Madden-NFL-09
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Appeals court sides with ex-NFL players in Madden likeness suit
A federal appeals court struck down Electronic Arts' appeal to dismiss a 2010 lawsuit in which retired NFL players alleged that the publisher used their likenesses without permission in Madden NFL 09. A three-judge panel unanimously declined EA's motion to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds of First Amendment protections under "incidental use." Madden 09 included over 140 historic NFL teams as well as the stats and positions of thousands of retired athletes to celebrate the series' 20th anniversary, and EA allegedly altered jersey numbers and removed the players' names to avoid paying licensing fees, according to the August 2010 lawsuit. The judges referred to another recent likeness lawsuit in the opinion, in which former college athletes sued EA in May 2009 over the use of their likenesses in NCAA Basketball and NCAA Football games. EA proposed a $40 million settlement to that lawsuit in September 2013, resulting in those players earning up to $951 for each year their likeness was featured in the games. The publisher added $8 million in expenses related to that lawsuit in May 2014. EA introduced similar First Amendment-based defenses in its appeal for the retired NFL players lawsuit save for one additional argument: That the likenesses were protected under the First Amendment as incidental use. The judges "held that Electronic Arts's use of the former players' likenesses was not incidental because it was central to Electronic Arts's main commercial purpose: to create a realistic virtual simulation of football games involving current and former National Football League teams." The decision upholds a California court's March 2012 dismissal of EA's attempt to prevent the suit from going to court. Among the plaintiffs listed in the lawsuit is Sam Keller, a former Arizona State, Nebraska and Oakland Raiders quarterback that filed the original likeness lawsuit related to the publisher's college sports games. [Image: EA]
Game on: NFL likeness lawsuit against EA moving forward
A motion filed by EA to dismiss a class-action lawsuit filed against it by 6,000 retired NFL players has failed, reports Gamasutra. As you'll recall, the players that filed the suit claimed that their likenesses were used in Madden 09 without permission or compensation. While the player's names and numbers were changed, vital and identifiable statistics were left unchanged.Rather than argue that it in fact didn't replicate real-world players without authorization, EA's motion to dismiss postulated that Madden 09's use of player likenesses was covered by the First Amendment, and therefore did not require consent or compensation. Since this motion was denied, the case will move on to court. Plaintiffs are seeking legal fees, damages and all profits generated through the use of said plaintiffs' likenesses.
Retired NFL players sue EA over likenesses in Madden 09
The likenesses of the historic teams in Madden 09 were apparently a little too lifelike, as over 6,000 retired NFL players have come together and filed a class-action lawsuit against EA. According to IGN, the lawsuit claims that EA used the stats and positions of past players, but changed their uniform numbers and removed their names in order to get around having to pay licensing fees. The lawsuit also takes aim at the customization options available, which let players freely edit in the real names and uniform numbers of these classic athletes. "The only significant detail that EA changes from the real-life retired NFL players is their jersey number," the suit claims. "Despite EA's 'scrambling' of the retired NFL players' numbers, the games are designed so that consumers of the Madden NFL video game franchise will have no difficulty identifying who the 'historic' players are." The lawsuit seeks damages associated with the "deprivation and violation of publicity rights."
NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown appeals dismissed lawsuit against EA
Jim Brown, nine-season running back for the Cleveland Browns and NFL Hall of Fame inductee, filed a lawsuit against Electronic Arts in 2008 for using his likeness in Madden '09 without first obtaining his permission. Last September, U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper (who passed away in January from lymphoma) ruled that EA was protected by First Amendment rights -- a decision which Brown is now attempting to overturn in a San Francisco appellate court. Brown requested the review earlier this week at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. According to the Associated Press, EA representative Jeff Brown emailed the New York Times, saying the industry juggernaut is "confident" the ruling won't change. So, for those of you keeping score: EA's Jeff Brown says Jim Brown from the Browns won't win.
'Big Dawg' vs. Madden lawsuit dismissed
According to a report on Cleveland.com, the lawsuit filed against Electronic Arts by Cleveland Browns fan John "Big Dawg" Thompson has been dismissed. The suit had been filed on the grounds that EA featured Thompson's likeness in Madden NFL 09 without his permission. More specifically, the game featured the likeness of Thompson wearing a dog mask and orange hat, a costume he's worn to Cleveland Browns home games for years. Thompson's lawyer, Alan Parker, noted that his client was happy the matter was closed, but noted that details of the dismissal are confidential. Thompson had been seeking damages "in excess of $25,000," so that's one thing he might be happy about. If his Big Dawg mask is sporting some gold teeth and a diamond encrusted hat during the next Browns home game, we'll know for sure.
Mask-wearing fan suing EA over likeness in Madden 09
He might be known for wearing a bug-eyed dog mask and representing the most hardcore of Cleveland Browns fans, but John "Big Dawg" Thompson isn't down with his likeness being used in EA Sports' Madden NFL 09. No, not just because it misrepresents his jersey's number (98 in real life, 92 in the game) -- it's because EA Sports is using his likeness without ever having actually asked permission.So John Thompson (not to be confused with that other Thompson) has filed a complaint at the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas seeking restitution "in excess of $25,000." He's also looking to block EA's ability to sell the game or use "the Big Dawg character" without his expressed permission in the future. We hate to tell you, John, but that game kinda came out last year.
Walmart sells boy 'redneck' version of Madden 09
Put yourself in this position. Imagine you're a young boy (somewhere around, say, 13 years old) and have saved up all your Christmas money to purchase a shiny new Xbox 360. You're now overjoyed to hear that your dad has finally got around to taking you to the local Walmart to make your Xbox purchase. After deciding on a console, you pick out Madden 09 as your first Xbox 360 game purchase. Now, still imagining you're this boy, you and your pa make your way back home where you setup your newly purchased Xbox. Caught up in the excitement, you rip open the (scotch tape sealed) Madden 09 packaging and are taken back because Madden 09 doesn't quite look like Madden 09. It looks something like the "redneck sh*t" you see above. Tears run down your cheek as you realize Walmart has failed you. Somehow, you purchased what you thought was a new copy of Madden, but was a returned and previously used copy with the disc swapped out. Oh the horror!Scariest part, this is a true story.
Madden tramples Wii Fit in Q3 global sales
The Top Global Markets sales data from NPD, Chart-Track and Enterbrain (via GameDaily) reveals that Madden NFL 09 blitzed the global charts to become the best selling game in the third quarter of '08 (that's July to September). Trailing Madden were Wii Fit and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Also, showing that the franchise still has some Pikachu-charged power behind it, Pokémon Platinum battled in fourth place with 1.4 million units sold, despite being only available in Japan. Mario Kart Wii rounded out the top five.Certainly the most interesting question about the sales figures is: Where would Wii Fit be if it was actually meeting demand? Madden's sales were (obviously) US heavy, while Wii Fit had a regional sales spread based on Wii's install base. Find the full sales figures after the break.
Madden NFL 09 Pink to support breast cancer foundation
EA Sports announced today that Madden NFL 09 Pink will be sold at Target, with a portion of the proceeds from the sale going to the Deanna Favre HOPE Foundation. The box will be available during the month of October (National Breast Cancer Awareness Month) and can also be purchased at Target.com and NFLShop.com.We called EA Sports to find out how this "new" art still has Favre in his Packers uniform. Turns out the pink ribbon design is actually part of a clear overlay inside the cover. Meaning, consumers can completely remove it if they want, or place the Favre Jets cover in behind it. Behold, the freedom of choice.
No curse, but Madden 09 has bugs
With the NFL regular season just barely underway, there's plenty of time for the Madden Curse to sink its hooks into Mr. Favre's vulnerable ankle, but for now, EA is busy squashing a host of bugs that have crawled out of the bowels of latest edition of Madden. The major pest is a freezing issue that can crop up during play calling and highlight screens, reports IGN. Senior designer Ian Cummings has documented most, if not all known bugs on the game's Producer Blog, recommending various workarounds while the team puts together a patch. EA is targeting "less than a 3 week turnaround" from last Tuesday for the update to be released. So put a big checkmark next to the 16th and cross your fingers.
Download this Favre-Jets cover for Madden 09
Yeah, we all know the story -- Brett Favre pulling a fast one out of retirement and signing up with the Jets. While football fans may have been ecstatic over the news, it was a move that left Maddenites with an outdated cover for Madden NFL 09. However, not wanting fans to remain disappointed, EA has a backup play to counter Favre's surprise blitz.If you head on over to EA's website, you can download a free, brand new cover for Madden 09 which features Favre sporting a Jets uniform. The covers are high quality PDFs, so you just have to make sure you have a good printer and some glossy paper to make the cover look legit. Might want to stop by Kinkos for that. Download the cover and replace it with the old one if you so desire. [Thanks WhiteSpy!]
Make Favre a Jet with a new Madden 09 cover
Football fans may have noticed that Brett Favre is still wearing his Packers uniform on the cover of Madden 09 rather than his swanky new Jets uniform. If you just can't stand to see Favre in the wrong uniform (or you're just obsessive compulsive), you can now download a new cover directly from EA. The only question now is what do you do with the old cover? We suppose it might work for papercraft. Failing that, it could make a decent rain hat in a pinch. Just use your imagination kids! What's new in Madden this year? What's different? Find out what's good (and what's not so good) in our Madden 09 Season Update.
X3F Presents... Season Update: Madden NFL 09
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Everything_you_need_to_know_about_Madden_NFL_09'; Welcome to X3F Season Update where we outline the additions and changes to major sports franchises. Looking to nab Madden NFL 09? This handy guide will walk you through some of the updates to the franchise and pinpoint issues we've heard from around the web. In this feature we tackle everything from the new Madden IQ feature to the utter failure that is the online leagues in the game. Jump in sports fans and find out everything you need to know about Madden NFL 2009.Continue to X3F Season Update: Madden NFL 09
Metareview - Madden NFL 09 (Xbox 360, PS3)
It's times like this we're happy there's a Metareview. Because, honestly, if we had to say something intelligent and clever about football, it's probably going to be related to The Waterboy or Superpro. We're sports dumb, to put it more directly. Luckily, the internet is here to put the new Madden through its paces. 1UP (A): "Madden's the sports-gaming superpower, though, so it's hard not to nitpick some of this stuff. But even with the listed complaints, this is a football game that one-ups the stakes between the sidelines, and it's so visually impressive that it's likely to stick in your system all season long -- even on Saturdays." GameDaily (80/100): "Despite all the this cool stuff, Madden commits some penalties. The game supposedly has more dynamic camera angles, but you'll often see the same one repeat up to ten times per game. As for the computer, it often makes strange decisions, such as running out the clock when it needs a score or wandering out of bounds for no reason." IGN (88/100): "It may not look all that different to the casual observer, but football aficionados and Madden veterans alike will be able to appreciate the small enhancements."
Print me: New Madden NFL 09 cover (except Xbox, Wii, and DS ...)
click to enlarge Huh, looks like EA doesn't have everyone ... covered. Less than a week after Madden 09's cover athlete Brett Favre jumped ship for the Jets (single-handedly thrashing millions in Madden marketing materials) EA has come through with its "plan": you can now download a replacement cover (in handy PDF format) for your copy of Madden NFL 09 featuring Favre donning his new team's colors ...... that is, if you happened to purchase either the Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, or PS2 release. Those of you that bought the Wii or DS versions, sorry. And for the four of you that bought the Xbox version ... you should know better. Also released today: a "new online roster download" for Xbox 360, Xbox, PS3, PS2 and Wii which "features Favre as the starting quarterback on the New York Jets." Rocking something a little more portable, are we? EA advises you hit up Franchise Mode, transfer "NFL Great" Favre to the free agent roster pool, and then scoop him up "on any of the 32 NFL teams for the 2008 season." [Update: If you don't want to blow all of your green ink printing out the new cover, stop by either Sam's Club or Wal-Mart to pick one up in-store. It's unclear if you'll need to purchase the game there as well but our money's on "probably."]%Gallery-29488%
Joystiq goes to Maddenpalooza
The Rose Bowl was Madden-ified yesterday to make way for the 20th anniversary of Madden games, as well as the new Madden NFL 09 game that went on sale at midnight last night... or 9 PM Pacific if you were lucky enough to be in the stadium in Pasadena. The upper deck was wrapped in gigantic Madden sail cloths promoting the game and featuring poster boy Brett Favre in his Packers gear. The playing turf featured autograph sessions with NFL legends, skill games, free Pepsi schwag (which we forgot to photograph, whoops), a Slurpee booth complete with Hooters-esque booth babes, a mini Wal-Mart store, and a giant gaming tent full of tons of Xbox 360s, and a scant few Wiis, PS3s, and PSPs.Read on, dear gamer, to discover the rest, including a confab between rapper Busta Rhymes and EA's Peter Moore. Plus you can click on the gallery below for loads of photos.%Gallery-29734%
360 Deals: 1600 MS points for $15 and more
It's the week Xbox Live Arcade purchasers have been looking forward to, because Target stores are selling 1600 Microsoft points cards for the oh so nice price of $15. But that's not all, they also have CoD4, Battlefield: Bad Company or Army of Two for $50 and are also giving away $40 gift cards with the purchase of any Xbox 360 console and Madden 09. Best Buy has a similar deal, where if you buy an Xbox 360 console and Madden 09 they'll throw in a free wireless controller. Other than that and Turok for $30, Best Buy's 360 deals are kind of lacking this week. Over at Circuit City, they're selling CoD4 for $40, Gears of War for $30, Juiced for $15, and giving away a free mini football with Madden 09 or a free $5 gift card if you purchase Madden 09 online. Finally, Circuit City is handing out free $30 gift card with the purchase of any Xbox 360 console.Happy shopping and be sure to stock up on those cheap Microsoft points, because as you're well aware, Castle Crashers is releasing soon!
Nintendo Channel video updates take a look at Madden NFL 09
We're excited about Madden NFL 09. Oh no, sports on a game blog, run! But, in all seriousness, this year's Madden NFL 09 looks like it's going to be a solid title and unique from the other versions available. Plus, the All-Play stuff looks fun. If the video up top tickles your fancy, then the one past the break is going to blow you away.Also, check out the latest video updates to the Nintendo Channel tucked away back there as well.
Get the 'free' Madden Xbox 360 demo for only $5.97
We walked into 7-11 today while representatives were setting up the massive marketing onslaught of Madden NFL 09, and it's a full blitz. There are standees, posters, chip racks, Big Gulp plastic collectible cups, and even Madden sandwiches. That's right, Madden sandwiches. Boom. We feel as confused as the digital Terrell Owens in that photo.As a "special deal" they're offering a FREE Xbox 360 Madden NFL 09 demo... if you purchase a "Madden Sub" ($3.59 for a turkey and cheddar sub, with maybe half a leaflet of lettuce on it), a .99 bag of Doritos (your choice of scent/flavor!) and any "Gulp" or larger drink. We didn't even know there were just plain old "Gulps."Find out what kind of idiot buys something you can get online at home free, after the break.
Madden 09 soundtrack headed to Rock Band
Looking to expand their already rich library, EA just announced some new Rock Band downloadable content that's headed our way as part of a partnership between them and Madden NFL 09. According to the press release, "'Rock Band' will feature music from the 'Madden 09' soundtrack in its weekly downloadable songs update, a handful at a time, over several weeks, with each song carrying the 'Madden' brand." Though, at what price, which tracks from the album and when they'll release are all question marks right now. That said, we do know every track that is on the soundtrack (conveniently listed after the break) and it's also interesting to note that some of the Madden 09 soundtrack songs are already available as Rock Band DLC including The Offspring's "Hammerhead" and Disturbed's "Inside the Fire". Whatever happens, we say keep the DLC coming.
