EA expands NFL exclusivity

It looks like Madden will continue to be the only NFL-sanctioned football game in town for quite a while longer. 1up reports that EA has extended its exclusive rights to use National Football League licensed properties (such as teams, players and stadiums) until 2012. The deal will also give EA better access to NFL Films and the NFL Network, which will both apparently play into next August’s special 20th anniversary Madden iteration. The previous exclusivity deal was set to last through 2009.

This is a tremendously smart move for EA (after all, Madden is one of the best selling series in modern gaming), and bad news for staunch fans of the NFL 2k series (which saw its heyday on the dearly departed Dreamcast). It reeks a bit of monopoly, but the Madden series has consistently scored with gamers and critics almost since its inception.

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