Continuation of EA Sports Partnership a Mystery
He changed the way American football was played as a coach, and then retired. He then spent decades changing the way American football was broadcast. Now, that era, too, has come to an end.
Today, John Madden announced his retirement from television broadcasting. The news was first broken by NBC Sports, which last employed him along with Al Michaels for the network’s Sunday Night Football broadcast. But Madden worked at all four major U.S. TV networks calling football, most of the time with Pat Summerall, who also showed up in various renditions of Madden football games.
But when Summerall went into semi-retirement and stopped calling games nationally, it was Michaels who replaced him on the flagship EA video game franchise. In the most recent versions of the game, hearing and seeing Madden has become a rare treat, even though the game bears his name. So, will Madden’s depature from television complement a depature from the gaming world?
That remains to be seen. Thus far Electronic Arts hasn’t said a thing, in part due to the timing of the announcement, which was just passed along an hour or so ago. But there’s plenty at stake for the developer. Madden NFL is constantly a blockbuster seller–in part because EA’s deal with the NFL inked in 2004 granted the developer exclusivity, crushing any hopeful competitors, including 2K Sports’ ill-fated NFL2K franchise, which was at one time published by Sega. That exclusivity deal was once set to expire late this year, but has since been extended to 2012.
Without a familiar name and likeness like Madden’s, however, EA could suffer at a time when the company is already cutting back, laying off hundreds of employees in the process.
However, some critics say the NFL exclusivity deal has allowed EA to become lazy in their development ways. Without a competitor, the company can essentially put out any product they want without worry of a superior product threatening sales. The possible lack of Madden, however, could force EA to start reinventing the franchise and keep it fresh for audiences. Should that occur, however, it may not happen until the 2011 edition, as work on Madden 2010 is already well underway.
What do you think? Is this a prime opportunity for EA to hit the reset button on its flagship football franchise? Do you think this can open the door for competing football games to be considered by the NFL and NFL Players Association for a license? Tell us in the comments below.
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What the hell does this have to do with ANYTHING?
I never cared for football in any medium, so I really dont have aanything to say on the matter.
american football…I never understood it, mainly cos I live in Aus- or this ‘football’ soccer (why was name even warped it can get confusing)?
Either way was never into either if them…and haven’t played an EA game since their harry potter 3 xbox game…so like Crysore I wouldn’t have the foggiest wat to say in this matter =/
Not quite sure why this is posted here, but the Madden series of NFL games has been integral to the video game scene for a long time, even if it’s specific to a mostly American sport, it remains a cornerstone of EA and its sports division. If anything it was and is one of the most important sports video games too.
Perhaps Madden is content continuing his games, he does still provide support and assistance, although I imagine he doesn’t have a particularly big role in things these days (good for him, less work, more time for family).