And 2K Sports you were so close; only inches away from being able to play in the NFL again.  It has been the dreams of the more rabid 2K Sports fans that next year would be the year they could finally partake in a fully licensed NFL video game outside of EA Sports.  The existing exclusive rights deal that Electronic Arts has with the NFL was set to expire next year.  But that deal is set to be extended to 2012 instead.  Peter Moore, the new face of EA Sports, is set to re-invent the sports division and quite honestly I’m interested to see what EA Sports will be under his direction.

“Mr. Moore’s mission to boost EA’s sports business could play an important role in a push at the Redwood City, Calif., company to increase sales after several years of little growth. At an EA briefing for analysts today, Mr. Moore plans to announce the extension of a deal with the National Football League and the NFL Players Association through 2012 that will continue EA’s position as the exclusive maker of NFL videogames, including Madden. EA’s previous exclusive NFL deal was due to expire next year. Financial terms of the new agreement won’t be disclosed.”