EA disappoints yet again

Gregory Wollf

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Jun 13, 2011
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So today is my birthday (yay!) and EA sent me an email to help me celebrate... 25% off my next purchase on Origin. Well, as any self respecting gamer would know Bio-Ware's kick butt Star Wars MMO gets released tomorrow, so I already knew what I wanted to use my discount on. Then I read the fine print which said this.

"*Value of discount will be deducted from order list price at time of purchase. Valid only for one-time purchases from the Origin store at Origin.com. Excludes pre-orders, games released within 30 days of your purchase, virtual currency and Game Time codes. This offer expires 30 days after the send date of this email and cannot be combined with any other offer, Gift Card, rebate or other discount coupons...."

Let me highlight the important parts...

"Excludes pre-orders" (my purchase)
"Excludes games released within 30 days of your purchase"
"Expires 30 days after the send date of this email..."

So Star Wars was out. Fair enough I thought, you wouldn't want everyone with a birthday getting discount pre-releases on your huge cash cow game that you expect everyone to pay $60 for. That would not be financially intelligent. It was just the luck of the draw that I was two days off.

So I took a look at their other games and was less than impressed. I am a gamer with taste and all the games were either tasteless or ones that I already owned.

Then I started thinking "Why wouldn't EA want to allow discounts on their huge game?" Valve does this often enough. And seriously, what difference should 30 days make? Mathematically it all works out to the same amount of people having to wait the same amount of time to use their discount to purchase whatever new release was coming out. I decided to pose these questions to customer service but getting through to them was nigh impossible this morning. They don't even have an email option for Origin customer service so I'm going to have to try their chat option again when I have time.

The point of this is that if you're going to give discounts for birthdays then don't put restrictions on the really good gifts. That's more of a slap in the face than helping people celebrate. Why the red tape? Is not my gratitude and good will towards your company worth the extra $15 you're trying to squeeze out of me? Is not my lack of anger and disapproval of your actions worth $15? Isn't your reputation worth $15? And here's the funny thing, people who have birthdays after the game comes out will get their $15 discount and it's ok for them to get it but not people 30 days earlier.

Here's the bottom line. At the very best I will not support EA on anything they do because of how they treat their customers (and me). On average I will speak poorly of them and at worst I will want to sue them.

But take a look at a company like Valve. At the very best I purchase their games to support them. On average I talk favorably about them and at worst I still talk favorably about them.

Why EA why?! You run on a money crank system and have no soul.


Final Thought

How would I get someone on the Escapist to write an article about this incident?
 

Savber

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Feb 17, 2011
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Wait so EA gives you a discount and it so happens to apply to games that you already played and you're pissed at them?

WTHell, isn't that like getting pissed at Valve for discounting games that I already have on Steam? Or that Valve isn't discounting any games that were JUST released?

Yeah I hate EA but I really don't see how EA is at fault here.
 

Vegosiux

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May 18, 2011
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Satsuki666 said:
EA does something nice and your getting ready to lynch them.
Eh, I wouldn't call it "nice", more like, "polite".

Yes, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, but if you don't have a use for said horse you can still politely return it, saying "Thanks, but I really can't do anything useful with it".

All that said, as much as I dislike EA, I wouldn't go berserk over this.
 

FamoFunk

Dad, I'm in space.
Mar 10, 2010
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Oh, EA...

Here's a Birthday Dog just for you, OP!


 

4RM3D

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May 10, 2011
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EA screwing customers over? Well dear sir that is something unheard of. It has been at least one whole full day since I have heard something bad about EA.

Bottom line: EA sucks.
 

craftomega

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May 4, 2011
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Ok I have to agree with both OP and others saying that EA did nothing wrong.

Yes EA is putting unnessisary rescrictions on stuff, but on the same hand they dont HAVE to give you that 25% discound. I love steam, and they have never giving me a 25% on ANY game for my birthday.

Bottem line. EA is joining a booming market and still has yet to find its feet. But they also need to get there heads out of there ass's and start making better decisions.
 

Laughing Man

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Oct 10, 2008
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Hold on, you compare EA and Origin to Valve and Steam you protest the restrictions placed by one yet praise the actions of the other.

Okay where you went wrong

a). Steam has never had any discount on pre release titles, certainly nothing that would come even close to the 25% EA were offering. In fact many of their pre release titles are more expensive than the retail copies.

b). I have been using Steam for almost a decade now and in those ten years here's how many times they have given me any discount on my birthday... 0. Yup none, nowt, nothing.

If you want to have a reason to hate EA then at least do it logically. They offered you something that to my knowledge Steam has never offered, yet you wail on them because you can't get money off a pre release title.

Wanna hate EA then hate them for Origin, hate them for cr*p support, hate them for forcing you to go through their shitty servers to play your purchased games, hate them for forcing you to use Origin to play your games.
 

True Nero

Dahaka Trainer
May 26, 2009
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Laughing Man said:
Hold on, you compare EA and Origin to Valve and Steam you protest the restrictions placed by one yet praise the actions of the other.

Okay where you went wrong

a). Steam has never had any discount on pre release titles, certainly nothing that would come even close to the 25% EA were offering. In fact many of their pre release titles are more expensive than the retail copies.

b). I have been using Steam for almost a decade now and in those ten years here's how many times they have given me any discount on my birthday... 0. Yup none, nowt, nothing.

If you want to have a reason to hate EA then at least do it logically. They offered you something that to my knowledge Steam has never offered, yet you wail on them because you can't get money off a pre release title.

Wanna hate EA then hate them for Origin, hate them for cr*p support, hate them for forcing you to go through their shitty servers to play your purchased games, hate them for forcing you to use Origin to play your games.
actually, Steam sometimes take off 5-10 percent off of pre-orders. It just depends on if the company who is selling the game wants there to be a discount. It's not entirely Steam's fault.

I Pre-ordered Serious Sam 3 and got 5% off, but i feel that was more Croteam's doing.
 

GigaHz

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Jul 5, 2011
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You think you're disappointed now?

Wait until you actually play SWTOR.

You might be in for a shock. Consider this policy a blessing in disguise.
 

lacktheknack

Je suis joined jewels.
Jan 19, 2009
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THE HORROR THAT THE ONE GAME YOU WANT ISN'T INCLUDED IN THE COMPLETELY NICE AND PLEASANT THING THEY DID FOR YOU!

I wouldn't pursue that article, if I were you. I can't see you coming out looking like the down-trodden innocent you want to come across as. Paris Hilton comes more to mind.
 

Lilani

Sometimes known as CaitieLou
May 27, 2009
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Satsuki666 said:
Wait wait wait wait, let me get this straight. You got a 25% discount off of any EA game that has not come out in the last 30 days and you are complaining? I really have to ask what the fuck is wrong with you? All I am seeing is whaaa they wont let me use my 25% discount on a game that just came out whaaa.

Seriously what is wrong with people. EA does something nice and your getting ready to lynch them.
I was thinking the same thing. I mean Skyrim's been out for more than a month, I'd be all over that if I were this guy.

EA didn't HAVE to send you the coupon. I don't believe I've ever gotten birthday specials from Steam. I can't believe I'm saying this, but EA hasn't done anything wrong. Of course it comes with restrictions, everything does. But those restrictions you listed are far from unreasonable. All they want are for their acts of kindness to not affect their sales figures on new games.
 

idarkphoenixi

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May 2, 2011
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Lilani said:
I was thinking the same thing. I mean Skyrim's been out for more than a month, I'd be all over that if I were this guy.
I don't think Skyrim is out on Origin. If it is he probably has it.
 

TheComedown

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Aug 24, 2009
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Laughing Man said:
a). Steam has never had any discount on pre release titles, certainly nothing that would come even close to the 25% EA were offering. In fact many of their pre release titles are more expensive than the retail copies.
You've been using steam for almost a decade, but think there is never a discount on pre-release titles? I haven't been on for a decade, but fuck if i dont buy a game on special on steam, i've preodered it for 5%-10% off its standard price, if not more, look at what they did for Batman AC bonus discount if you owned batman lego or arkham asylum, ss3 was already discounted but it was a further 10% off or something if you owned any of the previous games.

As for OP, your an idiot, of all the shit that can be said about EA, you want to have a cry because they tried to do something nice.
 

Logiclul

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Sep 18, 2011
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I disagree with people who feel you are being unreasonable.

It may not technically be required for them to give out the discount, but in todays' society, it is an accepted tradition that a supplier will regularly give the consumer good benefits. If you don't believe me, then you must never shop at the mall or any other major stores (or minor stores! Even online stores such as Steam do this!). Thus, restrictions on said commonplace kindness come off as unwarranted and wrong. And they are!

You can argue semantics all day on this, but at the end of it, you must admit two simple facts:

1) EAs policy is a year-round policy; thus, it doesn't necessarily protect bigname titles.

2) Main competitors in EA's market are giving regular benefits that (seem) to have no restrictions. Remember that Steam restricts your benefits to specific games, but they do a great job of spreading it out to everything, and giving some REALLY GOOD discounts. What this means is that EA is actually EXPECTED to do the same, and that failure to comply is treating customers worse than standard.

In this particular instance (which is key, as we are discussing the reaction of the instance) the restriction caused the consumer no great benefit. The consumer was hurt on several platforms, and as a result, EA completely failed to deliver the expected good will.