Electronic Arts Disables "Non-Critical" SimCity Features - UPDATED

[FalloutJack]

SNIP

Consumers tell companies what they want all the time. It's very obvious that they don't listen. You can't blame us for their idiocy. If the bottom line is all they see, then the bottom line has to be the line of communication. If you believe that this is crap, then it's because of the dumbass who squints to see only the bottom line while shouting "LA LA LA LA LA LA!!!" with his ears plugged up to ignore everything else.

In short, NOBODY CARES if the company fumbles around blindly and in the dark. When this is what actually gets through, it's better than they suffer and keep on suffering until they wake up. If you don't believe your wallet has any rightful say, you may as well give me your money now. I promise to spend it wisely.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

SNIP

Consumers tell companies what they want all the time. It's very obvious that they don't listen. You can't blame us for their idiocy. If the bottom line is all they see, then the bottom line has to be the line of communication. If you believe that this is crap, then it's because of the dumbass who squints to see only the bottom line while shouting "LA LA LA LA LA LA!!!" with his ears plugged up to ignore everything else.

In short, NOBODY CARES if the company fumbles around blindly and in the dark. When this is what actually gets through, it's better than they suffer and keep on suffering until they wake up. If you don't believe your wallet has any rightful say, you may as well give me your money now. I promise to spend it wisely.

I said it was flawed, not that it doesn't work at all. You're right in many regards, but the fact remains that companies quite often miss the point on why something isn't selling and thus continue to dig their own graves. When this happens in the gaming idustry, it becomes a situation of either letting the company and every franchise it owns die in a blaze of ignorance or save the franchise and encourage the company to continue their horrid practices. There ends up being no positive solution, only a choice between the lesser of two evils. With this in mind, people may feel obligated to buy the next installment of the franchise just to try saving it. That is the flaw in the system.

 

[FalloutJack]

SNIP

Consumers tell companies what they want all the time. It's very obvious that they don't listen. You can't blame us for their idiocy. If the bottom line is all they see, then the bottom line has to be the line of communication. If you believe that this is crap, then it's because of the dumbass who squints to see only the bottom line while shouting "LA LA LA LA LA LA!!!" with his ears plugged up to ignore everything else.

In short, NOBODY CARES if the company fumbles around blindly and in the dark. When this is what actually gets through, it's better than they suffer and keep on suffering until they wake up. If you don't believe your wallet has any rightful say, you may as well give me your money now. I promise to spend it wisely.

I said it was flawed, not that it doesn't work at all. You're right in many regards, but the fact remains that companies quite often miss the point on why something isn't selling and thus continue to dig their own graves. When this happens in the gaming idustry, it becomes a situation of either letting the company and every franchise it owns die in a blaze of ignorance or save the franchise and encourage the company to continue their horrid practices. There ends up being no positive solution, only a choice between the lesser of two evils. With this in mind, people may feel obligated to buy the next installment of the franchise just to try saving it. That is the flaw in the system.

Ah, well that's where you're wrong. You see, when people decide their vote to be to buy because they want to save the franchise and not to hold back while saying "This sucks! Change it!", the system isn't the problem. That time, the problem is the person IF they are aware of the problem with that intent in mind. Obviously, those who are just average consumers who don't know can't be blamed. The point is that if you have been injured in an auto accident found yourself to be a dissatisfied customer, you should do quite a few things to point out this fact and why. But if the company seems to be ignoring you too, then you have to make it known that they willl not have YOUR greenbacks today. That's the trouble with communication. Sometimes, it fails. And when it does, money talks.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

SNIP

Consumers tell companies what they want all the time. It's very obvious that they don't listen. You can't blame us for their idiocy. If the bottom line is all they see, then the bottom line has to be the line of communication. If you believe that this is crap, then it's because of the dumbass who squints to see only the bottom line while shouting "LA LA LA LA LA LA!!!" with his ears plugged up to ignore everything else.

In short, NOBODY CARES if the company fumbles around blindly and in the dark. When this is what actually gets through, it's better than they suffer and keep on suffering until they wake up. If you don't believe your wallet has any rightful say, you may as well give me your money now. I promise to spend it wisely.

I said it was flawed, not that it doesn't work at all. You're right in many regards, but the fact remains that companies quite often miss the point on why something isn't selling and thus continue to dig their own graves. When this happens in the gaming idustry, it becomes a situation of either letting the company and every franchise it owns die in a blaze of ignorance or save the franchise and encourage the company to continue their horrid practices. There ends up being no positive solution, only a choice between the lesser of two evils. With this in mind, people may feel obligated to buy the next installment of the franchise just to try saving it. That is the flaw in the system.

Ah, well that's where you're wrong. You see, when people decide their vote to be to buy because they want to save the franchise and not to hold back while saying "This sucks! Change it!", the system isn't the problem. That time, the problem is the person IF they are aware of the problem with that intent in mind. Obviously, those who are just average consumers who don't know can't be blamed. The point is that if you have been injured in an auto accident found yourself to be a dissatisfied customer, you should do quite a few things to point out this fact and why. But if the company seems to be ignoring you too, then you have to make it known that they willl not have YOUR greenbacks today. That's the trouble with communication. Sometimes, it fails. And when it does, money talks.

You keep forgetting one crucial point that I've been trying to make - that the companies too often misinterpret (intentionally or otherwise) what the money is saying. Instead of going "This didn't sell. Maybe turning an RTS game into a FPS wasn't what customers wanted from this series", they may very well end up going "This didn't sell. People obviously don't care about this entire franchise in general". In EA's case it's basically their motto to can a franchise that stops selling entirely and axe the developer once it stops selling well, rather than ask themselves what they did wrong and if their unpopular business practices or homogenization of the game drove the consumers away. In this scenario, simply voting with your wallet doesn't stop the series you care about from dying off or being handled incredibly poorly; leaving you with, again, a choice between the lesser of two evils. That's the crux of my argument here - that companies often ignore why sales are dropping until they're already down for the count, with them canning franchises / devs beforehand and then dragging said franchises to the grave with them.

 

[FalloutJack]

SNIP

Consumers tell companies what they want all the time. It's very obvious that they don't listen. You can't blame us for their idiocy. If the bottom line is all they see, then the bottom line has to be the line of communication. If you believe that this is crap, then it's because of the dumbass who squints to see only the bottom line while shouting "LA LA LA LA LA LA!!!" with his ears plugged up to ignore everything else.

In short, NOBODY CARES if the company fumbles around blindly and in the dark. When this is what actually gets through, it's better than they suffer and keep on suffering until they wake up. If you don't believe your wallet has any rightful say, you may as well give me your money now. I promise to spend it wisely.

I said it was flawed, not that it doesn't work at all. You're right in many regards, but the fact remains that companies quite often miss the point on why something isn't selling and thus continue to dig their own graves. When this happens in the gaming idustry, it becomes a situation of either letting the company and every franchise it owns die in a blaze of ignorance or save the franchise and encourage the company to continue their horrid practices. There ends up being no positive solution, only a choice between the lesser of two evils. With this in mind, people may feel obligated to buy the next installment of the franchise just to try saving it. That is the flaw in the system.

Ah, well that's where you're wrong. You see, when people decide their vote to be to buy because they want to save the franchise and not to hold back while saying "This sucks! Change it!", the system isn't the problem. That time, the problem is the person IF they are aware of the problem with that intent in mind. Obviously, those who are just average consumers who don't know can't be blamed. The point is that if you have been injured in an auto accident found yourself to be a dissatisfied customer, you should do quite a few things to point out this fact and why. But if the company seems to be ignoring you too, then you have to make it known that they willl not have YOUR greenbacks today. That's the trouble with communication. Sometimes, it fails. And when it does, money talks.

You keep forgetting one crucial point that I've been trying to make - that the companies too often misinterpret (intentionally or otherwise) what the money is saying. Instead of going "This didn't sell. Maybe turning an RTS game into a FPS wasn't what customers wanted from this series", they may very well end up going "This didn't sell. People obviously don't care about this entire franchise in general". In EA's case it's basically their motto to can a franchise that stops selling entirely and axe the developer once it stops selling well, rather than ask themselves what they did wrong and if their unpopular business practices or homogenization of the game drove the consumers away. In this scenario, simply voting with your wallet doesn't stop the series you care about from dying off or being handled incredibly poorly; leaving you with, again, a choice between the lesser of two evils. That's the crux of my argument here - that companies often ignore why sales are dropping until they're already down for the count, with them canning franchises / devs beforehand and then dragging said franchises to the grave with them.

No no no no no... The point YOU are missing is that people have tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and TRIED to get the proper message out and THEY NEVER LISTEN. You think that people can't or won't try to get a point across in every method from subtle to very obvious. You don't seem to understand that WE DRAW THEM A MAP AND THEY DON'T GET THE PICTURE. You can stop trying to pin it on the gamers now, anytime! Because they will not HEAR the message, see the font, notice the flare, watch the skies, or any other sort of sign. They will pay attention to MONEY and only MONEY. Nothing but greenbacks, cashola, mucho dinero, cabbage, moolah, THINE CURRENCY. There is no argument here, because the evidence has spoken. If you believe that you can really, REALLY, get through to them in some other manner, BY GOD GO DO SO, but I do not believe it will have nearly as good the impact.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

Super Snip

No no no no no... The point YOU are missing is that people have tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and TRIED to get the proper message out and THEY NEVER LISTEN. You think that people can't or won't try to get a point across in every method from subtle to very obvious. You don't seem to understand that WE DRAW THEM A MAP AND THEY DON'T GET THE PICTURE. You can stop trying to pin it on the gamers now, anytime! Because they will not HEAR the message, see the font, notice the flare, watch the skies, or any other sort of sign. They will pay attention to MONEY and only MONEY. Nothing but greenbacks, cashola, mucho dinero, cabbage, moolah, THINE CURRENCY. There is no argument here, because the evidence has spoken. If you believe that you can really, REALLY, get through to them in some other manner, BY GOD GO DO SO, but I do not believe it will have nearly as good the impact.

No offense, but have you listened to what I've been saying at all? What you just said is exactly my point - they often do not listen. That very thing is the fatal flaw with voting with your wallet. No matter how much you refuse to buy their products, some companies just will not get the point or even deliberately ignore exactly why they aren't making money. For these companies, they'll first axe franchises and devs because they aren't understanding or are blatantly ignoring the actual reasons why people aren't buying their product (even though people are being very clear about it) and think that customers just don't care for the franchise or that they aren't worth winning over. Afterwards, the decline in profits kills them off for good and every franchise / dev they own. This all stems from the fact that, as we both put it, they just do not listen. Just look at all the companies and franchises EA killed off when they stopped being profitable - instead of figuring out that people are tired of their bs, they blamed the dev or lack of interest in the franchise and axed the studio along with the franchise as a result. No matter how hard people tried to get the point across, EA just flat-out refuses to listen and continues doing exactly the same thing over and over again without any regards to what the loss of money is actually saying.

 

[FalloutJack]

Super Snip

No no no no no... The point YOU are missing is that people have tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and TRIED to get the proper message out and THEY NEVER LISTEN. You think that people can't or won't try to get a point across in every method from subtle to very obvious. You don't seem to understand that WE DRAW THEM A MAP AND THEY DON'T GET THE PICTURE. You can stop trying to pin it on the gamers now, anytime! Because they will not HEAR the message, see the font, notice the flare, watch the skies, or any other sort of sign. They will pay attention to MONEY and only MONEY. Nothing but greenbacks, cashola, mucho dinero, cabbage, moolah, THINE CURRENCY. There is no argument here, because the evidence has spoken. If you believe that you can really, REALLY, get through to them in some other manner, BY GOD GO DO SO, but I do not believe it will have nearly as good the impact.

No offense, but have you listened to what I've been saying at all? What you just said is exactly my point - they often do not listen. That very thing is the fatal flaw with voting with your wallet. No matter how much you refuse to buy their products, some companies just will not get the point or even deliberately ignore exactly why they aren't making money. For these companies, they'll first axe franchises and devs because they aren't understanding or are blatantly ignoring the actual reasons why people aren't buying their product (even though people are being very clear about it) and think that customers just don't care for the franchise or that they aren't worth winning over. Afterwards, the decline in profits kills them off for good and every franchise / dev they own. This all stems from the fact that, as we both put it, they just do not listen. Just look at all the companies and franchises EA killed off when they stopped being profitable - instead of figuring out that people are tired of their bs, they blamed the dev or lack of interest in the franchise and axed the studio along with the franchise as a result. No matter how hard people tried to get the point across, EA just flat-out refuses to listen and continues doing exactly the same thing over and over again without any regards to what the loss of money is actually saying.

No, you're still missing MY point. There is no viable alternative that works besides money. If they want to wet their pants, shovel sand over their heads, and suffer...then so be it. Companies too dumb to listen SHOULD DIE.

Now, you being someone who isn't very good at listening to me, I am not going to buy any games from you. Heh, get it? Ta-ta.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

Super Snip

No no no no no... The point YOU are missing is that people have tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and tried and TRIED to get the proper message out and THEY NEVER LISTEN. You think that people can't or won't try to get a point across in every method from subtle to very obvious. You don't seem to understand that WE DRAW THEM A MAP AND THEY DON'T GET THE PICTURE. You can stop trying to pin it on the gamers now, anytime! Because they will not HEAR the message, see the font, notice the flare, watch the skies, or any other sort of sign. They will pay attention to MONEY and only MONEY. Nothing but greenbacks, cashola, mucho dinero, cabbage, moolah, THINE CURRENCY. There is no argument here, because the evidence has spoken. If you believe that you can really, REALLY, get through to them in some other manner, BY GOD GO DO SO, but I do not believe it will have nearly as good the impact.

No offense, but have you listened to what I've been saying at all? What you just said is exactly my point - they often do not listen. That very thing is the fatal flaw with voting with your wallet. No matter how much you refuse to buy their products, some companies just will not get the point or even deliberately ignore exactly why they aren't making money. For these companies, they'll first axe franchises and devs because they aren't understanding or are blatantly ignoring the actual reasons why people aren't buying their product (even though people are being very clear about it) and think that customers just don't care for the franchise or that they aren't worth winning over. Afterwards, the decline in profits kills them off for good and every franchise / dev they own. This all stems from the fact that, as we both put it, they just do not listen. Just look at all the companies and franchises EA killed off when they stopped being profitable - instead of figuring out that people are tired of their bs, they blamed the dev or lack of interest in the franchise and axed the studio along with the franchise as a result. No matter how hard people tried to get the point across, EA just flat-out refuses to listen and continues doing exactly the same thing over and over again without any regards to what the loss of money is actually saying.

No, you're still missing MY point. There is no viable alternative that works besides money. If they want to wet their pants, shovel sand over their heads, and suffer...then so be it. Companies too dumb to listen SHOULD DIE.

Now, you being someone who isn't very good at listening to me, I am not going to buy any games from you. Heh, get it? Ta-ta.

I already said that. My point was that it's flawed due to company stupidity and that there is no positive way to deal with these companies outside of maybe getting laws passed against some of these anti-consumer practices, nothing more. I agree that there aren't many other options out there, but it doesn't mean that it always actually works. People do get left in a situation of supporting the franchise and the bullshit practices or contribute to the destruction of both, which is a lose-lose situation. Either you love their bs or you don't care for the franchise is sometimes all they see. I listened to you very well, especially since we've both been saying the same exact thing for quite a while now. Now answer me this - when voting with your wallet doesn't work, what then? What do people do when that's not enough to make them heard, especially when the companies are constantly pushing the boundaries of what anti-consumer policies that they can legally get away with?