+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 48
  1. #1
    Hydra
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    123
    BG Level
    3
    FFXI Server
    Quetzalcoatl

    The Madden Monopoly - EA dun goof'd

    Spoiler'd for fucking enormous.

    Spoiler: show


    tl;dr:
    EA getting class-action sued for having a monopoly on football sim games. Current proposed settlement is $27m, with $9m going to lawyers and $2m for fees.

    Valid claims for the purchase of Madden NFL, NCAA Football, or Arena Football videogames for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, PC, or GameCube platforms (“Sixth Generation Purchasers”) will be valued at $6.79 per new game purchased, up to a total of eight units ($54.32).

    Valid claims for the purchase of Madden NFL or NCAA Football videogames for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or Wii platforms (“Seventh Generation Purchasers”) will be valued at $1.95 per new game purchased, up to a total of eight units ($15.60).
    Anyone else get this email or know anything else about it?

    Edit: Apparently I missed the thread on this; search came back negative. Either way, looks like this is moving forward. Who's gonna claim their settlement money? Should be enough to pay for a cup of coffee next time you're out and about.

  2. #2
    D. Ring
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Posts
    4,855
    BG Level
    7
    FFXI Server
    Ragnarok
    WoW Realm
    Nazjatar

    this has always been so full of shit from people not in the industry. price didnt get to 59.99 because they had a monopoly. it went that cause 360/ps3 games arent 49.99 like ps2 games were. nfl only wants one game, there will only ever be one game.

  3. #3
    blax n gunz
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Posts
    11,161
    BG Level
    9

    Quote Originally Posted by Hyuudo View Post
    Current proposed settlement is $27m, with $9m going to lawyers and $2m for fees.
    Drop in the fucking bucket. What a joke.

  4. #4
    You wouldn't know that though because you've demonstrably never picked up a book nor educated yourself on the matter. Let me guess, overweight housewife?
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    22,966
    BG Level
    10
    FFXIV Character
    Allyra Arianos
    FFXIV Server
    Sargatanas
    WoW Realm
    Windrunner

    Quote Originally Posted by izembo View Post
    this has always been so full of shit from people not in the industry. price didnt get to 59.99 because they had a monopoly. it went that cause 360/ps3 games arent 49.99 like ps2 games were. nfl only wants one game, there will only ever be one game.
    Ya I never understood people bitching about the cost of current video games. Fuck, Snes games often cost $60 back in the day (I still remember my mom raging about that when she got my the Lion King for my bday lmao). Honestly, the fact they've remained pretty consistent in price is something to be happy about.

  5. #5
    blax n gunz
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Posts
    11,161
    BG Level
    9

    Quote Originally Posted by izembo View Post
    this has always been so full of shit from people not in the industry. price didnt get to 59.99 because they had a monopoly. it went that cause 360/ps3 games arent 49.99 like ps2 games were. nfl only wants one game, there will only ever be one game.
    The monopoly is still bad for the genre, the publisher and the customer, regardless of the price point. EA, without competition, has almost no incentive to make a better game every year if they can continue to sucker 5-6 million people a year to subscribe to their $60/annum roster updates.

  6. #6
    Everybody's Favourite Nobody
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Posts
    3,199
    BG Level
    7
    FFXI Server
    Lakshmi

    Videogames seem to cost less now than they used to. Neo-Geo cost an arm and a leg back in the day, and I remember my Dad telling me that Legend of Zelda, Super Mario 3, Startropics, all ran him $90 a piece back when I was a baby. So both nominally and realistically, it looks like games cost less than before.

    Even so, I think the argument being made is that because EA has such a strong presence in the sports genre, it is a kind of monopoly, because they sign exclusivity deals with all the major sports brands. I don't know how strong the argument is, but I'm always in favour of giving EA another 'fuck you'.

  7. #7
    The Defense is ready, Your Honor
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    20,325
    BG Level
    10
    FFXIV Character
    Lord Longhaft
    FFXIV Server
    Gilgamesh
    FFXI Server
    Cerberus
    WoW Realm
    Mug'thol

    Quote Originally Posted by Ksandra View Post
    Ya I never understood people bitching about the cost of current video games. Fuck, Snes games often cost $60 back in the day (I still remember my mom raging about that when she got my the Lion King for my bday lmao). Honestly, the fact they've remained pretty consistent in price is something to be happy about.
    pretty sure I paid more than that for FFVI when it came out. Shit, lets not even talk about games from other systemslie 3DO and jaguar.

  8. #8
    You wouldn't know that though because you've demonstrably never picked up a book nor educated yourself on the matter. Let me guess, overweight housewife?
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    22,966
    BG Level
    10
    FFXIV Character
    Allyra Arianos
    FFXIV Server
    Sargatanas
    WoW Realm
    Windrunner

    Quote Originally Posted by Metah View Post
    Videogames seem to cost less now than they used to. Neo-Geo cost an arm and a leg back in the day, and I remember my Dad telling me that Legend of Zelda, Super Mario 3, Startropics, all ran him $90 a piece back when I was a baby. So both nominally and realistically, it looks like games cost less than before.

    Even so, I think the argument being made is that because EA has such a strong presence in the sports genre, it is a kind of monopoly, because they sign exclusivity deals with all the major sports brands. I don't know how strong the argument is, but I'm always in favour of giving EA another 'fuck you'.
    ya I didn't mean EA in particular, though I have heard people bitch about their costs for the sports games. Just in general, I always found the "cost of video games" to be a bad argument in current conversations. EA in general can suck a dick imo.

    HOWEVER, there is that point too, that this isn't just about EA. As izembo said (can't verify but I've heard it before) this also has to do with the nfl not wanting competing games.

    Kinda makes sense in a way. I am sure sports players don't want to be showing up for those rigging sessions for 34059834536 games every year.

  9. #9
    blax n gunz
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Posts
    11,161
    BG Level
    9

    Quote Originally Posted by Ksandra View Post
    As izembo said (can't verify but I've heard it before) this also has to do with the nfl not wanting competing games.
    It's a very bad decision both by the league and EA to continue with the exclusivity. The sales numbers alone should tell them that.

  10. #10
    BG Content
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    62,816
    BG Level
    10
    FFXIV Character
    Six Souls
    FFXIV Server
    Gilgamesh
    FFXI Server
    Quetzalcoatl
    WoW Realm
    Malorne
    Blog Entries
    9

    Quote Originally Posted by Metah View Post
    Videogames seem to cost less now than they used to. Neo-Geo cost an arm and a leg back in the day, and I remember my Dad telling me that Legend of Zelda, Super Mario 3, Startropics, all ran him $90 a piece back when I was a baby. So both nominally and realistically, it looks like games cost less than before.
    NEO GEO was a special case. They were basically mini arcade boards the size a little bigger than a VHS tape, they cost $125~ if anyone is curious. NES games were $50~.

  11. #11
    Ridill
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    10,862
    BG Level
    9
    FFXI Server
    Shiva
    WoW Realm
    Azuremyst

    Man i remember paying $90 for UMK3 at Target when I was a kid. Crazy now that I think about it.

  12. #12
    blax n gunz
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Posts
    11,161
    BG Level
    9

    Quote Originally Posted by 6souls View Post
    NEO GEO was a special case. They were basically mini arcade boards the size a little bigger than a VHS tape, they cost $125~ if anyone is curious. NES games were $50~.
    Also, a large part of the cost was the chips/boards used in the game's manufacture. Particularly during the 16-bit era, lots of custom chips, batteries and save game memory got soldered onto the game boards to add features, driving the costs up considerably.

    So yeah, apples to oranges there.

  13. #13
    They call me Lord Null for a reason.
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Posts
    6,518
    BG Level
    8

    Quote Originally Posted by izembo View Post
    this has always been so full of shit from people not in the industry. price didnt get to 59.99 because they had a monopoly. it went that cause 360/ps3 games arent 49.99 like ps2 games were. nfl only wants one game, there will only ever be one game.
    Before the latest release they had already announced that other companies will be able to make NFL games in 2014.

  14. #14
    They're just like us
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Posts
    4,012
    BG Level
    7
    FFXI Server
    Asura

    Madden et al are a bad thing because they have a lock down on everything from the team logo's/names to the players themselves.

    To make a football game today you'd have to make it completely independent of anything related to professional sports, and even then you'd still likely get sued over software patents or something stupid. All the while there is no incentive for EA to produce anything of quality.

  15. #15
    Annihilation Banwave
    sprout sprout sprout
    2031 No.1 Draft Pick
    Pittsburgh Penguins

    Sweaty Dick Punching Enthusiast

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    19,882
    BG Level
    9
    FFXI Server
    Bismarck

    I still have my Neo Geo cartridge system. Never getting rid of it either!!

  16. #16
    23 years old
    Rating: total douchebag

    Join Date
    May 2005
    Posts
    8,407
    BG Level
    8

    Cashing in on this class-action. The 70 bucks will go well toward buying the next madden.

  17. #17
    Ninja Ninja
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Posts
    5,673
    BG Level
    8
    FFXIV Character
    Noemi Rondain
    FFXIV Server
    Gilgamesh
    FFXI Server
    Phoenix

    I think the real question is "Who cares?" how many different handegg games do there need to be? Madden and NFL Blitz pretty much covers everything you would want to do with the game outside of making a game for the Lingerie Football League. Actually... someone should probably contact the DoA team for that one...

  18. #18
    Yoshi P
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Posts
    5,161
    BG Level
    8
    FFXIV Character
    Fitz Everleigh
    FFXIV Server
    Excalibur
    FFXI Server
    Valefor

    It's not that people are yearning for five different NFL games, it has more to do when not having to compete EA doesn't have to strive for better quality. Look no further than NBA 2k series vs NBA Live. EA has cancelled two of the Live games because "they weren't satisfactory", one of which was cancelled after it was ready to ship. Without the 2k series we probably would have received both games. This has also been highlighted by the fact that EA recently released FIFA '13 on the Wii, but in actuality it was a rerelease of FIFA '12 only slightly tweaked. We don't necessarily want several NFL games as consumers, but without competition we've seen what EA will do and it's not good for anyone but themselves.

  19. #19

    Quote Originally Posted by Correction View Post
    Also, a large part of the cost was the chips/boards used in the game's manufacture. Particularly during the 16-bit era, lots of custom chips, batteries and save game memory got soldered onto the game boards to add features, driving the costs up considerably.

    So yeah, apples to oranges there.
    Was gonna basically say this, but inversely, what it takes to make a game now is also more expensive than then, so some price increase to discs is expected. The real killer, though, is retail markup. Figure they want double what they pay for, so companies are only getting half what we pay.

  20. #20
    blax n gunz
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Posts
    11,161
    BG Level
    9

    Quote Originally Posted by arus2001 View Post
    Was gonna basically say this, but inversely, what it takes to make a game now is also more expensive than then, so some price increase to discs is expected. The real killer, though, is retail markup. Figure they want double what they pay for, so companies are only getting half what we pay.
    Annualized franchies save a ton of those development costs though. It's not like the art/sound assets have to be rebuilt from scratch.

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 26
    Last Post: 2011-09-27, 02:48
  2. Class Action Lawsuit vs. EA (Madden NFL, ect.)
    By Kaiseran in forum Gaming Discussion
    Replies: 19
    Last Post: 2011-04-08, 07:16