Is there a lawyer in the house?

[yamabushi]

I think Ill let Avery Brooks make a statement about this thread.
Avery, take it away.............

[Ghettoshark]

Actually, 2K isn't barred from making a football game with real players and stats, sort of like Tecmo Bowl. A federal court sided with an online fantasy league after MLB refused to let them use the player's names and stats (which is why CBS fantasy college football will finally have players names as well).

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20060808/1850214.shtml

I'll assume that means that 2K could legally create a generic football game with real NFL players. That could be a huge blow to EA.

[bkrich83]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ghettoshark

Actually, 2K isn't barred from making a football game with real players and stats, sort of like Tecmo Bowl. A federal court sided with an online fantasy league after MLB refused to let them use the player's names and stats (which is why CBS fantasy college football will finally have players names as well). http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20060808/1850214.shtml I'll assume that means that 2K could legally create a generic football game with real NFL players. That could be a huge blow to EA.

I believe there's a difference between real players in a fantasy league and using their actual likeness in a video game like 2k. But Aaron being the lawyer would have to answer that for sure.

I have also read in a few places that this kind of stuff sort of falls i to a grey area that is open for interpretation but again, I'll leave that to the attorneys to explain.

[jorge27x]

Quote: Originally Posted by daflyboys

Don't quit your day job..... oh, wait, that's right.... you have to have one first.

yeah this coming from a guy who's made 5 thousand posts. go back to mvp mods. oh wait, no one can stand you over there either.

anyway, back on topic: i think to sum this all up EA wont really care what we have to say about this. Only when enough people get fed up and stop buying the game will they be compelled to change. Its all about the money. Always has been, always will. Look at how the NFL has yet to put a team in L.A. They use the threat of moving a team there so they can use that leverage against current NFL cities to coerce them into buying new stadiums. Who makes out? The NFL. The money those stadiums generate goes to the owners and the crooked politicians who allow it. I'm seriously hoping a new football league finally gets off the ground. I bet people would be interested. The NFL has priced the average fan out with their Personal Seat Licenses and all that crap. I hope Arlen Specter goes through with it and gets the NFL's anti-trust exemption revoked.

[jorge27x]

sorry couldnt resist. found this on www.profootballtalk.com

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by ofdman

It doesn't matter if EA's Madden is better this year or if it's going to be THE BEST FOOTBALL EVER next year but rather the PRINCIPLE behind FAIR COMPETITION between companies. I don't understand how ANYone can try and defend EA in this debacle. HOW? I mean, no matter what you say, it is BAD FOR US! THE GAMERS! WE are the ones who get the short end of the stick here. The more gaming companies that produce an NFL licensed gamer the better for us. It's just the nature of competition that breeds better quality from this. How can people NOT understand this? I see it all the time. Gamers TRYING to defend EA by using this nonsense about how it was the NFL that approached EA and say things like "Well, if you were EA wouldn't you have done the same thing?" and crap like that. WTF? For one, we DO NOT KNOW that this was the case. I mean, WE DON'T! We can only go by what we have READ which may or may NOT be true. Next, if the NFL was mad at 2K for lowering their price then WHY would they give them a shot at buying the license? And that's another thing, the NFL would have KNOWN that EA has a hell of a lot more money than 2K and IF they DID give 2K a chance then it was done so just to be able to say "Hey, we were fair. We gave 2K the equal shot at buying the license" yeah RIGHT! The deal was a DISASTER for us gamers. How is having Madden 09 the ONLY choice BETTER than having Madden 09 AND NFL 2K 09 as an option? HOW?!?! When you buy a car isn't it nice to have the OPTION of WHICH manufacturer of car you're going to go with? And what color? People who stick up for EA in this matter of the license agreement deal are either out of their minds or... man...I don't know. I can't wrap my brain around people who seemingly don't WANT a choice when it comes to buying their yearly football game. Why not? If you prefer Madden the GREAT! That's FANTASTIC! But the point is that not everyone feels this way and it is the principle of the matter that is important. As long as EA has ZERO competition the we as video gamers are going to pay the price. There is no two ways about it. EA and the NFL killed fair competition and this is THE MOST horrible thing that has ever occurred in the history of gaming. IMO anyways. Can you just imagine how awesome it would be to walk into Game Stop and pick up NFL 2K 09?! I KNOW it would have been an amazing game AND I would be willing to bet that Madden 09 would have been a LOT btter as well since they would be COMPETING with someone for our money!

Please, tell me in my post where I said it was bad to have competition? So, you have your opinion and it's suddenly all fact? I don't think it really matters at this stage how it went down or what went behind the scenes. There isn't much the consumer can do about it except to not purchase Madden and keep playing 2k5.

It's unfortunate on the gamers end there isn't competition.

One of the reasons I purchase Madden each year is because my son enjoys it and enjoys playing against dad. Also, I purchased the CE version this year and I'm having a blast with Head Coach. I hope that is ok with you.

[aholbert32]

Quote: Originally Posted by bkrich83

I believe there's a difference between real players in a fantasy league and using their actual likeness in a video game like 2k. But Aaron being the lawyer would have to answer that for sure. I have also read in a few places that this kind of stuff sort of falls i to a grey area that is open for interpretation but again, I'll leave that to the attorneys to explain.

Exactly. FF doesnt use their likeness...just the players names. While the NFL wouldnt have much of a case, I could see the NFLPA or every NFL player filing a suit against 2k.

[ESPN NFL 2K5 Football]

Here is a large online petition, add your name if you like, while it probably wont do a thing, it cant hurt. I signed it.

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_pe...d.cgi?nfleacon