2K's Big Boss Badmouths Baseball Again

The chairman of Take-Two Interactive – the parent company of 2K Sports – called his company’s exclusive pact with Major League Baseball a “losing proposition” and suggested they would walk away when the deal expires in 2012.(new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c&cid=872d12ce-453b-4870-845f-955919887e1b'; cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "995c4c7d-194f-4077-b0a0-7ad466eb737c" }).render("79703296e5134c75a2db6e1b64762017"); }); Strauss Zelnick told Reuters that annualizing a video game risks producing one of lower quality and burning out consumers. While it’s a relatively new concept to triple-A franchises like Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed, it’s been [[link]] a requirement of sports titles for the past 15 years. Zelnick sounded put off by that as well. While Take-Two is open to renewing its agreement with MLB, he indicated the economics of the deal have to be more favorable. “It’s a losing proposition and we don’t have any interest in pursuing losing propositions.” 2K’s baseball deal expires in 2012. Last year, one analyst estimated its worth at $40 [[link]] million over its lifespan. Last year, Zelnick also singled out 2K’s baseball titles, blamed a poor-selling and poorly-reviewed MLB 2K9, plus spinoff titles like The Bigs 2 and Front Office Manager, when the company came in under earnings projections (and lost more than $130 million for the year.) Take-Two, following EA Sports’ landmark exclusive pact with the NFL in 2004, secured exclusive third-party rights to produce a Major League Baseball-licensed video game the next year. As 2K Sports lost its popular NFL 2K franchise, EA Sports also said goodbye to its equally popular MVP Baseball series [[link]] the next year. Reuters Summit-Take-Two Sees Opportunity In Digital [Reuters]