Has EA Monopolized Football Gaming?

***wraggster*** · February 18th, 2009, 21:38

Last June, a pair of gamers, Geoffrey Pecover of Washington, D.C. and Jeffrey Lawrence of California, filed a class-action lawsuit claiming that Electronic Arts' exclusive licensing agreements with the NFL, NFLPA, Arena Football League and NCAA has created a monopoly on football videogames and directly led to the game publisher raising the price of its extremely popular Madden NFL franchise.

The plaintiffs' case is stated clearly in the introduction to its claim, which was filed on June 5, 2008:

"This suit arises out of the blatantly anticompetitive conduct of Electronic Arts Inc., a multi-billion dollar interactive entertainment software company that produces numerous interactive football software products including Madden NFL, NCAA Football and Arena Football titles. Through an unlawful and anticompetitive series of exclusive agreements with the National Football League, the NFL Players Union, Arena Football League and the National Collegiate Athletic Association ("NCAA"), Electronic Arts has driven its competition out of the market for interactive football software, including most significantly Take Two Interactive Software, Inc., the maker of the interactive football software title NFL 2K5 and has prevented additional competitors from entering the market. As a direct result of this anticompetitive conduct, the price of interactive football software has soared: Prior to signing the exclusive agreements referred to above, Electronic Arts charged $29.95 for its flagship product Madden NFL. Immediately after the exclusive agreements entered into effect – and the effective withdrawal of its only competitor from the market – Electronic Arts increased its price for that software nearly seventy percent to $49.99."

Lawyers for both sides of the case made their arguments before Judge Vaughn Walker on Nov. 4, 2008, and the transcript of those arguments have just been released. In reading through the 48-page document it becomes apparent that Walker was somewhat receptive to the argument put forth by Pecover's representation, attorney Stuart Paynter.

Paynter argued that the exclusive licensing agreements EA entered into with the NFL, NFLPA, AFL and NCAA make it impossible for other game publishers to compete in the arena of football videogames and allowed EA to both raise its prices for its products and, at the same time, to invest less in the quality of those products, ultimately at the expense of the consumer.

Attorney Daniel Wall, who represents EA, argued that his client had every right to bid on the exclusive licenses being offered by the four organizations, and that there is nothing unlawful about EA having made the best bids on those licenses.

The next phase of the class is a class certification hearing is scheduled for June 10. Jury selection is scheduled for Sept. 9, and a trial date is set for Sept. 14 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/955/955011p1.html

**apex05** · February 18th, 2009, 21:54

I know in Britain Sky had to reduce it's tv rights deals for football because they were gaining a monopoly, so a certain amount of games were offered to other broadcasters, this will probably never happen with games because they are just seen as merchandise

**JDvorak** · February 19th, 2009, 16:24

I hope EA bites the dust on this one. It is true that no one will buy a game without the licensed teams. And yes they really have raised the price for a lower quality product!