://kotaku.com/344534/take+two-college-hoops-talks-break-down)

Could this be a result of another EA Sports exclusivity deal? Stay tuned.

[BabyJesus]

I don't play college sports games, but what is left for 2k sports now? Fluffy Pink Pansy Bowling?

[Cavalier]

They still have NBA and MLB (I think).

[Mal.Reynolds]

Nhl toooooo

[phantomhitman]

this is getting fucking stupid, i mean really...

[WaltJay]

And don't forget Don King's Prizefighter! :)

It's kind of sad to see 2K becoming less relevant in sports games, not because of the quality of their product, but because of EA's exclusivity deals.

[SuperMonkeyFighter2]

I wouldn't look too much into it to be honest. Those games (The College Hoops titles) just don't sell. Last year's numbers weren't that good, nor were this year's

[Norse]

I feel bad for saying this, but the EA Sports games I care about (NHL and FIFA) has improved a lot lately and are IMHO far better than the competition. I guess I should be upset at the thought of EA getting exclusive deals, but I don't really care anymore.

[Boom Doc]

Just to clear one thing up on the exclusive deal with the NFL that EA has. Some people aren't aware but that was the NFL's doing. The NFL decided that it only wanted one game company to be the "Official game of the NFL". So they started a bidding war over rights and EA won. I use to hate EA for getting the exclusive deal since I like good competition as it makes for better games, but I can't blame EA for wanting the right to sell one of their most popular games. The NFL is the one that is at fault for the exclusivity. Hopefully the NCAA isn't pulling the same crap.

[bjornbarspingvinen]

Well most people who have played all the sport games, often see that the competetion to EA historically have been more good at representing the sport they are to simulate. EA has an ugly way of using it´s money to ensure they keep the upper hand. The NFL deal was pathetic and I haven´t bought a NFL game since. I do like what EA did with the NHL series, BUT that´s because OF THE COMPETETION. NHL2k has annihilated EAs game for years before NHL08. EA simply had to improve because word by mouth was getting momentum for take2/VC/2ksports.

ANyhow, sad to see since EAs basketball games suck ass.

EA did another shitty deal when they went on XBOX live, Microsoft cut their sport division as a demand from EA. If not , EA wouldn´t support XBOX live. EA is so far behind in the online part too, it´s sad to see so many NBA live games being sold, and it´s a miracle FIFA sold so much before it got decent (it´s pretty good now though). It just shows that marketing and abusive licenses are more important than developing good games.

[Sir Kodiak]

I'm really disappointed by this. College Hoops is definitely the superior college basketball game, and college basketball is the only sport I follow particularly closely.

[agentgray]

I'm really disappointed by this. College Hoops is definitely the superior college basketball game, and college basketball is the only sport I follow particularly closely.

So, you're the one.

:D

[mos]

Thankfully, 2k still has the rights to MLB, which is the only sports game I care for. (Sorry to you other guys, and to show my support, I am continuing my boycott of EA.)

[Speed_D]

I think it's a load of crap that these "rights" are sold in the first place. All the players are public figures and their stats are common knowledge.

[MojoJojo]

You can thank both MLB and the NFL Players' Association (in that order) for that BS

[phantomhitman]

Just to clear one thing up on the exclusive deal with the NFL that EA has. Some people aren't aware but that was the NFL's doing. The NFL decided that it only wanted one game company to be the "Official game of the NFL". So they started a bidding war over rights and EA won. I use to hate EA for getting the exclusive deal since I like good competition as it makes for better games, but I can't blame EA for wanting the right to sell one of their most popular games. The NFL is the one that is at fault for the exclusivity. Hopefully the NCAA isn't pulling the same crap.
I didnt think this sounded right to me, so I did two seconds of web crawling.
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/12/13/news_6114977.html

IIRC EA tried to buy the rights a few years before they finally secured them. The NFL kep turning them down and then finally gave in. That is what happens when you keep waving money in front of someone. The only two sports they do not own are baseball and basketball. That is actually surprising since EA's bball games suck so much ass compared to 2ks I would have figured they would have purchased the rights to it by now.

[Boom Doc]

I didnt think this sounded right to me, so I did two seconds of web crawling.
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/12...s_6114977.html

IIRC EA tried to buy the rights a few years before they finally secured them. The NFL kep turning them down and then finally gave in. That is what happens when you keep waving money in front of someone. The only two sports they do not own are baseball and basketball. That is actually surprising since EA's bball games suck so much ass compared to 2ks I would have figured they would have purchased the rights to it by now.

This is the only article that says anything about EA admitting to earlier talks, all other articles state that the NFL and EA denied that anything earlier occurred, but that's all just a cast of he said she said. But the point is that 2k sports lowered the price of their games to $20 to compete and in doing so angered the NFL because they felt that it lowered the value of their NFL franchise and therefore cut into their royalties. Hence the NFL decided to make the franchise exclusive.

[phantomhitman]

I would say they angered ea more than the NFL. 2k had the superior game in everyone but the fanbois eyes. Oh well, its over. NFL is fucking stupid for allowing, EA are douches for forcing it.