Gamers, serious and casual alike, all know the feeling of unbridled anticipation of the approaching release of a long-awaited new video game. Carrying a price tag of around $60, many gamers are forced to pick and choose which video games to buy new and which ones to pass over until being able to get it used. Then come the expansion packs, add-ons, and downloadable content that carry price tags of $5 to $ 20 each, and it’s easy to see how the investment in a single video game can quickly top $100. (Not to mention specialty equipment required by some games such as the Rock Band and Guitar Hero franchises.) With such a large price tag for the complete experience of a single video game its easy to see why the business of making video games is a billion dollar per year industry. But after spending your hard earned money for what is rapidly becoming the top entertainment choice around the world, how would you feel if you suddenly realized you were being cheated, to the tune of nearly a billion dollars, by the very industry you so readily support?

EA, the second largest video game publisher in the world, is accused, in a recently filed class action anti-trust lawsuit in California, of using an exclusive contract with the NFL to obliterate competing football video games, the NFL 2K series most undeniably comes to mind, then jacking the prices up to the current $60 per copy price. EA, which also publishes the wildly successful Sims franchise, realized that with the unprecedented demand for NFL games, they had a virtual gold mine on their hands and instantly moved to cash in. This alone, reportedly, was the single biggest cause to rising cost of video games. Apparently other publishers quickly realized that gamers would pay more and soon the $60 per copy price became the industry norm.

While the lawsuit only names EA as the sole defendant, they are not alone in this venture. The NFL, in 2001, faced a similar lawsuit over it’s deal with Reebok, granting Reebok exclusive rights to produce hats carrying team brands. The NFL won the lawsuit but due to appeals the case is rumored to be heading to the Supreme Court, possibly as soon as the end of this year. And with damage amounts, under California anti-trust laws, being tripled over actual damages, the actual dollar amounts due to a loss by EA could be substantial to say the least.

How a loss by EA will affect the every day gamer is uncertain at this point. Most experts agree, though, that it will have a negative impact on the gaming world. Increased prices due to additional regulation sure to follow are a realistic outcome. And add the fact that many of the NFL athletes are demanding royalities for using their likenesses and the smart money is on the fact that a loss in this lawsuit will contribute to continued rising prices. The question is whether gamers will continue to pay for the games they love or unite in protest to the exorbitant prices they are already paying.

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