EA scores AFL license @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on January 11, 2005

News: EA locks up the license of the league that built Kurt Warner.

Fresh off their deal with the NFL, EA has announced that they have signed a deal for the exclusive publishing rights to Arena Football League games.

EA will also lend their marketing muscle to the AFL to spread the sport to the league's target demographic: video game playing teens. The first AFL games should rollout for the start of the 2006 season, which will start in February 2006. No game details or which consoles the title would appear on were announced. Although knowing EA, it will be all of them and maybe even the Xbox 2 if it meets its Fall 2005 target.

"Once again, we are partnering with an industry leader who believes in the AFL philosophy and its growth potential. To the extent that EA helps grow the AFL, they participate in that growth through the increased value of future expansion teams," said Commissioner David Baker. "EA is the videogame industry's gold standard. Arguably, nothing is more important to reach the younger male demographic that we are so strong in than video games. For our core fan, this is akin to a network-television agreement."

"We believe that the business model the AFL has created will provide for a new football experience for videogame fans, and provide EA with an incentive to partner with the AFL to expand the league," said Larry Probst, Chairman and CEO of EA. "The AFL is a unique brand of football and we intend to deliver a unique football gaming experience from any the industry has seen before. We're pleased to be working with the league during this exciting growth-period for the AFL."

The bigger question in all of this is that with the NFL and now the AFL, EA controls both major U.S. football leagues. Any company looking to make a football game has to either follow Midway's lead and use a fictional league and players or travel to the Great White North and draft the CFL.

Either way, this is a very shrewd business move by EA and a blow to every other company interested in making a football game.