I'll be fine with as long as EA doesn't slack off on making Madden the best it can be each year. I haven't liked the 2K games since 2K1 on the Dreamcast.

ESPN NFL 2K5 is the last Football game I'll ever own.

What a horrible thing to do to football fans. EA finally gets a little competition and they have to screw us to get rid of the competition. Oh well, I will just keep playing 2k5 or buy whatever title sega releases without the players names. If they keep the price at $20 and the quality is still there I have no problem changing names or just playing with fake names for my teams and so on. Sega, please don't stop making the game.

I wonder how this affects SEGA's promise that the $20 pricing was only temporary? Particularly on their NFL release? I can't see them competing at all if they raise the price back to $50 or even $40 without the NFL seal.

I would actually love a completely fictional NFL scenario that starts a franchise from scratch as an expansion team - with completely unrelated fictional players. None of this same player/same # stuff. But again, I'm probably in the overall minority here.

Can't Sega just make a NCAA football game?

No I to hate real life players. They are all cry babies who make way to much to play a game and are just shitty people off the flied 9 out of 10 times.


I don't like modern sports or it's shitty cry baby players. Playing as guys I make is fine with me.

Gave me a baseball game or NBA game or football game with mad up teams it's fine with me.

Mind you I don't play sports games but with made up teams I may start.

I would like to see Sage just change the game over to a NCAA title. Their previous college games were pretty bad, but if it used the same presentation, and engine as 2K5, I think it would kick ass.

My thoughts exactly. This is terrible news. Even if Madden joins ESPN Sunday Night they'll just change the name of Madden to something else (EA NFL 20XX) using Al Michaels and and John's replacement as the commentators.

I was thinking by the time ESPN 2k6 comes out, they might find some way to be licensed. Like maybe a deal with EA (it could happen) or I dunno, something. But I'm not buying Madden next year, but not buying ESPN if it's make believe teams and players, either.

The fact is that all of these sports games are competing with their previous year's game. If they don't offer an improvement from the previous year's game, then people have no real reason to buy again. While it may be bad for gamers who want a choice, I doubt Madden will stop trying to improve their game each year.

I disagree, many people will continue to buy the new season for the new player rosters despite any real improvements.

This doesn't really affect me since I don't buy or play football games, but I can see how it sucks for everyone else. If I did buy a football game, rosters wouldn't matter to me, my favorite baseball game of all time is baseball stars.

I also completely agree with the WWF WCW reference, in the era of the major competition between the two, wrestling was huge.

They'd have to be morons to put out a football game with make believe teams and players. No one would by that.

Sega should just focus on making their college game great, and challenge NCAA 2006.

This really has me pissed...NFL2k5 is just such a great game...and to lose the license is just sad...so sad. The NFL and EA are really shooting themselves in the foot.

Oh well...Madden didn't have official teams or players back in the day...and it still became the number 1 football game...

So basically you are saying the only football game we are going to see for the next 5 years is Madden? I really doubt that.

Oh - why all the negitivity? This is a GREAT move! EA's stock is going up, up, up! Means more $$$ in hand for me.

Merry Christmas, one and all! Woo!

Well, for Sega the players part isn't that bad, they could just do it like college with the position and number (QB #4, etc.). The team names and colors and uniforms and logos (and stadiums?) are a big blow though. It's hard to immerse yourself when you're playing as the 'San Francisco Gold Diggers'. Even if they just made it "San Francisco', they probably wouldn't be allowed to use the same colors. ESPN Football 2k6 (ugh) would have to be versatile enough to allow *wink-nudge* user-created uniforms and logos and such, which is certainly possible, but they may still get in trouble for it (see Marvel's lawsuit against City of Heroes).

What a stupid decision. I've never bought a Madden game, never will. If ESPN 2k5 is my last football game, so be it.

We'll see collge football. I too would be shocked to see a pro football game with imaginary teams and players though.

either EA is negotiating with MLB and other sports organizations as we argue, or they very short sighted. Sony, Sega and MS are now free to negotiate their own exclusive deals with other sports and lock EA out of making games for them. Then there is going to be a big mess and they will have to play nice with each other again.

EA may think they are big, but this may tick Sony off enough that they will lock them out of the PS3 and MS may lock them out of the X-Box 2.

What about Nintendo, what will they do?

Who cares what Nintendo will do to them....for sports games do they even matter? THat would be cool though if they blocked EA from MS and Sony.

The ballsy thing to do here is release CFL 2K6.

I actually would be into a CFL game. Unfortunately the rules would make it hard to intially understand as they do things different from the NFL.

First thing that came to my mind.

I haven't watched wrestling since the WCW and ECW were in business.