Microsoft’s Canceled Football Game Revealed Due to EA Request
When the PlayStation and Xbox were still young, Sony and Microsoft each had their own impressive suite of sports games, including hockey, American football, and basketball. But what they didn’t do was football. It turns out that Microsoft was actually working on a football game as well, but it was canceled due to EA’s request because they didn’t want to play any games.
One of the reasons often cited as to why the Dreamcast never became a commercial success is that EA never supported it. This meant that the Dreamcast never got the major sports games that casual viewers craved.
Now, former Microsoft developer Garrett Young has revealed to the Kiwi Talkz podcast that Microsoft is eager to ensure they have EA’s support. As a result, they had to sign an agreement banning Microsoft from making football games for the Xbox. A first-party football game in development was ultimately canceled and, as far as we know, was never shown, so we don’t know how far along it was.
It should be added that EA operated similarly to today and tried to buy the exclusive rights to all major sports organizations to ensure that no one could threaten their sports empire. This makes it possible for EA to have a soft monopoly and release new full-priced games every year with little to no variation – because there’s virtually no competition.
This revelation sheds light on the influence of major game publishers on the direction of the industry and highlights the power dynamics at play behind the scenes. This also raises questions about the potential impact on competition and innovation in sports gaming. With EA’s hold on the market, it remains to be seen if other developers can break through and offer more diverse options for sports fans.
Thanks, ComicBook.com.