NEWS - Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Take-Two Cancels College Hoops 2K9
The release of College Hoops 2K9 is no longer a slam dunk.According to 2K parent company Take-Two Interactive Software, the publisher has broken off negotiations with the Collegiate Licensing Company, which handles trademark licensing for the NCAA, and officially canceled the game.
The news was first reported by gaming blog Kotaku, which had passed along rumors of the impending hoop-splosion earlier in the day. Take-Two had only this to say in response to IGN inquiries about the future of the franchise:
"2K Sports has decided not to continue negotiations with the CLC for the license for its top-rated College Hoops franchise, which would have been released next in November 2008. We are committed to providing fans with high-quality, critically-acclaimed sports games, but given our disciplined approach to the business, we do not believe the current discussions would result in an acceptable outcome."
Although the Take-Two statement above doesn’t spell it out, it’s offical: College Hoops 2K9 is dead, a Take-Two rep confirmed to us.
Representatives of the CLC were not immediately available for comment Monday afternoon. We’ve also contacted EA Sports officials about what the news might mean for its upcoming sports lineup, but we have yet to hear back. EA Sports publishes the NCAA March Madness series.
Source: http://www.ign.com
