Sega officially out of the sports game
[UPDATE] The Japanese publisher confirms it has sold off Visual Concepts and its Kush subsidiary for a bargain price of $24 million.
When Sega entered into an agreement with Take-Two Interactive to copublish its line of ESPN sports games last year, many industry watchers suspected the publisher was planning to sell off its internal sports studio, Visual Concepts. Those suspicions were confirmed just before Christmas when it was revealed that part of the codistribution deal allowed Take-Two to buy Visual Concepts, should it choose to do so.
Today, it appears the publisher has chosen to do just that. Following this morning's announcement that Take-Two had secured exclusive third-party publishing rights from the Major League Baseball Players' Association, Sega confirmed to GameSpot that it is selling Visual Concepts to Take-Two.
According to sources, Sega parted with the critically esteemed developer of ESPN NFL 2K5 and ESPN NBA 2K5 for just $24 million. That very low-sounding price is likely due to Electronic Arts' impending monopoly of NFL game rights and its 15-year exclusivity deal with ESPN, whose high-profile brand name will no longer give Visual Concepts' games instant recognition.
Though the exact terms of the deal were not disclosed, Take-Two will become the sole owner of Visual Concepts. It will also own VC's Kush Games subsidiary, which developed ESPN NHL 2K5 and ESPN Major League Baseball 2K5. Presumably, the studio will also create Take-Two's upcoming pro baseball game.
"The ESPN Videogames line has not been a key profit driver in the North American market for Sega," Naoya Tsurumi, CEO of Sega of America, said in a statement. "While Sega recognizes the strength and depth of the ESPN Videogames franchise, we must remain committed to growing content that will help boost revenues across all western territories."
In addition to news of the sale of Visual Concepts is the disclosure of a new agreement between Sega and Take-Two. The companies said Sega will distribute "select Take-Two published software titles in the Asian region including Japan," as well as bring sports titles developed by Visual Concepts "to amusement machines produced and distributed by Sega Amusements" in Asia. Certainly, an interesting twist to the news of the Visual Concepts sell-off.
GameSpot will have more information on this story as it becomes available.
Content you might like…
-
Gamers sue EA over football exclusivity
Pair of Madden purchasers going to court over "blatantly anticompetitive conduct" by locking down NFL, NCAA, and Arena Football licenses.
- Jun 11, 2008
Users who looked at this article also looked at these content items.
Hot Stories
Newsmakers
-
World of Warcraft target of latest suit from PSN plaintiff
San Jose man adds Activision Blizzard to growing list of courtroom opponents, takes issue with MMOG fees, alleges ill effects on mental health, seeks $1 million. Full Story
- Posted Nov 24, 2009 4:58 pm PT
- 879 Comments
-
Top US Nintendo PR exec resigns
VP of corporate affairs Denis Kaigler leaves after less than two years at Nintendo of America; no replacement yet named. Full Story
- Posted Nov 23, 2009 4:26 pm PT
- 122 Comments
Featured Stories
-
Assassin's Creed II slays 1.6 million in one week
Ubisoft says internal sales reports shows critically lauded sequel outselling original by 32 percent. Full Story
- Posted Nov 24, 2009 9:22 am PT
- 319 Comments
-
Microsoft patents in-game guide system
Researcher's 2008 patent for "User-Powered Always Available Contextual Game Help" shows Microsoft is considering an in-game guide similar to that of New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Full Story
- Posted Nov 24, 2009 5:13 pm PT
- 283 Comments
-
2 million Xbox Live users Facebooked, a-Twitter
Microsoft announces around 10% of its subscribers log onto social networks during first week of 360 integration; 1 million check out Last.fm, 1.7 million peruse Zune video store. Full Story
- Posted Nov 24, 2009 11:27 am PT
- 148 Comments
-
Datel suing Microsoft over memory-unit lockout
British maker of high-capacity, low-price storage units takes legal action against software giant, accusing it of antitrust violation. Full Story
- Posted Nov 23, 2009 5:28 pm PT
- 534 Comments
-
Modern Warfare 2 classification appealed in Australia
South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson says game allows players to be "virtual terrorists;" Classification Board says no appeal has been received to date. Full Story
- Posted Nov 23, 2009 9:05 pm PT
- 291 Comments
Submit News
Related Game
Related Games
Recent News
-
Blizzard game design chief Rob Pardo and lead designer Jeff Kaplan discuss acclaimed fantasy franchise's long history, from Orcs and Humans to the World...
4 Comments
Sign in / Sign up