Electronic Arts has received some flak lately for acquiring various sports licenses that end up being turned into subpar games a la NFL Tour. Here at GameShark, we prefer to let both sides of the argument be presented so that the consumer can make up their own mind. In that spirit, we asked for, and were granted some time to sit down with EA’s Director of License Acquisitions, a one Mr. Snidely Whiplash.

GameShark: Good morning Mr. Whiplash, and thank you for agreeing to speak with us.

Snidely Whiplash: Thank you for having me. Do you mind if I twirl my mustache?

GS: Um, I guess not. How does EA respond to charges that they have systematically run various sports licenses into the ground?

SW: With litigation, of course! Ha, no. We at EA take all of our properties very seriously and do our best to make sure that our products serve the license as well as the consumer to the best of our abilities.

GS: NFL Tour has a Game Rankings score in the high 40’s. Would you consider that being the best of EA’s abilities? Surely the reviews score mean something.

SW: The only number the president of the Collegiate Licensing Company cares about is the number on the big, fat check we’re going to write him.

GS: I’m glad you mentioned that. There are concerns that EA is about to strike a deal for exclusive rights to college basketball. The March Madness series is continually reviewed poorly, where as Take-Two’s College Hoops series is very well received. How would you address these concerns?

SW: Your readers have nothing to worry about. Everyone at EA absolutely loves college basketball, especially me.

GS: Really? So, who has the best chance of going undefeated this year?