Poll: This whole EA vs Activision thing.

[42]

Alright here's a tough one, which company out of the two treat their customer base better?

on one side we have EA, who mismanage DLC, Online codes to unlock multiplayer and shut down developers after they make one bad game. re-releases of all their sports game which only include roster updates.

and on the other we have Activision, who milk the franchises they own to the point where all that comes out is air (Guitar hero, Tony Hawk), Bobby Kotick who is a loud mouth, and have a subscription service for Call of Duty.

Postive bits about both

Activision
- Can handle DLC a lot better than EA
- Trust their customers where they don't require passes to access multiplayer
- they play the bigger man when it comes to addressing competition (in reference to EA's slanging matches)

EA
- allows more development freedom, therefore more creative freedom (this is a vibe i get from it and is only my own it's up to dispute)

alright i gave activation more positive than EA, but i can't think of a lot of positives about EA. if anyone comes up with valid positives i'll add. saying they are publishing Battlefield 3 does not count.

 

[Lawlhat]

Why did you make a poll that doesn't have 'neither' as an option?

Honestly to me, I'm pretty unhappy with both at the moment, and in the end the developers are what truly matter.

 

[stabbymcstabs]

id side with EA, suprsingly they care for their employed companies better than Activision does, usualy when EA removes a company from their list they place the employees into other companies to work. Activision on the other hand, i can remember 3 accounts of them firing a company because they talked back or figured out they werent entitled to somethnig were supposed to be entitled to in the first place:

Infinity Ward
Bizzare Creations
Underground Development
Budcat Creations

All four of these comapnies were defuncted or had staff fired with no chance or mergers or re-employment.

 

[Rawne1980]

I don't think either of them are that fantastic with regards to how they deal with us, the consumer.

However i'm going to vote for EA being a little bit better because I still buy games that come out under EA. I haven't purchased an Activision game since Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines.

While not technically an Activision game it was published by them and thats the last game I paid for with their name attached.

And that was in 2005.

 

[DustyDrB]

I get the feeling that Activision treats the customer better, but treats their developers worse. But my opinion is pretty ignorant of all the facts. So I'm probably wrong.

 

[aPod]

Now if only their competition would see them create better games and original IP's instead of being just a lame marketing stunt.

Anyways I'd choose the one who has brought out more original IP's and taken more risk on new ideas but I really can't think of many for either publisher so i'll chalk it up as a lose/lose for us gamers.

 

[Kevlar Eater]

Let's see:

EA treats its developers better, but hates its customers, especially PC users.
Activision are lousy with developer management, but are more lenient with customers.

Of course, I don't show loyalty to either publisher, but if I did, I'd side with Activision because they currently have lesser bad blood with PC users. Also, Activision aren't forcing me to download spyware just to access a game.

 

[Terminate421]

Activision are selfish bastards but I think someone has hypnotized Bobby Kotick into not being the devil and being slightly generous.

EA are being a bit selfish with the "Anti-used game plan"

I can't pick.

 

[FreakSheet]

I think we need a Valve option if we're talking about customer service/satisfaction.

Or niether. Because they both see their customer base as walking wallets who eat shooters and over priced DLC.

 

[Zantos]

Well they're both evil multinats who probably live on mountains of human skulls and stolen gold while feasting on orphans hearts, but I've never actually had a problem with an Activision game so I guess I prefer them.

 

[the spud]

This is like having to choose between between going on a date with Stalin or Hitler, you are just trying to pick the lesser of 2 evils.

 

[TheBritishAreComing]

This poll REALLY needs a 'neither' option

 

[CthulhuMessiah]

I'd say Activision, because having an Xbox live gold account is one thing, but needing to sign up for an EA account to play a game? Isn't that... excessive?

 

[MoNKeyYy]

Ya know, as much as I don't like activision and think they're probably bad for the industry and for video games as a medium, I don't think they're as bad as I used to. But maybe that's just because I've noticed EA more. I hate them to the point I'm not buying Mass Effect 3. Yeah, it's that bad.

 

[Greatjusticeman]

I don't care.

If one of the companies publishes a game I want, I'll buy it. I don't really care what they've done otherwise. And the whole having to register for EA Origin to get certain games takes like 5 minutes. Big goddamn whoop.

I think people take some things to seriously on here. Especially @MoNKeyYy saying he won't get ME3 just because he doesn't like EA. I mean...really? I wonder if people reject their welfare checks if they hate the government...

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

I side slightly with Activision, although it doesn't relate to much to how each company treats the customer, EA has a bad habit of mass firing their employees.

Can't spell exploitation without an E and an A


Of course Activision could also be doing this, but I haven't heard as much about it.

 

[Cat of Doom]

Business is Business, and these are two of the front-runners in the gaming industry, neither of witch I garner any contempt for, and I understand (in most cases) why they do what they do.

EA: I don't get peoples Beef with day one DLC or EAs handling of DLC. If you don't want it, don't buy it. If you buy the game new, you get the DLC free. If used then I think its fine for EA to ask for a bit more money for some non-essential in game content. I actually thought DA:O's in-game sales person was cool, granted I wish he would fuck off to denirim after you'r first convo. I use Origin regularly and have never had problems. Whenever I have phoned EA Customer support, for example, when my DA2 diddn't come with the free Sebastian DLC code, they solved the problem and issued me a new code in 5 minutes. Plus all my favorite games are EA games. Honestly I can't see what they do is that bad, and though other company's (Bungie or Valve) treat their customers better, EA treats their customers far better than other's I have experience dealing with (Nintendo, THQ, Bethesda(love their games, a fucking nightmare dealing with).

Alright here's a tough one, which company out of the two treat their customer base better?
on one side we have EA, who mismanage DLC, Online codes to unlock multiplayer and shut down developers after they make one bad game. re-releases of all their sports game which only include roster updates.

Please play one of EA sports yearly games before you slate it. Though I only have experiance with the FIFA football games, I can state that in each new game (Except FIFA 7&8) their have been massive game play improvements beyond graphics and roster updates. Play FIFA 09 and then FIFA 10, you will see the difference.

As for Activision, somebody will have to fill me in on why their apparently evil. I personally have never had a problem with them and don't know enough about their inner workings to formulate an opinion on them. However, with the obvious exception of call of duty, I can't say I really like many of their games. Though Prototype 2 looks interesting.

Just want EA to know they have at least got one fan on this website


Also

Ya know, as much as I don't like activision and think they're probably bad for the industry and for video games as a medium, I don't think they're as bad as I used to. But maybe that's just because I've noticed EA more. I hate them to the point I'm not buying Mass Effect 3. Yeah, it's that bad.

Really?, denying yourself fun just because you don't like the people who publish the game sounds a bit silly and pretentious.

 

[dyre]

I don't like Activision much, but at least they don't go around buying developers I like and then ruining their franchises.

 

[Nooh]

I hate companies that size, they extremely rarely care about anything other than profit. Indie studios love their customers, multi-billion gaming businesses don't give two shits about their customers as long as they get their money. I think a community of game developers, independent of huge publishers, both being helpers and rivals in regards to each other would be the best.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

I have absolutely no loyalty to publishers, like I have no loyalty to record labels.

I won't buy CoD simply because I don't want to have another game exactly like the two I already have. Does that mean I'll never buy another Activision game? Hell no, I'll just buy what I think is worth the 60 bucks.

That being said, I'm a bigger fan of BF than CoD due to simple diversity in gameplay and team-orientedness(yes I made up a word).

Ostensibly, I'd probably fall into the EA camp, but their deadline pushing turned DA2 into mediocre crap and that is a grave crime. What would be worse is if the shut down Bioware eventually.