We have heard over the past year or so that EA has been under some heat for their foorball titles. Most of the suits come with the issue of EA holding all the rights to sporting leagues like the; NFL, NCAA, AFL. Some see this as a monopoly that doesn’t allow competition from other developers. Today I received an email about another class action lawsuit against EA, coming out of California.

The class action lawsuit alleges violations of California’s antitrust and consumer protection laws in connection with the sale of certain football video games. Plaintiffs, purchasers of Electronic Arts’ football video games, claim that Defendant Electronic Arts entered into a series of exclusive licenses with the National Football League (NFL), National Football League Players’ Association (NFLPA), National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), and Arena Football League (AFL), which Plaintiffs claim foreclosed competition in an alleged football video game market. Plaintiffs allege that this series of exclusive licenses caused customers who purchased certain football video games to be overcharged.
Defendant Electronic Arts has denied any liability and all allegations of misconduct. The Court has not decided whether the Defendants did anything wrong, and this Notice is not an expression of any opinion by the Court about the merits of any of the claims or defenses asserted by any party to this litigation.
I don’t know if anyone remembers a game, from way back when, called NFL 2k? In a lot of people opinions NFL 2k was a better football simulation the Madden…oh did I mention it cost $10 less? After EA signed a exclusive licensing agreement with the NFL; NFL 2k was no more.