The Gaming Industry Is Trying to Adapt to the New Normal - Ultimate Guide

Commerce is changing at an extremely high pace, and companies in every industry are looking for ways to adapt to every change. An industry that is affected a little bit more than many others is technology, as hardware manufacturers and software developers need to work faster and more efficiently in order to satisfy the needs of consumers. On many occasions, tech companies have no other choice but to merge with competitors, to renegotiate deals, or to launch new products, which are free from costly copyrights.

 

Some Partnerships are more Functional than Others

 
Gaming rights do not come cheap and sometimes, gaming providers need to find the right formula that will help them balance the ratio between the investment and the ROI. This does not only apply to Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, which offer anything from RPGs to puzzle games, but also to gaming alternatives such as online casinos offering slot games and online blackjack games. Gaming providers work really hard in order to build strong relationships with developers, with studios and with copyrights owners, in an effort to release games that will always be available in their gaming libraries, that will allow for the sequel or for series releases, and that will be protected even if a studio is bought by a competitor. Examples of copyright deals that have caused problems are the cases of Marvel’s Ultimate Alliance, which suddenly vanished from the gaming stores of Microsoft and Sony and the acquisition of the ZeniMax Group by Microsoft.
 

One of the Biggest Surprises in the History of Gaming

 
An example of a long-term and successful agreement that is not going to continue is the partnership between FIFA and EA Sports. The FIFA series is one of the longest success stories in the history of gaming, but from 2023, EA Sports will start releasing e-football games that will not have the branding of the football federation. Electronic Arts did the math and realised that a new deal with FIFA would be far from profitable and because of that, they decided to take the risk of releasing their own product and of directly negotiating with football clubs or with leagues. The board of directors at Electronic Arts is confident that the company will be able to continue offering a top-level football product that will be free from FIFA copyrights after 30 years of partnering with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association.
 
The termination of the partnership between FIFA and EA Sports is an end of an era in gaming. This means that the FIFA 2023 version may end up becoming a collectible item, as the game in its current form will be discontinued. The 2024 version of the EA football game may be better or worse than the game, which players have gotten familiar with over the last 30 years, but we still have a full year of FIFA ahead of us.
 

Electronic Arts Is Trying to Shake Things Up

 
EA Sports has had to discontinue the production of a lot of its products over the years, not only because of copyright costs but also because the competition found ways to market games that were a lot more successful than EA’s titles. 2K is the best example in terms of competitors doing things right as the NBA 2K series is getting better and more profitable every year. On the other hand, Konami did everything wrong and after two decades of Pro Evolution Soccer success, the series was discontinued and replaced by an inferior product.