The Rivalry Between 2K Sports and EA Sports, and Why Both are Winning
By: Adam Newcomer
Sports video games have always been overshadowed by other games or by the real life sports themselves. Most games tended to be uninterested in sports, and most sports fans tended to be uninterested in video games. Over the last 10 years, sports games have been on the rise thanks to two companies, 2K Sports, and EA Sports. Each developed individual sports franchises that dominated the market for that sport. 2K Sports has NBA 2K (basketball), while EA Sports has Fifa (soccer) and Madden (football). While EA Sports did make a series of NBA Live video games, EA shut them down after being consistently dominated by NBA 2K, although EA did restart the franchise a few years ago. Other than EA’s minor NBA game, the two companies don’t seem compete directly against one another, yet there is a larger competition than meets the eye. The two corporate giants of the sports gaming world are competing for gamers’ time. Unfortunately, The opportunity cost of playing one game is that a gamer cannot be playing another game, because they have limited hours in a day to play. Because of this scarcity, all of EA’s games are in direct competition with 2K’s games. This causes each company to develop made-for-television advertisements that specifically target both gamers and sports fans.
The relationship between 2K Sports and EA Sports is not all negative though. By specializing in particular sports games, each company is able to produce better games that gamers enjoy more than if each company tried to produce a game for every sport. While 2K and EA are not directly trading with each other, they are “trading” consumers. Each company develops the game that it has a comparative advantage in so that it can produce the best possible game in the year since the last game came out. 2K is able to make a better basketball game, so more consumers are willing to buy it, and the same is true for EA’s games.
Each company has a free source of likely consumers as well, as it is very easy for a fan of a certain sport to pick up the video game of that sport. This has also worked in reverse as the growing popularity of sports video games has increased the fandom of several sports. These new fans drive up the demand for each game, because price stays the same. The increase in demand eventually drives both 2K and EA to increase supply to meet the new demand and get rid of any shortages.
Barrabi, Thomas. “This Video Game Is Boosting The NBA's Brand”. Fox Business, FOX News Network, 21 Sept. 2016, http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2016/09/21/this-video-game-is-
boosting-nbas-brand.html.
Whitaker, Lang. “Madden 17 Review: Less Like a Video Game, More Like the NFL”. GQ, Condé Nast, 31 Aug. 2016, http://www.gq.com/story/madden-17-review
I enjoy the fact that you mentioned comparative advantage and specialization. Without this competition, there would be no incentive or motivation to make each game better and better. Of course there would be consumer demand for new and improved games, but the force of competition really drives businesses to be better and in this case, produce better games. Sometimes opportunity cost, however, does play a huge role in what games I can and cannot play. You did discuss the scarcity represented in this dilemma, so good job on this blog post overall.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you said they don't directly compete which is true they both produce different types of sports games,but you then said there is something bigger and they really do compete. You said it well by saying they specialize which is very true they both specialize in different sports. This showed all the aspects of the two companies and there competition. Very well written.
ReplyDeleteI like how you chose to do such a good competition that nobody knew how much of a competition it was. I like how you mentioned each game is about the same because they are at the point where each of them have the same amount of technology yet some graphic are better depending on the consumers favorite sport or what sport may seem more fun to them I think the purchase of the game is depending on the sport not so much on the the game name.
ReplyDeleteI thought the way you viewed the companies as specializing in a certain sport was interesting. As someone who enjoys sports video games, I see that as a big plus as I get the highest quality game possible. Also, like you mentioned, the price of each game doesn't change year to year. I always saw this as a way to retain customers but seeing it as a way to increase demand was interesting to me. Lastly, I thought it was cool to see the sports-sports video games connection as a two-way street. Of course sports would impact the game but I didn't really think about the games increase sports fans. I know that that was true with me as FIFA from EA Sports increased my interest in professional soccer.
ReplyDeleteI like the take that you have on this topic. I have played video games from both brands and I have never thought about it this way. Specialization has been very successful for these two brands over the years and it has allowed them to focus on perfecting their respective game(s). The quality of the games, specifically the graphics, have improved so much over the past few years, and this is majorly due to the specialization. Furthermore, these video games are some of the most popular on the market, so as long as they continue to improve, the demand for them will always be present due to the fact that there are sports fans of all ages who purchase these games for their systems as well as people who like video games.
ReplyDeleteI agree and like how you pointed out how although EA and 2K don’t produce the same sport of games (EA with soccer and football and 2K with basketball) they do still compete with each other. I, along with several of other people, have to make the decision whether I want to buy FIFA and NBA 2K or FIFA and Madden each year. I also like how you talked about specialization in each sport for the two companies. I never really thought of EA stopping NBA Live because of the competition with 2K’s NBA game.
ReplyDeleteThis is a much different take on this market then i’ve ever thought of. I never thought of the relationship between 2k and EA, I always assumed they were in direct competition. It is fascinating to see what sports that these two entertainment giants develop games for, and how they tend to avoid each other's turf. I am curious, however, to see if this lack in “direct” competition leads to any shortage of quality or a higher price in these games.
ReplyDeleteAs an involved citizen in this field I have played both games from 2k and EA. The point you made was very interesting in the fact that these games dont necessary compete with each other (football and soccer vs. basketball) however they still do because there's a opportunity cost. If you're playing one game and enjoying it more you're not playing the other game and you're most likely buying add-ons to the game you like. One thing I personally think both of these companies need to work on is getting the consumer to continue playing a few months after the release. I've played Fifa (EA game) since 2011 and what I've noticed every year is that there's this hype around the game up until February when released in September. During this time people are playing alot and buying add-ons within the game. Then from Febuary to the next September the game is almost dead. EA needs to do something to increase consumer demand during this time, whether that's adding things onto the game for a price during these times, I dont know? What I do know is though that both companies need to increase demand during these dead times of the game.
ReplyDeleteI like how you looked into the side of a competition of both businesses, but both have their own unique customers. Probably was well as other people, I have played most of the games you mentioned, and I agree, it is hard to play them all with the opportunity costs each one brings. All games take time and money away from each other, making it hard to keep up in each one. Lastly, it does seems that every new game that these companies make is always increased in competition with each one, creating a huge demand for the new games.
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