EA 101: Competition Breeds Excellence – Anticompetitive Conduct Breeds Lawsuits
Even John Madden knows that competition is a good thing
Are you regretting your purchase of Madden 2005? 2006? Or maybe even 2007? Well, thanks to two sue happy gamers, you may be able to seek retribution from EA.
A class-action lawsuit has been filed in the US District Court of Northern California against EA, the publisher of the Madden titles, in which the company’s actions are being touted as “blatantly anticompetitive”.
In addition to refunds being issued to any and all dissatisfied customers who purchased a Madden title after 2005, the suit seeks to have EA relinquish all profits obtained via their exclusive deals, and put an abrupt end to all of their current exclusive licensing contracts.
EA obtained their exclusive NFL license after the release of ESPN 2K5, and much to the disappointment of fans of 2K football, most recently took steps to successfully renew the deal with the NFL. My fingers are crossed, but I won’t be holding my breath just yet.
Source: shacknews.com
