Difference between revisions of "Electronic Arts"

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This issue was settled by paying former college atheletes that were popularized in the game.  Players were given checks, and many advocating for college athletes fighting the NCAA considered this a huge win.  In turn, EA, or any other game designer, can make NCAA games for profit due to legality issues and the concerns of profits being made of off non-professional athletes.  The last of the NCAA Football series games was produced in 2011, entitled NCAA Football 2012, and pictured Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram from Alabama on the cover.
 
This issue was settled by paying former college atheletes that were popularized in the game.  Players were given checks, and many advocating for college athletes fighting the NCAA considered this a huge win.  In turn, EA, or any other game designer, can make NCAA games for profit due to legality issues and the concerns of profits being made of off non-professional athletes.  The last of the NCAA Football series games was produced in 2011, entitled NCAA Football 2012, and pictured Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram from Alabama on the cover.
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[[File:Ncaa_football_12_cover.jpg|thumbnail| The last NCAA Football video game released in 2011, and had Mark Ingram on the cover.]]
 
== Ethical Issues ==
 
== Ethical Issues ==
  

Revision as of 22:29, 18 February 2016

Electronic Arts Inc. was founded on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins

Electronic Arts, Inc. (or EA Games) is an American technology company responsible for designing many popular video games. Games such as the FIFA series games, NBA Live, the Sims, the Need for Speed series games, and many more. Among Nintendo, valve, and Activision, EA Games ranks among the largest revenue-generating video game companies in the world [1].

Online Gaming

One unique feature that EA does well is providing an online environment for their users to play. Allowing players to engage competiviely with others around the world inhibits a new experience that is unique. Although usually a service provided by the console is necessary to play online with other players (such as Xbox Live or Playstation Network), this is a very popular method of gaming [2]. Creating new friends within the gameplay setting is a common way for users to get more out of their gameplay experience.

The online community can be seen as an Information Communication Technology or an ICT. An information communication technology is anything that can be used to communicate electronically. Luciano Floridi claims, we are in the infomration age where communication systems are necessity of life. Typically, most think of cellulcar devices, computer communication like email, or even radio. However, these gaming consoles now have interactive methods of communicating, whether it be chatting over text messages on screen or over recorded voice messages. EA, along with other game designers, often allow online multiplayer gamers to communicate while the game is happening, which allows them to strategize, or even trash talk the other team. Since gamers are paired up all over the world, this is an effective method for news to travel quickly across the globe, through the gaming community.

Demise of NCAA Football

The NCAA Football video game series used to be very popular among EA Sports' line of video games. However, after years of production of the game, they stopped making the game. Although when making the game, the game designers were not allowed to use players names because of conflicting NCAA rules, they still found a way around it to continue to make money for Electronic Arts, Inc. They would design the players with the same numbers, same height and weight attributes, same skin color, face mask, all down to the last details of the players [3]. Details down to even the players hair colors, home states, and hometowns were correct. These players technically did not have names when being created into the game, so EA could claim that they were not making money off of the player's popularization through the video games and media coverage.

This issue was settled by paying former college atheletes that were popularized in the game. Players were given checks, and many advocating for college athletes fighting the NCAA considered this a huge win. In turn, EA, or any other game designer, can make NCAA games for profit due to legality issues and the concerns of profits being made of off non-professional athletes. The last of the NCAA Football series games was produced in 2011, entitled NCAA Football 2012, and pictured Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram from Alabama on the cover.

The last NCAA Football video game released in 2011, and had Mark Ingram on the cover.

Ethical Issues

Buyout

Back in December of 2004, EA Games signed a contract with the National Football League (NFL) for publisher exclusivity for trademarks of the NFL, NCAA, AFL, and NFLPA [4]. Essentially, this gave them a monopoly over all football based video games, such as the popular series’ of Madden, NCAA Football, and other popular football games. These games were being produced for Xbox, Playstation, and Nintendo consoles, as well as PC games.

What this meant was companies such as 2K Sports, could no longer make football games. Without the right to trademark and copyright information, no team names, player names, or affiliations could be created within the game. As James Moor states in his “Why We Need Better Ethics for Emerging Technologies,” as technological revolutions increase their social impact, ethical problems increase. Although the gaming industry may not be a life-altering technological revolution, this was indeed a revolution within the gaming industry itself. The rights to sports related trademarks and logos is very important, because a large part of the market of video games sales relies around the sales of sports games. When EA bought the rights to the NFL’s associations, it was a sign to smaller, less competitive game design companies that they wouldn’t have a shot in the football market.

Action Taken

In Pecover vs. Electronic Arts, EA was challenged to their rights of the NFL trademarks for game creation. Other companies like 2K Sports protested by claiming they had the right to create games using these same, popularized NFL teams [5]. The lawsuit ended in EA games, performing a settlement with the prosecutors in the litigation case against them. They we’re required to pay $27 million dollars in a settlement fund, which entitled all those who had bought EA games between 2005 and 2012 a small portion of their money back. [6]. The refunds were given based on which system and games were purchased during these years. Although it was a small portion of the profits EA made for these games, it was a big win for smaller game competitors.

Resolution

With a large corporation like EA Games unable to monopolize video game markets buy using their monstrous income profits to buy out title rights, this is big ethical win for the video game community. Another aspect of ethics that are being explored are the intentions of FIFA, the associated organization in which EA bases it’s popular soccer video game series off of. FIFA is the organization oversees the international soccer play, but recently has had allegations of fraud and money laundering. Many believe EA Games should take a different approach to soccer games, reinventing the name and affiliations of the game’s primary identity [7]. However, such a major change in the system could deter current users from the game, because it is altering the traditional format in which they have enjoyed the game for many years previous. Either way, EA Games will be required to make choices that will continue them on their successful journey, but the ethics of information will be cautiously weighted factor.


Games

NOTE: This list is from the actual Electronic Arts Wikipedia site [8]

Template:Main

Template:Refimprove section Some of the most notable and popular games of video game history have been published by EA, and many of these are listed below. Though EA published these titles, they did not always develop them; some were developed by independent game development studios. EA developed their first internally developed game in 1987.

Upcoming titles


References

Moor, J. In Why We Need Better Emerging Technologies. Retrieved February 15, 2016.

Floridi, L. Ethics After the information Revolution. Retrieved February 16, 2016.

[1] http://www.thetoptens.com/top-video-game-companies/

[2] http://www.techtimes.com/articles/47085/20150418/playstation-plus-vs-xbox-live-gold-which-online-service-is-best.htm

[3] http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9728042/ea-sports-stop-producing-college-football-game

[4] http://www.technobuffalo.com/2011/04/07/ea-sued-for-supposed-monopoly-over-football-games/

[5] http://www.technobuffalo.com/2011/04/07/ea-sued-for-supposed-monopoly-over-football-games/

[6] http://www.polygon.com/gaming/2012/7/23/3177295/ea-sports-monopoly-lawsuit-settlement

[7] http://www.polygon.com/2015/5/27/8672659/fifa-arrests-corruption-ea-sports-video-game-sponsorship
  1. ↑ Ashcraft, Brian · (January 8, 2008) · 2008 Tech Emmy Winners · work · Kotaku · August 30, 2012
  2. ↑ Schreier, Jason · (2015-06-15) · EA Announces Incredible-Looking Indie-ish Yarn Game Unravel · work · 2015-06-15
  3. ↑ lastname, firstname · (date) · New Battlefield Game Coming in 2016 · work · 2015-06-30
  4. ↑ lastname, firstname · (date) · New Mirror's Edge, Plants vs. Zombies Games Coming in Early 2016 · work · 2015-05-23
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