EA Calls Developer Mentally Ill

[AzrealMaximillion]

Someone swears a bunch and someone else makes an offhand comment about him having tourettes. I'm sorry, but so what? They weren't using tourettes as an insult, they were making the comparison of 'guy swears a lot, like someone with tourettes or something' (which yes, isn't true all of the time, but it's how it's viewed by a large portion of society, which no, isn't good and better education is needed. Hell, I'm schizophrenic, I know what it's like for everyone to get your illness wrong, but to call EA out of it, rather than, you know, everyone, is just bull)

Are you telling me you've never referred to something as 'crazy', 'retarded' 'the ref must be blind' or something along those lines? Or you heard your friend say something along those lines (or even someone cursing having tourettes, this isn't an EA invention) and didn't care because it's a complete non issue? This is such a pandering case of trying to make a story out of nothing. Hey, EA is quite hated, let's trawl through everything they say to find something we can stretch into a headline and desperately grab some page hits.

Really, all you can argue is unprofessionalism, but the comment that started it was 'fuck you very much', so it clearly isn't a professional conversation.

But basically, this really doesn't seem like news. It's horse race journalism. And it's pointless and petty.

tl;dr: It's political correctness gone mad!!!

Pretty much this. Everyone in this thread who seems to be on a high horse about EA making fun of mental illness has laughed at South Park, Family Guy, and comedians such as Doug Stanhope, guaranteed. The title of this article boggles my mind as it sets the tone that only EA was rude here. Clearly not the case.

 

[blackdwarf]

Standing at the side line, there is not any reason for me to stand behind on of these guys. They both made silly comments on bases that are shady at best. Both are really being unprofessional and this shows that developers also can be assholes.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

Someone swears a bunch and someone else makes an offhand comment about him having tourettes. I'm sorry, but so what? They weren't using tourettes as an insult, they were making the comparison of 'guy swears a lot, like someone with tourettes or something' (which yes, isn't true all of the time, but it's how it's viewed by a large portion of society, which no, isn't good and better education is needed. Hell, I'm schizophrenic, I know what it's like for everyone to get your illness wrong, but to call EA out of it, rather than, you know, everyone, is just bull)

Are you telling me you've never referred to something as 'crazy', 'retarded' 'the ref must be blind' or something along those lines? Or you heard your friend say something along those lines (or even someone cursing having tourettes, this isn't an EA invention) and didn't care because it's a complete non issue? This is such a pandering case of trying to make a story out of nothing. Hey, EA is quite hated, let's trawl through everything they say to find something we can stretch into a headline and desperately grab some page hits.

Really, all you can argue is unprofessionalism, but the comment that started it was 'fuck you very much', so it clearly isn't a professional conversation.

But basically, this really doesn't seem like news. It's horse race journalism. And it's pointless and petty.

tl;dr: It's political correctness gone mad!!!

Pretty much this. Everyone in this thread who seems to be on a high horse about EA making fun of mental illness has laughed at South Park, Family Guy, and comedians such as Doug Stanhope, guaranteed. The title of this article boggles my mind as it sets the tone that only EA was rude here. Clearly not the case.

Comedians pull stunts like that to be funny, its their job.

Jeff Brown is EA's corporate spokesman, the 'voice' of the company if you will. He (and by extension EA) used it as an insult, something that I have stated before you would expect form a youtube comment, not from a large corporation.

I'm not going to debate whether or not it was justified, I will argue that it was petty, childish and unbecoming of Jeff Brown and EA.

 

[MegaManOfNumbers]

EA PR, only you can act like a total schizophrenic asshole and a constipated retard at the same time!

CAPTCHA: "BEEN THERE"

Agreed; I've been through this song and dance before.

 

[ward0630]

Both of these groups are equally untrustworthy, and both are probably partially right and are now trying to stretch the truth to make it appear as though their side is correct while the other is lying and exploiting the children for their own benefit. EA probably made some offer of acquisition, but probably didn't offer a jet and a ferrari.

 

[Lancer873]

I'd say I'm more suspicious of Lanning but yea, both people here are being rather immature and I'm voting both get knocked off their jobs one way or another.
Captcha: "Allergic Reaction." Ouch. Even the Captchas have allergic reactions to EA threads. I know the forums tend to get some serious inflammation, but I didn't know it was that commmon. *awesomeface*

 

[90sgamer]

Where in the name of God does EA find these so-called spokespersons?

:EA Interview Process:

"Erm, Hello Mr., uh, Smith. Thank you for coming in today to interview for haha.. interviewing for... Buahahah... for Muahahaha my sides!!!!

...spokesperson. What are your qualifications?"

"I yelled at a kid once for hitting the front of my lifted truck with his head at thirty miles per hour."

"Excellent! Can you insult adults too?"

"well, did I fuck your mom last night like no one's business?"

"And how do you feel about professional conduct in the work place?"

"I steal office supplies regularly and slap the intern's asses."

"You're hired! Welcome to EA!"

 

[TsunamiWombat]

A Public Spokesman used a mental illness as an insult in a PUBLIC STATEMENT? How... STUPID do you have to be? The public backlash is going to CRUSH them.

 

[Pseudoboss]

When both sides start throwing shit, I'm more likely to go with the one that didn't spew canned Youtube comments section insults.
I mean, hell, those Autism jokes were never funny. I have a friend that's diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome and it's not something that should be joked about and less used as an insult. It just shows the immaturity of EA.

 

[PunkRex]

And in this corner, with a reputation for hostile take overs of beloved studios and releasing the SAME game over and over and over again! EA!

*Crowd: Boooo, hissss!*

And in this corner, a guy who not many remember and less knew about to begin with, Lorne Lanning!

*Crowd: Hrmm?*

The guy who seems to have some how fucked up the company who made Oddworld.

*Crowd: BOOOO, HISSSS!*

Fellow Escapists...

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

... God dammit, Jeff Brown. No matter who's right or wrong here, you can't just insult someone by saying they have a serious mental disorder!

I don't care if the Oddworld guy is lying or if EA is lying, though EA's reputation doesn't do them any favours, Brown's comment was seriously out of line.

My jimmies are SO rustled right now. Like, what the hell?! They could have at least responded without resorting to ad hominem. Then they'd only be suspected of lying, not suspected of lying and known to have insulted their challenger.

I'm outta here, and I'm taking my cookies and tea with me.

They responded to rudeness with rudeness. To me it seems like dialogue from your average Family Guy episode. If Lanning didn't drop the word 'fuck' and imply bed-wetting, I doubt EA would have responded the way they did. Can't say what they did was right, but ignoring the catalyst of the response is kind of silly, no?

I understand where you're coming from, and I think you'd be very glad to know that I had edited my post before you posted this. I guess you quoted it before the edits went through, but I essentially pointed out that Lanning wasn't being a fair, either. So it's both sides that are at fault here.

 

[-|-]

I like the EA guys comments. They display an appropriate level of disdain for the situation.

 

[Danceofmasks]

Oh come on! That's not what a PR rep should say, it's something I would expect from a paraplegic with down syndrome.

How did I do? Better/worse than EA?

 

[snowfi6916]

Both EA and this guy are immature 5 year olds. Talk about making the industry look bad as a whole.

Bonus immaturity points for EA for using a medical condition like Tourette's as an insult.

 

[Infernai]

Some days i look at things developers do or say and just wander one thing: PR, do these people understand what the hell it means?

Again, i know not all developers act like this but...it's rather glaring seeing "Professional businessmen" act like this.

 

[Warped_Ghost]

Well if anything is to be said about EA it is that they are not afraid to say fuck off and die to anyone. Including homophobes, customers, and developers. I have to kind of admire them for that despite how much they piss me off about other things.

 

[Trilliandi]

...Hoo boy, someone pass the popcorn, this one's gonna be messy. In the immortal words of Shakespeare, cry fury, and let slip the dogs of war...

 

[VanQ]

He fired most of the Oddworld Inhabitants staff at extremely short notice following the release of Stranger's Wrath, and the company has been a shell of its former self ever since. It's now chiefly concerned with "directing" HD re-releases of its previous titles, all of which are developed by other teams.

Wow, I had absolutely no idea that was what happened to Oddworld Inhabitants. That's really awful to hear, that team created some of the most memorable games of my childhood. Do you happen to have any source with greater detail on the matter? I'm not doubting you here, I just would like to learn more about what happened to one of my favorite studios.

EDIT: After doing my own research and looking up some very old articles, it seemed like after EA completely screwed over Stranger's Wrath, Lanning had absolutely no choice but to cut losses and do everything in his power to keep Oddworld alive. Even if it was a shell of its former self.

I'm not standing up for the guy or anything nor am I going to scream that EA is the devil, but it really does seem to me that he is just doing everything he can possibly think of to keep the Oddworld brand alive. He even spent thousands of his own money to fly to America to speak to and learn from Gabe Newell himself. Even if this was a lie and a publicity stunt, I will cheer for his success and the future of the Oddworld series.

EDIT 2: Jesus, has it really been six years sine Citizen Siege was first announced? It's hard to believe it would still be alive after all this time but if it is, I sure as hell hope we get the movie/game we all hoped for.

Still can't find anything about Hand of Odd besides a few sourceless rumors and one very odd fansite.

 

[Coffeejack]

Oh dear. Not again. They can't seem to catch a break.

 

[Absolutionis]

I just realized that this is yet another EA stunt to remain relevant in the headlines as their stocks continue to fall. They always seem to do this when their stocks dip.

Maybe this time we should just ignore them and maybe their stocks won't rise enough for this decline to be another "dip". Or maybe they'll just flail around and stop being EA-evil and start being Ubisoft-stupid.