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07-15-2009, 01:10 PM
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2009/05/madden-10-dive-052709b.jpg (http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/07/14/economist-ea039s-madden-monopoly-cost-gamers-926-million)
Most sports game fans are none too happy about EA's monopolization of the NFL -- but only because of the limited choice of official football games they're afforded. A little over a month ago, two game enthusiasts, Geoffrey Pecover and Jeffrey Lawrence, filed a class-action suit against EA (http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/09/judge-says-madden-monopoly-suit-can-move-forward/) -- not due to the loss of fun that resulted following the eradication of the competing NFL 2K franchise (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_2K), but rather, due to the loss of funds.
The two men called University of Michigan economics professor Dr. Jeffrey MacKie-Mason (for those keeping count, that's three Jeffs in this story so far) as a witness in the case. His findings, which he admits are based on incomplete data, are shocking -- he claims that with no direct competitor, EA was able to raise the price on the Madden (http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/07/14/economist-ea039s-madden-monopoly-cost-gamers-926-million) series. By his estimate, EA effectively overcharged the game's purchasers between $701 million and $926 million from 2006 to 2009.
Wedbush analyst and Joystiq celebrity (http://www.joystiq.com/tag/pachter) Michael Pachter responded to the estimate with vitriol (http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/07/15/pachter-economist039s-claims-madden-monopoly-case-irresponsible), claiming that the professor had based his claims on faulty figures -- for instance, EA only made about $800 million off the Madden franchise during that period, and the series' average price only increased by a few cents after the NFL 2K series bit the dust. Thanks for the clarification, Pachy -- but we could have guessed the estimates were bunko. A billion dollars is a difficult thing to take from a group with such a keen eye (http://www.joystiq.com/tag/boycott) for acts of corporate ledgermain.http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif (http://www.joystiq.com)Economist: EA overcharged Madden buyers up to $926 million (http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/15/economist-ea-overcharged-madden-buyers-up-to-926-million/) originally appeared on Joystiq (http://www.joystiq.com) on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds (http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).
Read | Permalink (http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/15/economist-ea-overcharged-madden-buyers-up-to-926-million/) | Email this (http://www.joystiq.com/forward/19098876/) | Comments (http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/15/economist-ea-overcharged-madden-buyers-up-to-926-million/#comments)
More... (http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/15/economist-ea-overcharged-madden-buyers-up-to-926-million/)
Most sports game fans are none too happy about EA's monopolization of the NFL -- but only because of the limited choice of official football games they're afforded. A little over a month ago, two game enthusiasts, Geoffrey Pecover and Jeffrey Lawrence, filed a class-action suit against EA (http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/09/judge-says-madden-monopoly-suit-can-move-forward/) -- not due to the loss of fun that resulted following the eradication of the competing NFL 2K franchise (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_2K), but rather, due to the loss of funds.
The two men called University of Michigan economics professor Dr. Jeffrey MacKie-Mason (for those keeping count, that's three Jeffs in this story so far) as a witness in the case. His findings, which he admits are based on incomplete data, are shocking -- he claims that with no direct competitor, EA was able to raise the price on the Madden (http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/07/14/economist-ea039s-madden-monopoly-cost-gamers-926-million) series. By his estimate, EA effectively overcharged the game's purchasers between $701 million and $926 million from 2006 to 2009.
Wedbush analyst and Joystiq celebrity (http://www.joystiq.com/tag/pachter) Michael Pachter responded to the estimate with vitriol (http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/07/15/pachter-economist039s-claims-madden-monopoly-case-irresponsible), claiming that the professor had based his claims on faulty figures -- for instance, EA only made about $800 million off the Madden franchise during that period, and the series' average price only increased by a few cents after the NFL 2K series bit the dust. Thanks for the clarification, Pachy -- but we could have guessed the estimates were bunko. A billion dollars is a difficult thing to take from a group with such a keen eye (http://www.joystiq.com/tag/boycott) for acts of corporate ledgermain.http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif (http://www.joystiq.com)Economist: EA overcharged Madden buyers up to $926 million (http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/15/economist-ea-overcharged-madden-buyers-up-to-926-million/) originally appeared on Joystiq (http://www.joystiq.com) on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds (http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).
Read | Permalink (http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/15/economist-ea-overcharged-madden-buyers-up-to-926-million/) | Email this (http://www.joystiq.com/forward/19098876/) | Comments (http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/15/economist-ea-overcharged-madden-buyers-up-to-926-million/#comments)
More... (http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/15/economist-ea-overcharged-madden-buyers-up-to-926-million/)