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Moore: 'No plans right now' for new NASCAR installment
EA's time with the NASCAR series has come to an end, at least for the time being, says EA Sports boss Peter Moore. Speaking with GameSpot UK, Moore said that the sports division of the mega-publisher has "no plans right now" to develop a new NASCAR title. Since debuting in 1997, EA Sports has developed nearly 20 NASCAR based racing games -- ending with the Wii-exclusive NASCAR Kart Racing in early 2009. According to Moore, the company was forced to make "tough trade-offs," sending an undisclosed number of NASCAR developers to work on the upcoming -- and controversial -- EA Sports MMA title. Thankfully, EA has filled any void we'd have for the loss of one racing franchise with no less than sixteen Need for Speed games by the end of 2010*. *We're exaggerating. We hope.
EA's NASCAR exclusivity in question, sim series 'on hold'
Throw up your caution flags if you've got 'em, folks. Word from the NASCAR News Wire is that EA's annual racing sim is "on hold," according to SportsBusiness Journal reporter Michael Smith. Backing up this claim, EA product marketing manager Randy Chase referred to the NASCAR sim series as "the old game" while describing the "lighthearted" appeal of the new Kart version of the franchise, which was released for Wii earlier this month. Additionally, Blake Davidson, managing director of NASCAR's licensed products, has suggested that the company is currently considering the "best model" to tap into its gaming demographic, which may include licensing its rights to multiple publishers (EA has held exclusivity since 1997 -- correction: 2003; those rights expire this year). "Do we continue with an exclusive model or go nonexclusive? Do we need annual releases? This is a very important category for us," said Davidson of NASCAR games, which rank in the top five revenue-generating licenses for the business.Update: "NASCAR Kart Racing on the Wii is the only NASCAR-licensed video game that will ship this year from EA Sports. Due to the family-friendly atmosphere of NASCAR, we felt that a title developed exclusively for the Wii platform was the best scenario for the NASCAR racing video game franchise and fans of racing alike," a representative from EA Tiburon, the NASCAR franchise developer, confirmed with Joystiq. Read how EA Tiburon answered a few ancillary questions about exclusivity after the break.[Via FirstCuts -- thanks Chris! Image credit: tequilamike]
