Direct TV has deep-sixed its Championship Gaming Series professional gaming league, according to the Hollywood Examiner.

An announcement on the CGS website calls the league "an idea whose time came too early" and laments that "profitability was too far in the future for us to sustain operations in the interim."

The Examiner notes:

The CGS, was founded in 2007... and was sponsored by major brands in gaming and mainstream like Moutain Dew, Fatality gaming gear, Alienware and Xbox 360.

The league launched its first season with six franchises in six major cities in the United States including Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, San Fransico, Chicago and Carolina. In 2008, they launched new franchises in major international markets like Berlin, Spain, England and Mexico...

CGS was also the only league with international television coverage where the players where able to get more then bragging rights, but was also paid a salary like professional athletes.

Here at GamePolitics I've been complaining (some might say whining) since 2005 that EA's exclusive arrangement with the NFL is, at best, a bad deal for gamers.

At worst, it's a monopoly.

Ultimately, the Federal Trade Commission, looked at the Madden issue in relation to EA's merger dance with Take-Two Interactive. But, inasmuch as the FTC pre-approved the EA-T2 deal, its regulators apparently came down against the monopoly view.

But that was before secret e-mails from officials of the NFL Players Association were made public in September during a bitter court fight between retired players and the NFLPA. As GamePolitics reported last week, the retirees were ultimately awarded $28 million by a U.S. District Court jury in San Francisco. Three-quarters of that amount was levied as punitive damages. The NFLPA says that it will appeal.

While millions in Madden licensing fees were central to the case, EA itself was not a defendant. Despite that, incriminating e-mails clearly show that EA knew it was "scrambling" the likenesses of retired players on Madden's classic NFL teams. More relevant to the monopoly issue, however, is an e-mail which demonstrates that the NFLPA was complicit in helping EA maintain its status as the sole publisher of a pro football game. A February, 2007 e-mail from NFLPA executive Clay Walker to an NFLPA attorney makes this quite plain:

I was able to forge this deal with the [Pro Football Hall of Fame] that provides them with 400K per year (which is significantly below market rate) in exchange for the HOF player rights. EA owes me a huge favor because of that threat was enough to persuade Take Two to back off its plans, leaving EA as the only professional football videogame manufacturer out there.

 

...The per player price for most of these guys was tens of thousands of dollars less than what they were guaranteed by Take Two Interactive so it’s a real coup that we were able to pull this off so cheaply. You have to remember that EA’s total cost is only $200,000 per year. We know that Take Two offered six figure deals to several former NFL players so the total cost is millions below market prices...

Will the revelation that the NFLPA was actively assisting EA by keeping Take-Two on the sidelines raise any red flags at the Federal Trade Commission? Will FTC regulators revisit the Madden issue?

That remains to be seen. If you're asking yourself, "why is this issue important to gamers?" There are several very good reasons; all revolve around the concept of competition:

• When Take-Two published the NFL2K series, EA had competition.
• Competition forces companies to put out a better product.
• Some gamers even preferred NFL2K to Madden.
• Without an NFL license, Take-Two could not compete with Madden and gave up on pro football.
• After EA's exclusive deal killed NFL2K, EA's raised the price of its next version of Madden by $20.
• The price has remained at a higher rate ever since.

Finally, we should point out that a class-action lawsuit, Pecover vs. Electronic Arts, is currently working its way through U.S. District Court in California. Pecover essentially argues that game consumers were screwed by EA's Madden monopoly.

Last week a federal court jury in San Francisco returned a stunning $28 million verdict against the NFL Players Association in a class-action suit filed by more than 2,000 former players

In their ruling, jurors decided that the NFLPA had screwed retired NFL players out of substantial licensing fees, paricularly in relation to the best-selling Madden series. A crucial piece of evidence in the trial was a highly incriminating e-mail from an NFLPA official to an EA exec urging that data on retired players such as their uniform number be "scrambled" in order to avoid compensating the retirees for the use of their likeness.

Noting that many of the retired players who are plaintiffs in the suit either played for John Madden or played during his era, Fox Sports columnist Mark Kriegel is calling on the former coach to step into the situation. Madden, after all, had earned millions from the game. Hall of Fame defensive back Herb Adderley, the lead plaintiff in the case, told Kriegel:

If John Madden knew that they were scrambling us, it's a disgrace. If he didn't know, well, no blame to him. ... But I'm sure he's seen some of these video games himself. I mean, I played against the Raiders in the Super Bowl. He can obviously see that the guy on '66 Packers and the '71 Cowboys is Herb Adderley.

 

He should say something. It would really help if he would come out and say something to heal the animosity between the current and the retired players. It's been a real bad thing.

Kriegel writes that he has been unable to track Madden down for a comment on the case and has gotten the run-around from EA, NBC and Madden's agent: 

"It's not really a 'Madden' story," says Rob Semsey, the PR guy at EA Sports, which had revenues of $3.67 billion last fiscal year. "It's a dispute between the retired players and the NFLPA."

 

I always love when they tell me what the story is. What are my chances of speaking with John Madden, I ask.

 

"Slim and none," he says.

 

An hour or so later, Rob Semsey's boss calls me. His name is Jeff Brown and he tells me to call Madden's agent.

Former NFL defensive standout Jack Youngblood, however, doesn't hold the old coach responsible:

Trying to say that John has some responsibility, I think, is stretching it. It's EA's responsibility. It's on the union. At some point in time," said Youngblood, "John Madden will stand up and do the right thing. I trust him as one of the great coaches in the league, and a great man. I firmly believe he will do what's honorable.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that several members of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will celebrate Veterans Day by gaming with U.S. troops stationed overseas.

Pro vs. G.I. Joe, the nonprofit group which arranged the event, reports that Madden 09 and the brand-new Call of Duty: World at War will be the weapons of choice. Tamps Bay CB Phillip Buchanon, LB Cato June, TE Alex Smith and CB Aqib Talib will take on service personnel in Germany, Japan, Kuwait and a secret Middle-east location to be revealed during the match.

UPDATE: Activision deserves some kudos here as well. In a press release the publisher points out that it supplied CoD:WaW for today's event and will continue to do so for future Pro vs. G.I. Joe matchups.

Game makers have taken to Barack Obama in a big way.

The president-elect has already made appearances in a Saints Row 2 trailer and as DLC in Mercenaries 3.

Wii title Kidz Sports Crazy Mini Golf, launched this week by Data Design, now has a video up featuring Obama scoring some sweet holes-in-one while characters John McCain (at least, I'm guessing that's supposed to be McCain) and Sarah Palin look on in frustration.

Thanks to: GP correspondent Andrew Eisen for the tip!

Bloomberg reports that Electronic Arts is considering allowing the highest bidding player to become the cover athlete on its best-selling Madden NFL franchise.

All money received from the winning bidder would go to NFL charity partner the United Way.

The news comes by way of EA Sports president Peter Moore, who told Bloomberg:

I bet you can find 50 players that would say, `I'd pay good money [to be on the cover of Madden]. The league does a lot of work with them to make them realize how lucky they are and a lot of them have come out of poor circumstances and they give back...

 

Our research tells us we don't see a huge up-tick or down-tick depending on who's on the cover -- [gamers are] buying Madden.

The Associated Press reminds us that today is the opening of Adderley et al vs NFL Players, Inc.

As GamePolitics reported last month, the suit was brought by retired NFL players who believe that they have been denied royalties from a variety of licensing deals arranged by the NFLPA, the union for active players.

The biggest point of contention in the case is Electronic Arts' best-selling Madden series. EA, however, is not a defendant in the lawsuit. From the AP report:

Retired players complain that, even though they signed licensing agreements with the NFLPA during a four-year period that ended in February 2007, they have earned little from the union's lucrative contract with EA.

The $35 million annual contract is the union's largest marketing deal, and the lawsuit is the latest salvo in the increasingly rancorous relationship between retirees and a union they say has given them short financial shrift...

In our previous coverage, GamePolitics carried excerpts of what the retired players view as smoking gun e-mails. An e-mail from PI exec Clay Walker discusses how Take-Two lost out in the deal. This would appear to refer to 2K Sports' failed All-Pro Football 2K8, which used names and likenesses of former players:

Take Two... went after retired players to create an “NFL” style video game after we gave the exclusive to EA. I was able to forge this deal with [the Pro Football Hall of Fame] that provides them with $400K per year (which is significantly below market rate) in exchange for the HOF player rights. EA owes me a huge favor because that threat was enough to persuade Take Two to back off its plans, leaving EA as the only professional football videogame manufacturer out there.

A U.S. Marine serving in Iraq bested a member of the Green Bay Packers in an online game of Madden on Friday.

According to the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Cpl. Tim Headricks, a Green Bay native, beat Packers lineman Mark Tauscher in a close game. Headricks controlled the Packers, while Taushcer too the reigns of the Indianapolis Colts.

The competition was arranged by a nonprofit group called Pro vs. Joe, which arranges matches between professional athletes and military personnel serving overseas.

Two other Packer linemen, Mike Montgomery and Tony Moll, played Halo 3 against Staff Sgt. James Wagner, who is stationed in Guantanamo Bay. The Marine lost:

I got slaughtered. I thought my video game skills were better, but we made it credible. The kids took care of business. Those Packers players must have a lot of time on their hands.

Here's a bit more on the Pro vs. Joe program, including news that three Philadelphia Eagles participated in Madden games with military personnel last month.

A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Nevada late last month alleges that sports game publisher Electronic Arts used the UNLV fight song in various NCAA-licensed games without obtaining permission of the composer.

Gerald Willis of Washoe County says in the suit that he is the composer and copyright holder of both the lyrics and music of Win With the Rebels. Willis claims that his tune can be heard in the following games:

• NCAA Basketball 09
• NCAA Football 09
• NCAA March Madness 08
• NCAA Football 08
• NCAA March Madness 07
• NCAA Football 07
• MVP NCAA Baseball 07
• NCAA March Madness 06
• NCAA Football 06
• MVP NCAA Baseball 06

From the complaint:

...an important element of Defendants' software is its realistic feel that is created, at least in part, by its recorded and reproduced sounds including but not limited to college fight song.

Willis seeks $150,000 per alleged copyright violation. We have a request in to EA for comment.

Larry Probst, Chairman of the Board of Electronic Arts, has been named the new Chairman of the United States Olympic Committe, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette.

Probst succeeds former Major League Baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth in the post and will likely lead efforts to bring the 2016 games to Chicago.

A press release on the USOC website offers reaction from the 58-year-old Probst:

I am honored to have the opportunity to serve an organization and a movement that makes such a significant difference in our world today. This is a movement built upon the spirit and dedication of athletes, and the selfless commitment of volunteers. By working closely with my fellow Board members, the USOC staff and the greater Olympic family in our country, my goal as Chairman is to preserve and strengthen opportunities for all those who wish to participate in this important endeavor.

Yesterday GamePolitics reported on troubling e-mails between representatives of the NFL players' union (NFLPA) and EA Sports which seemed to indicate that retired NFL players depicted in Madden's classic teams were not well represented by the NFLPA and its licensing arm, Players, Inc (PI).

The e-mails are contained in court documents from Parrish, Adderley, Roberts, et al vs NFLPA, a class action suit scheduled to begin on October 20 in federal court in San Francisco. A reading of the e-mails appears to indicate:

• some retired players received far less than their market value to appear in Madden
• some retired players had details such as name and number "scrambled" so they would not be compensated
• Take-Two's competing football game prospects were damaged by the NFLPA's deal with EA

Before going further, it is important to note a couple of points:

1. Electronic Arts is not a defendant in the lawsuit, nor is any wrongdoing alleged by EA. The company paid its licensing money to the NFLPA. The plaintiffs, retired NFL players, take issue with the distribution of those funds by the NFLPA.
2. Madden is not the only licensed product at issue, although it is by far the most lucrative. Others mentioned include such items as Topps football cards. Much of the case, however, revolves around Madden.

To recap the smoking gun e-mails, we'll start with former PI exec LaShun Lawson's e-mail to Madden producer Jeremy Strauser:

For all retired players that are not listed... their identity must be altered so that it cannot be recognized... Hence, any and all players not listed... cannot be represented in Madden 2002 with the number that player actually wore, and must be scrambled.

An e-mail from PI exec Clay Walker touches on how Take-Two lost out in the deal. This would appear to refer to 2K Sports' failed All-Pro Football 2K8:

Take Two... went after retired players to create an “NFL” style video game after we gave the exclusive to EA. I was able to forge this deal with [the Pro Football Hall of Fame] that provides them with $400K per year (which is significantly below market rate) in exchange for the HOF player rights. EA owes me a huge favor because that threat was enough to persuade Take Two to back off its plans, leaving EA as the only professional football videogame manufacturer out there.

GP: We promised the document. Get it here.

Although Electronic Arts isn't a defendant in Parrish, Adderley et al vs NFL Players, Inc., the megabucks generated by its Madden NFL series are at the center of the legal dispute.

The case, which will go to trial next month in San Francisco, alleges that the National Football League Players Association and its marketing wing, Players, Inc., prevented retired players from earning their fair share of licensing revenue. Money generated by EA's enormously popular Madden NFL series is the primary bone of contention.

According to former Buffalo Bills safety Jeff Nixon, newly-uncovered documents in the suit reveal that EA Sports obscured identifying information of retired players to skirt licensing payments. Nixon writes:

The documents... make it is crystal clear that the NFLPA conspired with EA to “scramble” the images of retired players in their Madden NFL Video Games...

 

The Class Action lawyers have more than a smoking gun to prove this; they have the person shooting the gun in the form of a letter fired off by former Players Inc. Vice President of Multimedia LaShun Lawson, to Madden NFL Game producer Jeremy Strauser that was cc’d to Doug Allen, then President of Players Inc. In the letter LaShun says:

 

“For all retired players that are not listed... their identity must be altered so that it cannot be recognized. Regarding paragraph 2 of the License Agreement between Electronic Arts and Players Inc, a player’s identity is defined as his name, likeness (including without limitation, number), picture, photograph, voice, facsimile signature and/or biographical information. Hence, any and all players not listed... cannot be represented in Madden 2002 with the number that player actually wore, and must be scrambled."

 

In the 2007 version of Madden NFL alone, more than 600 retired players... had their images scrambled. They are not identified in the game by their names and numbers, but the game lists their exact weight, height, years in the league, and position they played...

 

When a substantial competitor to EA [Take-Two] began to emerge for use of retired players, EA and Defendants rushed to enter into a contract locking up the most valuable retired players’ rights in exchange for payments that were admittedly below market. PI’s Senior Vice-President, Clay Walker, admitted as much in the following email:

 

“Take Two [the EA competitor] went after retired players to create an “NFL” style video game after we gave the exclusive to EA. I was able to forge this deal with [the Pro Football Hall of Fame] that provides them with $400K per year (which is significantly below market rate) in exchange for the HOF player rights. EA owes me a huge favor because that threat was enough to persuade Take Two to back off its plans, leaving EA as the only professional football videogame manufacturer out there.”

NFL retirees who are seeking a bigger slice of the pie from licensing deals such as the one involving the Madden NFL video game series have appealed to the man himself.

In Parrish, Adderley et al vs NFL Players, Inc., a class action lawsuit scheduled for trial in U.S. District Court in California in October, the former players claim that they have not gotten their fare share of revenues despite being depicted as members of some classic teams in Madden. The retired players are suing NFL Players, Inc., the licensing arm of the players union, the NFLPA.

Jeff Nixon, 51, who played free safety for the Buffalo Bills from 1979-1984 is tracking the lawsuit on his blog. Nixon has penned an open letter to John Madden, calling for the football announcer and former NFL coach to support the retired players:

You are... the face and name behind the wildly popular EA Sports Video Game - Madden NFL... will you sit back and let the NFLPA and EA Sports continue to take advantage of our Hall of Fame players?

 

...Evidence in the Retired Players Class Action suit demonstrates that the NFLPA and Players Inc. were working against the interests of the retired players and in favor of your boss EA Sports. For example, this internal email from NFLPA Executive Clay Walker, confirms that Players Inc. negotiated a deal with EA on behalf of retired Hall of Fame players which was significantly below market rate:

 

“I was able to forge this deal with the HOF that provides them with 400K per year (which is significantly below market rate) in exchange for the HOF player rights. EA owes me a huge favor because of that threat was enough to persuade Take Two to back off its plans, leaving EA as the only professional football videogame manufacturer out there.”

 

...Instead of negotiating the best possible deal for the retired players which it purported to represent, the NFLPA and Players Inc. were doing favors for EA by reducing compensation to retired players, and driving a competitive licensee [Take-Two's NFL2K series] out of the market...

 

And in this February 22, 2007 email from NFLPA Executive Clay Walker to Players Inc. in-house attorney Joe Nahra, the naked truth is exposed to the world:

 

“...The per player price for most of these guys was tens of thousands of dollars less than what they were guaranteed by Take Two Interactive so it’s a real coup that we were able to pull this off so cheaply. You have to remember that EA’s total cost is only $200,000 per year. We know that Take Two offered six figure deals to several former NFL players so the total cost is millions below market prices..."

 

John, these are your fellow Hall of Fame Players they are talking about! Are you going to let them get away with this? I know that EA is your employer, but come on...

 

GP: We're working on obtaining additional documents in the suit. The information concerning the elimination of Take-Two Interactive's NFL2K series is fascinating, to say the least. That's a topic about which GP has railed for some time.

Cnet's Declan McCullough reports that former Minnesota Vikings star Cris Carter was on hand at the Republican National Convention this week to hype Financial Football. The free game, created by Visa and the NFL, is designed to teach money management skills to young adults.

Said Carter:

Young people need to know how to make smart money management decisions before heading off to college and entering the workforce.

Former Broncos receiver Rod Smith performed similar duties at the DNC in Denver last week.

In addition to the PC version, Financial Football is a free D/L to mobile phones. Text the word VISA to 24421.

Yesterday we noted a New York Post report on the proposed EA takeover of Take-Two which claimed that the Federal Trade Commission, scheduled to rule on the merger by tomorrow, might require that T2 spin off one or more of its sports franchises so as not to hand EA a stranglehold on the sports segment of the market.

Heidi Moore of the Wall Street Journal digs a little deeper, interviewing Jeff Anderson, CEO of startup online sports gaming service Play Hard Sports (and former Turbine CEO) concerning his view of potential monopoly issues:

It’s in the best interests of consumers to have a choice. I’m always in favor of having more choice in the marketplace. Look at the ESPN football product when it came out. There was no [NFL] exclusivity agreement then. When Take Two changed its price point, people moved toward the Take-Two product and forced EA to reduce its price. You saw how competition can work in the advantage of the consumer.

 

The question we’re looking at, and what the FTC should be looking at, is whether this will reduce competition. If Take-Two’s sports franchise becomes part of EA, will that influence competition for the better or not? And will it influence prices positively or negatively?

 

Generally I’m not a fan of monopolies in the gaming world. We’re interested in providing a new choice to consumers. As a gameplayer, we’d love to see great games produced by these studios. And we’d love to see them compete.

The Sporting News has coverage of a Madden VIP premiere party from Thursday night, complete with a cast of third-tier celebs like Verne (Mini-Me) Troyer, Tom Arnold and, oddly, Hugh Hefner (with bored-looking female companions in tow).

Madden 09 launches on Tuesday, of course. After the GTA IV launch, about which GamePolitics probably ran 25 stories, the Madden debut will be the second biggest game release of the year. Madden, fairly free of controversy, gets just this one.

GP: Personally, I'm way more interested in getting my mitts on Spore and Fallout 3, but the annual Madden launch is always an event, especially given that this year is the 20th anniversary of the series.

Via: Deadspin