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Written by Retr0gamer
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Tuesday, 17 June 2008 13:20 |
Electronic Arts is getting sued, and it's about time. Karma has finally caught up with them. Two gamers who think they are unlawfully monopolizing football licenses in video games have filed an anti-trust lawsuit. EA currently has the licenses to the NCAA, the NFL and Arena Football League. While it's true the NFL has exclusivity licenses with almost all its licensing, EA exists in a consumer-driven industry and has to endure the wrath of angry gamers.
This anti-trust lawsuit is awesome for gamers, whatever the ruling.
EA is one of the slickest, most conniving video game publishers in the industry. EA is in the business of monopolizing, exploiting, and covering up. They've been involved in several scandals and are notorious for acquiring once-notable studios, only to inevitably close them (Origin Systems, Westwood Studios, etc.).
The EA Spouse scandal still hasn't been forgotten. EA was exposed by its own employees when they complained of 100+ hour work weeks (including weekends...with Saturday evenings off for good code monkeying), and NO overtime compensation (last time I checked, this is one of the most illegal practices a company could do). EA has since come under new leadership, but old habits die hard and such crass treatment of loyal employees isn't something forgotten overnight.
Like any business, EA tries to get any edge it can on its competitors. Buying out smaller studios, acquiring exciting new companies, and getting exclusive licenses are all part of the business. But EA likes to rest on its laurels. It tends to get complacent. Its games start to suck. Since Sega's ESPN 2K series stopped being a threat (save All-Pro Football 2k8) due to the NFL exclusivity license, Madden games haven't exactly innovated (except maybe on the Wii, only because the controls are interesting). But without proper competition to motivate anything other than a roster update each year, EA may as well just sit on its ass and jack around.
 Electronic Arts is the Joseph Stalin of video game publishers. It has a loyal fanboy apologist following, some forced alliances, and enemies that despise it. Joseph Stalin simply killed anyone (particularly within his ranks) that may have presented a threat to his power, and that's exactly what EA does with its strategy of acquisition and exclusive licensing muscle. And like a ruthless dictator, EA sucks the life force out of those around it (EA Spouse scandal victims, the souls of hopeless Madden junkies, curses to cover athletes).
As a company that unapologetically takes as much as it can, EA lacks moral and ethical standards. EA is so arrogant they even tried to edit their Wikipedia article from an EA registered IP, deleting paragraphs of criticism and changing other negative information including the EA Spouse scandal incident. If anyone thinks their shit-don't-stank, it's EA.
This anti-trust lawsuit may be the universe's way of restoring balance in the wake of a tyrant.
EA getting sued serves as a message to the biggest bully in video game publishing - the consumers cannot be fooled in the end. The video game industry is heavily consumer-driven and influenced, with this fiasco a testament to that. Regardless of the lawsuit's ruling, gamers can look forward to gaining more leverage on this bullying behemoth. Here are possible outcomes (all are great for gamers):
- EA wins lawsuit, but EA will be reminded that the gamers won't put up with their crap
- EA loses lawsuit, can't have exclusivity license on football games - gamers and other publishers win
- EA loses lawsuit, exclusivity licenses declared unconstitutional - all sporting games benefit
No matter the outcome, gamers can just sit back and enjoy the fireworks. There is no joy like schadenfreude!
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 17 June 2008 18:51 )
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due to the NFL exclusivity license, Madden games haven't exactly innovated