Prican25 Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 Sega officially out of the sports game When Sega entered into an agreement with Take-Two Interactive to copublish its line of ESPN sports games last year, many industry watchers suspected the publisher was planning to sell off its internal sports studio, Visual Concepts. Those suspicions were confirmed just before Christmas when it was revealed that part of the codistribution deal allowed Take-Two to buy Visual Concepts, should it choose to do so. Today, it appears the publisher has chosen to do just that. Following this morning's announcement that Take-Two had secured exclusive third-party publishing rights from the Major League Baseball Players' Association, Sega confirmed to GameSpot that it is selling Visual Concepts to Take-Two. According to sources, Sega parted with the critically esteemed developer of ESPN NFL 2K5 and ESPN NBA 2K5 for just $24 million. That very low-sounding price is likely due to Electronic Arts' impending monopoly of NFL game rights and its 15-year exclusivity deal with ESPN, whose high-profile brand name will no longer give Visual Concepts' games instant recognition. Though the exact terms of the deal were not disclosed, Take-Two will become the sole owner of Visual Concepts. It will also own VC's Kush Games subsidiary, which developed ESPN NHL 2K5 and ESPN Major League Baseball 2K5. Presumably, the studio will also create Take-Two's upcoming pro baseball game. "The ESPN Videogames line has not been a key profit driver in the North American market for Sega," Naoya Tsurumi, CEO of Sega of America, said in a statement. "While Sega recognizes the strength and depth of the ESPN Videogames franchise, we must remain committed to growing content that will help boost revenues across all western territories." In addition to news of the sale of Visual Concepts is the disclosure of a new agreement between Sega and Take-Two. The companies said Sega will distribute "select Take-Two published software titles in the Asian region including Japan," as well as bring sports titles developed by Visual Concepts "to amusement machines produced and distributed by Sega Amusements" in Asia. Certainly, an interesting twist to the news of the Visual Concepts sell-off. GameSpot will have more information on this story as it becomes available. By Tor Thorsen, Curt Feldman -- GameSpotPOSTED: 01/24/05 05:04 PM PST [uPDATE] The Japanese publisher confirms it has sold off Visual Concepts and its Kush subsidiary for a bargain price of $24 million. its a shame it had to happen but what can you do when ea rules all over you (sorry for the hulk hogan type quote, couldn't help it ) in other news dealing with this:Take-Two inks agreement with MLB Players' Association Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Take-Two was in talks with the Major League Baseball's Players Association to ink an exclusivity deal similar to EA's pact with the NFL. Today, the athletic union issued a carefully worded announcement that it had struck just such an agreement with Take-Two--sort of. "The Major League Baseball Players Association ('MLBPA') today announced that it has reached an agreement in principle to grant sweeping rights to Take-Two Interactive, Inc., to develop and publish a broad portfolio of products that are expected to drive the baseball video game business to unprecedented heights," read the statement. Currently, Take-Two copublishes the ESPN Major League Baseball 2K series with Sega. The game is developed by Kush Games, a subdivision of Sega's internal sports studio, Visual Concepts, which Take-Two has acquired the option to buy. Initially, the vague wording of MLBPA's statement made it unclear if Take-Two had exclusive MLB rights after all. However, further along, the exact terms of the deal are spelled out. Starting in 2006, "Take-Two 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, Xbox, Nintendo, personal computer and hand-held video game systems," read the statement. (Emphasis added.) Said third-party exclusivity will last for seven years, until 2012. Presumably, this means that Electronic Arts' pro baseball series will not return after MVP 2005 launches in March. But an EA spokesperson would not say the agreement marked the end of EA Sports baseball games. "We will launch MVP Baseball 2005 this spring, and we're exploring our long term options. This proves that there's plenty of competition in sports games," said the rep. However, the Take-Two/MLBPA deal is not totally exclusive, as the EA/NFL agreement was. "At the same time, manufacturers of video game systems will have the opportunity to develop and publish baseball simulation games for their own platforms," read the statement. That caveat is significant since one of the most popular baseball series, MLB, is published by Sony and internally developed at its 989 Sports studio. When contacted, Take-Two corporate reps declined comment. "We have nothing to add at the moment," said one. But that didn't stop John Olshan, the MLBPA's director for interactive games, from heaping praise on Take-Two. "The baseball video game business has been underdeveloped for years," he said. "The upcoming change in technology makes this the perfect time for us to implement our plan for growing the business, and we have no doubt that Take-Two's proven creativity and innovation, combined with their incredible distribution strength and powerful commitment to baseball, will add real excitement and depth to the video game marketplace. Baseball fans will be the big winners." GameSpot will have more on this developing story as further details emerge. By Tor Thorsen -- GameSpotPOSTED: 01/24/05 10:20 AM PST Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weirdy Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 I wonder what baseball games will be called now? since there will be no Triple Play 200X, etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoMaster Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 That's BS man. Sega sports was always a better alternative for sports games! I'm going to miss them, I hope EA chokes on a chicken bone or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyokugenKiss Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 dont care, never really touched the titles...zzzz ZZZZZZ.Period oh yes THIS DOESNT TURN ME ON p.s I LOVE KAWAKS 1.45 + LOADER!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoMaster Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 dont care, never really touched the titles...zzzz ZZZZZZ.Period oh yes THIS DOESNT TURN ME ON p.s I LOVE KAWAKS 1.45 + LOADER!!!<{POST_SNAPBACK}> Evil in it's purest form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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