The high-profile court case against EA Sport's "monopoly" in the NFL market took an interesting turn this week, with an economist brought in to show how much the demise of 2K's competing NFL franchise has cost sports gamers.

Despite admitting his report is based on incomplete data, University of Michigan economics professor Dr. Jeffrey Mackie-Mason has told the the U.S. District Court in San Francisco that EA's domination of the NFL video games market has cost gamers between $701 million and $926 million since 2K's NFL2K series was blocked from competing with EA.
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EA had previously requested that Judge Vaughn Walker dismiss claims by Geoffrey Pecover and Jeffrey Lawrence. The two Madden buyers, serving as named plaintiffs in the class-action suit, alleged that by eliminating competition for NFL-licensed games EA had acted in a monopolistic fashion and unjustly enriched itself at the expense of consumers. On Friday Judge Walker issued a ruling denying EA's motion. The Judge did, however, rule that only claims in California and Washington, D.C. would go forward since that is where the two named plaintiffs in the case reside.
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His days of calling NFL games on T.V. may be over, but John Madden's retirement might not be as idyllic as he had hoped.

According to a report on former Oakland Raiders lineman Dave Pear's Blog, NFL retirees are planning to go after Madden and Electronic Arts, publisher of the best-selling pro football game which bears the former coach's name.
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GamePolitics writes: "I've been complaining (some might say whining) since 2005 that EA's exclusive arrangement with the NFL is, at best, a bad deal for gamers.

At worst, it's a monopoly.

Ultimately, the Federal Trade Commission, looked at the Madden issue in relation to EA's merger dance with Take-Two Interactive. But, inasmuch as the FTC pre-approved the EA-T2 deal, its regulators apparently came down against the monopoly view."
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Sports video games are a huge business -- and for many years, it was an extremely competitive space. I remember a few years back trying to wade through half a dozen different baseball video game titles to figure out which one was worth buying. However, a few years back, video game giant EA started signing "exclusive" deals with a variety of sporting leagues, including the NFL. These "exclusive" deals supposedly meant that only EA could produce games with the names and stats of real players -- a huge selling point among most fans. And, of course, in gaining exclusivity, EA has completely cashed in. However, a bunch of angry video gamers are now suing the company for anticompetitive conduct, noting that these exclusive deals killed off all the competition, allowing EA to drastically raise its prices.
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Next-Gen.Biz writes: "The NPD Group has revealed the top 10 selling games of all time in the U.S. market.

Forbes reported earlier this week NPD Group's up-to-date top ten U.S. videogame sales figures by units, revealing a list dominated by the Grand Theft Auto and Madden NFL franchises.

As seen below, GTA: San Andreas from 2004 is the top-selling game in the U.S. with 9.43 million units sold. The franchise shows up on the top 10 three times, while Madden appears four times.

Activision had two 2007 titles already break the top 10 (Guitar Hero III and Call of Duty 4), while EA had one 2007 title on the list in the form of Madden NFL 08."
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Dimorphic360 writes:

"It seems that Australia once again is getting shafted when it comes to limited edition releases of games. First Mass Effect and Devil May Cry 4 were given cut down limited edtion releases (in the case of Mass Effect we only got a small pre-order bonus) and the limited edition bundle of EA Sports Madden franchise looks like the next in line..."
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GotFrag.com Madden will release the second edition of its Madden Top 50 on March 1, 2008. In last year's top 50, Eric "Problem" Wright ranked in at No. 1 and that is not expected to change as he recently took this year's Player's Bowl in Philadelphia. However, with strong performances from Dan "Truth Brown, Big Game James and other lower ranked Madden players, how will that shift the rankings?
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Madden NFL 08 has passed the 2 million mark in sales and becomes the 12th Xbox 360 game to do so, increasing the consoles lead over its competitors.

The Nintendo Wii currently has 9 games that have sold over 2 million, while Sony's PS3 sits a distant 3rd with only 4, and only 2 non-bundled.
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Eric "Problem" Wright didn't skip a beat from his Madden Challenge title only months ago as he defeated Big Game James Saturday in the XBox 360 portion of the Player's Bowl.
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Full details on the last roster update for Madden 08 (360, PS3) set to come out today includes all changes to ratings, weapons, transactions, contracts, and all injured players being removed from IR.
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Ripten's Chad Lakkis writes:

"We received a press release today from Electronic Arts, announcing their official prediction for this years Super Bowl, featuring the 18-0 New England Patriots and the New York Football Giants.

Lead by quarterback Eli Manning, the surging Giants aim to end the Patriots quest for a perfect 19-0 season, and take home the Lombardi Trophy in the process. However, Tom "Terrific" Brady and his talented squad of receivers see a different outcome."
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Full list of changes within the latest Madden 08 roster update which was released today for the 360 and PS3. Includes ratings up/down, weapons added/lost, and transactions.
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Want to prove you know the NFL? Want to win a copy of Madden NFL 08? Now is your chance to do them both and participate in our growing Madden NFL page!
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To kick off the weekend, Xbox LIVE will host Game with Fame sessions allowing Xbox LIVE Gold members to sign into Xbox LIVE at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 31, and score an opportunity to chat and play "Madden NFL 08" against NFL star Patrick Willis of the San Francisco 49ers. They can also sign into Xbox LIVE that evening to chat and play "NFL Tour" cover athlete and NFL star Shawne Merriman of the San Diego Chargers. NFL players will participate in the Game with Fame from Arizona just hours before they try to win the Madden Bowl XIV and claim yearlong bragging rights among their football-playing brethren. Those interested in competing with Willis and Merriman should send a friend request to the Xbox LIVE Gamertags WillisGwF and MerrimanGwF.
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GotFrag is proud to bring you the first and only official tournament listing for Madden NFL. Below is information for major and minor tournaments for Madden, separated by region. This page will be updated as new tournaments are announced.
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Game Time Philly Ballers Club, the host organization for the annual Player's Bowl, announced on their web site the top 25 Madden gamers coming in to the tournament on Feb. 16 at the Philadelphia Convention Center. Problem topped the chart with Chow in second. Surprisingly, GTP voted for their local boy, Young Nephew in at No. 3.
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The Hollywood Reporter, by Kimberly Nordyke on Jan 16, 2008:

Gameplay HD, Rainbow Media's high-definition channel that focuses on video gaming, said Tuesday that it has teamed with Electronic Arts to create a new TV series featuring the 2007 EA Sports Madden Challenge, which took place Dec. 12-13 at Universal Studios.

The six-part series -- which premieres Feb. 2, the day before the Super Bowl -- kicks off at 1 p.m. EST with an hourlong preshow introducing each of the 24 tournament finalists, including how they qualified with regional title wins playing "Madden NFL 08."

New half-hour episodes will continue to air at 1 p.m. EST Saturdays, covering the rounds of the tournament. Episodes also will feature gamer portraits, segments on the Madden video game culture and characters and the strategic plans of all the finalists as they prepare for competition.

Gameplay HD, which is one of Rainbow's Voom HD Networks, also is producing a special hourlong episode focusing on the tournament's semifinal and final rounds.

The winner of the single-elimination, bracket-style tournament takes home cash and prizes totaling $100,000.
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Full list of changes in the latest roster update for PS3 and 360 Madden 08. Includes all transactions, weapon changes, ratings changes, injuries, and contract extensions.
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Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey picks what he believes will be the biggest sellers of 2008.
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