Few are bemoaning the apparent loss of the MLB 2K franchise but the prospects of where that leaves MLB gaming are only slightly more optimistic than they had been under the third party license that is now expiring. With the end of the console generation near, and companies more risk averse than ever, there are a number of variables to consider when thinking of what company – if any – will choose to make a licensed baseball game in the next year or two. 

Sony’s own SCEA currently makes MLB: The Show which, despite some hoping otherwise, will never see the light of day on a Microsoft console. Not only would Sony not want to prop up a competitor with their software and in doing so degrade the value of their own system but Microsoft would avoid the game anyway since it would be promoting the PlayStation brand by building on an already strong fan base going into the next generation.

With the next Xbox and PS4 just around the bend – many expect at least one out before 2013 comes to a close – it may make the most sense for a company like EA Sports to build a product which would launch on the new hardware rather than rush out something sub-par. Timing wise even if EA already had the license at this point the turaround would be too short to release a full fledged MLB game next March.

The worst thing they or any company could do would be to follow in the footsteps of 2K Sports’ handling of the MLB 2K series. Once consumers turn on a product it becomes very difficult to sway momentum back in their favor. When facing an established brand like The Show mistakes can’t be made even in a year where the assumption lies that consumers would be more forgiving. They’re not – people don’t risk their money anymore on questionable video games. EA Sports will be facing this battle with NBA Live reemerging and they’ve taken care to put a ton of time and effort into the first release because they recognize there is no room for error. If they slip up out of the gate then they’ll never gain ground on the competition.

Before even getting that far though someone – whether a single company with third party exclusivity or negotiating through an open license – will have to incur those costs and everything that will go into building a whole new franchise. There are few companies in position to do that or that would even consider it. EA Sports of course is the likely candidate with the extremely well regarded MVP name in their back pocket but other possibilities – Konami, Activision, or Ubisoft – could emerge despite their seeming hesitation to do so with sports in the past.

However any company that gets involved will expect much more favorable terms than 2K Sports negotiated in 2005. If the league expects anything that lucrative they’ll end up like college basketball where both EA Sports and 2K Sports decided it wasn’t a profitable venture and bowed out voluntarily. The Show would still be around but come time to re-up the league could potentially price them out too.

The continual struggles with rising development costs, expensive licenses, and even dealing with related lawsuits have led many copmanies to shy away from sports while those who had been established have dropped a good number of their properties. As written about before fans of the NBA 2K series absolutely should be concerned about its future even as it seems untouchable now. Any stumbles and Take Two could look to get out of sports completely. If that series holds its ground then it’ll be NBA Live that fades out for good in a couple years.

With baseball there is a great deal of uncertainty right now which may not be cleared up in the immediate future. The likelihood of the Xbox 360 having a licensed MLB simulation game in 2013 looks slim at this point. There should be movement though for spring 2014 with the new consoles and the possibility remains before then of something along the lines of an arcade-style downloadable title that would have quicker turnaround and more reasonable costs associated with development. Short term it will be disappointing to lose baseball on the 360 but long term it could be healthy to get a real competitor in the market involved. More on where the MLB stands and the effect of licensing on the industry later this week.

The cover voting for Madden NFL 13 generated a great deal of press and engagement from fans. Since then information on gameplay, presentation, and audio have all rolled out. What is it then that has caught the attention of the media? The inclusion of “Tebowing” of course! 

Publications immediately picked up on a low key tweet from creative director Michael Young and made it a nationwide news story. ESPN, major sports websites like Yahoo and Pro Football Talk, large newspapers and news stations, and even religion-based outlets have deemed it worthy of discussion. “Tebowing” will be featured in Madden 13 and apparently that is a big deal.

I didn’t think it was even worth discussing beyond maybe a throwaway line in the weekly Line Drive posting – but what is more interesting is the rabid nature of coverage with anything Tim Tebow related. Despite being a backup the New York media is going to exploit him at every turn and companies Tebow has a marketing relationship with – such as EA Sports – will understandably look to take advantage.

Predictably EA has now taken to capitalizing on the attention by releasing a screenshot featuring “Tebowing”. This follows up some talk of individual celebrations being included in Madden 13 such as Victor Cruz’s salsa dance, Cam Newton’s “Superman”, and Rob Gronkowski’s “Gronk Spike” – in addition to Tebow having one of the only 12 authentic cadences in the game.

Take Two reported their Q4 Fiscal 2012 financials today and with that came their upcoming slate of scheduled products for the entire 2013 fiscal year. The only sports title listed is NBA 2K13 signaling what could be the end of the MLB 2K franchise. In fact this was the exact way that both the NHL 2K and College Hoops 2K franchises were discovered to have been cancelled so the precedent is there. (Update) Confirmation has come down the series is likely dead.

Still there is some level of uncertainty around the situation. There has been no statement as to the current status of the MLB license for 3rd parties now that the previous deal has expired – whether Take Two is going away from it, another company has picked it up, or if there will be no MLB product from anyone but SCEA next year. At this point it seems more likely than not that the Xbox 360 won’t have a licensed MLB game in 2013.

It would not come as a surprise for 2K Sports to lose baseball without putting up a fight. Take Two president Strauss Zelnick has made it clear that the company wants to concentrate almost solely on original IPs and in doing so cut out the costs incurred with licensing. In the case of MLB 2K it has lost over $30 million every year of the deal. Only because the NBA 2K series has become such a huge success does that one seem safe for the coming years otherwise Take Two may have just sold off the 2K Sports division or just shut it all down.

Expect more details on the state of Take Two’s relations with the MLB soon. Following reporting on the absence of both College Hoops and NHL in previous years the company has come out to make statements on their cancellations within a matter of days.

(More on Update) Without seemingly 2K Sports producing an MLB offering the question becomes whether someone like EA could obtain the license – they would need much more favorable terms than the previous agreement – and even if they did whether a game could be produced in time for next year or even this console generation.

Consumers have encountered a number of troubles produced by patches for MLB 12: The Show – the most major of which have been Franchise and Road to the Show freezes and broken cross platform play - and an update that has been made available today for the PS3 version is intended to address some of those. While it won’t get back all the time that has been lost and frustration generated in the process it will hopefully help to stabilize the experience for the rest of the year as this seems likely to wrap up the post-release support for the game.

The new patch also provides the “foundation for a much anticipated mode addition” which apparently will launch on May 28. This could be the Online Home Run Derby that was advertised for the game yet inexplicably has remained absent. Continue on for the full list of changes with the latest patch! 

Offline Adjustments
We understood that some users were still experiencing progression difficulties through your seasons/franchises after the latest game update. Another code clean-up sweep was performed to enhance the stability and better align the schedules and box scores. This will make cross platform cloud saves and season/franchise progression more stable.

General Online Fixes
•Challenge of the week: Wrong player mug would occasionally be displayed when the user first entered and played through a challenge. This issue has been resolved.
•Fixed an issue with users being able to request multiple friendly quits and concedes. Now, as intended, users will only be able to ask once for a friendly quit and once for a concede.
•Fixed an issue with the wind speed and direction arrow in online games. The wind direction and wind speed will always be accurate now.
•Fixed an issue with the in game ticker. Minor score posting issue with MLB games that had not yet started. This has been corrected.

Diamond Dynasty Improvements
•Arena matchmaking has been improved. Users will now be matched up with more equal opponents based on rank. Users can expect more competitive head-to-head games as a result of this change.
•Fixed an issue with selecting pitcher delivery style. Pitcher animation list was off resulting in the wrong delivery style being assigned to user’s pitchers.
•Fixed an issue with training players in Diamond Dynasty. When attempting to train a player an issue would occasionally cause the wrong player to be trained.

League Adjustments
•Fixed an issue with the league lineup and pitching rotation screens not being saved and carried over into the game. This has been corrected.
•Fixed an issue with the time calculator in league modes. Could affect draft times as well as series expiration times. All times displayed should now be accurate.

As the wait for the “monumental change to gameplay” being announced on June 4 for Madden NFL 13 continues EA Sports turned their attention to promoting the enhancements to audio. The new commentary team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms is joined by a number of authentic QB cadences and real on-field sounds provided by NFL Films, crown noise improvements, and an original soundtrack produced entirely in-house. 

The poll gauging reaction to the audio news turned in the least enthusiastic response regarding any wave of promotion for Madden – and even weaker than any numbers that have come in for NCAA Football 13. With over 4K votes having come in here is where Madden 13 stands in the days following the release of audio related information and media.

•41% No change and likely to buy
•34% Encouraged and more likely to buy
•14% No change and unlikely to buy
•11% Discouraged and less likely to buy

These numbers reflect some sense of deflation to enthusiasm after having all sorts of improvements to audio touted only to release a poorly received video which was meant to demonstrate them but completely failed to instill confidence in what the final product will bring. Few were going to have their purchase decisions swayed solely by audio – though it is worth noting this is the first time the “discouraged” number has reached double digits in a poll – but in this case EA has to identify the lukewarm response as a reason for concern particularly should any stumbles be encountered elsewhere.

Momentum for NCAA Football 13 began building with the gameplay and presentation news and continued through the improvements coming to Dynasty mode. It may have been halted – and possibly the perception of the product even having regressed to an extent – by the release of the first gameplay videos. They seemed to do little to demonstrate the significant improvements touted to gameplay with many comments expressing that the footage looked like NCAA 12 outside of the presentation enhancements of the ticker and studio updates.

Make sure to check out the first video and especially the extended second video and then vote in the poll and leave any thoughts on where NCAA Football 13 stands in your mind as of now in the comments!

EA Sports has revealed most of the quarterbacks that will have their authentic cadences included in Madden NFL 13. A partnership with NFL Films allowed the company to grab the audio for a number of QBs and implement their actual voices in the game. There will be 14 of them featured – 12 of which are currently known. For various reasons other QBs didn’t make the cut in having their voices included in the game. 

•Tom Brady
•Aaron Rodgers
•Drew Brees
•Peyton Manning
•Eli Manning
•Cam Newton
•Michael Vick
•Philip Rivers
•Ben Roethlisberger
•Tony Romo
•Matt Ryan
•Tim Tebow

Tebow obviously stands out from the group as the only non-starter having gotten the nod primarily due to his notoriety. Two more names are still to be announced. What other two QBs are most deserving of being amongst the group with their actual voices in Madden NFL 13?

The Line Drive is a weekly collection of news, links, and updates that didn’t necessarily warrant their own postings.

•No new deals ongoing but NCAA Football 13 for continues to be $45 (360 – PS3).
•EA Sports (solely as a gag) mocapped Eli Manning’s “sandwich celebration” from SNL.
•You can listen to the Madden NFL 13 theme song at ESPN.
•NHL 13 will have a collector’s edition going for $80.
•The NHL 13 cover vote is now into the second half of the quarterfinals.
•A new Nascar game has been announced.

Side-blogs on Google Plus tackling industry topics – add to a circle and +1 while there! Also results of any ‘quick polls’ held on Twitter and Facebook.

•On the way I’m approaching coverage for E3.
•On the Vita already being in dire straits.

•How big a deal would Real Time Physics (in your opinion) be to Madden?
Major (55%) – Minor (26%) – None (19%)

News and content that may have been missed from the last week around the site.

•DVD/Blu-ray for this week. Headlined by This Means War and Red Tails.
•Community Showrunner Ousted. Creator Dan Harmon fired by NBC.
•Anchorman 2 Teaser Poster. Just more to spark excitement about the coming sequel.
•Trailer for Revolution. New NBC series backed by J.J. Abrams.

EA Sports has released a new video for NHL 13 which arrives in sync with the feature news announced yesterday. The game will be receiving a brand new physics-driven skating engine which is put on heavy display in the trailer – though the footage in this form doesn’t make it readily apparent what the end benefit will be nor put it in the context where it can actually be evaluated. 

A game-changing innovation for the franchise that adds physics-driven skating and over 1000 new animations. True Performance Skating authentically replicates the explosiveness, momentum and top end speed displayed by today’s NHL players. True Performance Skating combined with the Skill Stick, finally gives gamers access to the entire toolset of an NHL player, delivering unprecedented control and unlocking a level of creativity never before possible in a hockey videogame.

New Star Soccer recently made its way onto iOS and Android and has quickly become a standout mobile game. A career mode that features turn-based action and a number of outside elements to manage is joined by a simple mini-game in the mold of the “Flick” offerings on the market. Both have proven to be addictive and well designed. 

The NSS series has been on the PC for years but finally made the transition to mobile where it is an ideal fit. The arcade mode works really well as a score-driven challenge in which shots on goal get increasingly difficult (more defenders, shots being taken from farther out, wind, moving target to kick). It’s a simple game but one that presents a real challenge.

The meat of NSS is in the career mode. It begins with creating a player and deciding on which league to join. Staying in the US placed me in the MLS – beginning with Portland – and it was notable that all the real team names and colors were represented.

Throughout the career situations arise where players can transfer – and I did so after negotiating a contract with Toronto that upped my base pay as well as goal bonus. After the first year I then transferred to an Italian league where I was making even more. Money plays a role in buying items to increase status as well as buying the opportunity to increase player skills. It also comes in handy when managing energy levels – go into a match with low energy and the coach will be forced to sit you. Even more fun is the ability to gamble the money made by playing blackjack, roulette, or slots.

There is a lot to the career mode in New Star Soccer but it avoids being overwhelming. Managing various elements of a player’s career is laid out in a straight forward manner and with a variety of ways to build that character throughout their career. Put the focus on the off-field activities and that will come at the expense of skill level. Work on their skill levels and end up getting derided for being a poor dresser in the press. Finding the balance that one wants is fairly interesting in this game.

The actual gameplay is also handled well. Players will see a ticker of events taking place and then take over when the character has a play on the ball – whether that be the opportunity to shoot on goal, pass to a teammate, or intercept a pass from the other team. The turn-based action keeps the user invested while still playing out entire games in only about two minutes.

New Star Soccer is highly recommended at just a few bucks. The game has an addictive nature that hasn’t really been evident with many sports offerings on mobile devices. It takes advantage of the platform in creative ways while functioning in a reliable fashion.

New Star Soccer is available now for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad for free (however it’s pay to continue after a certain point in career) and Android for $3.