EA just stabbed SEGA in the heart.
 

[url:28c17]http://sports.ign.com/articles/580/580401p1.html[/url:28c17]

EA Nabs ESPN as 15-Year Exclusive
First the NFL, now the most recognized brand in sports media.

January 17, 2005 - With thundering force, Electronic Arts may have just swung the final punch to sports rival SEGA: the gaming giant just announced it has entered a 15-year exclusive licensing deal with ESPN.


Under the agreement, EA has exclusive video game rights to ESPN-branded print, telecast, and online content -- in addition to other ESPN media properties. The agreement covers all gaming platforms -- consoles, PC, handhelds, and wireless, and will begin in 2006, upon completion of ESPN's current licensing commitments.

The agreement most clearly affects Take Two and SEGA, which jointly publish a series of ESPN-licensed sports titles. The companies are still reeling from EA's announcement last month that it had acquired exclusive video game rights to NFL properties -- a direct challenge to SEGA's ESPN NFL franchise.

Obviously, the challenge is now doubled.

Electronic Arts explains the ESPN agreement as helping gamers: "This relationship was created to benefit consumers who are passionate about sports games," said EA CEO Larry Probst. "EA SPORTS recreates the real life experience fans enjoy while watching or playing their favorite sport; while ESPN programming captures the look, sound and excitement of the sports they follow. Together, we believe we can significantly grow the interactive sports category."

Until recently, EA's sports titles, such as the Madden NFL series, have faced vigorous competition from SEGA's ESPN Videogames brand, which saw success last year with a strong critical reception and prices cut in half.

What a bunch of cock suckers. mad:

FUCK YOU EA

lol

SEGA!... [/weird commercial voice]...

haha owned

eek:

theirs a smart cookie running EA right now. EA is going to be rich(er).

sega > ea

[quote="Sergeant_Scrotum":83507]theirs a smart cookie running EA right now. EA is going to be rich(er).[/quote:83507]
hopefully now they can make at least one good fps game.

Heard that was coming a while back... loney:

Poor Sega - LONG LIVE SONIC!!

DAMNIT. I liked nba2k series

Oh well maybe one day I will own EA when I win the Romanian lottery.

fuck ea theyre destroying the gaming community for money, i say we all boycott thier games, and warez it instead

Change in practice.. how?

this sucks cock. aslong has ea doesnt touch sonic. if they do there will be hell to pay

fuck...the sega sports games were better too

this sucks, Ea is the new third reich in video games

boycott we should!!!!!!!!!

their are proably putting poor sonic in a gas chamber we speak.

exactly I bought both nfl; and nba this year from sega cause they fucking owned and they were only 20 bucks.

their baseball is really good as well

^

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v89/apricanicus/funny%20shit%20and%20gifs/iownu.jpg[/img]

I guess Sonic's gonna be out on the street corner, sucking cock for coke.

Unless they make Sonic 2006 - the ultimate Sonic teatherball game.

[img]http://maxe.ausgamers.com/images/sonic_hedgehog.gif[/img]