Quote:
Originally Posted by Go Tribe
that being said, now that there is a ruling, let's see a committment from SI and Markus that, should no further rulings come down in favor of the mlb on this between now and the release of 2008, that they'll have real rosters with fake names.
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While I agree in theory with your take, I also would point out what that kind of committment would take for SI to put into OOTP. I can't say for sure, but the kind of committment for an individual or group to create real rosters with fake names might well require more compensation than just a free copy of the game. Realize if OOTP includes it, they have a responsibility to support it and that means the creator(s) need to be committed to meet the deadlines set by SI as well as be available after the release to address questions and issues. Would you expect someone to do that for $35?
If SI compensated someone to do this, it would increase their costs to produce the game. Would the potential of increased sales offset their increased cost? If they have to raise the price of the game, the sales volume could decline, costing them top-line revenue and possibly bottom-line revenue (profit) as well. Losing top-line revenue but making the same profit will cause the bean-counters to argue against it, since top-line is what is needed to keep the costs covered. With less cash the fixed costs get tougher to cover. Losing bottom-line profit as well would probably be the death knell of the game.
I'm not saying I don't want real-life rosters in some form, but we can't demand it from SI without understanding it most definitely entails an economic decision that likely won't ever happen without a strong potential to increase cash income and profit. That potential might be there, but if it's not I for one won't blame SI for not going down that path.