Sega Drops Sports Line in Face of EA/TakeTwo Monopolies

You knew it was coming, but now it is here. Sega has formally exitted the sports games arena, and sold off their assets to TakeTwo - the company that signed exclusive rights with Major League Baseball. This is only the first shoe to drop, there will be many others coming. But it is certainly a significant turn of events. And a significant loss for fans of sports games on the console platforms.

Another point worth noting here is that, in baseball, the MLBPA controls only the names and images of the players themselves, while the owners' association (MLB) controls the rights to the teams' names and indicia. Thus it would still be possible for other companies to do baseball games under a license from the MLB, but would have to use generic players in such a game (which is, of course, far from ideal). With EA "owning" football and Take Two baseball, that leaves a handful of important sports; FIFA soccer (in non-US markets, vastly more important than either of the US sports), basketball, college football, NASCAR, and Formula One. I wouldn't be surprised to see deals made for some of these in the next year.

This is a major loss to gamers everywhere. Personally, I won't be impacted. The last system I bought was the Nintendo DS, and the last game was ZELDA: The Minish Cap (great fun, by the way). I don't foresee buying any sports games. But if this business model works, it will be extended. How long until Nintendo is suing the makers of Final Fantasy for impinging upon their "exclusive rights" to RPGs?