Disgruntled Gamers Sue Electronic Arts Over "Blatantly Anticompetitive Conduct"

[fitbabits]

Gamespot (Australia) (http://au.gamespot.com/news/6192409.html) is reporting that two disgruntled gamers have decided enough is enough. How disgruntled? So very, very disgruntled, in fact, that they've decided to file a class-action lawsuit against the third party megalith:

The class-action complaint focuses on Electronic Arts' actions since 2004, when Take-Two Interactive's NFL 2K5 was released at a $19.99 price point and sold more than 2.9 million copies in the US, according to NPD figures. Take-Two's previous football game, ESPN NFL Football, sold fewer than 450,000 copies in the US. Meanwhile, EA dropped the price of its Madden 2005 from $49.95 to $29.95 in response.

"This vigorous competition benefited consumers," according to the suit. "Electronic Arts could have continued to compete by offering a lower price and/or a higher quality product. Instead, Electronic Arts quickly entered into a series of exclusive agreements with the only viable sports football associations in the United States: the National Football League, the Arena Football League, and NCAA Football."
Sticking in to "the man", or a waste of everyone's time and money?

[Mr.Green]

B. ........

[torrefaction]

A couple of Idiots.

[Serapth]

Hey, I though the US had a monopoly on brain dead fucking lawsuits.

[fitbabits]

Hey, I though the US had a monopoly on brain dead fucking lawsuits.

These gamers are from the US - DC and CA, I believe.

[Serapth]

These gamers are from the US - DC and CA, I believe.

Ahhhhhhhh, that explains it. :)

[fitbabits]

Ahhhhhhhh, that explains it. :)

Doesn't it, though?

[Ten19]

Spoiler alert! They lose the case and lots of money.

[fitbabits]

Spoiler alert! They lose the case and lots of money.

Electronic Arts or the complainants?

[Ten19]

Electronic Arts or the complainants?

Who do you think :p

EA of course! This case is bulletproof! No, no it's not. They should just give me all the money they'll spend instead.

[UnderHero5]

Spoiler alert! They lose the case and lots of money.
Haha, so true.

[mos]

What's with the tone of this thread? I'm pulling for these guys. EA (or 2k in the case of MLB) losing the monopoly on sports games can only help the consumers.

[SalaciousPuck]

I think the case is right on and I hope they win. They used the monopoly in a way that destroyed the free market and hurt consumers (more choices at competitive pricing -vs- one choice at full price).

[NeoSuplex]

I really wish they had a chance...

[Klade]

They are suing a game company because they acted as a company and not as a hobby enthusiast..... yea its going to work out great for these guys.

[Esquilax1138]

They might just have a case, EA has gone out of it's way to buy up any and all competitors to their products, or failing that find another way to squeeze them out of the business, allowing them to keep the prices on their annual sports cash cows high, since they are the only game available. Back in the day there were anti-trust and price fixing cases just like this with power and telephone companies.

Sue those fuckers, remeber Origin and Bullfrog and all the other companies they killed, revenge shall be ours!

[Wolvie]

Not the first time this has happened. I remember Atari and Nintendo both getting sued over monopoly's. Guess EA gets a turn at being the big boy in court this time.

[torrefaction]

They might just have a case, EA has gone out of it's way to buy up any and all competitors to their products, or failing that find another way to squeeze them out of the business, allowing them to keep the prices on their annual sports cash cows high, since they are the only game available. Back in the day there were anti-trust and price fixing cases just like this with power and telephone companies.

Sue those fuckers, remeber Origin and Bullfrog and all the other companies they killed, revenge shall be ours!

You....this is a joke, right?

[mangom]

Settlement trolls...

[pomeroy]

What's with the tone of this thread? I'm pulling for these guys. EA (or 2k in the case of MLB) losing the monopoly on sports games can only help the consumers.

Shouldn't they be suing, you know, the NFL for putting the license up for bid in the first place? Don't think that Take Two didn't bid on the license. EA just had more $.

[Wslove]

Shouldn't they be suing, you know, the NFL for putting the license up for bid in the first place? Don't think that Take Two didn't bid on the license. EA just had more $.

Actually from the way the NFL tells it they went to Take Two first and they passed on it thinking nobody would pay the price (I think a billion for five years or something). Take Two could have gotten the money but didn't think anyone was going to jump on it and the NFL would return to licencing for all comers. EA, on the other hand, thought nothing of ponying up the money since it now means they can sell Madden at near full price for way longer then they could when battling the 2k series.

[bjornbarspingvinen]

In the same way as I love how big companies market and package a product, I hate how they dominate by buying rights instead of releasing a better a more competetive product. NFL2k5 owned maddens ass, EA tried to buy up the NBA rights with their subpar NBA offering in the back, ugly ugly ugly!!!

SUE ON!

[Jambe]

Major sports games developers should start their own purely digital rosters and bypass sporting organizations altogether. Then we can sue them because they're monopolizing on oligopoly instead of suing them for monopolizing on monopoly. Oppoly, oppoly, oppoly.

This is obscenely stupid. Pomeroy hit the nail. The root of the trouble is that sporting organizations are monopolies. I recall a case that went to the Supreme Court (something like MLB vs Some Other Party) where the court concluded that MLB was in fact a monopoly but that it was exempt from various antitrust legislation because it was part of the nebulous 'fabric' of our society.

@Wslove: hm? One company passes the offer and another accepts it which means the NFL shouldn't be blamed? I don't follow.

[silv]

EA deserves to get sued imho.

[Kolreth]

Hey, I though the US had a monopoly on brain dead fucking lawsuits.


Acterly, there is more lawsuits per capita in australia than any other place in the world. We just have more discrete ambulance chasers.

[Exodus]

Yes EA deserves to get sued but don't you think they should get sued for something that might actually stick?

This is like suing the person at the poker table because he happens to be chip lead and can afford to raise the pot simply because he's trying to push people out and win a free pot.

Yes, their intentions mean well but unfortunately fated to lose.

This isn't something to be happy about this is just stupid because someone is on the short stack. You wanna win? Have a better fucking hand and take them to the cleaners with it.

[bapenguin]

EA deserves to get sued imho.

Granted they acted in their own best interest, but I'd agree that there is definitely some anti-competitive practices going on.

[H.Bogard]

This lawsuit will fail epicly.

Also, I don't get how the publisher of the best selling game in the world can't find the money to secure a license so viable... they deserved the defeat.

[Limech]

Forgive my ignorance but didn't Microsoft get some heat for some sort of deal where they asked Dell to only sell Windows OS with their PCs in exchange for a lower price on the OS? Oh, and didn't they ask that no other browser or media player be bundled with the package other than IE and WMP?

So that was seen as anti-competitive but what the NFL/EA did isn't?
EA asked and paid the NFL to only allow them to provide games with the NFL properties in them. Actually, it's even worst because Dell isn't as much of a monopoly on selling computers than the NFL is at providing professional football entertainment.

[Exodus]

.... if ANYONE thinks that EA just went and got a license from the NFL and thinks they just politely asked for exclusivity is fucking living in a dream world. EA paid up the ass for it the NFL isn't going to just let it fly and the money they got/getting out of the deal is making quite a few people in that organization happy.

Am i supposed to sue sony now for not allowing the main Final fantasy flagship series on other consoles besides spin offs like crystal chronicles? Or hell let's start suing all the console companies because they're luring developers away from pc gaming development because there's more money in console development games..
These are wild flim flams and I'm not a fan of EA, but if you got the money, the pull, and the NFL associations okay it and walk away with big happy grins with cash in their hands, there's not much you can do except out class them.

If this was TRULY for the idea of keeping things fair it shouldn't be a matter of suing, it should be a rectification and a btw EA/NFL you have to return your moneys and re-do the contract to leave out exclusivity. I'm sure that will go over well.

[H.Bogard]

Forgive my ignorance but didn't Microsoft get some heat for some sort of deal where they asked Dell to only sell Windows OS with their PCs in exchange for a lower price on the OS? Oh, and didn't they ask that no other browser or media player be bundled with the package other than IE and WMP?

So that was seen as anti-competitive but what the NFL/EA did isn't?
EA asked and paid the NFL to only allow them to provide games with the NFL properties in them. Actually, it's even worst because Dell isn't as much of a monopoly on selling computers than the NFL is at providing professional football entertainment.

That's something along the lines of antitrust (I think?). This is different. EA purchased the license to make NFL games, they didn't in any way hamper 2K's ability to make or sell video games.

Do you think Activision should be sued for having rights to the Marvel video games?

[Exodus]

That's something along the lines of antitrust (I think?). This is different. EA purchased the license to make NFL games, they didn't in any way hamper 2K's ability to make or sell video games.

Do you think Activision should be sued for having rights to the Marvel video games?

Aye, if this goes through it is going to set a precedent that is going to fuck up a lot of deals.

[Azrikam]

It's a little shocking to see gamers so hardline against competition. See, competition is good for consumers, and anti-competitive practices sometimes go too far and make it impossible for other companies to compete. That's bad.

A huge, successful lawsuit against EA would go a long way to allowing more real competition in the sports game market, which benefits the people who actually buy the games.

But, it seems like the average consumer these days would rather be a corporate cheerleader than fight for their own rights, or even support others who fight on their behalf. Doesn't leave me with a lot of hope for the games of the future.

[Caerim]

I hardly see EA's role as being anti-trust worthy. Take Two had every right to pay the licensing fees and passed on it.

Also, Take Two can still make a football game, they just can't make a football game based on the NFL rosters. There's a big difference.

Look at it this way, do you sue Microsoft for buying exclusive rights to Halo? or Sony for exclusive rights to MGS?

[Zanch Effect]

Oh wow...cry me a fucking river!

[Spigot]

If they hate EA so much, stop buying their yearly roster updates and try to convince a few friends.

[Boom Doc]

The thing that I don't get is the statements that Take two would do such a good job with the license. Yet when they release All Pro football people seemed to hate it. Let's face it if Take Two had the license we would have All Pro Football but with NFL teams and Players. The Game play would have been the same. The funny thing about this Lawsuit is that they specifically state the price differences, and it was the extremely low price point that made the NFL go exclusive. They felt that the low price point of the game compared to other games on the market devalued their franchise and felt that going exclusive would bring value back to the NFL name.

[Exodus]

Sounds like some solid logic there.
Listen kids MONEY makes the world go round. That's why you have to out CLASS your opposition not sue them because stupid shit like this isn't going to work unless you got the glove, the gun, the signed documents saying let's fuck people over.

Two gamers from australia are going to do as much as I do when I eat too much spicy food. Hot shit.

[Exodus]

Just on an added note..apparently the NFL APPROACHED EA with this deal saying hey if you give us this much money.. you can have exclusive rights.

Lawsuit over. If you're going to hate EA hate them for the right reasons. The fact that they make shitty games. Gamers starting lawsuits like this only make the rest of us look retarded and really kill our credibility for when we actually HAVE SOMETHING to bitch about.

[sol740]

I hate other gamers. Yes ... you too.

[GargantulaKon]

Madden 2009 looks to be a great improvement. I think EA is heading into the right direction in general.

[The_Reckoning]

Anti-competetive?

No shit. What do you expect? They want to make money. If I ran EA I'd have been annoyed that this wasn't done sooner.