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http://www.gametap.com/home/read/article/3824
Say goodbye to those dreams of NFL 2K10. EA Sports has come to terms with the NFL and the NFL Players Association to extend its exclusive videogame licensing agreement through the 2012 season (which culminates with the Super Bowl in February 2013).
EA Sports President Peter Moore revealed the news over the phone during an interview with GameTap, stating: "As it currently stands, we have a deal with the NFL and Players Inc. through the 2009 season, but we just completed our period of renegotiation and are delighted to announce a three-year extension on top of that with both entities that will give us our exclusive arrangement with the National Football League and the NFL PA, Players Inc., through the 2012 season. We're delighted that we can continue this relationship. It's great for both parties, we think it's great for gamers, and we're more than delighted with the quality of Madden this year and the continued innovation we've been able to build."
And while Moore wouldn't go into detail on the exact money terms of the deal, he did have plenty to say about everything from possible new NFL titles, the origins of the NFL exclusive, and whether or not he felt the exclusive deal was good for gamers back before he was President of EA Sports.
"This agreement gives us a stronger platform and a broader horizon as we continue to invest in innovation, not only in the Madden franchise, but we're looking to bring more NFL related content to consumers in North America and around the world through different platforms, different devices, and different levels of distribution," Moore said.
Here's what else the new head of EA Sports had to say:
GameTap: Madden sold so well before you guys had the exclusive license. What does EA Sports actually gain from this deal?
Peter Moore: To be clear, the NFL was the entity that wanted the exclusive relationship. EA bid as did a number of other companies for the exclusive relationship. It wasn't on our behest that this went exclusive. In 2004, the NFL looked for an exclusive relationship because they were concerned I think about where some of the licenses were going, some of the price points that were being hit, and decided that they only wanted one company to do this. We bid and we were very fortunate and lucky and delighted to be the winning licensee. As a result of that, that gives us this period of renegotiation which has just been completed.
GameTap: When you talk about bringing more NFL-related content to consumers, is that beyond the additional games like NFL Tour and NFL Head Coach? Are we going to see additional games?
Peter Moore: Yeah, I think those products are important, and with the Spanish-language version of Madden we'll continue to look at different ways to talk to different consumers. When I think of it, we need to think hard about how we can do a counter-seasonal product. When the Super Bowl is over, people start to think baseball, and that's great, but according to the NFL, there are millions of people out there who would just love to absorb football 12 months out of the year. If there's a business opportunity there, we need to research that. Fantasy is another are where we've barely scratched the surface. Not everybody knows that we have an EA Sports Madden fantasy game, and we need to invest further in that. And then there's the globalization of the game. The NFL is very committed to globalizing its reach. I was over at Wembley for the game between the Giants and Dolphins in the Fall and they just announced another game at Wembley between the Saints and the Chargers, so I think Commissioner Goodell is very committed to spreading the footprint of American football outside of these shores -- and we stand shoulder to shoulder with him to expand those efforts.
Hits like this have translated into more than $2 billion dollars of business for EA and the NFL.
GameTap: You mentioned how you thought this exclusive relationship was good for gamers. But how about when you were at Microsoft and you first heard of the deal? Did you think it was good for gamers back then?
Peter Moore: Well, we certainly were fans of Madden, and Microsoft continues to put a huge amount of marketing support behind the Madden franchise. The Xbox 360 is a great partner with us whenever we launch. I just got back from the Super Bowl and the Madden Bowl where it was EA Sports and the Xbox 360 together. I went to the Saturday night event, the taste of the NFL, and it was EA Sports and Xbox 360 together. Certainly, I believed having a single licensee in the case of EA Sports, who would invest heavily in building the franchise, was something that was good for gaming, otherwise I wouldn't have put the marketing support behind it and help build things like Maddenoliday. A few years ago we went out to Madden Mississippi with Jerry Rice and Marshall Faulk and I was right there with the teams investing and putting my marketing money behind that. Madden's a very important franchise. It's incredibly important for retailers. It kicks off the retail season in August. It drives unbelievable traffic to retailers, and I think it's one of the great videogame franchises of all time. It's the 20th anniversary of Madden coming up and I can't think of another game that's on its twentieth iteration; 60 million-plus units sold; over $2 billion in revenue. I don't think there's another game you can compare with it.
GameTap: With Madden 09 being the 20-year anniversary title, can we expect a game above and beyond what we normally get?
Peter Moore: Oh, you bet. On so many levels. I'm going to be out at Tiburon next week checking on the progress, and I look forward to doing that. As you can imagine, we have all sorts of plans to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this franchise, and we'll start giving you a taste of what we've got in the next few months as they firm up. But yeah, this won't be an ordinary Madden year, if such a thing exists.
GameTap: With the NFL exclusive deal, does that give the league more say in the final outcome of the products?
Peter Moore: I don't know if they can work any closer with us. They are very involved in the products. We have a very streamlined process now of approvals, of input, and we spend a lot of time with our friends in the NFL. They come down and look at the product in development in Orlando, at our Tiburon studio, and after all these years you can believe that we have long-term relationships going back with a number of employees there, over 10-15 years, and we relish, cherish those relationships. We know how to work together after a couple of decades now, that's for sure.
