Electronic Arts Suffers $45 Million Loss

[immortalfrieza]

I don't think anyone is saying they shouldn't fail. Only that We shouldn't sit here and pop the champagne over companies failing. I'm also not talking about the developers, they can probably get by just fine, but rather all the accountants, HR people, IT people, janitors, etc. who work for EA and might not necessarily be able to get another job right away somewhere. People who may only have a cloudy idea of why everyone hates EA, and people who will be laid off because of crap their bosses did. Not something to celebrate, even if it would make the industry as a whole a bit better. There's a difference between realizing the sad reality and ignoring it so you can celebrate the demise of the faceless "bad guy".

In the end EA won't ever "fail" in the traditional sense, they'll be bought out by some other (probably foreign a potentially even worse) company, but that will probably still mean a lot of people being laid off or pay/benefits getting cut.

What we should be hoping for is not their imminent demise, but that they change their leadership and business practices, something that might happen if they start getting into the red for an entire year instead of just a quarter.

No, we SHOULD be hoping for EA's imminent demise. If a big video game company goes into the red and changes these terrible business practices, that's good, but it won't help the video game industry as a whole wise up. Another flaw in your argument is that you are assuming that company won't go back into doing those terrible business practices again once they are no longer in the red and have some breathing room. Businesses that are stupid enough begin doing these kinds of business practices that ruin them to begin with are easily stupid enough to go back to doing them if they think they can get some quick cash doing so.

The people that are whining about people losing their jobs really need to look at the big picture. What the video game industry needs right now is a gaming company giant crashing and burning as a direct result of these terrible business practices, something that puts up a couple of metaphorical giant neon signs that say "THESE BUSINESS PRACTICES DON'T WORK!!!" and "DO THESE THINGS AND YOU'LL DIE TOO!!!" In short, something to set an example.

We should be popping the champage and celebrating if a big gaming company like EA dies off, it's something the industry REALLY needs. Sure, people will lose their jobs as a result and that sucks, but that's the cost that needs to be made, and it's hard to find any good thing throughout human history that just happened without some people somewhere suffering either to bring it about or as a direct result of it.

 

[SpectacularWebHead]

Hopefully this is a sign that people are getting sick of EA's terrible business practices.

Maybe EA'll have a change of heart and not act like twats anymore, but I doubt it.

If they're still holding dead space fans to ransom then nothings going to change and the dragon that is EA is going to slowly die.

I really hate that EA owns so many games that are really good and are slowly boiling them down into a brown shootery mess. Look at games like Mass Effect and again Dead Space; the worlds they take place in, the universe and the lore around those games is in depth well thought and heartfelt, and then when you play the actual games they stink of corporate meddling, and even when the game is good you've got a "tell tale heart"-esque guilt because you know you're feeding a company with such a lack of scruples and care for the consumer that it's like they were spawned from Rupert Murdochs gnarled testicles.

I hope EA goes under for this, and steadily has to watch as all the good divisions of EA are bought up by, oh, say, valve.

 

[Remaiki]

People seem to think that we're all incapable of empathy becuase we're happy that a shit company might finally be getting its comeuppance.

Riiiiight.

Y'know what it reminds me of? NIMBYism. (For those that don't know, NIMBY is short for 'Not In My Back Yard'. Basically: if it didn't affect them or someone they cared about, they wouldn't give a flying fuck.)

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

People seem to think that we're all incapable of empathy becuase we're happy that a shit company might finally be getting its comeuppance.

Riiiiight.

Y'know what it reminds me of? NIMBYism. (For those that don't know, NIMBY is short for 'Not In My Back Yard'. Basically: if it didn't affect them or someone they cared about, they wouldn't give a flying fuck.)

It doesn't affect anyone I care about. I just think the people celebrating the possibility of EA dying are not looking at the big picture. If EA goes under, so do the 36 studios under them. You think 36 studios shutting down at once won't have an impact on the industry? For that matter, you think that it would be a good thing if the second biggest video game publisher around shut down?

 

[Remaiki]

People seem to think that we're all incapable of empathy becuase we're happy that a shit company might finally be getting its comeuppance.

Riiiiight.

Y'know what it reminds me of? NIMBYism. (For those that don't know, NIMBY is short for 'Not In My Back Yard'. Basically: if it didn't affect them or someone they cared about, they wouldn't give a flying fuck.)

It doesn't affect anyone I care about. I just think the people celebrating the possibility of EA dying are not looking at the big picture. If EA goes under, so do the 36 studios under them. You think 36 studios shutting down at once won't have an impact on the industry? For that matter, you think that it would be a good thing if the second biggest video game publisher around shut down?

You know something? I think it would be a good thing. The companies under EA's rule may be dissolved (don't know about US business so I'm making assumptions on what'll happen to EA's subsidiaries) but then those developers would be able to go away and have a larger chance at having their own new, independent businesses do well. Sure, there may be bigger publishers out there, but things like Kickstarter allow even recently made independent businesses to do well.

I do have a question: do the projects that EA's subidiaries are working on stay with the companies, or what? Again, I don't know much about US business, this is all postulation.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Thing is EA can take that loss......not many companies can on a failed game. Its why its rare we get original and new ip released, its like playing Russian roulette for a lot of developers.

 

[Treblaine]

Shame THQ had to die first. But at least it's an example of how a publisher can fold and the studios survive and go other places.

 

[thehorror2]

Couldn't have happened to nicer people.

A shame a bunch of innocent devs still have to be shackled to this leviathan.

 

[Ziadaine_v1legacy]

I wonder if EA ever occurred it's the way they're running their business. Serious, since Origin and the bullshittery they force upon it, EA has been slowly going down the crapper.

 

[Agente L]

Using the wise words of the gilneans in WoW...


"Any loss of EA is a win of mine."

 

[FalloutJack]

RELEVENT:
I have a comment on the Origin numbers game too, actually. See, even if those numbers exist and even a fair amount of them might be active, it doesn't mean they're HELPING them. Take me, for instance. I had to get an account to play Swtor when it went F2P. Let me say that again, I had to put on their account system, but there's no money involved. I get to entertain myself for free every time I log in.

I also want to point out that this really isn't enough of a loss. This is in millions. I want to see BILLIONS. Then, we'll see that coffin buried. 'Till then, keep the faith and make hay while the sun shines.

 

[Milkman]

Gee, I wonder how this could have happened?

Maybe it has something to do with screwing over your customer and rushing all your games, resulting in a diminishing product.

 

[Arcane Azmadi]

EA loses massive amounts of money?

Think it'll send them a message that they need to stop doing fucking stupid things, pouring huge amounts of money into shit games and treating their customer base like a piggy bank to be held upside down and rattled until the last few coins drop out? Unlikely.

 

[xDarc]

4-5 years ago there was a lot of talk about the video game industry being "recession-proof." Now the CFO of No. 2. publisher wants to blame the economy. I hope they get everything that's coming to them.