Gamers sue EA over "anticompetitive conduct" with Madden

Gamers in California and Washington are bringing legal action against for is claimed to be "blatantly anticompetitive conduct" with its Madden games.

The suit says that after early competition in football games between EA and Take-Two, EA cut the price of Madden 2005 game from $49.95 to $29.95.

"Electronic Arts could have continued to compete by offering a lower price and/or a higher quality product," the action said. "Instead, Electronic Arts quickly entered into a series of exclusive agreements with the only viable sports football associations in the United States: the National Football League, the Arena Football League, and NCAA Football."

The suit says EA raised the price of Madden 2006 by 70 percent.

The plaintiffs are asking for damages for anyone that bought Madden past August 2005. That's a lot of damages. Bet Peter's happy. More here.