EA did some things good.

[JenSeven]

Right, I know this will be a hard topic.
I know people will moan and stuff.
I know people might not understand it.
But hear me out.

EA is a TERRIBLE company. They make TERRIBLE decisions. They are run by corporate greed and enjoy tormenting the consumer.
BUT they did do some things right. They did do some good.

So, this thread is to commemorate the few good things EA did in their long history.
Those rare times when they weren't thinking of only themselves or their profit margins.
So, add your own. Share some EA games that despite of EA you had some fond memories of or was in some way interesting.
Just name something and we'll see where we go

I'll start us off, and straight away I'll take a controversial one.

One of the good things they did was that they released Brütal Legend.
I know this game has taken some flack and that Yahtzee hates it or something, but that isn't the point (the fact that Yahtzee thought it was a Jack Black project instead of a Tim Schafer one shows how little he knows about Schafer and thus voiding his entire commentary).

Let me explain.
In a time when hiphop and dance music are topping the charts EA okayed a Double Fine game about Heavy Metal. A game staring Jack Black, Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy Killminster, Rob Halfort and Tim Curry. Tim Curry!
Let me repeat, Dr. Frank-N-Furter is playing a Heavy Metal fueled demon with the plans of ruling the world. He's completely hamming it up and obviously having the time of his life.

So, EA took a great chance with this game. It was by a studio that had yet to prove itself , the only previous game they had was Psychonauts. Sure Tim Schafer's name was on it, but still.
However EA screwed up the marketing, the fans didn't buy it and people weren't really into it. Which is strange. I recently decided to play it again and it was still as great as I remember. The animation is good, the dialogue is awesome, it looks great and is just a great game.
Sure, I like Heavy Metal and that helps, but as a game it's just great.

So, with this I can say: Screw you EA. You suck and I hope you go bankrupt, but thank you for Brütal Legend.

 

[Shinsei-J]

Ever see this? The original manifesto of EA, the name says it all Electronic Art.

Breaks my heart a little when I read this.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

Some of the companies that were bought over by EA created possibly their highest quality work directly after the purchase, when they benefited from the increase in budget and resources but hadn't been gutted yet. Command and Conquer Red Alert 2 was done under EA by Westwood before the studio was gutted and the series lobotomised. Mass Effect and Dragon Age were created by Bioware under EA, although some of the planning and early development may have happened when they were free, Simcity 3000 and the Sims by Maxis after the takeover.

So they have published some good games, even then this only worsens the fact that corporate meddling has pretty much universally led to these series and others declining in quality through EA policies until they are barely better than shovelware.

 

[madwarper]

Mass Effect and Dragon Age were created by Bioware under EA,

Wrong. Mass Effect was released in 2007, EA consumed BioWare in 2009.

 

[Zeh Don]

EA's good deeds are undone entirely in their effect by all of the bad they've done.
How many studios have been closed?
How many people have left the industry entirely because of EA's treatment of them?
How many amazing ideas were shafted in favour of another Need for Speed?
How many consumer rights have EA had a hand in eroding?

Short of curing Cancer or AIDs, EA can't out-do the effects of their bad actions.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

Not only did EA release a bunch of their old, classic titles on GOG, the best games download service period, but they also did it at they same time that they were trying to push Origin. EA has done a lot of shitty things, but I fucking applaud them for this.

 

[JenSeven]

I was hoping that people would post some fun or good games...
Guess there is still too much bad blood going around

 

[shrekfan246]

Mass Effect and Dragon Age were created by Bioware under EA,

Wrong. Mass Effect was released in 2007, EA consumed BioWare in 2009.

Bioware was formally acquired by EA in October of 2007, the same time EA acquired Pandemic because BW and Pandemic had been partnered together. Just as a point of reference, Mass Effect was released in November of 2007. You're not really wrong that the development was all done before they became a subsidiary of EA, but the more you know and all that jazz.

OT: Shank, Shank 2, Crysis, Mirror's Edge, Alice: Madness Returns, ME2/ME3, Dragon Age II, Dead Space, System Shock 2, co-publisher of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning - I don't particularly like their business practices, but they publish a lot of games that I enjoy, so at the end of the day it'd be foolish for me to say they've done anything worth me holding a grudge against them.

 

[Gameguy20100]

I don't hate EA a lot of the games they made are great Mass Effect, Dragon age, dead Space, all on the list.

I ignore what most people say makes them the devil because I don't believe in loyalty or hatred to a company yea I like EA but the moment they stop publishing games I like I will drop them like a 10 pound porcupine.

 

[The Enquirer]

Ea did back some of the older James Bond games and Timesplitters Future Perfect. They used to actually have their hands in some pretty good stuff. Now that's clearly changed. A lot.

 

[Tazzman]

One of the good things they did was that they released Brütal Legend.
I know this game has taken some flack and that Yahtzee hates it or something, but that isn't the point (the fact that Yahtzee thought it was a Jack Black project instead of a Tim Schafer one shows how little he knows about Schafer and thus voiding his entire commentary).

He said that the game seemed more like Jack Blacks work rather than Tim Schafers but anyhow EA haven't burnt down a rain forest so I haven't exactly classified them as terrible yet. You see EA and I maintain a symbiotic relationship where they release the occasional game which I like and I will look for the best way to hand over the least amount of money as possible for the most amount of content. This way the EA executives can buy their expensive speedboats and I can continue to play games in peace. I'm sure there's a point to all of what I just said but it got lost I transmission haa

 

[Dansen]

I was hoping that people would post some fun or good games...
Guess there is still too much bad blood going around

The first two harry potter games were a ton of fun, especially chamber of secrets. The Bertybotts economy was a great idea rather than having that silly easter egg in the first one. Really solid gameplay design. They should have tried to stick with that formula instead of turning them into action games.

 

[shrekfan246]

I was hoping that people would post some fun or good games...
Guess there is still too much bad blood going around

The first two harry potter games were a ton of fun, especially chamber of secrets. The Bertybotts economy was a great idea rather than having that silly easter egg in the first one. Really solid gameplay design. They should have tried to stick with that formula instead of turning them into action games.

I still liked the third one, but I agree that I wish they had kept the more adventure-based focus of the first two, they were a lot of fun.

I kinda just want another game to capture the feeling of going to a wizarding school, though...

 

[TheCommanders]

I don't hate EA a lot of the games they made are great Mass Effect, Dragon age, dead Space, all on the list.

I ignore what most people say makes them the devil because I don't believe in loyalty or hatred to a company yea I like EA but the moment they stop publishing games I like I will drop them like a 10 pound porcupine.

Wait, why were you holding a ten pound porcupine to begin with? Those things are prickly... I'm probably missing the point.

OT- I think the main reason EA is still afloat is because despite being enormous assholes, they own a lot of really good companies. Despite their best efforts to ruin them, these companies still manage to make pretty good games, which means we keep buying their products.

EDIT- Hang on, would the implication in your metaphor be that it's fine to stab you repeatedly in your hands as long as you're being entertained while it's happening?

 

[Gameguy20100]

I don't hate EA a lot of the games they made are great Mass Effect, Dragon age, dead Space, all on the list.

I ignore what most people say makes them the devil because I don't believe in loyalty or hatred to a company yea I like EA but the moment they stop publishing games I like I will drop them like a 10 pound porcupine.

Wait, why were you holding a ten pound porcupine to begin with? Those things are prickly... I'm probably missing the point.

OT- I think the main reason EA is still afloat is because despite being enormous assholes, they own a lot of really good companies. Despite their best efforts to ruin them, these companies still manage to make pretty good games, which means we keep buying their products.

EDIT- Hang on, would the implication in your metaphor be that it's fine to stab you repeatedly in your hands as long as you're being entertained while it's happening?

No I'm saying a 10 pound porcupine would be very easy to drop.

 

[Ambitiousmould]

EA's good deeds are undone entirely in their effect by all of the bad they've done.
How many studios have been closed?
How many people have left the industry entirely because of EA's treatment of them?
How many amazing ideas were shafted in favour of another Need for Speed?
How many consumer rights have EA had a hand in eroding?

Short of curing Cancer or AIDs, EA can't out-do the effects of their bad actions.

I'm pretty sure I've used this for EA before, but, "Good deeds don't wash out the bad ones, nor the bad the good."

They have done some horrible, horrible things to game companies, developers and consumers, but like the OP said, we have to remember the little good they've done. Note: this does not make them a good company, on the whole they are evil, money-grabbing, corporate behemoths that want to ruin everything.

 

[Harlemura]

Hey, if it wasn't for EA, I might never have got to play Ty the Tasmanian Tiger. That game was and still is pretty awesome and, even though its got stereotypes so blatant it could offend people, I actually found out quite a lot about Australia through it.
I mean, I was 8 when I got it so it's not like I knew much to begin with, but still.

I wonder if EA not publishing Ty 3 has something to do with me never catching wind of it until about a year ago.

 

[idarkphoenixi]

I wouldn't really consider the fact that a few decent games being released as them "doing something good".

They still screw over consumers and employee's alike. Not to mention their unfortunate habit of buying up developers on the cheap, squeezing them dry and dumping the carcass as they move on.

Overpricing games, excessive DLC, microtransactions, always on drm, online passes (which they only removed because MS is basically doing it for them. So transparent, EA) The list goes on. Even I've enjoyed some games published by them (Published, remember that. Not developed) but that doesn't change what they are.