Madden NFL Original Creator Sues EA Over Missed Royalties

Robin Antonick, the man who created the first Madden NFL Football game in 1986, is suing EA Electronics over tens of millions of unpaid royalties, reports Reuters.

The Illinois-native is reportedly demanding a jury trial in California to ask for a piece of the “Madden franchise fortune” from EA which has sold over 85 million copies in its 20-year existence, and made over $ 4 billion in profit, says Forbes. Antonick received royalty checks from EA for five years until 1992, when the game developer began expanding the franchise to other consoles, and starting cutting him out of the decision-making process.

Antonick reportedly found out that the new Madden NFL games were still using the same code base that he developed in 1988 and decided to sue as a result. “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,” reads the complaint. “Instead, according to recent statements by Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, the current generation of software apparently derived from software developed by Antonick,” says Gamespot.

Antonick claims in the lawsuit that he created the first 11-on-11 game in 1988 for the Commodore 64, MS-DOS and Apple II platforms, “both with programming expertise and knowledge of former Oakland Raiders head coach John Madden’s behavior in calling plays in certain game situations,” reports G4 TV.

This isn’t the first time that Madden NFL Football is the subject of legal action. Last August, former NFL player sued EA for using him and 6,000 other players without getting paid, reports Forbes. In 2008, NFL players were paid $20.9 in punitive damages and $7.1 million for use of their likenesses.

This lawsuit also comes amidst real-life professional football legal quarrels that have put a halt to the popular game. Some analysts predict that if the 2011 football season doesn’t move forward, this could cut in half the number of copies that Madden NFL Football 12 will sell, adds Forbes.

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