> The issue I have is with companies buying up the exclusive rights to a
> particular sport, activity. etc. It cannot be good in the long run.
> What do we have now for F1 sims since Sony bought it up? Nothing for
> the PC. I will not support or purchase anything from EA. It also
> helps that I can't stand nascar and everything about it.
Well, as for the last point, no one can do anything about that. That's
actually the most reasonable and understandable part of your post!
As far as the exclusive licensing buying binge: I know of no one on the
consumer side that likes what is going on. But really, the objections
are based upon what we BELIEVE will happen and upon generalities, no
evidence. For instance, having secured the NASCAR license, there was
absolutely nothing forcing EA to go the extra mile to make a sim for
the PC. There's not that much money in it compared to the console
titles, and the *** sim community isn't exactly as huge as, say,
the "World of Warcraft" community or the <insert first person shooter
de jour here> community. On the other hand, I can also say from
personal experience that the guys on the NSR team have been putting in
days that are stretching until the wee hours of the morning (4-6AM)
trying to fix NSR issues that are preventing leagues from switching
over to that product. They have been, as a team, very responsive to
criticism and are taking these issues VERY seriously. It's easy to
blast impersonal corporate entities, but be careful. There are teams
inside those 'entities' with living breathing people who are busting
their collective butts right now trying to make the sim racing
community happy. Don't be in such an all-out hurry to write them off,
or punish THEM because they happen to work for a huge publisher.
I've dealt directly with the people from Papyrus and other sim makers
and modders and the people working on NSR do not fall short in their
dedication to getting it right.
I hate what's happening at the corporate level with EA, buying up
licenses for years at a time, and I *do* fret about what MIGHT happen
in the future because of this. At the same time, I recognize that the
guys who are pounding the bugs out of NSR at 3 AM are not the same
people who are trying to corner exclusive licenses, and I try to treat
them accordingly.
Randy