June 18, 2010

Welcome to the future of online gaming.

If you like your online football games with a bunch of made up team names and places, I have some bad news for you.

Quick Hits football now officially will contain official NFL team names, marks, and uniforms after signing a multi-year license deal with the NFL last week.

The deal marks the first major video game license granted by the NFL since Electronic Arts landed an exclusivity deal with the league in 2004 (which was re-upped in 2008, and expires in 2013).  And for those wondering, EA has an exclusive deal on console-based games, leaving the world of online gaming wide open.  More details from Sports Business Daily,

Quick Hit thus far has primarily retired players and head coaches to help lend authenticity to its game, and last year attracted more than 1 million registered players.

Financial terms were not disclosed, though the license for the online video game is not exclusive to Quick Hit. The deal also does not include player name and likeness rights, as Quick Hit will need to negotiate a separate deal with the NFLPA for that. Anderson said he is in pursuit of those rights, but declined to further characterize those efforts. The company last year used five active players in the game and for marketing purposes, one below the union’s six-player threshold for group-licensing purposes, and earlier this year signed Patriots WR Randy Moss as its first signed player for the ’10 version of the game. (via Sports Business Daily)

Online football with NFL teams and uniforms, and hopefully NFL players in the future.  It certainly seems like a broadening of the usage of NFL intellectual property, which, as long as the NFL receives its due compensation for it, can mean nothing but good things for the consumer.

And for those fans looking to get started in a Quick Hit league?  You could check out the Quick Hit site, or you could visit the NFL site itself, where the game will be promoted heavily during the upcoming season.

Be Sociable, Share!