lɐuǝɯo⊥ǝɥԀ
05-17-2009, 07:59 AM
If you've been wondering how the recent lawsuit between retired NFL players and the NFL Players Association regarding their likenesses in the Madden franchise might affect your enjoyment with the game, this may be our first indication. Kotaku reports that although most Hall of Fame players will return, no versions of Madden NFL 10 will feature the legacy teams found in recent PlayStation 2 Madden titles -- although EA Sports assures it's not because of the lawsuit.
EA's explanation is that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Madden have never featured the legacy teams, and removing them from this year's PlayStation 2 version "was just a matter of getting some consistency across the entire franchise," according to a spokesperson.
Still, it's not surprising to see EA moving away from the legacy teams following a $28 million victory in a class action lawsuit against the NFLPA, in which a group of retired NFL players argued their likenesses had been used in the Madden franchise without proper compensation. Although the legacy teams never featured any names and faces of real players, they argued they still featured accurate stats (height, weight, years played, etc.) that clearly revealed who they were supposed to be modeled after.
Moreover, one of these retired players, Bernard Parrish, recently published an open letter in which he threatened legal action against Electronic Arts as well (only the NFLPA was part of the original lawsuit). So in other words, it might be a while before we see a return of such legacy teams to the Madden franchise again.
1UP
EA's explanation is that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Madden have never featured the legacy teams, and removing them from this year's PlayStation 2 version "was just a matter of getting some consistency across the entire franchise," according to a spokesperson.
Still, it's not surprising to see EA moving away from the legacy teams following a $28 million victory in a class action lawsuit against the NFLPA, in which a group of retired NFL players argued their likenesses had been used in the Madden franchise without proper compensation. Although the legacy teams never featured any names and faces of real players, they argued they still featured accurate stats (height, weight, years played, etc.) that clearly revealed who they were supposed to be modeled after.
Moreover, one of these retired players, Bernard Parrish, recently published an open letter in which he threatened legal action against Electronic Arts as well (only the NFLPA was part of the original lawsuit). So in other words, it might be a while before we see a return of such legacy teams to the Madden franchise again.
1UP