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EA, NCAA “Part Ways” But New Football Games Are Coming

Bad news if you're a big fan of EA's NCAA Football franchise.

The NCAA has opted not to renew its licensing contract with Electronic Arts, although the publisher has confirmed that they will continue to make college football video games.

EA Sports executive vice president Andrew Wilson released a statement, saying the first next-generation NCAA Football title is already in development; it simply won't feature the NCAA names and trademarks:

"By now, most fans will have heard that EA's licensing agreement with the NCAA is set to expire and that we have agreed to part ways. I'm sure gamers are wondering what this means.

This is simple: EA Sports will continue to develop and publish college football games, but we will no longer include the NCAA names and marks. Our relationship with the Collegiate Licensing Company is strong and we are already working on a new game for next generation consoles which will launch next year and feature the college teams, leagues, and all the innovation fans expect from EA Sports.

We took big creative strides with this year's college game and you’ll see much more in the future. We love college football and look forward to making more games for our fans."

Remember when EA cornered the market on pro football gaming, so-to-speak? They secured the exclusive NFL rights, which basically killed off the competition ( NFL 2K had to die an unfortunate death). Now that the licensing agreement with the NCAA is done, will this open the door to other competitors…? Will 2K Sports give it a go?

EA Removes Aaron Hernandez From 2014 Madden, NCAA Games

Yeah, you had to see this coming, didn't you?

The New England Patriots don't want anything more to do with him, and neither does Electronic Arts. The publisher has removed former Patriots Tight End Aaron Hernandez from their new football titles this year, Madden NFL 25 and NCAA Football 14 .

As an EA representative told GameSpot :

"We made a decision to remove Aaron Hernandez from Madden NFL 25 and NCAA Football 14. Because NCAA Football 14 was finalized prior to our decision, Hernandez' image still appears in the Nike Skills Trainer. However, he is not in the game, and anyone who unlocks that particular Nike Skills Trainer reward will receive an Alex Smith Ultimate Team player item instead."

Hernandez's image will be removed via a Title Update at a later time. The athlete was arrested at his home on June 26 in connection with a recent homicide, and he currently sits in jail awaiting charges of first-degree murder. He is accused of killing semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd and other unsettling information about Hernandez's past is coming to light. "Innocent until proven guilty" and all that, but it's not lookin' good.

Related Game(s): Madden NFL 25 , NCAA Football 14

EA To Adopt A “Customer-First” Stance For Future Used Games

The used game debate continues to rage, and Electronic Arts is aware of its importance.

During an E3 analyst call , EA Labels president Frank Gibeau said they're currently working on a "gamer-first" used game policy for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One titles.

He acknowledges that it has been a major topic of discussion this week, and his company is looking to formulate a strategy based on information released by Sony and Microsoft. It's all about putting the customer first, though, as EA wants to continue to have a relationship with used games that "is a very positive experience" for everyone involved. Microsoft has allowed publishers to choose whether or not used games will be allowed, while Sony announced that the PS4 will have "no gating restrictions."

The latter earned the biggest cheer of the night, by the way.

Report: EA Killing Online Pass For All Currently Available Titles

We had heard that Electronic Arts was discontinuing the Online Pass program for all future games.

Now it appears they're taking it one step further. According to what EA corporate communications representative John Reseburg told Game Informer , you can wave bye-bye to Online Passes for existing games, too.

The company is currently in the process of removing the Pass from all their currently available titles:

"As we discontinue Online Pass for our new EA titles, we are also in the process of eliminating it from all our existing EA titles as well. We heard the feedback from players and decided to do away with Online Pass altogether.

Players will see it first with some EA Sports titles, where a prompt to enter an Online Pass code will no longer appear in-game; with other titles we are simply making Online Passes available free of charge online. These are rolling updates that are taking effect over the next several weeks. We hope players continue to enjoy our games and online services for a long time to come."

The Online Pass was instituted in an effort to combat used games sales, which don't give EA any extra revenue. They weren't the only publisher to implement such a plan; Sony and THQ did something similar and gamers have never been happy with the idea. Now it's time to see if Sony will disband the Pass as well. THQ has already bit the dust, so it's unlikely a nonexistent company could retroactively kill off the Pass that already exists in current games. But who knows?

EA Will Produce Games For Current-Gen Consoles Through 2017

One thing to remember: Just because a new generation of hardware is upon us doesn't mean the "old" consoles instantaneously die.

In order for publishers to continue making money, they really have to continue to release their games for the systems that have huge installed user bases. It's why you're seeing so many major cross-generation titles going into the PS4/Xbox One launches.

So, it's really no surprise to hear that Electronic Arts plans to continue to produce titles for the current generation of systems at least through 2017. Speaking at the Stifel 2013 Technology Conference in New York, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen made this plain . He also spoke about EA's exclusive "Star Wars" deal, which should prove lucrative for the publisher.

Don't forget how long we were seeing PS2 games after the PS3 came out. For at least three or four years, I believe. It takes time to build a user base that could result in appropriately high sales numbers for blockbuster franchises, ya know.

EA To Discontinue Online Pass

Guess it just wasn't working out.

According to a new VentureBeat report , publisher Electronic Arts has elected to kill their controversial Online Pass system. Is that applause…?

EA senior director of corporate communications John Reseburg said that the company will be discontinuing the program, and that none of EA's titles will include it in the future. Other companies that have chosen the Online Pass tactic in the past are the now-defunct THQ and yes, Sony. The idea was to combat used game sales – of which publishers don't see a dime – and force consumers who bought a pre-owned game to pay $10 to enjoy online entertainment. If you bought the game new, the Pass would be free, thereby encouraging you to avoid the pre-owned shelf.

However, Reseburg said that players "didn't respond to the format:"

"Initially launched as an effort to package a full menu of online content and services, many players didn’t respond to the format. We’ve listened to the feedback and decided to do away with it, moving forward. We’re still committed to creating content and services that enhance the game experience well beyond the day you first start playing."

Who knows what to do about the pre-owned game issue? One would think that if developers could have just the tiniest fraction of that lucrative market come their way, everyone would be better off. But how?