EA Gives $1.65 Million To American Cancer Society

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Fuck EA! How dare they to...

Say what? Oh, you mean they did something good? Money for cancer society? Huh, that really is good.

Well done, EA.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

Also, "what feels like a century of wrongs"? Jesus Christ, they only started their infamous studio-eating less than a decade ago. And that's really the worst they've done. They're not irredeemable child murders, they're a publisher that dabbled in franchise milking (not as bad as Activision), archaic DRM schemes (not as bad as Ubisoft) and release medium-to-high quality games. But everyone acts as if EA literally ate their mother and wiped its lips with their dog.

New CEO, new goals, new year, new everything, their distribution platform <link=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.825489-So-I-got-Origin-from-EA-A-Review-Image-Heavy>isn't even a fraction as bad as people say it is, and a massive act of charity to kick it off. Can we, as gamers, PLEASE leave the infamous masses of baggage that people laugh at us for lugging around and acknowledge when they do something good in literally every way, shape and form?

Ehh...

While I fully agree that this is a positive thing for EA to have done, and the company did good this time, their "studio eating" really started in the late 90's, with multiple complete overhauls of the companies they bought before promptly shutting them down, so it's slightly more than a decade ago, with quite a number of good studios in that time (but still nowhere near a century)

They are still committed to including multiplayer and microtransactions in their full price games (in the style of Dead Space and Mass Effect 3, which while creating a public outcry plenty of money was still spent on the mechanics) and Kaspersky caught them using Origin to create a botnet to sign a third party internet poll supporting EA's stance on gay rights (a.k.a. the Bioware same gender romance options) http://www.maxconsole.com/maxcon_forums/threads/187806-Is-EA-using-Origin-to-illegally-sign-anti-gay-bullying-petition

So yeah, EA isn't all bad, and their charity work should be applauded, but they can be pretty damn bad when they want to be.

 

[synobal]

Meh I picked it up because it was the only time I'd likely be able to get any of the games on sale. I gave away all my Origin keys on /r/pcmasterrace on reddit and kept the steam keys. Good for EA for giving to charity, but giving money to a chairty is the easiest thing in the world when you're rich. You don't get respect for it. Plus most do it for tax purposes so there you go.

 

[Tortilla the Hun]

Did they cure it? Else gtfo!

But seriously well done /golfclap for EA.


$10.5 million raised. The buyers get to decide where the profits go to right? ugh it feels weak when the buyers most likely donated over 50% of those sales to charity and EA comes out the hero with their 10% donation. Dont get me wrong any donation to charity is an amazing thing, I wish I could be as charitable yet my expenses dont allow it. Just annoys me that people praise a company that is so morally bankrupt for 1 act of kindness when there a plenty of companies that every day donate millions to charities, when there are hard working people that donate what little they have to charity.
1 Right simply does not correct what seems like a century of wrongs.

They actually put all those games in the bundle and purchasers didn't have an option to give any to EA.

So... about 90% of the money went to charity (the rest went to the Humble Bundle guys) and EA didn't take a cut at all.

Also, "what feels like a century of wrongs"? Jesus Christ, they only started their infamous studio-eating less than a decade ago. And that's really the worst they've done. They're not irredeemable child murders, they're a publisher that dabbled in franchise milking (not as bad as Activision), archaic DRM schemes (not as bad as Ubisoft) and release medium-to-high quality games. But everyone acts as if EA literally ate their mother and wiped its lips with their dog.

New CEO, new goals, new year, new everything, their distribution platform <link=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.825489-So-I-got-Origin-from-EA-A-Review-Image-Heavy>isn't even a fraction as bad as people say it is, and a massive act of charity to kick it off. Can we, as gamers, PLEASE leave the infamous masses of baggage that people laugh at us for lugging around and acknowledge when they do something good in literally every way, shape and form?

I really couldn't agree with this statement more. It's difficult to expect the gamer community to be taken as a mature group when the most vocal of people tend to hold grudges like a ten year old who had their colored pencils broken by the school bully that actually happens to be working on making themselves a better person.

At any rate, good on EA. I hope they continue to work on bettering themselves.

Seriously, if they win the Golden Poo again, considering just how many companies with substantially worse business practices than what EA used to have, I'm going to be disappointed to say in the least.

 

[Kolyarut]

They are still committed to including multiplayer and microtransactions in their full price games (in the style of Dead Space and Mass Effect 3, which while creating a public outcry plenty of money was still spent on the mechanics) and Kaspersky caught them using Origin to create a botnet to sign a third party internet poll supporting EA's stance on gay rights (a.k.a. the Bioware same gender romance options)

That's an interesting story but I'm a little bit sceptical about why I can't find a source for it other than a random forum post - if this was a thing why didn't it turn into a full-fledged news story? It's not like the games press is particularly on EA's side...

 

[Fox12]

yes. err. how many millions does the ceo and board carry away each year?

How many millions does one truly need to live comfortably?
I have to live with 22k?/year after taxes, and i do manage.


So no, i am not wowed by EA handing out what amounts to TAX DEDACTABLE peanuts.

Seriously, EA really has some nerve. If their charity event doesn't end with them in crippling debt then it's not really charity, is it? Have a heart EA.

Honestly, I don't get this mind set. Every time a rich person/company gives millions to a good cause someone has to come out of the woodwork and complain that, because their rich, they could/should have given more. As if that makes them bad people. When did society set a benchmark for how much you have to donate before your "donation" counts? That money may save someones life, and I doubt those people will be angry that EA didn't donate more. Yes, EA is a terrible anti-consumer company, but there's really no point in trying to find every bit of bad in a good situation. If anything EA should be applauded into doing things like this more often.

 

[BrownGaijin]

Maybe I'm just a crazy Catholic who believes that there's a guy looking down as I... commit naughty things, but I take the approach that rather than praising EA for giving "out of their wealth", that we should spotlight those who give "out of their poverty".

 

[JagermanXcell]

Thats very kind of you EA! Good on you.

Now lets try something that doesn't involve money to garner respect...
share that same kind of compassion to your customers!

Good luck trying to change you're image, cause if you backpedal just one teeeeeny tiiiiny lil bit...
THE INTERNET WILL EAT. YOU. ALIVE.
^_^

 

[lacktheknack]

vertify this:
bananas are mostly yellow on the inside.

Opened five bananas. They were mostly white, except for one that was yellow and green and black inside.

Cannot verify. D:

 

[Hero in a half shell]

They are still committed to including multiplayer and microtransactions in their full price games (in the style of Dead Space and Mass Effect 3, which while creating a public outcry plenty of money was still spent on the mechanics) and Kaspersky caught them using Origin to create a botnet to sign a third party internet poll supporting EA's stance on gay rights (a.k.a. the Bioware same gender romance options)

That's an interesting story but I'm a little bit sceptical about why I can't find a source for it other than a random forum post - if this was a thing why didn't it turn into a full-fledged news story? It's not like the games press is particularly on EA's side...

I don't know, it blew over quite quickly because the gay rights website just closed down the poll, and the father obviously never investigated it further, so it wasn't really a current story anymore? Maybe they thought videogame companies doing shady digital stuff with their programs wasn't really front page headlines so no one bothered to follow it up?
It was never verified, I suspect trying to get EA to admit to bot netting could be very costly if they took you for slander, and with just a few lines of code from Kaspersky and an unwilling witness (the activist website didn't want to 100% confirm it was hacked, even though it clearly was, and just distanced itself from the poll and forgot about it as soon as the issues arose) it isn't the most compelling hurdle to overcome for a story very few people will be interested in anyway.

 

[Pebkio]

Mmmmm... the fresh smell of trying to hard. Nothing finer.

Okay okay, I'm being facicious. Although this quote: ""Thank you again to all our fans who picked up the bundle and donated to these great charities. We were really... well, humbled... by your response!" That was written way ahead of time. Bleh, I hate quotes like those.

STILL! As obvious as this is a ploy for EA to turn their image right around... they will never be able to beat out the actual charities they donated to for "Best Company". Just a little bit of irony. Also, it's worth pointing out that the Humble Bundle was going on in the years they got "Worst Company" so I don't see much difference being made. Unless this is the first time, in three years, that EA decided to participate.

And if that's the case, the obviousness of why they did this (for their image over doing something good) is so disgusting it would make me want to puke.

 

[lacktheknack]

And if that's the case, the obviousness of why they did this (for their image over doing something good) is so disgusting it would make me want to puke.

Please explain why.

Seriously. Is charity only useful if it doesn't affect people's view of you at all?

Think reeeeeally carefully.

 

[Pebkio]

Please explain why.

Seriously. Is charity only useful if it doesn't affect people's view of you at all?

Think reeeeeally carefully.

Okay... thinking really hard... really reeeaaaallllly hard. Yes, actually. That's, in fact, the biggest problem I have with charity events. If you have to attach incentives to a charity (ie. offering products at a discount or making you look good in the media) then everyone involved really needs to reevaluate what "doing the right thing" means.

Besides, those charities were around before and if EA didn't get involved until they had an image problem, it says more about how they're only doing this for personal gain... like an investment... than it does about them giving to the needy.

The people being helped by the charity need help, true enough, but if EA can't be bothered to help until they can personally benefit from the suffering of others... then yes, it makes me want to puke.

 

[Avaholic03]

Yeah, how dare they try to help. Unless they're willing to liquidate all their assets and donate it to charity, they aren't really giving.

Give me a break. $1.65M is a hell of a lot of money, and will do a lot of good. Props to EA. It's not like I'm instantly going to reverse my opinion on them, but at least they're trying to get better.

This.

I say that we remain unimpressed and dour towards everything he ever does until he sells his car and living space to donate to charity. They need the money more than he does.

I hope you two are aware that the humble bundle games sold so much, because people wouldn't pay the ridiculous prices for these relatively old games.

This is just a demonstration of their ability to give on a whim and it's out of some sort of misbelief that they just have to play nice, to not get voted shittiest company for the third year in a row.
There's a huge difference between philantropy for publicity and changing your ways. EA's just taking the easy road.

Charity doesn't have to be done by sacrifice, but this is an instance where it should, if they want any sympathy.

And people call me cynical? Wow. How much have you donated to charity? Who the hell cares what their motives were...if it was a publicity stunt or genuine, a lot of money got donated to help treat cancer. Explain to me how that's a bad thing.

 

[Compatriot Block]

So have we officially transitioned from hating EA because of their business practices to hating EA because they are EA?

Because they just donated more money than anyone posting here is likely to ever have at once. Jesus, imagine if the people who directly benefit from these charities saw the bile being posted here. You know, CANCER PATIENTS.

If they donated this to an organization that was less obviously good, I could maybe understand a tiny bit of questioning. But if you're actually finding anything to complain about when the subject is DONATIONS TO CANCER RESEARCH, maybe it's time to get a functioning sense of perspective.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

So have we officially transitioned from hating EA because of their business practices to hating EA because they are EA?

Honestly, that transition was made before EA won "Worst Company in America" for the second year in the row. At least, that's my opinion. I hate to sound cynical, but if the response to this is any indication, I think the only way people will stop attacking EA is if EA totally shuts down.

I'm not saying I want EA to shut down, mind you. But when EA is being attacked and derided for only donating $10.5 million to various charities, I don't see a way for EA to so much as cough without getting insulted. If they were to release Dragon Age: Inquisition DLC for free, the gamers would pick apart the DLC, saying that it was crap DLC that should have never been released, while demanding that EA, as a publisher, is responsible for the quality of the DLC.

 

[shrekfan246]

I'm not saying I want EA to shut down, mind you. But when EA is being attacked and derided for only donating $10.5 million to various charities, I don't see a way for EA to so much as cough without getting insulted. If they were to release Dragon Age: Inquisition DLC for free, the gamers would pick apart the DLC, saying that it was crap DLC that should have never been released, while demanding that EA, as a publisher, is responsible for the quality of the DLC.

It's funny, actually, according to DICE whenever they released DLC for free, they would repeatedly get complaints about how it wasn't enough and that the players needed more and more and more, but when they charge for Battlefield maps or something, most of the people just buy it and shut up.

I imagine that if the full Dragon Age: Inquisition were to be released for free (not free-to-play, mind), forums the internet over would be filled with people cynically sneering about how EA is just waiting to shove microtransactions into it, or they've probably carved out entire sections of the game to sell as DLC, or blah blah blah who am I kidding, that's probably going to happen anyway.

But yeah, I already agreed with this sentiment in my earlier post; Gamers are never going to be satisfied with anything EA does. Even if the CEO and COO personally handed out the full catalog of EA games + consoles or PCs to play them on to hospitals all over the world, people on the internet would claim that it's just a weak publicity stunt or something and that they won't be fooled because EA is still 'TEH EVILZ'.

 

[Griffolion]

Well if you're going to get your corporate tax breaks, you may as well try and get some good publicity out of it.