Motorsport Games: Another Reason Why Exclusive Licenses are Stupid.
The company acquired the exclusive license rights to NASCAR and IndyCar, removing substantial content from platforms like iRacing.
Motorsport Games acquired the majority of equity interest in 704 Games; as a result, they became the holders of the NASCAR license. A few years after, in 2021, they got exclusive rights to IndyCar, with the goal of developing the official game for the series. Unfortunately, the game is yet to be released, and has suffered a few delays. The company says that they are fully committed to the project, in an attempt to calm the waters.
One thing to point out is that IndyCar have not had proper yearly releases like Formula 1 did back in 2010 when Codemasters acquired the license. NASCAR started getting yearly releases around the same time, however, the license has bounced from companies like Activision, 704 Games, and ultimately Motorsport Games.
NASCAR games have been a hit-or-miss experience, miss, mostly. The games are heavily arcade-leaning, its physics is overly simplified, and graphically, they are subpar with the industry standard.
IndyCar has never had yearly releases, and there is a considerable demographic waiting for a video game. In order to quench your thirst, you can go to iRacing and purchase the IndyCar vehicle, and its iconic race tracks. Well, not entirely right as of now. Because Motorsport Games got exclusive rights, iRacing has been forced to remove tracks like Indianapolis Motor Speedway and other IndyCar related content.
Multiplatform games bring exposure
Back then when the Motorsport Games deal got announced, everyone had high hopes. Getting into iRacing can be an overwhelming, and very expensive experience. An IndyCar game available on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation meant that everyone could get into one of the best motorsport categories in the entire planet. If you are not following IndyCar, then I strongly suggest you start ASAP.
One of the greatest benefits of exposing your product through games is that you get new fans engaged. You will not believe how many people had their first contact with football, Formula 1, MotoGP through video games. In my opinion, IndyCar has been missing out in this area.
A yearly IndyCar game can get the category a lot of exposure worldwide. People will realize how many European drivers are having successful careers at IndyCar; Romain Grosjean, Marcus Ericcson, Reenus VeeKay to name a few.
Money is KING
Lewis Hamilton once said: 'Money is king'. Unfortunately, for everyone, this old adage is true. Money is the main reason why exclusive licenses are signed. In the video game industry this happens mostly to yearly sport titles.
Sadly, corporations like FIFA, NFL, F1, PGA, NBA, etc. negotiate with video game publishers in order to get their official video game released with them. The problem is that the company that paid for the exclusive license has 100% control of the content.
With games like FIFA, it is a bit more complex, since regional football federations, and even leagues can negotiate with other publishers, teams and leagues can appear in more than one game. For example, FIFA by EA and eFootball by Konami both feature teams like Barcelona, Manchester United, or AC Milan. Despite this, EA holds the exclusive license for 90% of football teams and leagues.
Motorsport is niche; even more Formula 1 or IndyCar. It is obvious that football is a global sport, and games like FIFA will always outsell Formula 1 or racing games. I mention this because IndyCar negotiated an exclusivity deal with Motorsport Games. This is substantiality limiting the exposure of the category. Even worse is the fact that the deal means that content already out there like in iRacing has to be removed.
One thing is getting licensing rights, another is getting exclusive licensing rights; one is more monopolistic than the other.
Competition breeds excellence
Ironically, late capitalism promotes things like free market, self-regulation, and competition. This is far away from what happens in reality; there is a tendency in heavily capitalistic markets to have monopolies. The same thing happens in the video game industry, especially in the United States. EA holds exclusive licenses for NFL, NHL, FIFA, and F1.
The result of this pay for profit strategy is that we get terrible yearly games. FIFA, Madden and F1 have been more or less the same game since 2015. Imagine if another developer could pay for the license to produce sports games. Consumers will have a handful of options to choose from. 2K for instance, holds the license for NBA, but EA does as well. The former has made one of the best basketball simulators of all time. Its broadcast-like presentation is also the best in the industry. The latter does not even talk about its aberration.
If competition was out there, publishers would spend a lot of resources on developing a truly revolutionary and innovative game. Maybe the industry would have already shifted from yearly titles into something else, like a subscription. Developers will spend the right amount of time and resources making a game worth its price tag.
Racing games will truly benefit from un-exclusive licenses because of the exposure and innovation factor. Imagine different options for Formula 1, IndyCar, NASCAR and even categories like WEC. This will bring the different categories to millions of people around the globe, on different platforms like PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and more.
At the end of the day, every category seeks to bring new fans at the same time they retain current ones. Opening up to video games brings younger audiences, and with the ever-growing sim-racing community we can even have the future Lewis Hamilton playing one of its games in a remote corner of the world. Exclusive licenses keep motorsports at a certain level of obscurantism within the confines of their respective niches.
