EA Sports Will Not Publish College Football Game Next Year, Future Plans in Doubt

[TimLawNYC]

Quote: Originally Posted by RedSoxFox7

All of these maybes ignore the massive windfall EA would have if they were to win the case. Everything you've just said is true in the general case - a settlement isn't inherently an admission of fault. The problem here is we're not speaking in general, we're specifically talking about the O'Bannon case, in which EA/CLC would have HUGE gains if they were to win. It's not a tacit admission of guilt, but it's a pretty clear statement of where they expected the ruling to fall.

What "massive windfall" would EA get in this case? EA is a defendant in this lawsuit, and I'm unaware of any counterclaims they have filed against the O'Bannon plaintiffs. EA doesn't stand to WIN anything in this litigation--their possible outcomes are either 1) a verdict saying they owe the players money, or 2) a verdict saying they don't owe the players anything. I don't see any avenue for a verdict awarding money to EA.

And, again--take it from somebody who represents big companies in litigation for a living--companies often choose a reasonable settlement just to get out of a case even if ultimate victory at trial seems like a very strong possibility. For companies, litigation is often a pure business decision, and sometimes a company's decisions as to how litigation proceeds or ends have nothing to do with the legal aspects and everything to do with "bottom line" business concerns.

[RedSoxFox7]

Quote: Originally Posted by TimLawNYC

What "massive windfall" would EA get in this case? EA is a defendant in this lawsuit, and I'm unaware of any counterclaims they have filed against the O'Bannon plaintiffs. EA doesn't stand to WIN anything in this litigation--their possible outcomes are either 1) a verdict saying they owe the players money, or 2) a verdict saying they don't owe the players anything. I don't see any avenue for a verdict awarding money to EA.

Oh right, I guess being able to sell NCAA Football indefinitely with a court ruling saying they have no obligation to pay for player likenesses wouldn't make any money at all for EA. No hugely valuable win there at all.

Quote:

And, again--take it from somebody who represents big companies in litigation for a living--companies often choose a reasonable settlement just to get out of a case even if ultimate victory at trial seems like a very strong possibility. For companies, litigation is often a pure business decision, and sometimes a company's decisions as to how litigation proceeds or ends have nothing to do with the legal aspects and everything to do with "bottom line" business concerns.

And who would that be? Certainly not you.

Somebody who represents big companies in litigation for a living would see how incredibly valuable a win in this case would be for EA.

[King_B_Mack]

Quote: Originally Posted by RedSoxFox7

Oh right, I guess being able to sell NCAA Football indefinitely with a court ruling saying they have no obligation to pay for player likenesses wouldn't make any money at all for EA. No hugely valuable win there at all. And who would that be? Certainly not you. Somebody who represents big companies in litigation for a living would see how incredibly valuable a win in this case would be for EA.

That's not a windfall though. You're suggesting that winning this case would gain them some sort of new money or something. The only thing they gain out of a win is the ability to continue to do business as usual. It's not like people are sitting around holding onto their money and not buying the game because of this lawsuit and once EA wins they'll all suddenly run out and start buying the game creating all this new money for EA to take.

[SpeedyMikeWallace]

I think some here might be overestimating the sales of NCAA Football. While it ranks in EA's Top 10 annually, it is not really a big cash cow.

Units sold (millions)

2013
	                     TOTAL
1. FIFA	                     11.54
2. Battlefield 4             7.74
3. Madden	             4.04
4. Need For Speed: Rivals    2.01
5. Crysis 3	             1.73
6. Dead Space 3	             1.64
7. NCAA Football	     1.61
8. SimCity	             1.02
9. NHL	                     0.48
10. Tiger Woods	             0.46


2012	
	                         TOTAL
1. FIFA	                         13.94
2. Madden	                 5.02
3. Mass Effect 3	         4.93
4. Need for Speed: Most Wanted	 4.18
5. NCAA Football	         1.79
6. FIFA Street	                 1.76
7. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning 1.75
8. SSX	                         1.36
9. NHL	                         1.09
10. Tiger Woods	                 0.88

2011
	                       TOTAL
1. Battlefield 3	       16.43
2. FIFA	                       12.61
3. Madden	               5.36
4. Need for Speed: The Run     3.84
5. Crysis 2	               3.11
6. Dead Space 2	               3.01
7. Star Wars: The Old Republic 2.61
8. Dragon Age 2	               2.26
9. NCAA Football	       1.74
10. Tiger Woods	               1.71


2010
	                        TOTAL
1. FIFA	                        12.26
2. Battlefield Bad Company 2	6.88
3. Madden	                6.48
4. Medal of Honor	        5.68
5. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit	5.41
6. Mass Effect 2	        4.67
7. Skate 3	                3.28
8. 2010 FIFA World Cup	        2.80
9. EA Sports Active 2	        2.39
10. NCAA Football	        2.08

[RedSoxFox7]

Quote: Originally Posted by King_B_Mack

That's not a windfall though. You're suggesting that winning this case would gain them some sort of new money or something. The only thing they gain out of a win is the ability to continue to do business as usual. It's not like people are sitting around holding onto their money and not buying the game because of this lawsuit and once EA wins they'll all suddenly run out and start buying the game creating all this new money for EA to take.

It's money EA isn't making now, and won't be in the near future - at the very least, not until the O'Bannon/NCAA case is over. It's money they can't make today, so a court ruling in their favor would make it the same as new money.

Further, getting a win would enable them to do pretty much anything they want in college sports, all the while knowing they'll never have to pay a dime in player licensing.

[mestevo]

That isn't what windfall means as they aren't going to receive a large sum of money in some judgement from this case, I don't think anyone disagrees with your point really though... just usage of that word and maybe your expectations of how much money NCAA FB games actually make.

Sent from my VZW Note 3

[simgamer0005]

Is there any correlation to the NCAA football series ending to the BCS ending as well? Has there ever been this amount of uncertainty going into a college football season? When July 2014 rolls around, there will be no college football game for sale, and we will be heading into a college football season with no BCS rankings.

Could there be a correlation to this new world of college football and without something like the BCS governing it. This is such a dramatic change to college football after the last 15 or so. Yet no one really is talking about how it will be different. You would think by now there would be more in-depth offseason discussions of how to better judge college football teams after a season. Yet instead all people are concerned about right now is which players are going to the NFL draft, what their stock is. Where's the discussion about how teams will be judged in college football next year? Is the timing of all this uncertainty in college football just coincidence or is there more to it?

[mestevo]

Quote: Originally Posted by simgamer0005

Is there any correlation to the NCAA football series ending to the BCS ending as well? Has there ever been this amount of uncertainty going into a college football season? When July 2014 rolls around, there will be no college football game for sale, and we will be heading into a college football season with no BCS rankings. Could there be a correlation to this new world of college football and without something like the BCS governing it. This is such a dramatic change to college football after the last 15 or so. Yet no one really is talking about how it will be different. You would think by now there would be more in-depth offseason discussions of how to better judge college football teams after a season. Yet instead all people are concerned about right now is which players are going to the NFL draft, what their stock is. Where's the discussion about how teams will be judged in college football next year? Is the timing of all this uncertainty in college football just coincidence or is there more to it?

I'm confused as to how any of that applies to this thread or lawsuit. The discontinued game is peanuts compared to the BCS/playoff change.

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