E.A. is destroying the gaming business?
- Thread starter 4RM3D
- Start date
couldn't agree more. I actally wanted to write something similarV1rax said:
Yet there is something else. Large Publishers and Developers have lost control over their costs not least to plunge into the exact market. They lost sight of the middle market for games like Baldurs Gate or Fallout which just needs some millions instead of tens of millions. At the moment we have basically the big blockbusters and the homebrew and very little in between. Games like Dead Space or Mirrors Edge where never meant for a bloody mainstream market, yet they were produced in this premise.
Considering I don't like C&C any more ever since C&C 4 and having stopped playing BF3 3 months after it came out I'd probably say I "dislike" EA since I can't use the word hate as some people would rather slam me first than try to understand my disdain for that company.
Sure they are fine in the industry does not excuse them from executing bad business practices like they have done in the past, it also begs the question "is there really anything bad in the industry" because if there isn't where can I grab those happy conformity pills?.
Sure they are fine in the industry does not excuse them from executing bad business practices like they have done in the past, it also begs the question "is there really anything bad in the industry" because if there isn't where can I grab those happy conformity pills?.
Of course they aren't destroying the gaming business, that was already fucked up to begin with.
They are just scraping by, and well...it works. Sure it's disgusting how they suck everything good from one gaming company and throw the empty husk away later, but at the end of the day they just want to earn money.
I personally don't buy their stuff anymore, after couple of their major fuck ups with Bioware that is.
Captcha: "that hurts"
They are just scraping by, and well...it works. Sure it's disgusting how they suck everything good from one gaming company and throw the empty husk away later, but at the end of the day they just want to earn money.
I personally don't buy their stuff anymore, after couple of their major fuck ups with Bioware that is.
Captcha: "that hurts"
Lets break this down a little bit
Personally, I purchase games not because they are EA, or any of the other Publishers. Frankly, its not even about the developers (unless its a developer known for the particular genre and they are stepping out of it) Its about the games. I want to play games, and while not all of them are the "perfect 10" that people lately seem to expect, I have enjoyed pretty much every game I have gotten to play over the last 5 years (minus Diablo III).
Long winded, sorry about that..
EA, Activision, Ubisoft, Capcom, these are the big 4 "villans" of the industry, as they all do stupid shady tactics because they are trying to make money. They don't care about you, or me, or even all of us who frequent the escapist forums as a whole. They care about $$ because they HAVE to care about $$ for their stockholders.4RM3D said:
Personally, I purchase games not because they are EA, or any of the other Publishers. Frankly, its not even about the developers (unless its a developer known for the particular genre and they are stepping out of it) Its about the games. I want to play games, and while not all of them are the "perfect 10" that people lately seem to expect, I have enjoyed pretty much every game I have gotten to play over the last 5 years (minus Diablo III).
Long winded, sorry about that..
One thing I've been surprised by with EA is how much their Sim series of games still feel like it is being made by the original Maxis team. They still have that unique Maxis charm that I always liked.
It's like hanging out with an old friend who has a boyfriend you don't really care for.
Maxis: Hi! I'm still me, and quirky, and enjoy my llamas and other strange oddities! Oh, this is my boyfriend, EA.
EA: Buy our stuff.
Maxis: *laughing nervously* Oh you! Don't mind him. Let's have fun!
EA: And buy things.
Maxis: Well, only if you -really- want to.
EA: Whatever.
Maxis: Whee! Fun!
I don't particularly hate EA any more then another publisher, nor do I blame them for shortcomings that I feel are out of their control. For example, I honestly have not been overly impressed with Bioware's writing since the first Neverwinter Nights. Even their best expansion of the game, Hordes of the Underdark, was still only -almost- as good as Baldur's Gate. This was long before EA bought them. Not to say I didn't enjoy it, (I hated the original NWN campaign, the two expansions were okay, as was Jade Empire,) but the cracks were showing.
As for the other companies EA ate, I can't say much about them, as I never got into them super much.
To get back to the original topic, no I do not think EA is killing anything. I think they are simply doing what sells. They are delightfully mercenary, and will change habits/tactics as soon as what they are doing stops working for them. Might not be really ethical, but it's smart, and it will keep them 'in the game' for a long time.
It's like hanging out with an old friend who has a boyfriend you don't really care for.
Maxis: Hi! I'm still me, and quirky, and enjoy my llamas and other strange oddities! Oh, this is my boyfriend, EA.
EA: Buy our stuff.
Maxis: *laughing nervously* Oh you! Don't mind him. Let's have fun!
EA: And buy things.
Maxis: Well, only if you -really- want to.
EA: Whatever.
Maxis: Whee! Fun!
I don't particularly hate EA any more then another publisher, nor do I blame them for shortcomings that I feel are out of their control. For example, I honestly have not been overly impressed with Bioware's writing since the first Neverwinter Nights. Even their best expansion of the game, Hordes of the Underdark, was still only -almost- as good as Baldur's Gate. This was long before EA bought them. Not to say I didn't enjoy it, (I hated the original NWN campaign, the two expansions were okay, as was Jade Empire,) but the cracks were showing.
As for the other companies EA ate, I can't say much about them, as I never got into them super much.
To get back to the original topic, no I do not think EA is killing anything. I think they are simply doing what sells. They are delightfully mercenary, and will change habits/tactics as soon as what they are doing stops working for them. Might not be really ethical, but it's smart, and it will keep them 'in the game' for a long time.
Do EA Games have a habit of taking on practices gamers hate? Yes4RM3D said:
Is this harming the games industry? No
All it means is that EA Games is doing what they consider to be profitable, it's annoying but I doubt it'll have any harmful effects and as the faults you've put forward
- "The forced use of Origin (a broken system)"
If it's a broken system then Origin will eventually shut down, services like Steam have nothing to worry about. Steam offers a better system and more people use it
- The gaming companies EA has bought and pretty much wrecked
Wrecked is debatable. EA is the publisher and it's hard to tell what choices were pushed by EA and what choices the Development teams wanted to go for, blaming EA is like blaming a book publisher because the writer's stories suck. Same goes for Activision
- EA Bioware is under constant fire (Mass Effect 3, Dragon Age 2)
I wouldn't say constant fire. They've had their share of controversy, I'd say with Mass Effect 3 it was people making a mountain out of a molehill, I mean big deal the ending wasn't that great. I can give you an entire library of games with crappy endings.
- EA looking for easy cash grabs (which has been brought up again since Dead Space 3 announcement)
See my problem with this fault is that it's implying you know how the games publisher thinks. Until the CEO of EA Games comes up and states "We at EA are simply looking for cash grabs" I really can't take that fault seriously. Maybe they are looking for a quick cash grab, I know Jim Sterling came out against EA for it's use of Micro-transactions in a game like Dead Space 3 where you've already paid $60/£40 for the damn game and I agree that is selfish but it always sounds like their making EA out to be some evil super-villain
- Whenever sometimes goes wrong at EA, instead of admitting they screwed up, they are blaming it on other things (like they did with Warfighter)
Ok good point, EA Games are annoying with this but come on a lot of games companies do this such as Sega with their "It's not that our games suck everyone is suffering to sell well!" Right Sega hence why every other game is selling well
- (EDIT) Rolling out yearly installments of the same game (e.g. EA Sports)
Again the same argument applies to other companies such as Activison and again that doesn't mean it's not a valid point.
- Do you believe EA is harming the gaming business?
Well yes and no. Yeah I know what I said above but hear me out here. I think some other companies take on similar practices to EA but ultimately this is because they've been known to some degree to work but at the same time how is EA to blame for what other companies choose to do? I don't see how they are accountable for the bad moves of other companies, it's the old "If he told you to jump off a cliff would you do?" scenario.
- Do you still buy games from EA?
That depends on whether I liked the game. I'm not buying a game because it's made by EA Games neither am I choosing to boycott one because it has a certain publisher. I don't buy from Activision but that's not a boycott (anymore) they just don't make any games that appeal to me.
In conclusion though I'm not saying EA Games don't use questionable tactics in their pursuit of our money because they do but I also don't think it'll be the end of the gaming world if EA Games makes a lot of money out of this. Their a bad company but not that bad to accidentally cause a market crash.
So a buddy bought a $2.50 game off Steam, but the next day he lost his card. No problem, phone up the bank, get the old one canceled and send a new one in the mail right?Lugbzurg said:
Oh wait, Steam didn't actually charge his card til 5 days later from the original purchase date. The old card number that was in the transaction isn't valid anymore. Well, let's lock his account down for fraud.
He's still trying to argue with the bank and Valve/Steam over it. Obviously the bank knows it's not fraud, and tells him to just use the new card. But he can't even get Steam to accept the new updated card. Because the account was flagged as fraudulent. Not even to reverse the game transaction so he can go buy it again with the new card.
I guess he could call them up like you can for EA's CSR and ... oh wait, there's no number to call, you have to rely on forum and emails.
So he's still locked out of his Steam account.
Over $2.50.
I bought Tropico 3 from steam, but then it was delayed, so i asked for my money back, they were happy to comply and gave me the money back and took the game from my account.ThriKreen said:
You have a bad story, i have a good story. However, there are more good stories for steam, than bad ones. And more bad stories for origins, than good ones.
This is why people believe that origins customer service is worse than steams, of course maybe thats because people harp on more about origins but thats the consensus, at least from what i can gather.
EA isn't going to kill the business. In a very real way, they are the business. I'd also like to point out that pretty much every large publisher acts similarly, as others have before me. The only reason EA gets singled out so frequently (as far as I can tell) is because they are absolutely atrocious at managing their PR. I remember when EA got voted worst company in America by Consumerist and their reaction was to make a statement about how they're sure oil execs and bankers are breathing easier, and that they'll just continue to be incredibly successful. While there's a point to be made about that, never have words so clearly painted the picture of a dismissive, self-satisfied asshole wearing a shit-eating grin - and that's their reputation amongst many game enthusiasts.
I wouldn't call EA the worst company in the world (how short-sighted) and I think people blow certain things out of proportion. Origin just really isn't as bad as it's made out to be at all, and there's a bit of wisdom in the acknowledgement that we simply don't know if certain developers would have failed regardless of EA's involvement. That said, every time I've dealt with EA in the past few years I've been left with a bad taste in my mouth. I don't buy their games anymore, not because I'm seeking to affect the purchasing habits of millions of Americans but because I don't want to give money to a company with representatives that have shown me disrespect on more than one occasion.
To change gears, I surely can't be the only one disgusted with people brushing off various criticisms leveled at EA or other publishers with "It's the market, just deal." People seem to still operate under this assumption that consumers are always informed and rational enough to make the best decision possible, which is simultaneously one of the core concepts of free-market capitalism and a statement no reasonable and educated person would ever agree with. When someone says that a change in business is fine because they're still financially successful, they aren't making a statement about the quality of the product or the services of the company that delivers it, nor whether it's ethical or not. They're commenting on whether it's possible for the majority of consumers to swallow it or not, and I simply don't see that as a defense of certain business practices. We're talking about video games here so, you know, it isn't super important. But this line of reasoning has been used to justify some pretty fucked up stuff. There are few cliches I hate more than, "It's just business."
And aside from that, one could make the argument that they aren't even succeeding at that. Activision appears to be their main competition, but the performance of EA's stock over the last year looks very weak in comparison. It's not fair or probably even correct to just connect the dots and call it a day, but I feel like their poor reputation in certain circles couldn't have helped.
I wouldn't call EA the worst company in the world (how short-sighted) and I think people blow certain things out of proportion. Origin just really isn't as bad as it's made out to be at all, and there's a bit of wisdom in the acknowledgement that we simply don't know if certain developers would have failed regardless of EA's involvement. That said, every time I've dealt with EA in the past few years I've been left with a bad taste in my mouth. I don't buy their games anymore, not because I'm seeking to affect the purchasing habits of millions of Americans but because I don't want to give money to a company with representatives that have shown me disrespect on more than one occasion.
To change gears, I surely can't be the only one disgusted with people brushing off various criticisms leveled at EA or other publishers with "It's the market, just deal." People seem to still operate under this assumption that consumers are always informed and rational enough to make the best decision possible, which is simultaneously one of the core concepts of free-market capitalism and a statement no reasonable and educated person would ever agree with. When someone says that a change in business is fine because they're still financially successful, they aren't making a statement about the quality of the product or the services of the company that delivers it, nor whether it's ethical or not. They're commenting on whether it's possible for the majority of consumers to swallow it or not, and I simply don't see that as a defense of certain business practices. We're talking about video games here so, you know, it isn't super important. But this line of reasoning has been used to justify some pretty fucked up stuff. There are few cliches I hate more than, "It's just business."
And aside from that, one could make the argument that they aren't even succeeding at that. Activision appears to be their main competition, but the performance of EA's stock over the last year looks very weak in comparison. It's not fair or probably even correct to just connect the dots and call it a day, but I feel like their poor reputation in certain circles couldn't have helped.
I see your point. I cannot speak for other people, but I always try to look at it from different sides. In some ways I do understand EA, but that doesn't mean I accept them. Even so I don't have the full picture. But based on what I have experienced I can say that I dislike the company and on principle I take a stand against them. And not just EA... I also don't buy games from Ubisoft and Activision.Draech said:
Yes, that is annoying. Regardless, your point is moot. Any big company (heck, *any* company) will always have a few blemishes... even Steam. You really can't compare it on individual basis. Instead you have to look at the statistics.ThriKreen said:
I don't hate them per se.
I just really hate their business practices, and think that they may very well be a major factor in bringing about the biggest video game crash since 1983, or at least a similar event.
I just really hate their business practices, and think that they may very well be a major factor in bringing about the biggest video game crash since 1983, or at least a similar event.