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Lawsuit alleges EA infringed on sports stadium update patent
White Knuckle IP filed a lawsuit late last week against EA, alleging that the publisher infringed on a patent that focuses on methods for updating sports games based on real-life changes. The suit referred to U.S. Pat. No. 8,529,350, which described methods that record real-world parameters, then store those elements on a server so players can download them to update their games. The patent dates back to October 2002. While the patent is related to another one that deals with updating an athlete's statistics and skills based on real-life performance, the lawsuit focuses on changes to the appearance and attributes of stadiums and venues. The lawsuit specifically targets games in EA Sports' NCAA Football and Tiger Woods PGA Tour series, from NCAA Football 10 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 through the last respective entries, NCAA Football 14 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14. According to Patent Arcade, White Knuckle "did not identify any specific feature in its complaint." [Image: EA Sports]
Judge: NCAA's likeness compensation rules violate antitrust laws
U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken ruled yesterday that NCAA rules prohibiting student athletes from receiving compensation for the use of their images, names and likenesses violates antitrust laws, CBS Sports reported. NCAA rules do not allow colleges to pay athletes when their images are used in a video game series such as EA Sports' NCAA Football games, and Wilken said those rules "unreasonably restrain trade." Wilken is the same judge that ordered settlement talks between the NCAA and Ed O'Bannon in February, after EA agreed to settle its own likeness lawsuits with student athletes to the tune of $40 million in September 2013. EA canceled its next NCAA Football game at that time and began "evaluating [its] plan for the future of the franchise." The publisher later reported an additional $8 million in expected expenses as a result of the lawsuit settlement, which amounted to roughly $1,000 per athlete, per appearance in the games.
EA may pay almost $1,000 per college athlete for sports game settlement
Student athletes whose likenesses were used in EA's NCAA football and basketball games will receive up to $951 for each year they were featured in the games, according to a proposed settlement being put forth for approval by a judge. While EA proposed a $40 million settlement in September 2013 for its ongoing litigation with student athletes over its college sports series stemming back to May 2009, it hasn't been clear how that money would divide among the parties in the lawsuit until now. More than 100,000 current and former college athletes will have the potential to claim part of the settlement, according to CBS Sports. Of those athletes, roughly 7,000 of them are current players, based on estimates from Rob Carey, an attorney for former Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller. EA tacked on an extra $8 million in expenses related to the settlement in its fiscal 2014 financial results in May. Its proposed settlement followed the cancellation of its 2014 college football game, which would have been without the NCAA's logos and marks after the two parted ways in July 2013. [Image: EA Sports]
EA files $27 million settlement in lawsuit, cannot renew current NCAA license [Update]
Electronic Arts reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit that dates back to 2008 for $27 million, and will be unable to renew its exclusive agreement with the NCAA, providing the court upholds the settlement terms.The original lawsuit claimed that EA violated antitrust laws by entering exclusive license agreements with the NFL, NCAA, and AFL. The $27 million settlement fund proposed by EA would, in part, benefit those that purchased any EA Sports football game from January 2005 to today. Specifically, customers that bought any of the included GameCube, Xbox, and PS2 games may get up to $6.79 per game, and $1.95 per Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3 game.EA also agreed to stipulations on future license agreements as part of the proposed settlement, as it will not make any exclusive licensing deals with the AFL for five years, and will not renew its current agreement with the NCAA. Additionally, EA won't be able to enter another exclusive licensing agreement with the NCAA for five years. The company's exclusive NFL trademark licensing deal remains untouched in the proposed settlement, which awaits final approval by the court on September 27.Update: As a clarification, EA Sports' future NCAA license will be non-exclusive. EA sent us the following statement: "We made a business decision to settle this lawsuit and put the matter behind us. We look forward to continuing our partnerships with the NFL and NCAA."
Court dismisses QB's case against EA over image usage in NCAA Football
Ex-Rutgers University quarterback Ryan Hart has had his lawsuit against Electronic Arts dismissed by US District Judge Freda Wolfson, reports Reuters. The suit alleged that EA knowingly used Hart's likeness in NCAA Football without his consent, and as such should be required to provide Hart with compensation. In this case, Hart's "likeness" amounts to his physical appearance and footballery stats, not his actual name. Judge Wolfson dismissed the suit on the grounds that EA's First Amendment rights to free expression outweigh Hart's right to protect his likeness, despite the fact that the character in question was "designed with Hart's physical attributes, sports statistics, and biographical information in mind." Wolfson feels that the game's robust character customization options negate the impact of these similarities, as they are not set in stone. This ruling contradicts a precedent set by a similar case in 2010, in which a California judge allowed a suit by ex-Arizona State University/University of Nebraska quarterback Samuel Keller, a decision which EA is currently appealing. Speaking of appeals, Hart's legal representation is naturally appealing the Judge's ruling, calling the outcome "a major disappointment." As is the way with this sort of thing, it will likely be several months before any progress is made by either party. Until then, enjoy this bathroom stall poem we've penned for the occasion: "Here I sit all broken Harted, tried to sue but got Electronic Arted."
Rumor: EA's persistent profile service is subscription-based, offers early game downloads
Those new "persistent" EA profiles, that are meant to carry a player's profile and achievements across EA Sports games, don't seem very controversial, right? Just a nice bonus for players. What if that profile was the harbinger of a subscription service, though? Pastapadre posted what is claimed to be a document from EA Sports outlining a new annual subscription-based offering for multiple sports games on PS3 and Xbox 360, offering DLC discounts, exclusive DLC, and in-game items for Madden, FIFA, NHL, Tiger Woods, and NCAA Football games -- as well as the only game named specifically instead of by series, SSX: Deadly Descents (which isn't even called that anymore). On top of all that stuff, the document claims that the subscription will offer "full downloadable versions of participating titles before they come out in stores," which we could see people gladly paying for. In addition, players would have the ability "to transfer paid content from your current participating titles to future title versions." EA had no comment about this rumored program when Game Informer asked, and no potential price point was offered. Hopefully, for the sake of gamers' bank accounts everywhere, EA doesn't realize how much it could make by offering Madden to people a bit early.
Class action suit filed against EA Sports over football monopoly
The Madden lawsuit season is beginning! If you bought one of EA Sports' Madden, NCAA, or even Arena Football games between 2005 and now, you might be receiving an email naming you as part of a "class" of plaintiffs in a class action suit against EA. The case "Pecover V. Electronic Arts, Inc." claims that EA's exclusive licenses "foreclosed competition in an alleged football video game market." Because of this lack of competition, the plaintiffs in the case claim that this monopoly allowed EA to overcharge for its games (even though EA Sports games cost the same as most other mass-market console games). Right now, you're a member of the "class" of allegedly fleeced football fans if you bought any of the games, unless you bought them on a mobile platform, pre-owned, directly from EA, or while working for EA. If you want to opt out of the class (what -- you don't want to be part of something?), you can do so by following the instructions here. We've contacted EA for comment.
NCAA Football 12 cover athlete determined by fan vote
Cover athletes for EA Sports' NCAA Football series may not get the same attention as Madden's leading men -- but hey, at least they're not cursed. In fact, you can help the next young star get "lucky" by voting him onto the cover of NCAA Football 12.
NCAA Football 11 not touching down on PSP
For the dozens of you interested in the NCAA Football franchise returning to PSP in 2010, today's news of the 2011 iteration of the game not heading to Sony's handheld is likely a pretty major bummer. On one hand, you were probably expecting it when yesterday's announcement of Tim Tebow as the cover athlete didn't include the PSP on its list of consoles (also absent was the Nintendo Wii), but on the other hand, there's been a PSP release for the last two years. IGN confirmed the lack of a PSP version release with EA, who subsequently confirmed an iPhone App Store release. So there's something, right? Right? Hey guys, where are you going? [Via Kotaku]
Tim Tebow named NCAA Football 11 cover star
Who knows where ex-University of Florida QB Tim Tebow will end up in the upcoming NFL draft, but one thing's for certain: he's landed himself on the cover of NCAA Football 11. The celebrated quarterback ends his collegiate career with one last highlight before going pro -- an honor bestowed on just 18 others in the history of the series. Tebow is known for his decorated college football career, having won the Heisman Trophy is 2007 as a sophomore (the first to do so) and the Davey O'Brien award in the same year for being "the nation's best quarterback." But did you know that he was born in the Philippines? Bet you didn't know that! How about the fact that he spent his final three summers as a high school student in his country of birth helping his father with missionary work? Also true! And now, well now he's on the cover of NCAA Football 11.
EA Sports mines your football data, and makes example out of Favre
Brett Favre is one of the all-time greats. Still, he throws one untimely interception, and that's all people talk about. Just imagine if he threw 7 and a half million! That's the number EA highlighted during its EA Sports Opener last night in an extraordinary example of the game data the company collects from its players. According to EA, Favre -- under our control -- has thrown 7,564,282 picks and counting. That's Hall of Shame material for sure. Each game of Madden played generates a single line of code, and that code gets sent to EA to the tune of over 173 million data instances every day. The company is mining all of this data in an attempt to make its Madden and NCAA Football games better every time you play them, but short of John Madden himself showing up at your door to explain what you're doing wrong, look for Favre to keep adding to the INT column. %Gallery-87893%
The best HD sports on TV this week
Things are really starting to heat up on the grid iron. The good and the bad are starting to show themselves and play each other. One of those meetings is on Sunday at 4pm when the Cowboys head to Denver in the hopes of picking up their third win. Then of course on Monday night is the big game Favre lovers have been waiting for. To us its a solid divisional rivalry, but we're sure a number of people will tune in just for the revenge angle. On the CFB field there is another great SEC matchup with LSU vs UGA, but we also get to find out who's worse, Oklahoma or Miami? Finally, the baseball season is coming to an end with only 7 days left until the playoffs, so basically we're just glad to see it end. Hockey also kicks off this week with the Capitals and the Bruins with many more games to follow.NFL Dallas Cowboys at Denver Broncos Fox 4:15 PM Sun Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings ESPN 8:30 PM Mon College Football LSU at Georgia CBS 3:30 PM Sat Oklahoma at Miami ABC 8:00 PM Sat NHL Washington Capitals at Boston Bruins Versus 7:00 PM Thursday Detroit Red Wings at St. Louis Blues Versus 3:00 PM Friday MLB Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers ESPN 7:05 PM Friday
Trophies: NCAA Football 10
1 Platinum3 Gold6 Silver38 Bronze Difficulty: Moderate Online Trophies? Yes Time to Completion: 30 hoursDLC Trophies? No View Trophy List Read More About the Game %Gallery-21368%
Joystiq hands-on: EA Sports All-Play
"All-Play" is the new brand of Wii-exclusive EA Sports titles that takes the publisher's perennial franchises and simplifies them in ways that make the games accessible to, well ... all. It's the obvious direction to take, as the changes in the Wii versions of EA Sports' games continue to distinguish themselves from the linear advances of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. All-Play isn't groundbreaking, it just wants to fit. All-Play succeeds in its commitment to consistency. Whatever whip Riccitiello is cracking has got the herd moving together in the right direction. We recently spent time with four of the five featured All-Play titles (sorry NCAA Football!) and can report that each has been treated with a certain level of care above the usual year-to-year tweaks EA Sports has come to be criticized by. These treatments are most definitely shaping a more casual product, which gives EA an advantage at both ends of the current-gen playing field.
EA Sports reveals its 'All-Play' line-up for Wii
Following word that they would be doing so, EA has revealed its EA Sports 'All-Play' line-up of Wii games. These Wii titles feature a new casual approach, which include mini-games, as well as simplified controls. The titles also include simplified versions of each individual sport, including 5-on-5 in Madden or 8 vs. 8 in FIFA. [Via Joystiq]
EA Sports drafts Wii 'All-Play' lineup
EA Sports today announced its Wii-exclusive "All-Play" brand lineup: five familiar franchises with a new wrapping. Inside you'll find passable versions (jaggies alert!) of the usual, hardcore simulations, but the reason you might choose All-Play over the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 editions is the new casual focus that aims to appeal to, um, well, just about anyone with a few minutes to waste. Yes, that means minigames ("Party" modes in All-Play), but also simplified versions of the sports -- like 5-on-5 in Madden or 8 vs. 8 in FIFA -- and optional All-Play control settings, which balance the playing field by going as far as to auto-control players. Hear that? That's grandma in your face after she just dunked on you ... and didn't even press a button.Check out our hands-on with the All-Play lineup right here.
NCAA Football 09 demo now on XBLM
This morning, a new NCAA Football 09 demo has been made available for download off the Xbox Live Marketplace and we have no reason not to expect that it's very football-like. This 1.44GB demo download is only available to U.S. and Canadian Xbox Live subscribers and, according to the demo description, features "groundbreaking gameplay controls", "authentic collegiate gameplay" and something called an "adrenaline-pumping home field atmosphere". If that sounds like good times to you, then get your download on and experience the video game world of NCAA Football.
NCAA Football 2009 demo hits Xbox Live
We love sports games. No, we don't really play them that much, but we like the insight that they give us into the mind of the non-gamer. The way we feel when we comb through various combinations of acronyms and numbers is how we imagine non-video game fans feel when they look at any shelf of game titles. ("Tracy, he asked Santa for God of War, do you think Gears of War is close enough?") So understand that when we tell you that there's a demo for NCAA Football 2009 on Xbox Live we don't really know what we're saying. Is that one of the good ones? Does it have new stuff? We can't tell you. All we gleaned from Major Nelson is that the game has "unique college-style animations" and you know what that means: Post-touchdown beer bongs. So at least you've got that going for you. Hopefully the more knowledgeable among you will let us know how the demo fares in the comments.
Matt Ryan is cover athlete for PS3 version of NCAA
Click for high-resolution image. This year's iteration of EA's annual NCAA Football franchise is pulling a Soulcalibur with its covers. Every platform (PS2, PSP, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii) will feature a unique cover athlete. Representing the PS3 this year is Matt Ryan, winner of the 2008 Manning Award -- an award that's reserved for the nation's top senior quarterback. The press release reminds us: "In his senior season, he helped lead the Eagles to an 11-3 record and a victory over Michigan State in the Champs Sports Bowl."Maybe it's because we're fanboys, but we certainly think this is a better choice for a cover athlete than the Wii version (no, that's not a joke).
Sunday deals offer free Live and gift cards too
Today is Sunday and that means it's time to talk about this week's Xbox 360 super-Sunday-deals-of-money-savings-greatness! As usual, Circuit City has all the savings this week by offering up a free year of Xbox Live with purchase of any Xbox 360 console. You want video game deals? Well, if you're looking to get your Madden on later this year, plop down a preorder on Madden 08 and Circuit City will give you $25 towards a FansEdge.com order. And if Madden is too long of a wait to play football, this week NCAA Football 08 is available and if purchased at Circuit City they'll give you $10 gift card to boot. There you go, that was the best of the best Xbox 360 deals this week. Pull out your plastic and shop, shop the day away!
