Since I am a huge fan of sports, and also a big fan of video games, it stands to reason that I am a gigantic fan of sports video games. One of my favorites that I have played for years is NCAA Football. I was always a fan of taking one of the worst teams in the game (usually teams in Division 1 for the first time), and trying to play and recruit well enough to make them a powerhouse team. Last year, I did it with UTSA, the year before Akron, and the year before that Eastern Michigan. I have yet to get the newest installment in the game but when I do Old Dominion will be my project team to try and take to the National Championship.
Unfortunately for EA Sports (the developers of the game), the NCAA has pulled its support of the franchise because of the lawsuits leveled against both parties by former college basketball player Ed O'Bannon. The lawsuit states that both the NCAA and EA has profited from using likenesses of college athletes for years. Anyone who has played a college oriented video game knows that no player names are used in the original game. All players are represented by their jersey number and nothing else. But if you look at a roster of a team like Michigan, you will see number 16 in the game has very similar height and weight and the same home state as Devin Gardner. This is where the problem lies for EA and the NCAA in regards to the lawsuit.
Also, in recent installments, EA has offered the Roster Sharing option which allows fans of the game to "create" their own roster using names, likenesses, numbers, etc. This is where you see exact replicas of college football players. This is just compounding the problems for the NCAA and EA because exact likenesses are being used in the game in some way, shape, or form.
Because NCAA has pulled its support of the game, EA can no longer use the NCAA logo and name. Despite that, EA Sports has already announced that it will be releasing a college football game next year. The reason that they can still do this is because the NCAA is not the organization that controls the schools logos, uniforms, etc or the trophies, awards, and bowls. As a result, EA has pushed forward with the development of the game and can still use almost all of the real life aspects of college football. That is unless some repercussions come down on them as a result of the O'Bannon lawsuit.
As a video game fan and a fan of the series, I really hope that the series can continue and be as well made and successful as it has been in the past. Whether it be via the players getting some sort of monetary reimbursement for the use of their likeness, or by EA winning the lawsuit, I hope to continue playing this wonderful game and being able to play as real life college players and not just numbers or made up names.
Unfortunately for EA Sports (the developers of the game), the NCAA has pulled its support of the franchise because of the lawsuits leveled against both parties by former college basketball player Ed O'Bannon. The lawsuit states that both the NCAA and EA has profited from using likenesses of college athletes for years. Anyone who has played a college oriented video game knows that no player names are used in the original game. All players are represented by their jersey number and nothing else. But if you look at a roster of a team like Michigan, you will see number 16 in the game has very similar height and weight and the same home state as Devin Gardner. This is where the problem lies for EA and the NCAA in regards to the lawsuit.
Also, in recent installments, EA has offered the Roster Sharing option which allows fans of the game to "create" their own roster using names, likenesses, numbers, etc. This is where you see exact replicas of college football players. This is just compounding the problems for the NCAA and EA because exact likenesses are being used in the game in some way, shape, or form.
As a video game fan and a fan of the series, I really hope that the series can continue and be as well made and successful as it has been in the past. Whether it be via the players getting some sort of monetary reimbursement for the use of their likeness, or by EA winning the lawsuit, I hope to continue playing this wonderful game and being able to play as real life college players and not just numbers or made up names.
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