And EA does it... yet again!

[JeanLuc761]

They are already punishing people who buy used so there is no question of that. Right now though, it's optional DLC, before long it will be required DLC to complete the game.

You say it won't work, I say gamers have already put up with so much BS and not complained much that I think it will work. Either that or we will see another crash.

Hmm...we'll see. If "Pay to finish the game!" becomes widespread, I'll just stick with my old titles for a while; fuck their shit.

Mass Effect trilogy can last me until either they wise up or I die

 

[razer17]

TL;DR There is a feature in NHL 11 designed to extort money from you in order to play it. They did it with Madden and now they're bringing it over to the rest of their series. God I hate EA .

Well, this is an extra mode, that you don't even need to touch to enjoy everything the game has to offer. It's not like they are forcing you to pay X amount of money to play a season in Be a GM or anything like that. It's there for people who want to use it, and no one is forcing you to.

It isn't designed to extort money. It's not like EA is sending thugs with baseball bats to smash your windows and kneecaps if you don't pay.

Like it or not, companies have to make money. It's what they are for. If you wouldn't do the same thing in their position you're an idiot. Companies have to make money, and yes, they are greedy. However, being greedy isn't a bad thing, because it's what they are designed to do.

 

[Celtic_Kerr]

as much as I normally disagree with Judas here (they know what I'm talking about),

Can't say I have ever noticed. Just another name on the forum to me dude.
But just out of curiosity, do you disagree with me often? and why? Is it just that you enjoy being wrong? ^_~

Jane eyre's posts mostly. I've had alot of friends with General Anxiety Disorder, just as Jane_Eyre22 has, and it can turn into a nasty disorder that ruins your life and turns you to thoughts of suicide. THe worst part is most people think to get a spine and stuff, but in most cases the brain is actually damaged in some way, not physically, but certain things can't be processed properly so they have panic attacks easily.

I've seen you be harsh to her and bitched her out, but it's nothing personal

 

[TPiddy]

as much as I normally disagree with Judas here (they know what I'm talking about), I really have to agree with this. Why do you keep buying EA games if they piss you off so much?

The NHL series is the only EA series I am interested (I am Canadian after all), but after some of the crap they pulled earlier in the series, I've been taking a wait and see approach to their titles. I did not buy their edition last year, but this year's edition was enough to convince me to get it, and again I was screwed. I may have to step up my criteria of future NHL games before purchasing next time.

 

[Celtic_Kerr]

as much as I normally disagree with Judas here (they know what I'm talking about), I really have to agree with this. Why do you keep buying EA games if they piss you off so much?

The NHL series is the only EA series I am interested (I am Canadian after all), but after some of the crap they pulled earlier in the series, I've been taking a wait and see approach to their titles. I did not buy their edition last year, but this year's edition was enough to convince me to get it, and again I was screwed. I may have to step up my criteria of future NHL games before purchasing next time.

Or simply stick to 2K's games for the future. I play NHL, but not online. I've never been a massive fan of all the retarded features of cards and crap in these games, Just give me a hickey season and let me clean house

 

[Celtic_Kerr]

Jane eyre's posts mostly. I've had alot of friends with General Anxiety Disorder, just as Jane_Eyre22 has, and it can turn into a nasty disorder that ruins your life and turns you to thoughts of suicide. THe worst part is most people think to get a spine and stuff, but in most cases the brain is actually damaged in some way, not physically, but certain things can't be processed properly so they have panic attacks easily.

I've seen you be harsh to her and bitched her out, but it's nothing personal

Ooooh. You... No. I never bitched her out or was harsh to the little drama queen. All I said was "dont tell us you got fired again" If others want to read more into it then that is their issue and I will not get caught up in internet drama with moral crybabies.
Not that I dont think she wasn't a annoying little attention seeker who needed to be told this is not her personal blog but I was not the one who did it.
Props to the brother who finally said what we were all thinking though.
I really gotta send that guy a internet brofist one day.

Nah, I've seen a few people with her disorder and one of the suggestions her therapist said was to join a site and talk about it sometimes. Talking to strangers helps. I have to admit if I didn't know aboutthe disorder I'd be in the same boat as you, thinking she was pathetic and such.

 

[Hawkeye16]

What!? EA fucking their customers over with with an in game feature you must pay real money for? And then makeing the feature temporary or absurdly high priced so you must continually pay in order to use it!? Thats unthinkable.




Battlefield Heroes.

 

[TPiddy]

Nah, I've seen a few people with her disorder and one of the suggestions her therapist said was to join a site and talk about it sometimes. Talking to strangers helps. I have to admit if I didn't know aboutthe disorder I'd be in the same boat as you, thinking she was pathetic and such.

Don't care about her condition in the slightest.
Gaming website. Not self help website, not personal blog.
Emo whinings about how you quit your job over someones facebook status do not go on gaming websites unless you want to be mocked.

Seeing as how you've effectively hijacked my thread, what are your ransom demands?

 

[ReaperzXIII]

So how long until EA makes you give your bank details at the beginning of the game and make you pay 10p for every bullet/attack you make?

I shouldnt be giving them ideas should I?

 

[Anarchemitis]

My cousin works for EA.

If he had more free time away from the office he would work on a demoreel so he could get a job somewhere else. All the while though, it's still good pay.

 

[seditary]

Customers would revolt en masse if Bioware started making DLC a requirement, and I doubt EA is thick enough to piss off their massive fanbase. As it stands now, Bioware simply makes DLC that make the game better, but are not required for completion. I see no reason or evidence that this will change.

Just as a little aside, Bioware have actually made DLC a requirement if you want the full Mass Effect 3 experience with Lair of the Shadowbroker carrying over decisions into it.

If I want my full Liara romance from the first game all the way through, I have to buy DLC. You might consider that an extra that makes the game better but not required for completion, but I certainly don't.

 

[Atmos Duality]

The first signs of full-on subscription-based-gaming; arguably the blackest gaming Hell possible. This is where the goal isn't to provide a new or fun experience, but to try to fuck the customer as hard as possible without getting sued in the process.

DLC went from being an efficient way of creating expansion packs to becoming a greed-machine.
The process is the same, but the Cost:Content ratios have been adjusted to rip you off.

Whenever you buy DLC from EA, do not be fooled: You are getting fucked in the process. It took them far far far less effort and money to create that content than the price they are selling it to you, proportional to the game you are buying it for. The only way this sort of gouging will end is if you don't buy from the people offering it.

This is the new gaming industry, ladies and gentleman!
Welcome to the show.

 

[TPiddy]

Seeing as how you've effectively hijacked my thread, what are your ransom demands?

VE DEMAND! Zee release of Jeezus! Von billion dollahs in freshly shined pennies! And a swimming pool of nothing but green M&Ms! For every M&M I find of another colour I will kill you! Oh and no W&Ws either... ve know your tricks!

Oh and ve vill also take your pack of cards. Skinny Bob has a season to finish!

I refuse to negotiate with terrorists....

 

[TPiddy]

The first signs of full-on subscription-based-gaming; arguably the blackest gaming Hell possible. This is where the goal isn't to provide a new or fun experience, but to try to fuck the customer as hard as possible without getting sued in the process.

DLC went from being an efficient way of creating expansion packs to becoming a greed-machine.
The process is the same, but the Cost:Content ratios have been adjusted to rip you off.

Whenever you buy DLC from EA, do not be fooled: You are getting fucked in the process. It took them far far far less effort and money to create that content than the price they are selling it to you, proportional to the game you are buying it for. The only way this sort of gouging will end is if you don't buy from the people offering it.

This is the new gaming industry, ladies and gentleman!
Welcome to the show.

Yep, first it's you have to activate to play online, then it's, ok, you've played online for a bit, but in order to survive you have to buy more packs from us. We prey on your OCD tendencies!

 

[JeanLuc761]

Just as a little aside, Bioware have actually made DLC a requirement if you want the full Mass Effect 3 experience with Lair of the Shadowbroker carrying over decisions into it.

If I want my full Liara romance from the first game all the way through, I have to buy DLC. You might consider that an extra that makes the game better but not required for completion, but I certainly don't.

That's an interesting way of looking at it, but it is optional no matter how you look at it. Those who wish to pursue a Liara romance may find it extremely appealing, but it is, objectively, not a requirement to complete the game.

My point still stands that Mass Effect 2 was sold to us as a 100% complete game and that the DLC simply adds to it.

 

[CCountZero]

The simplest reasons why I started hating EA, was that I once bought Crysis off their DL Manager (Big mistake), and found out that the Manager prevented the game from running 65bit.
When I contacted them about it, I got one of the usual responses, basicly stating that Crysis wasn't capable of running 64bit and that I should go fuck myself.

I regularly re-read that old e-mail whenever life is too good to me and I need to get off my horse.

I also opted to buy the game cheap retail boxed a month later, and obviously it ran 64bit with no issues.

 

[Nmil-ek]

I am not really understanding but are you saying that EA is making DLC next to impossible to avoid?

Basically you have to pay real money to sustain the in-game contracts of your digital team members, in order to maintain an effective team. Not only does the game give the advantage to the player with the mostm oney to pour into DLC, it basically cripples you for not continuing to pay.

Like running a real sports team, except all the money from in-game advertising/sponsorships goes dorectly to EA as well. The only winning move is to not pay.

Sooner or later DLC will be required to finish games. I remember Sims 3 shipped with very little in the catalog (unlike Sims 1 and 2) because EA wanted to sell you catalog items. DLC is a curse.

EA beat you to the punch Godfather 2 was 75% of a game the last % was pure dlc.

 

[StBishop]

Sounds like you get a pretty accurate feel for what being an NHL manager is like. Do you have to give press statements whenever your players go out and get drunk and get in bar fights and other stupid things too?

Hahha, no but that would be interesting.... the game does have other modes, but this was the big seller so I was quite disappointed to find out it was nothing more than a cash grab. Ah well, I've learned my lesson EA, and outside of Bioware titles, EA will get no more of my money

Yeah cause BioWare doesn't play the DLC game and didn't have a DLC advertisement built into the game? BioWare is no better.

$40 for Dragon Age DLC. $55 if you paid for Shale. No, that doesn't count the expansion. http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Downloadable_Content

So if you bought it new and bought all the DLC, you have paid $90 on PC and $100 on the console, not including the expansion.

Or if you're Australian you paid $119.00 for the game (I paid more for collectors edition)
Then at an exchange rate of $0.01666 for 1 MSPoint it costs the following
Stone Prisoner 1200MS $19.99
Wardens Keep 560MS $9.33
Return to Ostagar 400MS $6.66
Awakening 2400MS $39.99
Feast Day Combo 240MS $3.99
Darkspawn Chronicles 400MS $6.66
Leliana's Song 560MS $9.33
Golems of Amgarrak 400MS $6.66
Whitch Hunt 560MS $9.33

Total 6920MS $111.94 IN DLC ALONE!

If you take out the expansion, that's still $71.95 for DLC.

Having said that, I bought all of it and would do it again given the chance.

 

[archvile93]

However if they didn't have time to finish the content before finalization then they're not getting paid for that content out of the original game budget. So releasing it as paid DLC is fine.

I don't understand this argument. If they don't have time?? They are the ones who make that decision. If they need more time, they can have it.

It sounds like a cop out to me. If they can't push the game back to finish it then they can give the DLC away for free. However, don't you think it's a bit of a bad motive to say "If ya don't finish the game, you can make MORE money selling off the unfinished parts".

That sounds like the perfect recipe for another Duke Nukem Forever. "It was going to come out in a few days, but we decided to push it back a few months because we thought of some new ideas and we don't want to add them as DLC." rinse and repeat.

 

[StBishop]

Sounds like you get a pretty accurate feel for what being an NHL manager is like. Do you have to give press statements whenever your players go out and get drunk and get in bar fights and other stupid things too?

Hahha, no but that would be interesting.... the game does have other modes, but this was the big seller so I was quite disappointed to find out it was nothing more than a cash grab. Ah well, I've learned my lesson EA, and outside of Bioware titles, EA will get no more of my money

Yeah cause BioWare doesn't play the DLC game and didn't have a DLC advertisement built into the game? BioWare is no better.

$40 for Dragon Age DLC. $55 if you paid for Shale. No, that doesn't count the expansion. http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Downloadable_Content

So if you bought it new and bought all the DLC, you have paid $90 on PC and $100 on the console, not including the expansion.

Or if you're Australian you paid $119.00 for the game (I paid more for collectors edition)
Then at an exchange rate of $0.01666 for 1 MSPoint it costs the following
Stone Prisoner 1200MS $19.99
Wardens Keep 560MS $9.33
Return to Ostagar 400MS $6.66
Awakening 2400MS $39.99
Feast Day Combo 240MS $3.99
Darkspawn Chronicles 400MS $6.66
Leliana's Song 560MS $9.33
Golems of Amgarrak 400MS $6.66
Whitch Hunt 560MS $9.33

Total 6920MS $111.94 IN DLC ALONE!

If you take out the expansion, that's still $71.95 for DLC.

Having said that, I bought all of it and would do it again given the chance.

Ya know how they say that MMO's like WOW keep people from buying more new games? Well, what's the difference here?

You spend $200 on one game when you could have bought 3 or 4 for that price. It's your choice but I think that no game is worth that much, even WOW.

Well, in Australia I'd be hard pressed to buy a game for the $71.95 I spent on Dragon Age DLC. But you're right, DLC can be expensive, especially when some people don't really consider it as money because they're spending their magical, leprichaun gold, microsoft points rather than seeing Limbo = $12.00 they see Limbo = 750 MSP or whatever.

Also, took this photo exactly 7 days ago.

Spoiler: large pic