Gameloft launches NFL 2009 mobile game
In the US, obviously...
Gameloft has launched NFL 2009, a new mobile game with all the teams and players from the 2008-09 season.
It's a full 11-on-11 game (well, 42-on-42 with lots of swapping on and off, but you know what we mean) with a proper season mode, culminating at Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa Bay.
The publisher says the game uses actual NFL team strategies too. But hang on, doesn't EA have an exclusive licensing deal with the NFL for players and teams?
Well, it seems not. Reading back the news coverage in 2004 when that deal was signed, it appeared to only cover consoles, PC and handhelds.
EA extended the deal in February this year, but it seems mobile was still left out, allowing Gameloft to sign its own licensing deal with the NFL. It'll be interesting to see the reaction at EA's HQ...
Anyway, NFL 2009 is out now in the US. Whether it'll come out here in Europe is another question - presumably that depends on the terms of Gameloft's licensing deal, and whether they think there are enough gridiron fans on this side of the Atlantic to make localising it worth their while.
