EA sued over football exclusivity
Hit with a lawsuit for its "blatantly anticompetitive conduct"
Electronic Arts has been hit with a lawsuit for what the plaintiffs describe as the publisher's "blatantly anticompetitive conduct" in the football gaming genre.
According to theSan Jose Business Journal, EA's move to tie up exclusive licenses with US football associations for games based on the sport is at the heart of the case.
The plaintiffs point out that competition from rival publisher Take-Two, which sold more than two million copies of NFL 2K5 at a $19.99 price point, saw EA slash the price of Madden 2005 from $49.95 to $29.95, creating healthy competition that benefited consumers.
"Electronic Arts could have continued to compete by offering a lower price and/or a higher quality product," the suit said. "Instead, Electronic Arts quickly entered into a series of exclusive agreements with the only viable sports football associations in the United States: the National Football League, the Arena Football League, and NCAA Football."
With no competitor on the market following the signing of exclusivity deals, EA's Madden 2006 was released with a price point of $49.95, up almost 70 percent on the previous iteration's selling price.
The plaintiffs have requested a class action and want restitution and damages for those who purchased an EA football game since August of 2005.
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
Jun 12, 2008
5 million people played Fallout games in a single day, with Fallout 76 alone accounting for 1 million, amid the TV show's massive success
15 days after Wii U servers were supposed to be shut down, the last surviving Splatoon player is still hanging on as the servers crumble around them
Al Pacino and The Guest star to play priests in a new exorcism horror movie based on a true story