EA Executives Sold Thousands of Shares Ahead of Battlefield 4's Release

Update to EA Class Action Lawsuit:
The official class-action claim [PDF] shows that various Electronic Arts senior executives sold thousands of shares ahead of Battlefield 4's release. Check out the graph below for more.

[NYC_Gamer]

This shows the execs already knew BF4 was a buggy piece of shit

[jimbobwahey]

I hope this causes as much damage as possible to EA, so much so that they exit the industry or suffer losses so severe that they don't dare release another buggy/unfinished game ever again. It's absurd that this industry gets away with so many awful business practices, and I'm pleased to see some legal action finally bite a company in the ass.

Hopefully this sort of thing continues.

[ZodTheRipper]

Wow this brings this case to a whole new level. These guys and EA as a whole shouldn't get away with that in my opinion ...money really is the root of all evil. This would've never happened if they had taken their time with the game and didn't release a broken product. When will you learn it EA?

[gatormatt80]

Effin Crooks!!!

[ShinMaster]

The problem is that companies like EA are run by a bunch of suits who don't know gaming.
They just think they know business.

[rainslacker]

What they did possibly constitutes insider trading, which is a felony. Since they're not bankers or in the oil business, they could possibly see jail time for this.

This is of course assuming that they sold it off knowing that the price would depreciate quickly due to something going on. Or if they lied about the health of the stocks in order to raise their value before unloading them...which is what this actual lawsuit is about...not how buggy BF was.

[titletownrelo]

I agree with you...but I want to play BattleFront III on Frostbite 3 so badly! :'(

[asmith2306]

"...so that they exit the industry or suffer losses so severe..." - aren't you nice. What about all the employees at EA? I would love to see you say that to them. The vast majority of people at EA have nothing to do with their business policies. It's all upper management. Shit rolls downhill. EA needs new management that have a different direction.

[allformats]

And the scandal continues to unfold. It serves them well, though. Greedy executives destroying a beloved franchise for quick gain, hoping not to get caught.

I hope this lawsuit prevails and EA is forced to pay tens of millions for the lies, forgery and deception.

It's no wonder EA is persistently voted WORST company in the U.S.

[venom06]

BF4 really is a GREAT game since the latest fixes and updates.

[Elwenil]

@Venom06,

Looking at you comment history, I can't see how anyone would take anything you say seriously. How much is EA paying you?

[gatormatt80]

Venom06

I think you owe EA a refund, for whatever they are paying you, because you are doing a terrible job.

http://www.cinemablend.com/...

[Beahmscream]

LOL @ Venom06's comment history!

[pompombrum]

On the flip side, you have Kotick who sells his shares after the launch of their biggest game, MW2. Love him or hate him, you have to respect his confidence in products his company helps to publish.

[allformats]

Agreed with you, aiBreeze.

[GarrusVakarian]

BF4 is what happens when you have greedy suits who aren't interested in games or the gaming industry in the slightest rape and pillage franchises for their own quick gain. These people don't share the passion and love for our hobby that we have......they just see it as an investment, they make me sick to my stomach.

I would love nothing more than EA to exit this industry, they are greedy, poisonous and disrespectful of videogames. They are like a swarm of locusts destroying any franchise they touch.

Then you get EA saying things like: "We want to be voted the best company in America" and "because we are the best company in the world". Denial or blind love of themselves? A little bit of both i think.

[asmith2306]

What a bullshit comment. So you would be more than happy for the hundreds of regular employees at EA to lose their jobs? The problem at EA is at the upper management level, not the lower levels. They just need new management that have a different direction.

[GarrusVakarian]

@asmith

"The problem at EA is at the upper management level, not the lower levels"

If you would have read my comment properly you would see that's exactly what i was saying. I thought it would be pretty clear that by "greedy suits" and "they just see it as an investment" i was referring to the upper management.

[venom06]

BF4 is still an AMAZING experience especially since the last fixes that have been implemented.. too bad no one if focusing on the VAST list of improvements that have been made since release.

[Fizzgig]

That's because the improvements should never have been needed in the first place.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Oh no...that is a big red flag and definitely something that will come out in court. Wow... just wow.

[gman_moose]

LOL wouldn't this be considered insider trading?

[majiebeast]

EA is going for worst company award 3 times in a row. This is not even trying to hide insider trading. Even the DICE ceo dumped his shares.

[MegaRay]

No matter what Microsoft do, They could never beat EA at that award lol

[mcstorm]

What I find funny is its not all ea its just parts that want to be no one. Look at FIFA. FIFA got its ads kicked by pes, and NHL started getting kicked all over by 2k NHL and the teams of theses games decided to go back to the drawing board and gave us some new ways to play them and I am really liking what they have done with FIFA one the new gen but bf has just become a mess. Bf3 was a good game and the bfbc2 was also a good game but then they decided they wanted to take on cod and its just all become a mess look at MoH too.

I really hope people start to see the other games that are coming to this new gen and its really getting boring seeing cod, bf, AC, MoH, batman, NFS etc every year and not improving too.

[rainslacker]

Well, we all know it takes a really long time to shed the skin when you do wrong in the gaming community. EA used to be top notch. You could always expect their games to be of consistent quality, and you never had to question if it would work or not.

This past generation though, it's like they took everything that gamer's complained about, and made it into a way to make money for their company. Micro-transactions, online passes, always connected games, endless yearly sequels with no real improvements overall, franchise abuse, and franchise dilution to the point where the games weren't even recognizable are not loved by the average gamer. Yet EA kept doing it all last gen, always citing how their sales charts PROVED it's what people wanted.

EA has earned it's stigma, and while they still produce some games I want to play, and not all their games are trash, they have a long way to go before many gamers will start having faith in them again.

About the only thing I really like about the company is their outstanding record on equality in the work place.

[Eonjay]

The fact that EA exists is Activision's only saving grace. Oh, that and that fact that Activision's products have an infinitely better track record for program testing... which probably has something to do with the age of the engine that Activision is using... but I digress.

[Baka-akaB]

yeah it's not better given the ludicrous amount of bugs from their past titles . The outdated engine make it smoother after so much use

[Wenis]

Damn wish I could make that much money.

[BlackWolf]

Well, EA is not doing a good work if they don't want that award again...

http://www.matt-sweet.com/c...

[AllroundGamer]

rats leaving a sinking ship...

[pompombrum]

Don't insult rats like that, rats have souls.

[Majin-vegeta]

Everyone who bought BF4 just got screwed by EA.

[GentlemenRUs]

This is too good to be true... Thankfully it is!

EA is dead! HOORAY!

[rainslacker]

This really isn't a good thing. The people who brought this lawsuit are investors who are investing in the gaming industry. With the rumors of MS wanting to spin off it's Xbox division due to it not performing well enough, 38 Studios(Kingdom of Amular dev) screwing over Rhode Island, Sony reportedly losing a crap ton of money on PS3 R&D and console sales, SE not being able to move the number of projected units of Tomb Raider, etc, it makes the industry a very risky place to invest.

If that investment isn't there, then it means the games start slowing down, and even less risks are taken.

[danny818]

I like battlefield 4 :/

[GarrusVakarian]

So do i, but thank DICE for that. Not EA.

[Juangie3]

I'd jump ship on stock if my game isn't producing pre order numbers similar to or better than the closest competition. .. it is an awesome game and I don't want it to fail

[Frankskint]

Tsk Tsk EA inside trading can result in jail time.

Just couldn't get into the game due to all the bugs, shame really the game is actually good.

[game_infected]

Bf4 is Best online fps shooter now( but when it works!)

[Phoenix76]

With all the issues surrounding EA, I wouldn't be surprised at all if Titanfall, which EA is the publisher for, gets delayed until nearer to Xmas next year. By which time, there will proberly be a chance that a ps4 version will be released soon after to claw back some of the money following these lawsuits against them.

[BabyTownFrolics]

"So while the first game will be a Microsoft title for life, potential sequels might not be."

http://www.technobuffalo.co...

[Phoenix76]

You make a very good point there mate, granted.
But that statement was made before these lawsuits were filled against them(EA). EA by the way also once said that Mass Effect 1 would never be ported over to the PS3, as it was titled as being an exculsive game only for the 360 console and PC's, yet it did get ported over in the end.
If EA are found to guilty for breaching consumer laws and for playing the stocks to their own advantage, etc etc, they will (quite possibly) incur huge fine's. The quickest and easiest way to make back that lost money, would be to release TF on the PS4 soon(perhaps up to a year after launch) after in order to balance out the books before the end of fiscal year.

[BabyTownFrolics]

i can understand your reasoning. thank you for the mature exchange. have a bub

[JBSleek]

Uh. No It won't happen MS paid their money for TF to only be released on MS platforms. Would it benefit EA sure but one can't get out of a contract like that.

Mass Effect is a different story because EA doesn't own Titanfall Respawn does; as well ass ME1 coming to PS3 what 4-5 years after the fact.

[desolationstorm]

I wouldn't really consider this insider trading. The company's stock had tanked and was at an almost all time low last summer. Since then it had steadily grown until around this time period. Hence a lot of people were buying up the stock because it had been rising for 12 months straight.

Fact I was tempted to sell all my shares then because I was at 120% profit on my shares.

The recession decimated a lot of peoples retirement savings who were heavily invested in stocks. People wanting to sell when the stock had been at its highest it had been since the recession does not automatically constitute insider trading.

[desolationstorm]

Not to mention I question the motives of a legal team trying to do a class action lawsuit without a Claimant.

[rainslacker]

From the lawsuit it appears that the basis of the suit is that EA misrepresented the health of their stocks, thus causing them to have an inflated value. If they did this, and then offloaded the stock knowing that it would go down due to their misrepresentation to make money before it went down, then that actually fits the definition of insider trading to a T.

It doesn't really matter how the stock was performing before that. They knew it was going to go down. Executives have to get permission to sell their stock if it's over a certain amount. If they got that permission and sold it based on a lie, they are possibly facing felony charges.

You, being a private owner of the stocks, can do whatever you want with them.

A claimant isn't necessary for a class action. If a legal firm see's something lawsuit worthy, they can bring the suit on behalf of all those eligible to participate in it. The people eligible for compensation will be notified, and they will have the option to become a claimant. This is what many of those lawsuits you see on TV are, usually for medical procedures.

[Phoenix76]

I don't know how things work over in USA, but here in the UK we have what's known as the 'Consumers Rights Act' which is in place to ensure that, should any product that fails to live up to what has been shown previously before launch as a finished product, then that company can be done for deception and fraud with the intent to obtain money unlawfully from the end consumer (you and I) and/or the British retailer.
British Consumer rights groups are possibly lining up to file there own suits right now against EA for misleading the British consumer as well, what with all of their unfinished products which made it to market recently.

[NeloAnjelo]

EA... Up to their good old tricks!

Obvs they knew that the game was broken and didn't give DICE more time. Through testing they would have seen these problems, yet they still released it.

[jacksjus]

Did these guys learn anything from Martha Stewart?

[sAVAge_bEaST]

EA, is so shady... Glad I got my money back for premium, no way I'm going to pay 110$ for a broken game.

EA rushed DICE, and made them release it,, I hate EA.

(My respect for DICE, is waning -because of this debacle)

[tommygunzII]

If EA ceased to exist the gaming industry would be better off.