ESPN: More College Properties Might Not Licensing to EA

[TCFClemson]

Quote: Originally Posted by BadAssHskr

my curiosity lies with the average gamer. the guys on facebook and twitter, the average people making up the masses, the casual fan. how aware of the situation at hand are they? i just wonder how wide spread this case actually is, and what the overall feeling is. i know what we think on OS, but we are what, 1%?

OS is def the 1% but a good number of my friends have been following this story.

[Clemsonpanther]

Like if you agree that OBannon is a total jerk.

[LastExit]

Quote: Originally Posted by kehlis

Up until last year players were modeled pretty much exactly to the player they were meant to mirror. It wasn't just a number and a team that provoked this lawsuit.

Well, I meant an actual physical likeness as O'Bannon is claiming. I know they were accurate in the roster description but as far as the actual animated character they are pretty generic. I guess it all depends on how the jury finds the "hey, that's me" argument but I think given the circumstances O'Bannon and the others have a good case. EA will be able to show some randomness that didn't match reality (WVU's Tayvon Austin, for example, had dreadlocks in the game while in real life he didn't) so there's some hope for them at least.

[kehlis]

Quote: Originally Posted by LastExit

Well, I meant an actual physical likeness as O'Bannon is claiming. I know they were accurate in the roster description but as far as the actual animated character they are pretty generic. I guess it all depends on how the jury finds the "hey, that's me" argument but I think given the circumstances O'Bannon and the others have a good case. EA will be able to show some randomness that didn't match reality (WVU's Tayvon Austin, for example, had dreadlocks in the game while in real life he didn't) so there's some hope for them at least.

You are thinking too recent.

In OBannons time frame physical likeness aside from height and weight were all pretty generic. The case is pretty shut and closed. It's clear they were using his likeness in their games.

[LastExit]

Quote: Originally Posted by jsr862

Next years game should start by getting rid of some things already, some fans will be upset but in the long run it will be worth it if it is the last game. example: Conference patches on uniforms, a small detail that needs to be erased. So IF it is the last game we can continue on playing the version without having a team move form one conference to another and still having the old patch for years and years. Or make it like the fields where the patch changes. They have to think to the future for this game just not that year.

Agreed. Going forward they are going to have to go create random rosters and maybe include a disclaimer similar to the one you see in the credits of movies - "All characters in this product are fictitious. Any similarities to real-life persons are purely coincidental." In the end that may not be enough, but it could calm the fears of the schools out there who are on the fence about continuing to be a part of the game.

Losing rosters that are accurate would be a big loss but it is the lesser of two evils - losing a slew of schools and having to go back to the "University Park" days with generic uniforms and stadiums would be the end of the game.

[LastExit]

Quote: Originally Posted by kehlis

You are thinking too recent. In OBannons time frame physical likeness aside from height and weight were all pretty generic. The case is pretty shut and closed. It's clear they were using his likeness in their games.

Correct - I'm just thinking of the football series and how it stands today. O'Bannon will probably win his side of the lawsuit but if it becomes a class action suit I don't know how successful they will be with today's game.

[12]

Quote: Originally Posted by Big FN Deal

I'm sure this sentiment has been expressed by others, I don't fell sorry for EA one bit, this is chickens coming home to roost. I feel bad for collegiate gamers but think any ire should be directed towards EA, not the plantiffs. EA knew good and well it's wasn't allowed to use real player likenesses, yet they did it anyway, for years, in the pursuit of more profit. All they had to do was follow the rules, use the real team logos, stadiums, etc and randomize the actually players, with the ability for the community to make rosters. Instead they have backroom memos about using player likenesses and now it appears to have caught up with them. It's amazing to me how some consumers will defend dishonest business practices when it results in giving them something they want. Whether you agree with the rule or not about using player likeness is a separate issue, the fact is EA was NOT supposed to do it but they clearly did anyway.

I agree with this completely.

When the first grumblings of a lawsuit were being reported, many of us begged for EA to kill the player likeness they obviously were using. Roster editing made it so that they didn't have to do it because accurate rosters could still be achieved.

But they kept pushing the envelope.

The blame falls on EA and EA alone.

[12]

Quote: Originally Posted by Clemsonpanther

Like if you agree that OBannon is a total jerk.

Whose to say that you wouldn't do the exact same thing?