What makes more sense? Not buying it unless it is up to your standards. That, I'm not arguing. But to me, it is asinine to expect a company to make a sequel to a game that underperformed, describing it as "holding the series hostage" when a producer expresses concerns about making a sequel to a game that underperformed.Bindal said:Counterquestion: What makes more sense as a consumer: Buying a bad game in hopes a sequel will be better - or just say "no, that thing is NOT what I expect from that franchise" and expect a better version to come later and buy that?thebobmaster said:To all the people saying that this makes no business sense, let me ask you something. What would make less business sense? Cancelling a sequel because the newest installment was not successful, or making a sequel ignoring the failure of the last one. You just know that if EA had said anything along the lines of "Regardless of the results of Sims 4 in sales, we will not be discontinuing the series," people would be rolling their eyes and accusing EA of milking the series for all its worth, making snarky comments about "What are you going to cut out of the next one? Teenagers?" Instead, they say that the future of the series is uncertain, and they will be waiting to see how it does before deciding whether or not to continue with the series. So now, they get a bunch of people accusing them of "holding the series hostage".
EA will never repair their image in the eyes of gamers. Because those gamers WANT to hate EA, and will find any way they can of twisting EA's words to do so.
No, that doesn't work, because we shouldn't have to put ourselves in anyone's position. They make the product and we damn well expect it to be worthwhile. Over-complicating it by saying we have to feel for or understand them is pointless.thebobmaster said:What makes more sense? Not buying it unless it is up to your standards. That, I'm not arguing. But to me, it is asinine to expect a company to make a sequel to a game that underperformed, describing it as "holding the series hostage" when a producer expresses concerns about making a sequel to a game that underperformed.Bindal said:Counterquestion: What makes more sense as a consumer: Buying a bad game in hopes a sequel will be better - or just say "no, that thing is NOT what I expect from that franchise" and expect a better version to come later and buy that?thebobmaster said:To all the people saying that this makes no business sense, let me ask you something. What would make less business sense? Cancelling a sequel because the newest installment was not successful, or making a sequel ignoring the failure of the last one. You just know that if EA had said anything along the lines of "Regardless of the results of Sims 4 in sales, we will not be discontinuing the series," people would be rolling their eyes and accusing EA of milking the series for all its worth, making snarky comments about "What are you going to cut out of the next one? Teenagers?" Instead, they say that the future of the series is uncertain, and they will be waiting to see how it does before deciding whether or not to continue with the series. So now, they get a bunch of people accusing them of "holding the series hostage".
EA will never repair their image in the eyes of gamers. Because those gamers WANT to hate EA, and will find any way they can of twisting EA's words to do so.
You want to vote with your wallet? More power to you. That's how gamers should have their voices heard. However, if you are going to vote with your wallet, don't get upset when the publisher decides "This game isn't selling, so we won't waste our time with a sequel". Sure, YOU may be thinking "I'm going to boycott this game because it isn't up to my standards," but that's not what the stockholders see. All they see is that the game isn't selling. It sucks, but that's what happens.
Let's put it this way. You are the CEO of a company beholden to your shareholders. You don't make the money, you are looking at cutting staff at the very least, and possibly even shutting down studios. If you have a game that under-performs, causing you to have to let staff go, why on Earth would you make another game in the series?
Unless EA is the first company to do so. If EA does it, it's automatically a bad idea. At least, that's the impression I'm getting.OrokuSaki said:.....This is actually how I want things to work. I don't care about "The Sims" in particular, but if this means that my ongoing boycotts against Assassins Creed, Amazing Spider-Man, and anything even remotely resembling a sequel to DMC, then I take this as a step in the right direction.
Think of the precedent this could set, companies actually giving up on franchises when they lose enough fans. This could go really, really well.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Why would EA sell it? If they cant make any money from it they will make damn sure no one else can and probably shut down any successful fan project which makes a better game.aelreth said:If they aren't profitable then hopefully a smaller and more specialized company can buy it for pennies on the dollar and make it into a success.
This one. Stranger things have happened. Gonna have to tag you for that post, though. We're bein' civil here.spartandude said:HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Why would EA sell it? If they cant make any money from it they will make damn sure no one else can and probably shut down any successful fan project which makes a better game.aelreth said:If they aren't profitable then hopefully a smaller and more specialized company can buy it for pennies on the dollar and make it into a success.
Publisher selling off a franchise they plan to never use again and make fans happy while making a little bit of money by doing a decision that makes sense? What kind of beautiful world do you live in?
They would sell it because they need money to please shareholders or to pay their debts. They will only hold onto the asset if they think they can get a better deal.spartandude said:HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Why would EA sell it? If they cant make any money from it they will make damn sure no one else can and probably shut down any successful fan project which makes a better game.aelreth said:If they aren't profitable then hopefully a smaller and more specialized company can buy it for pennies on the dollar and make it into a success.
Publisher selling off a franchise they plan to never use again and make fans happy while making a little bit of money by doing a decision that makes sense? What kind of beautiful world do you live in?
Believe me i wish that would happen. But publishers sadly tend to kill off a franchise and hold on to it. Maybe making a small game years and years down the line. I think its mostly because if they sell the franchise and then the new company makes a successful game with it the shareholders would be pissed. I remember Jim Sterling saying something like "Publishers would rather have all the money or none of it.".... stupid publishers.aelreth said:They would sell it because they need money to please shareholders or to pay their debts. They will only hold onto the asset if they think they can get a better deal.spartandude said:HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Why would EA sell it? If they cant make any money from it they will make damn sure no one else can and probably shut down any successful fan project which makes a better game.aelreth said:If they aren't profitable then hopefully a smaller and more specialized company can buy it for pennies on the dollar and make it into a success.
Publisher selling off a franchise they plan to never use again and make fans happy while making a little bit of money by doing a decision that makes sense? What kind of beautiful world do you live in?
Eventually it is their hand that will become weak.
I prefer "One step forward onto a landmine, body flies 12 steps back."Elfgore said:I have to change the old quote "Two steps forward, one step back" for you guys. It's now, "Ten steps back, half-step forward."
That's the plan, they'll have none of it and the shareholders would riot. Only then will the culture change.spartandude said:Believe me i wish that would happen. But publishers sadly tend to kill off a franchise and hold on to it. Maybe making a small game years and years down the line. I think its mostly because if they sell the franchise and then the new company makes a successful game with it the shareholders would be pissed. I remember Jim Sterling saying something like "Publishers would rather have all the money or none of it.".... stupid publishers.aelreth said:They would sell it because they need money to please shareholders or to pay their debts. They will only hold onto the asset if they think they can get a better deal.spartandude said:HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Why would EA sell it? If they cant make any money from it they will make damn sure no one else can and probably shut down any successful fan project which makes a better game.aelreth said:If they aren't profitable then hopefully a smaller and more specialized company can buy it for pennies on the dollar and make it into a success.
Publisher selling off a franchise they plan to never use again and make fans happy while making a little bit of money by doing a decision that makes sense? What kind of beautiful world do you live in?
Eventually it is their hand that will become weak.