Electronic Arts Chief Competition Officer Peter Moore is confident the canceled video game sports series NCAA Football will come back.
The mega-popular video game series ended in 2013 after the NCAA didn’t renew its licensing deal with EA due to an ongoing dispute regarding players likenesses in the games. An antitrust lawsuit (O’Bannon vs the NCAA) was filed against the NCAA, with courts ruling the barring of payments to athletes violated laws. Since then, the NCAA hasn’t been inclined to license players.
Moore spoke with IGN and said the lawsuit made the future of NCAA Football unclear but admitted “one day I know we’ll be back”
“NCAA Football became the lightning rod for bigger issues regarding college athletes getting paid for their performance, not only in football but all college sports,” said Moore, who was EA Sports president from 2007 to 2011. “And their likeness. It was a sad day when we realized, ‘We are in the sights of a number of lawsuits.’ A number of athletes which were all combined eventually into one singular suit and said, ‘That’s me.’ When your lawyers’ fees are more than the revenue you can expect to get in.
“It was an unclear future for us,” Moore said. “It was a really sad day and we said, ‘We just can’t do this anymore.’ And one day I know we’ll be back.”
Moore remains hopeful about EA Sports making another NCAA Football game, but it’s not going to be easy to make happen.
Darren Rovell of ESPN reports there’s been no traction for EA to make a new college game. He also writes if there was, a payment structure “is unclear because the settlement is one for past use, not a guide for the future.”
Multiple hurdles exist to get NCAA Football back on consoles. Moore’s optimism is encouraging, but it’s going to take more than that to make future installments of NCAA Football a reality. Don’t expect a new game anytime soon, despite what Moore has to say.
[Polygon]
