Baseball Home-Run for Take-Two

Major League Baseball Players Association Makes Bold Move to Grow Video Game Business (thanks Frans) is the press release announcing that Take-Two Interactive has succeeded in its pitch for an exclusive license with the Major League Baseball Players Association (story). Here's a bit:
NEW YORK, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The Major League Baseball Players Association ("MLBPA") today announced that it has reached an agreement in principle to grant sweeping rights to Take2 Interactive, Inc., to develop and publish a broad portfolio of products that are expected to drive the baseball video game business to unprecedented heights.

The innovative seven-year arrangement will dramatically limit the number of baseball video game manufacturers and ensure aggressive marketing and promotion of baseball video games, while promoting competition in the marketplace to drive innovation in baseball product development. Beginning in 2006, Take2 will have exclusive rights among third-party publishers to develop and market simulation, arcade and manager-style baseball video games on the current and next-generation PlayStation, X-BOX, Nintendo, personal computer and hand-held video game systems. At the same time, manufacturers of video game systems will have the opportunity to develop and publish baseball simulation games for their own platforms.
View : : :
9.
 
Re: Actually....
Jan 24, 2005, 16:38
9.
Re: Actually.... Jan 24, 2005, 16:38
Jan 24, 2005, 16:38
 
> All I have to say is...Thank God 989 Studios hasn't gotten any of the exclusive deals.

Actually, 989 is exempt from the exclusivity because they are a First Party Developer. This also means Microsoft, Nintendo and even someone like Nokia are free to negotiate a license with the MLBPA to make an officially licensed game.

Furthermore, this is (so far) a deal with the MLBPA only. They are not the same as the MLB. I'm sure a deal with the MLB will follow, but it's still theoretically possible they won't get exclusive rights from the MLB, allowing someone to make a MLB game with all the teams/stadiums but without real player names.

The silliest thing about this deal is they actually picked the wrong horse to bet on. I don't care how anti-EA you want to be, but MVP was clearly the better baseball game, hands down.

Date
Subject
Author
1.
Jan 24, 2005Jan 24 2005
2.
Jan 24, 2005Jan 24 2005
3.
Jan 24, 2005Jan 24 2005
4.
Jan 24, 2005Jan 24 2005
5.
Jan 24, 2005Jan 24 2005
    Actually....
6.
Jan 24, 2005Jan 24 2005
7.
Jan 24, 2005Jan 24 2005
      Re: Actually....
10.
Jan 24, 2005Jan 24 2005
       Re: Actually....
11.
Jan 24, 2005Jan 24 2005
        Re: Actually....
12.
Jan 24, 2005Jan 24 2005
         Re: Actually....
14.
Jan 24, 2005Jan 24 2005
        Re: Actually....
8.
Jan 24, 2005Jan 24 2005
      Re: Actually....
 9.
Jan 24, 2005Jan 24 2005
     Re: Actually....
13.
Jan 24, 2005Jan 24 2005
19.
Jan 25, 2005Jan 25 2005
15.
Jan 24, 2005Jan 24 2005
16.
Jan 24, 2005Jan 24 2005
17.
Jan 24, 2005Jan 24 2005
18.
Jan 25, 2005Jan 25 2005