*** May 2010 update ***
Good news! The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against the NFL's request for antitrust protection. It might add an extra chance of victory for lawsuits like the one mentioned in this thread. Hopefully one day soon we'll see games like Backbreaker and the NFL2K series come out with full NFL teams and player support. Competition isn't a bad thing after all.
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Original post:
If you have purchased EA's John Madden football within the last few years, you can sign up to join the on-going class action lawsuit brought against them for alleged unfair business practices:
Because of AVS, I signed up with a class action suit vs. Sony for defective SXRD XBR1 HDTV and it worked out, so who knows? A different kind of case here, but maybe this one will as well. Here's a direct link to the law firm's sign-up page. The monopoly alone is the main thing I hope gets taken down, even if those of us who purchased a copy of Madden don't get much as a result of the lawsuit.
Good news! The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against the NFL's request for antitrust protection. It might add an extra chance of victory for lawsuits like the one mentioned in this thread. Hopefully one day soon we'll see games like Backbreaker and the NFL2K series come out with full NFL teams and player support. Competition isn't a bad thing after all.
~~~~
Original post:
If you have purchased EA's John Madden football within the last few years, you can sign up to join the on-going class action lawsuit brought against them for alleged unfair business practices:
Quote:
Gamers who purchased a copy of Madden from August, 2005 onward may be eligible to join a class action suit against publisher Electronic Arts.
Pecover vs. EA (all GP coverage here) is currently proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The suit alleges that EA's exclusive licensing deal with the NFL and NFL Players Association created a monopoly situation which EA exploited by substantially raising the retail price for a copy of Madden.
In a story broken recently by GamePolitics, an expert witness hired by the plaintiffs theorized that EA's exclusive NFL/NFLPA license may have cost consumers nearly a billion dollars. Lawyers for EA have disputed that claim in court documents.
In a press release issued on Friday, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, the law firm representing consumers in the case, provides a link where Madden buyers can learn more about the suit and potentially join as additional plaintiffs.
Lead attorney Steve Berman, quoted in the press release, pulled no punches in his assessment of EA's position regarding Madden:
Gamers who purchased a copy of Madden from August, 2005 onward may be eligible to join a class action suit against publisher Electronic Arts.
Pecover vs. EA (all GP coverage here) is currently proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The suit alleges that EA's exclusive licensing deal with the NFL and NFL Players Association created a monopoly situation which EA exploited by substantially raising the retail price for a copy of Madden.
In a story broken recently by GamePolitics, an expert witness hired by the plaintiffs theorized that EA's exclusive NFL/NFLPA license may have cost consumers nearly a billion dollars. Lawyers for EA have disputed that claim in court documents.
In a press release issued on Friday, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, the law firm representing consumers in the case, provides a link where Madden buyers can learn more about the suit and potentially join as additional plaintiffs.
Lead attorney Steve Berman, quoted in the press release, pulled no punches in his assessment of EA's position regarding Madden:
Quote:
There is nothing wrong with good, strong competition in a free market, but we believe EA rigged the game to take advantage of consumers.
EA knows that the demand for these games is based on how realistically the players and teams are portrayed. When EA signed into exclusive agreements it knowingly killed the only competing game of comparable quality, [Take-Two's] NFL 2K5.
There is nothing wrong with good, strong competition in a free market, but we believe EA rigged the game to take advantage of consumers.
EA knows that the demand for these games is based on how realistically the players and teams are portrayed. When EA signed into exclusive agreements it knowingly killed the only competing game of comparable quality, [Take-Two's] NFL 2K5.
Because of AVS, I signed up with a class action suit vs. Sony for defective SXRD XBR1 HDTV and it worked out, so who knows? A different kind of case here, but maybe this one will as well. Here's a direct link to the law firm's sign-up page. The monopoly alone is the main thing I hope gets taken down, even if those of us who purchased a copy of Madden don't get much as a result of the lawsuit.
