Judge Certifies Class-Action Football Game Pricing Lawsuit Against EA

[Kramer5150]

Re: Judge Certifies Class-Action Football Game Pricing Lawsuit Against EA

It'll only hurt us, the gamers, for the next few years.

What in the heck would you call the last 6 installments?
I wouldn't say us "gamers" have benefited at ALL with exclusivity.

I know you're a big Madden supporter,and that's fine....but don't act like the Madden games up to this point have been "quality" titles,especially when compared to the other sports games available.

I'm not saying that this holds any water,BUT....ANY hope of exclusivity ending (imo) is the only way that us "gamers" will benefit.

I've all but given up on football video gaming,as I'm tired of hearing "next year" or "we didn't have time".

[TracerBullet]

Re: Judge Certifies Class-Action Football Game Pricing Lawsuit Against EA

Yes EA did go to them.
I have most posted a couple links in the past. A rep for EA admitted to that they tried to get the license several times and were turned down. So yes the NFL did offer it but only after turning EA down several times.

But the key point here is that the NFL turned them down. They then offered the license to everyone during the bidding process.

[HealyMonster]

Re: Judge Certifies Class-Action Football Game Pricing Lawsuit Against EA

I think at the end of the day, all of us in here want there to be more than 1 NFL video game. Is there anyone in here that doesn't want this? And I mean that seriously, its not rhetorical. Those of us that dont have any legal experience/knowledge are pretty much standing here looking at the case "hoping" something breaks and it can lead to the exclusive license becoming a thing of the past. Those of you with legal experience are probably right with most of your stuff, but also need to realize that the majority of us are not trying to just see a case go to court, or see EA get "defeated", we just want more options, so most of the arguments are simply people trying to hold onto their hope as opposed to really win a legal argument.

Me personally, I just dont like Madden. I played it the last couple years, its just not my thing. I want there to be Madden forever. I dont want to see Madden fail or anything of that nature, I just want to play another game for a change so I am hopeful that this case can make that happen regardless of how realistic it is or not, its the only thing going on now that gives me any hope.

[DivotMaker]

Re: Judge Certifies Class-Action Football Game Pricing Lawsuit Against EA

Had EA kept the price of Madden at 29.95 after gaining the license, or never moved it down from 49.95 in the first place, this lawsuit wouldn't have any legs; however, the fact remains that EA lowered their price to compete with 2k, eliminated 2k, and then returned Madden to it's original price.

Sorry, but I do not see it that way at all. EA lowered their price WILLINGLY to compete with 2K. They did so understanding they would be losing money to maintain market share. Both companies had an NFL license then, but none of us know how much each company paid for their licenses, so we do not know how much the price war impacted each company.

EA did not eliminate 2K, the NFL did. When EA outbid 2K, the reported numbers for the agreement were STAGGERING leading many to question openly how EA could recoup their licensing investment over the term of the contract. Of course EA raised their prices back to pre-price war pricing for the simple fact that they had to start recouping their investment for the new exclusive license. The way some make it sound, you would think EA not only raised prices back to previous levels, but tacked on another $20 to the price. How anyone can fault EA for bringing the pricing back to accepted levels (in line with other sports games and video games) is beyond me. I hope this lawsuit dies a very quick and painful death.

[DivotMaker]

Re: Judge Certifies Class-Action Football Game Pricing Lawsuit Against EA

Yes EA did go to them.
I have most posted a couple links in the past. A rep for EA admitted to that they tried to get the license several times and were turned down. So yes the NFL did offer it but only after turning EA down several times.

No they didn't. An "EA Rep" is not Peter Moore. I spoke with him about this when I met him at Tiburon earlier this year and he told me that the NFL approached both 2K and EA at the same time.

[Kramer5150]

Re: Judge Certifies Class-Action Football Game Pricing Lawsuit Against EA

No they didn't. An "EA Rep" is not Peter Moore. I spoke with him about this when I met him at Tiburon earlier this year and he told me that the NFL approached both 2K and EA at the same time.

I suggest you do a google search. It's no secret that EA DID lobby for the exclusive license before it was "official",and at that time they were turned down.

While I understand it takes "2 to tango" and while some while site the argument of "why does it matter" who went to whom first...the fact still remains that EA DID approach the NFL about exclusive rights.

Peter Moore wasn't even involved with EA at the time of all this. He didn't go to EA till 2007,while EA had lobbied for exclusiveness as early as 2004 or so.

[ODogg]

Re: Judge Certifies Class-Action Football Game Pricing Lawsuit Against EA

Yeah, there's no way of knowing whether 2005 was a one-off situation or the start of a new trend. All I can do is look at the preceding and following years and all I see is a game that was $50 both before and after 2005.

I mean, this is all hypothetical stuff, and I have no legal knowledge whatsoever. It just makes for some mildly interesting discussion.

Seriously? No way to know if it was the start of a trend? Does anyone, even the most anti-EA fan, really think that football games were going to be $20 from here on out if not for the exclusive deal????

[tabulaRasa]

Karma is a bitch huh? monopoly sucks

[SmashMan]

Re: Judge Certifies Class-Action Football Game Pricing Lawsuit Against EA

Seriously? No way to know if it was the start of a trend? Does anyone, even the most anti-EA fan, really think that football games were going to be $20 from here on out if not for the exclusive deal????

I don't think so, AT ALL, but I left it open-ended because we'll never know. As I also said though, there seems to be very little argument here against EA if even 2K was going to (and it seems they were) raise their prices the following year.

[spankdatazz22]

Re: Judge Certifies Class-Action Football Game Pricing Lawsuit Against EA

This would carry much more weight if 2K Sports sold NBA 2K11 and all of their other sports games for $19.99 since NFL2K5 was out but we all know that's not the case.

Not sure if anyone responded to your post, but ALL of 2K's sports titles were priced at $19.99 that year - I remember buying the college basketball game for a couple people as "thanks" for a favor they did. And EA lowered the price only on the sports titles that had a 2K Sports counterpart. FIFA, the golf game, etc. all remained at their release price

[King_B_Mack]

Re: Judge Certifies Class-Action Football Game Pricing Lawsuit Against EA

I don't think so, AT ALL, but I left it open-ended because we'll never know. As I also said though, there seems to be very little argument here against EA if even 2K was going to (and it seems they were) raise their prices the following year.

I could be very wrong, but I'm pretty sure NFL was 2Ks best selling game. Offering the games for the price they were offering them had to be a significant financial hit for them. Gaining ground on Madden and making a splash in market share of NFL football was worth the hit. Having lost the NFL game, exactly why would they continue taking the financial hit of those price points without they're best selling game in there to make the costs worth it?

[SmashMan]

Re: Judge Certifies Class-Action Football Game Pricing Lawsuit Against EA

I could be very wrong, but I'm pretty sure NFL was 2Ks best selling game. Offering the games for the price they were offering them had to be a significant financial hit for them. Gaining ground on Madden and making a splash in market share of NFL football was worth the hit. Having lost the NFL game, exactly why would they continue taking the financial hit of those price points without they're best selling game in there to make the costs worth it?

A fair point, but we can't forget that while it was a big seller for 2K, it still didn't come close to toppling Madden. As I said in an earlier post, I doubt they would've went to the standard $50 price tag; but I don't know that they could've sustained the budget price for very long.

I obviously don't know anything about their finances; it just doesn't seem like the smartest business move. The smart move would be what they did: Price your product cheaper than competitor to get people's attention and grab some impulse buys.

Of course the debate of whether or not it (the budget price) is a sustainable business model is an entirely different debate.

[Kaanyr Vhok]

Re: Judge Certifies Class-Action Football Game Pricing Lawsuit Against EA

A fair point, but we can't forget that while it was a big seller for 2K, it still didn't come close to toppling Madden. As I said in an earlier post, I doubt they would've went to the standard $50 price tag; but I don't know that they could've sustained the budget price for very long.

Of course the debate of whether or not it (the budget price) is a sustainable business model is an entirely different debate.

Seriously? No way to know if it was the start of a trend? Does anyone, even the most anti-EA fan, really think that football games were going to be $20 from here on out if not for the exclusive deal????

For the life of me I cant find the sales data on NFL 2k4 but I suspect it was down from 2k3 which sold about 1.5 million. 2k5 sold 3.5 million. Maybe it wouldn't have been 20 bucks. I doubt 2k6 would have been 20 bucks and I also doubt it would have been 50. Its more than reasonable to assume that NFL 2k and Madden would have been in a price war that would have kept the cost of both games under standard.

But the key point here is that the NFL turned them down. They then offered the license to everyone during the bidding process.

No they didn't. An "EA Rep" is not Peter Moore. I spoke with him about this when I met him at Tiburon earlier this year and he told me that the NFL approached both 2K and EA at the same time.

http://sports.ign.com/articles/572/572886p1.html

When the NFL made their move they knew who was going to pay. A simple analogy would be if I went to you and asked to buy your prize motorcycle and you turned me down twice. By putting it up to bid I would know how much you are going to pay and that I can probably get you to pay more. Exact same thing happened with EA and the NFL.

They knew EA was going to pay a ridiculous sum far more than Sega could afford and believe me if Sony or Microsoft would have made a move they would have made a one year big payout deal because Madden was too popular. It would have been a PR hit to Sony, MS and the NFL. This was an NFL EA deal from the start to finish. Offering it to bid was more of formality than anything. It was half a billion dollars. EA then went to secure college football and even arena football. If you think anyone else had a chance you are beyond naive. I got a sky scrapper sized statue of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man for 20 grand on craigslist.

[ODogg]

Re: Judge Certifies Class-Action Football Game Pricing Lawsuit Against EA

The wealthiest company typically does win a bidding war, yes that's unfair, not illegal..oh yeah and that's business.. With that being said if anyone really thinks if the exclusive agreement hadn't happened that 2K would have kept charging $19.99 each year for their football game then they are the naive ones. That was just a way to get the game out there to get people to try it, it was not a new pricing standard for football games.

[tlc12576]

Re: Judge Certifies Class-Action Football Game Pricing Lawsuit Against EA

The wealthiest company typically does win a bidding war, yes that's unfair, not illegal..oh yeah and that's business.. With that being said if anyone really thinks if the exclusive agreement hadn't happened that 2K would have kept charging $19.99 each year for their football game then they are the naive ones. That was just a way to get the game out there to get people to try it, it was not a new pricing standard for football games.

ODogg, 2k keeping the price at $19.99 or not really doesn't matter that much. What is important is that whatever 2k would have set the price at EA would probably follow a similar path to compete.

Since EA already demonstrated the price of NFL 2k effected their selling price for Madden, it is a compelling argument. Even if NFL 2k6 would have been priced at $52.99 on 360 and PS3, that's potentially $7 per game EA might of loss and consumers saved, from lowering Madden to compete.

Probably the biggest argument being made is, since EA could afford to sell Madden for such a low price in 2004, that now even without competition, $59.99 is too high a price point. The other games that are being sold are not relevant because there is not a similar instance of price being lowered and than raised back after competition was eliminated.

I even go as far to say that how or why the competition was eliminated isn't central to this case either. Look at NBA 2k and NBA Live, if last year, NBA Live 10 would have sold for $29.99 and NBA 2k 10 lowered their price to compete. Then, after EA announced they were not releasing a NBA game this year, NBA 2k 11 was priced back up, I think the same claim could be made in that situation.

By lowering the price of Madden so drastically due to competition, EA might have unintentionally showed that its' suggested retail price is not fair market value. So even though it makes sense that NFL 2k wouldn't have stayed that cheap, the bigger point being made in this case is, what actually is fair market value for a NFL game.