Poll: Really though... EA? Why?

[wewontdie11]

I don't like EA because they insist on putting most production time and money into franchises such as Madden and FIFA that really don't require it. If they focussed a bit more on actually making something new then I'd have a much more pleasant disposition to them.

On the other hand EA did play a part in The Orange Box...

 

[sirdapfrey]

I can't necessarily say I hate EA, but I was extremely upset when they secured the exclusive rights to the NFL-licensed games. I have always hated Madden games. Always, even the early ones (Genesis, etc...). I never really liked any sports games until I played a "2K" series football game. I enjoyed those very much all the way up to the point when EA took over the NFL games.

Blech.

 

[sheic99]

I can't think of any good games.

Mass Effect?

And Mirror's Edge.

Despite what people said, I really liked that game. I think it could have been better though.

 

[Gormers1]

I dont really think people have good reasons to hate EA anymore. They have taken more risks lately, and produced great games like Mirrors edge (Great IMO) and Dead Space. Other companies like Activision (/blizzard), shut studios down, and at least EA let them make the fucking game. If it weren't for EA, we wouldt get Brutal Legend. And, theyre not the only one using terrible copy protection. And while some of you say that EA has a habit of wrecking developers they buy, remember that many companies simply looses their talent after a while. This is at least the case with Rare. And remember that the really evil people in EA are the ones at the top, not the hundreds of trillions game developers and such. EA has brought us Skate, Boom Blox, ME, the SSX series, some great 007 games, actual good sports titles (like FIFA 09), some great NFS games, the sims 2 (which is perfectly playable without expansions).
There are a lot of other games to, but they are not from a pure EA developer (not mirrors edge either of course).
The sad thing must be that they didnt do so well this year, so perhaps teh bosses and what not will change to their old evil attitude and just create a derivative NFS game every year. Oh wait, they shut down the developer studios behind NFS underground, one of their shittiest, yet most selling games of 08. Most gamers are happy for this, but remember that this studio also made skate 1 and 2...

They are also great at finding awesome songs for their games, just hear the track list for any ssx game or burnout game published by EA.

No, they are no perfect or one of the best, as they have done some really bad deeds mentioned earlier, but I think other publishers are starting to win over the prize for most shittiest of them all. Like Activision, who doesn't come out with anything new anymore, and who spits out an incredible amount of terrible marvel games.
/end of rambling

 

[Xojins]

I don't hate EA, or any other game developer for that matter. Every game dev in existence has released a bad game at some point, so I don't think that's a valid reason. The only time I hate a game dev is when they use a really dick move in their games. Either that, or when they release games with a lot of bugs.

 

[Gormers1]

What does Halo 3 do that's different from Halo 2? Introduce different weapons? Reskin old terrain to make it look new? All these things can be done without charging the person $60.

Seriously...
Revamped physics and graphics engine, new features like forge and theater, new weapons, four player coop, new vehicles etc. If you think Halo 3 is too similar to halo 2 then I beg you to open your eyes and look at Skate 2, Rainbow six vegas 2, and GRAW 2 to mention very few, before responding to my post.

Even though Blizzard is splitting the game. The different campaigns are probably so long and the game itself as so long lasting value that it probably should have been split up into a thousand pieces.

 

[Jumplion]

I don't hate EA. Infact, I'm starting to grow fond of them.

They really are the most underrated publishers/developers right now. Activision is becoming the new EA now.

Really, EA has released much more new games and IPs than people give credit to them for. Dead Space immediately comes to mind, and even if it wasn't "groundbreaking" it was good enough and much different (and much more bloody) than EAs other titles.

While they are not completely honorable (DRM issues and the like), they get more flak than what they diverse. Anybody who hates EA because "they release the same game over and over again" is really living in 2006 and 2007.

Now, people who hate EA because "they're business practices suck! (DRM, weird charging methods) then I can agree with that.

EDIT: but I'm not saying EA aren't sequel hoarders. After all there are sequels to Skate and others. And Dead Space/Mirrors Edge are getting sequels to. But they're not as bad as Activision.

 

[blinkgun96]

Sorry my last comment was at...

I'll give you a hint, Madden. It's not just madden but games like it, EA has the habit of re-releasing the same game for another $60, something they could easily do with DLC. It's not that EA makes no good games but people don't appreciate them releasing the same game 5 years in a row and forcing you to pay full price for a roster update.

Yeah... Half-Life?

Half-Life doesn't cost $60, that's what separates it from other games.

and in Madden's defense, the games do change every time, to update teams and stuff, since teams keep changing IRL.

a few games that have this syndrome are
Halo
World of Warcraft
Street Fighter
Mortal Kombat
Soul Calibur

Wait, what syndrome is this?

The "Release the Same Game with Slightly Better Graphics and a Few New Things" Syndrome

First, world of warcraft has expansion packs not sequels, so why does this have this "syndrome" you speak of. 2nd Ninja Gaiden Black is an example of said "syndrome". None of the above released the same game more than once you are speaking out of your ass, because by your defense of "Madden" games you have shown youself excellent of disproving your own point.

First off, i never said WoW had sequels...
Second I never said the games were remakes.
You could take all those games compile the plot into one, release one game, and be done with it (with the exception of WoW and other MMOs); but no, they continued to franchise the games because they were popular, much like the Madden games. What does Halo 3 do that's different from Halo 2? Introduce different weapons? Reskin old terrain to make it look new? All these things can be done without charging the person $60.

Again I'm not saying these games are doing what Ninja Gaiden did, I'm saying that Madden isn't the only game that's does what it does.

Even Blizzard is doing it with Starcraft 2. Splitting the game into 3 and charging full price for each.

Im going to ask this once: do you know how big( by big i mean design wise) these games are? put all three of these games together is harder than it sounds, second by your logic then all sequels are remakes that could be squished into one game, but now i understand you were proving a point in defense of Madden I C.

 

[JakePwnsAtLife]

I completely agree with you, sure they have some bad games, but doesn't every developer?

What about Valve...?

Bah, compare to Activision, EA is a nice company.

I CONCUR!! Activision makes me die inside...but anyways, I enjoy playing the sims, that's all I really ask of EA. =D

 

[Nazulu]

I can't think of any good games.

Mass Effect?

No I meant good!

Are you looking for something that came out in '08 or can I go to when they had good games.

They had good games? I haven't played every EA game but after Tiberium Wars, that was enough EA for me!

 

[darthzew]

I don't HATE them. But I don't like them either. They still put out some good stuff, even though those are the exception.

 

[Trako]

Well, I could go on a tirade about EA, but basically they are the destroyer of worlds. They run their developers ragged to meet arbitrary deadlines and release a LOT of subpar games. As the company crushes its competition and whatever franchises it picks up gets the dumbed down treatment, one of the former top execs said that the PC games industry was dying. An astute observation, sort of like standing on someone's breathing tube and proclaiming the person is suffocating.

If they were a benevolent superdeveloper, then I wouldn't have so much vitriol seeping from my keys. However, they continually change things, borrow ideas from other games or franchises, and seem to go by some sort of algorithm for sequels. I think they call it death by beancounters.

EA seems to be in it for the money, rather than for making games. I think they even forgot what the definition of game is. As a publisher, they seem to have their fingers in everything they publish rather than allowing the developers to, well, develop. This basically leaves a trail of tired, cliched and repetetive "safe" ideas in games.

They can repent, and I suppose if they stop the beancounting and actually let people be creative, they might see more sales, and hurrah, the PC game industry is no longer dying. Though I really don't think this will happen, sadly. Too much greed it seems. How many Madden versions does it take to turn a profit?

I personally would go indie and release with Steam or Stardock. Broadband Internets allows people to get games pretty quickly, there is no publisher overhead, and you basically pocket most of the money you deserve for making a game.

 

[Yog Sothoth]

EA killed the venerable ESPN 2KX NFL franchise, therefore I hate them, though I still end up buying some of their products, such as Rock Band...

 

[Vigormortis]

I completely agree with you, sure they have some bad games, but doesn't every developer?

What about Valve...?

Ah Valve the Patron Saint of games. I guess looking into it, it is hard to find one they haven't done well, but... looking back passed Half-Life track record wasn't amazing. And history does in fact tell us, that when Steam was first developed... Gamers bitched hardcore about it! So then ANOTHER question would be, do we need to time to get over EA...?

What's with all everyone thinking Valve is part of EA? I don't get it. Valve is an independent developer. They're not owned or even affiliated with EA in anyway. The only reason you see the EA logo pop up on some of Valve's Xbox 360 titles is because EA helped to publish and print the games to disk. That's it.

As for the EA hate in general, there's a lot of reasons, many not that legitimate. As for me, I don't really "hate" them, per-say, but I hate what they do to good game series and developers. In many cases they buy them up, whore them to death, and when they stop making money close 'em down. It's also rare (and I do mean EXTREMELY rare) to see any truly great or even decent title come out of their in-house studios. That said, Dead Space did come from out of nowhere and hit me like a train. I still refuse to believe it was made by an EA in-house development studio.

 

[Malkavian]

I have no beef with EA. If they did nto exist, there would just be less gamse on the market. And let's face it, they DO release some good stuff... It's a monkeys with typewriters thing.

I completely agree with you, sure they have some bad games, but doesn't every developer?

What about Valve...?

Ah Valve the Patron Saint of games. I guess looking into it, it is hard to find one they haven't done well, but... looking back passed Half-Life track record wasn't amazing. And history does in fact tell us, that when Steam was first developed... Gamers bitched hardcore about it! So then ANOTHER question would be, do we need to time to get over EA...?

What's with all everyone thinking Valve is part of EA? I don't get it. Valve is an independent developer. They're not owned or even affiliated with EA in anyway. The only reason you see the EA logo pop up on some of Valve's Xbox 360 titles is because EA helped to publish and print the games to disk. That's it.

I think you've misunderstood the posts you are replying to...

 

[51gunner]

I'm still wondering why people hate on EA for re-releasing the same sport games every year. If you don't like it because it's like the one you have already, keep the one you already have. Just don't ***** because they're selling a product they know will do well to a market that demands it every year because the teams get new players.

 

[Kyuumi]

Sorry my last comment was at...

I'll give you a hint, Madden. It's not just madden but games like it, EA has the habit of re-releasing the same game for another $60, something they could easily do with DLC. It's not that EA makes no good games but people don't appreciate them releasing the same game 5 years in a row and forcing you to pay full price for a roster update.

Yeah... Half-Life?

I'm sorry but it seems that the only thing you can actually say is Half-Life?

I don't really care about publishers, as long as I get quality games, I will ignore the ones that don't stand out, not ***** about them just to get a point across and make myself look oh-so-smart.

Its pointless, just like Console Wars.

 

[ike_luv]

P.S. Nothing personal, just open your mind up man...

Believe me mate, I have tried. I have tried to find reason behind why gamers hate EA. Granted, some of these lovely people here have explained a few things, but isn't it ironic asking me to open up my mind when it is in fact a large majority of gamers who hate on EA for... what can only be seen as petty reasons...? I can appreciate good honest arguments, but not "Because they're s**t".

Oh and about the cencorship thing, chances are a kids gonna see what I'm writing, and to be honest, I don't care where I am, I'm not gonna act like a twat because everyone else is.

 

[ike_luv]

I'm sorry but it seems that the only thing you can actually say is Half-Life?

I don't really care about publishers, as long as I get quality games, I will ignore the ones that don't stand out, not ***** about them just to get a point across and make myself look oh-so-smart.

Its pointless, just like Console Wars.

Ah not really, console wars are like Religions, no one is going to let up because they're either so stubborn or so self-involved, they refuse to see any other perspective. This argument, is actually ABOUT perspective and understanding. I want to know why EA are hated, and not so I can brag about why everyone is wrong, I actually want to know!

If I wanted to make myself look smart, I'd get on a train during busy hours and read a big book.

 

[stiver]

The Problem with EA is they release a huge amount of game, a couple are great, a few are good and the rest are mediocre.

They also had the bad habit of buying up smaller companies, forcing them to change (resulting in sub-par games), then closing the studio down (see westwood).

I'm a capitalist, and competition should drive the games industry, not a couple bloated companies handling all games released.