The San Jose Business Journal is reporting that gamers from the California and Washington, D.C. areas are suing Electronic Arts. The suit is over alleged "blatantly anticompetitive conduct" relating to their football sports franchise. EA cut the Madden 2005 price down to $29.95 because of competition with Take-Two's NFL 2K series, after which EA acquired licenses for all of the relevant leagues.

"Electronic Arts could have continued to compete by offering a lower price and/or a higher quality product," the suit 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 plaintiffs are seeking class action and want damages and restitution for buyers of Madden games since August of 2005.