Judge approves $60M settlement in EA Sports and NCAA lawsuits

A federal judge approved the $60 million combined settlement in lawsuits against the NCAA, Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) and publisher Electronic Arts yesterday, paving the way for student-athletes to finally get paid for appearances in college football and basketball video games.

"We are pleased with the decision from Judge Wilken to approve the $60 million combined settlement that will be distributed to hundreds of student-athletes," said Steve Berman, managing partner at Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro and lead counsel for the plaintiffs, in a statement to Polygon. "This landmark decision marks the first time that student-athletes will be paid for their likeness or image, and stands as a huge victory in the ongoing fight for student-athletes' rights."

Pending a 30-day waiting period for objections to the approval, the settlement could take effect and the players could start getting paid their share of the $60 million as early as September, Berman told CBS Sports. Individual payouts will vary depending on the nature of a student-athlete's appearance in a game, and on the number of games in which the player appeared from May 2003 through September 2014.

The settlement fund's administrating firm has received more than 20,000 claims so far, according to documents that the company filed with the court. The firm reported a claim rate of about 19 percent for the EA settlement and 29 percent for the NCAA settlement, both of which are "very high compared with the range of claims rates we typically receive," the company said. The court today extended the deadline for filing claims to July 31. Claims can be filed on this website.

The player-likeness lawsuits are separate from former student-athletes' antitrust complaints against the NCAA. Judge Wilken ruled in favor of the players in the antitrust case in August 2014, and the court heard an appeal from the NCAA this past March.

• SOURCE
 
• CBS Sports and Polygon

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has passed away at 55

We here at The Gamers Talk are deeply saddened by the news that Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has passed away at age 55.




Nintendo has just issued a short statement announcing that president Satoru Iwata has passed away at the age of 55.

The statement reads:

Nintendo Co., Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth.

It's that time of year again. Time for our annual 24 hour live stream for Charity!!

That's right folks it's that time of year again. Time for our annual 24 hour live stream on Twitch.tv/thegamerstalk . 

This year we are going through the Child’s Play charity organization, that helps buy kids in need toys and other stuff. Our goal this year is $500! I know we can do this!

What is Child’s Play?!

"Since 2003, they have set up and organized Child’s Play, a game industry charity dedicated to improving the lives of children with toys and games in there network of over 70 hospitals worldwide. Over the years, you as a community have answered the call and come together to raise millions of dollars."

"Child’s Play works in two ways. With the help of hospital staff, we set up gift wish lists full of video games, toys, books, and other fun stuff for kids. By clicking on a hospital location on our map, you can view that hospital’s wish list and send a gift."

"Child’s Play also receives cash donations throughout the year. With those cash donations, we purchase new consoles, peripherals, games, and more for hospitals and therapy facilities. These donations allow for children to enjoy age-appropriate entertainment, interact with their peers, friends, and family, and can provide vital distraction from an otherwise generally unpleasant experience."

                                                                Click Here to donate 

Batman: Arkham Knight Review

Before we begin, I would like to make a few things clear. I played the Xbox One version of Batman: Arkham Knight, and while the complications of the PC version have not carried over to its console counterparts, there were many bugs and glitches that I did experience. I can only speak for the Xbox One version and my experiences with that version.

He is the Night, The World’s Greatest Detective, and The Caped Crusader.  He is Batman, but has his recent video game success (Batman Arkham Series) carried over into his supposed final installment? This is what I’ll be looking at in this review, as I recap the feats and faults of Batman: Arkham Knight.

Playing off the title of the series, Arkham Knight’s primary focus is on the new villain (created for this game), The Arkham Knight (clever). This mysterious military-prominent villain wears an armored suit with obvious inspiration of Batman’s. As you progress through the game, it is evident that The Arkham Knight knows Batman, and holds some type of deep-rooted grudge against him. This is used very well through the main story, where The Knight is most prevalent, alongside the main antagonist Scarecrow. The main story offers numerous twists, turns, and even some “deaths” of main characters (sorry no spoilers), and is easily the best aspect of the game, as it was the portion I felt most intrigued, and invested in. The story, and how The Arkham Knight’s relation to Batman, is written very well, and really takes you to the core of what Batman is really about.

The side missions, however, including Gotham’s Most Wanted, was an aspect of the game that I did not know I wanted, but something I needed in the game. It added a whole new level of Batman-nes that I did not expect. Gotham’s most wanted is the overall goal of the side missions where you attempt to capture and lock-up Gotham’s most notorious criminals, i.e. Two-Face, Penguin, and The Ridder (and yes the Riddler trophies are back). Gotham’s Most Wanted actually made me feel like I was Batman, and made me determined to catch them all (haha Pokemon) and lock them up; and without giving away too much you do need to get all the major criminals in order to initiate the Nightfall Protocol (the true ending), which I have yet to do as I still need to finish the Riddler portion.

With that being said, there are numerous bugs and glitches that I experienced, although many others I talked to about Arkham Knight did not experience. I found the controls at various times to be sporadic, causing me to grapple somewhere I did not intend, or being unable to drop down onto an adversary to do a silent take-down. I found this to be frustrating at times, as the difficulty in the game quickly increase about 75% through the main story. The enemies got smarter, and they had better technology than your average Batman thugs, forcing you to be more careful, but sometimes the junky controls make it difficult to do so. Another issue I had is that I purchased the season pass in order to download the various skins and DLC, but I have been unable to. This could be a Xbox issue, as they have been unable to offer a solution at the point of this review’s completion.

Batman: Arkham Knight is a good game that could have been great without all the bugs and poor controls. The funny thing is the game’s original release date was around this time last year, so you can imagine the potential problems it had back when they first delayed its release. If it actually is the conclusion to the series, then it goes out with a bang, and I felt satisfied with its completion after playing the other games in the series (haven’t beaten Origins yet). Minor issues aside, Batman: Arkham Knight is a game that any Batman fan should experience, as it is another success by Rocksteady to place you inside the cowl of one-half of the Dynamic Duo.


(Also Mark Hamill returns as The Joker)

~Cody Tassin
Co-Host of The Gamers Talk
Follow Me on Twitter @captaintassin