Barry Bonds not to be in 2004 baseball games!

[Gamereviewgod]

http://sports.ign.com/articles/442/442035p1.html

What an ass... :angry:

[Oobgarm]

I will now make it a point to throw the ball at that bastard's head every time I face him when playing baseball games.

What a complete and utter act of selfishness. If he thinks the media makes him look bad, he needs to take a long hard look at himself. The guy's an arrogant prick.

I'm not taking anything away from his ability to hit the ball, though. He's very good at that.

[chadtower]

I don't see anythign wrong with this. A lot of players in a lot of sports have their own arrangements. If their name and likeness is worth so much more why should it be lumped in with utility players and nobodies?

[jaydubnb]

If I were in his position, I'd do the same thing, ONLY to make sure that my name and likeness arent handed over to some assclown of a developer who's simply gonna churn out a horrible licensed game.

I dont think this is anywhere near as bad as yesteryear when a certain player would have his own game and the entire league would be a bunch of players with fake names.

[Ed Oscuro]

The only problem with all this is that Bonds argues his name and likeness have been "mishandled" and he's been represented as a "bad guy." There shouldn't be an issue, since it's rather hard for a sports game to represent you as a bad guy. Now making a big fuss about it...that doesn't look good.

I really think it's just about the money, and I bet it's just about his money. He's not taking one for the team--and if he thinks he is, he'd better look again. The Player's Association doesn't need any "help."

What's most likely is that he feels he's "punishing" those who've wronged him in the past...if I was Bonds, that wouldn't lead to this sort of action. But he's Bonds...he doesn't show up to all the practices like everybody else, he doesn't eat with the team. He's his own man, and while I'd reference John Milton, it seems that Bonds has made an exception to the rule in his case. Nobody can bridge the ocean of a moat Bonds has dug around his own personality. It's hard to say what the man's thinking inside, but it's quite probably not logical.

[Chunky]

if you think i've ever bought any baseball title because his name and likeness were in it, go ahead, but your wrong. If won't buy one because he IS in it, also wrong. as far as baseball sims go, i don't care about him being Bonds(superstar, great stats) or Binds(bonds wannabee lookalike , great stats.


wowo i'm drunk at work already

[ddockery]

As a Giants fan, this is a real pisser. I believe it's MVP Baseball that uses the Giants announcers, and I was going to grab the '04 version which includes the dynasties mode as well. Now I guess I'll wait for '03 to drop to $10 and grab it too. Playing through a season as the Giants without a Bonds would just feel wrong. Maybe create a player could solve this problem?

He really pisses me off sometimes. The guy does have an overly bad rap. He had a few bad years with the media as a young player for the Pirates, and he still has the same image now even though he's not like that now. Yes, he's still a prick in more than one regard, but he's not nearly the ass most people make him out to be.

[den68]

Playing through a season as the Giants without a Bonds would just feel wrong. Maybe create a player could solve this problem?




In the event of such an occurrence Mr. Bonds will show up on your doorstep poste haste to confiscate your memory card

[ddockery]

Wow, tha would be kinda cool. For ony $49.99, YOU can get a personal visit from Mr. Bonds!

[Dobie]

This doesn't affect just baseball games. By pulling out of the MLBPA he gets no money from games, trading cards, bobbleheads, or other crap that the MLBPA licenses. Bonds wants more money than he gets from the MLBPA for the products he appears on. Plain and simple. Bonds is probably the most recognizable face in baseball right now, so I don't blame him for opting out of the blanket policy. Other players have done it, and they aren't "bad guys," or "hate videogames." Just look at Mark McGwire, Micheal Jordan, Lavar Arrington, and a slew of other guys. Bonds isn't the first, and he won't be the last.

"However, sources from a variety of game developers and publishers fear that if they try to sign Bonds to an exclusive deal like the one Michael Jordan signed with EA Sports a few years back, the Players Association will not approve the title, causing delays to this year's game and possible repercussions down the line."

This logic is total crap. The MLBPA approves just about anything thrown their way. The presence or absence of a given player has no effect on the decision by the players association. The presentation of the content or quality of the game might. Bonds' apearance on Fleer trading cards, All-Star Baseball 2005, or Wheaties cereal boxes doesn't mean jack squat to the 700+ other players. They are totally separate contracts. The MLBPA won't reject a lucrative profit center simply because it potentially includes Bonds' image.

[ddockery]

That makes sense. I was just rushing through the article over lunch earlier, but I doubt any of the other players in the MLBPA would be too happy if they rejected an offer just because of Bonds. It just doesn't make any sense to screw all of your members because someone else is gettinga cut of the money as well.

[Ed Oscuro]

Just look at Mark McGwire, Micheal Jordan, Lavar Arrington, and a slew of other guys. Bonds isn't the first, and he won't be the last.

...quote from article here...


This logic is total crap. The MLBPA approves just about anything thrown their way. The presence or absence of a given player has no effect on the decision by the players association.

Possibly true, but if this news has generated that sort of a reaction I seriously doubt the picture is as rosy as you claim. Is he the first baseball player to opt out? If he wasn't, there shouldn't be such a reaction to this news.

One thing's for sure--Bonds needs the money less than he needs to keep the bad press away.

[ddockery]

Maybe in his truly misguided view he really IS trying to protect his name. If money were REALLY his main concern, he'd be kissing everyone's asses. Just think of the endorsement potential he would have if the media loved him, instead of exaggerating every possible "incident" about him.

[calthaer]

What baseball video game producers (at least a few of them) need to do is cut off ALL ties to all major sporting franchises and produce products with fictional teams for a year. If their sales don't take a major hit, then they should ditch all those royalty fees and leave the greedy money-mongers in the real franchises to their own devices. Who knows - maybe after a few years of that they'd actually PAY to have somebody make a video game of them.

[Ed Oscuro]

Would take balls, but I'd like to see that happen. Sort of a throw-back to the days of SNK's Neo Geo baseball titles, you know.

[jaydubnb]

Would take balls, but I'd like to see that happen. Sort of a throw-back to the days of SNK's Neo Geo baseball titles, you know.

OH HELL YEAH.

Baseball Stars (NES) and Baseball Stars 2 (NEO*GEO) are my two favorite baseball games EVER. It's funny, back in the day when one of the fictional players would come to bat with 67 homeruns or something, we'd laugh because we thought it would never happen in real life lol

[Nature Boy]

There have been plenty of other players who have pulled out of the MLBPA and other similar organizations. It's their right to do so if they feel they're not being represented correctly. Get over it.

You can't know his reasons - not unless he's stated them publicly (and I didn't see that *anywhere* in the article). The MLBPA handles more than just licensing deals with the Upper Decks and the EAs. They handle pension funds and what not as well. Maybe he's unhappy with that. It's his right to leave that organization just like it was my right to stop paying into my company shared health plan. Get over it.

[slurpeepoop]

I'm ready for a new Super Baseball Simulator 1.000.

[Felixthegamer]

But will Sammy's bat be corked? ;) On a personal level, I do not care. I am not a fan of Bonds nor the Giants. In fact, my teams are in the American League, so it doesn't matter. However, I feel bad for the fans who follow the Giants and do like Bonds.