EA getting sued by creator of first Madden game
Electronic Arts, publisher of the multi-quazillion selling Madden game series, is getting sued by the man who developed the very first Madden.
In 1986, Robin Antonick (note his prominently displayed name in the shot above) was hired by EA to work on John Madden Football (as it was known then) for the Commodore 64, MS-DOS and Apple II. Antonick signed a development contract that promised him 1.5 percent of the profits from any “derivative works” made for different hardware.
Zip forward 25 years and Antonick says he hasn’t been paid royalties since 1992. Worse still for EA, he wants his cut of the $4 billion the Madden games have generated for the publisher over the last two decades. As per his complaint:
“Only recently, as a result of publicity surrounding the 20th Anniversary of the Madden videogame did Antonick become aware that Electronic Arts did not independently develop subsequent versions of its Madden NFL software. Instead, according to recent statements by Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, the current generation of software apparently derived from software developed by Antonick.”
The lawsuit also outlines the innovations the original John Madden game brought to digital football. These include 11-player sides, 3D camera technologies, and instant replay features. Antonick’s lawyers argue that these mechanics are still integral in Madden today, and argue their client is thus owed millions of dollars in royalties.
