NCAA Basketball Series Officially Canceled

It was just a matter of time until EA Sports confirmed the cancellation of the NCAA Basketball franchise. On Monday I outlined all the indications that resulted in the conclusion that the series would not continue past this last release of NCAA Basketball 10. EA has now made a statement to Game Informer to put whatever question remained about its status to rest.

We do not have an NCAA Basketball game in development at this time, and we’re currently reviewing the future of our NCAA Basketball business. This was a difficult decision, but we remain a committed partner to the NCAA and its member institutions.

There was no exclusive license involved here but only EA Sports was willing to meet the CLC’s licensing costs. All the issues that prevented NCAA Basketball from being a success will likely discourage another company from jumping in given the current environment. I’ll likely write up a more detailed look at the future of college basketball games soon, however the biggest issues come down to low sales with little prospect for growth and the active lawsuits against the NCAA and how players are represented in video games.