Details on First Patch for NCAA Football 14
EA Sports today had the first post-release patch for NCAA Football 14 go live on the Xbox 360 and PS3. The list of fixes provided by the company is not expansive - there was more done than just what is mentioned here - but these are the primary issues addressed. (more…)...
First School States Intention of Withdrawing From College Video Games
When the NCAA pulled its licensing from college sports video games it became not just a possibility, but a probability, that conferences and individual schools would follow. Yesterday the conferences began to make known they would no longer license themselves out for video games. Now schools are starting to follow. (more…)...
Dominoes Falling as SEC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 Follow NCAA in Withdrawing from Involvement With Video Games
The SEC and Big Ten will no longer license their brands for college video games. The Pac-12 is now also out. The news comes about a month after the NCAA made the same decision.
That does not mean members of the three conferences will be gone from the newly renamed College Football 15 from EA Sports. Like with the NCAA it means there will be no references to or logos for the SEC, Big Ten, or Pac-12 in the game. The conferences would get made-up names.
The ramifications go beyond that h...
NCAA Will No Longer Sell Team Merchandise; Shifts More Responsibility to Schools
Last month the NCAA announced they would no longer provide a license for sports video games. The decision offered them distance from potential future claims regarding misuse of likenesses in games but will not help in the potentially monumental case brought by current and past players. Now the NCAA is taking a step back in the area of merchandising following the embarrassment of earlier this week.
The NCAA will no longer sell jerseys, numbered t-shirts, or anything that could be construed...
NCAA Looks Even Worse Today Regarding Misappropriated Use of Likenesses
The continued hypocrisy of the NCAA shone through today as Jay Bilas exposed on Twitter how names are linked to jerseys at the official NCAA shop. Players can't profit off their own names but the NCAA sure does and it couldn't have been made any clearer. Searching the names of both current and former players returned results with the jersey number they wear/wore on apparel. The search functionality on the site has now been completely disabled. (more…)...
Major Defense for EA in Likeness Suit Struck Down by Appeals Court
A federal appeals court turned in a split decision today overruling the argument by Electronic Arts that the First Amendment gave them protection as free expression and artistic works in the representation of players in college video games. The 2-1 ruling prevents the company from using the First Amendment as a defense against collegiate athletes who feel their likeness has been misused but it does not represent closure on the subject by any means. (more…)...
EA Seeks Dismissal from Likeness Lawsuit
In a filing today Electronic Arts is seeking dismissal following the latest amended complaint in the player likeness lawsuit against the company, NCAA, and CLC. During the class action certification hearing EA and the CLC both threw the NCAA under the bus saying they shouldn't be held liable given that they were just following the NCAA's rules. That argument is appearing again now in the hopes, however slim despite happening once before, that they will be dismissed as defendants before the d...
Sales for NCAA Football Down From Last Year
Concern over the future of the college football series from EA Sports has not only stemmed from the likeness lawsuit or recent loss of NCAA licensing but also sales that have for the most part stagnated over the course of the generation rather than show growth as the install bases expanded. Then NCAA Football 13 opened down about 12% compared to NCAA 12. In this week's call with investors COO Peter Moore was asked about how well NCAA Football 14 has been doing since its release earlier this ...