Corporate dealings

Electronic Arts, the makers of Madden Football, The Sims and many other software games on all platforms announced deals recently that will hurt gamers and consumers. EA signed exclusing licensing agreements with the National Football League and ESPN that will make EA the only NFL game on the market. The Sega ESPN games that were so popular this year at $19.95 a pop are now a thing of the past. If you want to play an NFL game for the next 15 years or so it will be EA's Madden franchise, and you'll pay $49.95. I guess the only way to "buck" the system will be to wait a year and pick up a pre-owned copy for $9.95. Exlusive agreements lead to an anti-competitive market and thus leave consumers with games that get shipped with Maddening flaws; pun intended.

Today's corporate cutthroat tactics are disgusting. I'm glad I work in a service industry for a "non-profit" entity. Every organization answers to someone, EA is trying to satisfy their shareholders who weren't too happy with the lost market share to Sega. My IT division answers to a board of directors who see us as a cost center - not directly contributing to revenue, but always adding to expenses. We all operate under specific budgets with specific goals to achieve. I just hope our IT practices will never undermine patient care or community service to satisfy the board of directors bottom line. EA certainly underminded their customers, and will affect their wallets if they choose to purchase EA products. MJ out.