Jimquisition: EA versus Zynga - The Lesser of Two Evils

Krantos

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Jun 30, 2009
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Something I don't think Jim grasped here, is that (most) people weren't really cozying up to EA, they were just glad they were doing what they were doing.

It's less like two pedos fighting in an alley and more like the big playground bully beating up a younger bully. We don't like EA, but we like what they're doing in this instance.

The thing to remember too, is EA doesn't really have anything to gain really by doing this. They're pushing a copyright claim and will probably get money from it, sure, but it doesn't impact their overall success at all. Zynga, meanwhile, needs to be put down. We don't really care who does it, we're going to applaud them either way.

After all, despite what Jim says, we do care about Zynga. It's not because we have something invested in Facebook games, it's because they're a game studio. A really, really shitty game studio. A game studio with the worst possible business and creative ethics. Sure they're small time, but they're still a black stain on the industry we're all invested in.

We don't care who does it; we just want them gone.

Companies, just like people, are never all bad or all good. I hate EA, for all the things everyone else hates them for. But I'd raise a glass to them for this. It won't change my opinion of them, but my opinion of them won't stop me from acknowledging what they're doing needs to be done.
 

Metalrocks

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Jan 15, 2009
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lol, the bane part was awesome.

otherwise, ?A is still hated by me. even when i have to say they do a good thing with zynga, i still give a rats ass about ?A. and who ever actually believes that ?A is good, are simply blind.
 

lancar

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Aug 11, 2009
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It feels like EA and Zynga fight is a win-win situation for the rest of us. No matter who loses, it'll be someone we hate :) One less evil in the world, regardless on how it died, is always good, right?
 

Frozengale

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Sep 9, 2009
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I never understood why people were cheering for EA. If I'm not mistaken most of the Zynga higher ups already bailed out and this lawsuit is only going to hurt the lower level staff who probably aren't jerkwads. EA has always been the villian in this scenario, they are kicking a company while they're down and then trying to champion themselves while doing it.
 

Metalrocks

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just came through my mind now. remember the trailer from the first Avs.P movie?

"whoever wins. we lose".
 

CardinalPiggles

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Jun 24, 2010
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That poor cat!

And yeah EA basically rape and pillage and eventually execute great development teams (RIP Bullfrog and Westwood), and it'll take a hell of a lot more than suing Zynga to make up for it.
 

aattss

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May 13, 2012
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So, people are supporting EA getting a monopoly on the market? They're not just destroying Zynga, they're gonna replace Zynga while possibly -IP theft
 

Mkvenner

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Jun 12, 2010
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That pedophile thing made me laugh hard and that was also a great Bane impersonation. :D

Great points were made and I think you should sue them both!
 

BreakfastMan

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Jul 22, 2010
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Rememeber, though kids, even though EA is evil and the incarnation of all that is wrong with the games industry, responsible for the deaths of many of the best developers of all time, you should still totally buy their products if you feel so inclined. I mean, don't voice your support for them in this fight, God don't do that. That is just silly, and you would be wrong to do so. Just buy their stuff. That will send the right message. :D
 

Baldry

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Feb 11, 2009
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I thought this was rather obvious, I didn't actually think people would flock to EA's banners, I thought we'd all go "Well I guess EA's doing some remote good...They're still dicks though" And then we'd all go about our business.
 

GeneralFungi

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Jul 1, 2010
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I hear things that Zynga has done that may be questionable legally, but why do people have such a hatred towards developers of casual games? I get not liking them or wanting to play them, but wishing for Zynga to go bankrupt simply because they produce facebook games seems ridiculous to me.

I realize that Zynga does some questionable things legally and they aren't exactly morally correct, but people seem to only hate Zynga because they produce video games that their grand-mothers can enjoy.
 

Fearzone

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Dec 3, 2008
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That Bane impersonation was a little too good.

There is probably a way to work that into more Jimquisitions.

More Bane.

Please.
 

beefpelican

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Apr 15, 2009
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That was an astonishingly good Bane.

Additionally the reason we're all rooting for Zynga to lose is that it's nice to see a jerk get hit with things. Like the bullies in an 80's movie or the asshole in a horror film. It doesn't really matter the source, or if they've harmed us personally, it's still nice to watch, vindictively.
 

scorptatious

The Resident Team ICO Fanboy
May 14, 2009
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You know, I used to defend EA myself for the most part. Mainly because of the whole ME3 ending fiasco that happened a while back.

That was complete and utter denial back then, and I now understand how bad EA is for the game industry.

So EA:

Go fuck yourself.

Also, I mentioned how I didn't recognize the music towards the end of one of your previous videos. It was from Final Fantasy IX! How did I not recognize that? Not only is that the type of music you play in all your videos, but that game is one of my all time favorites. Goddamn how did I let that fly over my head? X(
 

ripdajacker

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Oct 25, 2009
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People seem to forget this is business as usual. Yes game publishers like EA tend to treat their customers with anything but respect, but they are in it for the money. They are just like Apple, and just like Microsoft was throughout the 90s.

As long as people keep buying games EA will live on. The problem with boycotting EA is that they have very deep pockets, so you end up getting a studio shut instead of harming EA economically.

We shouldn't root for either of them, but the potential demise of Zynga is not positive either. Zynga is a small studio that has hit a niche and earned a shitload of money. They are competition, and they are welcome competition.

If people like Zynga exist to spread gaming as a culture to your dad, mom and everyone in between, it will eventually raise awareness of the harsh state of the industry. With awareness comes political interest (i.e. politicians wanting the gamer vote), and maybe then some laws will be passed that protect us from overly intrusive DRM and such.
 

BehattedWanderer

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Jun 24, 2009
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EA isn't fighting for us, they're fighting to protect their IP. Last I checked, blatant plagiarism is wrong in every other market, and generally grounds for legal action. Zynga has gotten away with this before, because the people they did it to were too small to properly fight back. This is different. Both sides are the giant mutated monsters of their areas, and with either of them down, we can be left to contend with the other with a lot more ease and or focus. If this were King Kong versus Godzilla, it doesn't matter who wins, just that they take each other out, or at least weaken each other enough that a different party can finish the job.

Signa said:
The worst part of this is that by suing Zynga, EA is saying they own the entire sim genre. That is not something anyone should fight for.
You would rather all that casual gamer want for small, amusing timesinks is picked up by companies like Bethesda, SquareEnix, or Infinity Ward/Dice/Treyarch? That instead of letting them focus on the titanic games they do design for the dedicated gamers, they focus their time and effort into making the shiniest and most alluring Skinner boxes? It's a foolish idea to think that social gaming isn't worth it, for there are millions of people willing to put small amounts of cash down at a time rather, and continue to do so over time. There's a reason companies like Rovio and Zynga are doing so well, and it has everything to do with appealing to the market that specifically isn't interested in the hardcore titles.
 

Signa

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BehattedWanderer said:
Signa said:
The worst part of this is that by suing Zynga, EA is saying they own the entire sim genre. That is not something anyone should fight for.
You would rather all that casual gamer want for small, amusing timesinks is picked up by companies like Bethesda, SquareEnix, or Infinity Ward/Dice/Treyarch? That instead of letting them focus on the titanic games they do design for the dedicated gamers, they focus their time and effort into making the shiniest and most alluring Skinner boxes? It's a foolish idea to think that social gaming isn't worth it, for there are millions of people willing to put small amounts of cash down at a time rather, and continue to do so over time. There's a reason companies like Rovio and Zynga are doing so well, and it has everything to do with appealing to the market that specifically isn't interested in the hardcore titles.
Was that meant for me? I don't see how it applies to anything I was saying.

My stance is that a company can't own a genre. Rooting for EA is like rooting for a company to own a whole genre. No one should be fighting for that to happen.

Zynga are dirty fucking plagiarizers, and I'm not defending their products or business practices. What I'm saying is that suing them for making a clone of a game is a slippery slope to go down, because it will lead to other companies suing just to have control over a certain genre.

If this goes through, what is stopping Blizzard from suing Relic for making a top-down real-time-strategy game with the central UI based in the lower 1/3rd of the screen and an active minimap. The games industry has been borrowing elements from each other for as long as I can remember. In fact, it's the reason why certain games start to feel dated or age poorly, because some other game will come along and do it better, thus setting a new standard in interactivity.

Now Zynga is certainly stretching what I'm defending to the breaking point, but I'd prefer to let Zynga get away with it than risk every game to be made in the future on it. Besides, I don't get the impression that Zynga games have a feel of quality. Cloned games aren't going to be better than the original because they are literally carbon copies. If a company can't be bothered to invent their own games, I can't expect them to improve the games they are copying either. The superior product will still sell more as a result.