So IGN decided to ask "why do people hate EA"

[Yopaz]

Well, so I don't hate EA. I dislike some of their games and a part of their business strategy.

I want to start off with saying that I don't mind day 1 DLC. I buy all my games new (or for PC) and never sell them. It's not an issue for me, but I can see how it may be for some. I haven't heard one actual good reason why it's bad though. It's all comparisons to cars and saying that when you pay the full price you should get the full game.

Mass Effect 3 is a game I don't care about and I am not sure I would blame EA for screwing up that or Dragon Age 2, but bullshit around release and publishing is their choice. However with Mass Effect 3 they did the thing where they had day 1 DLC which was exclusive to those who bought the collector's edition which put the actual price tag to 70$ in USA (don't know, don't care what it cost here).

There's Origin which is only a small annoyance to me, but it has pushed me a little towards console gaming. I like Steam and I have a pretty big collection of games there. I don't want to run unnecessary programs in the background. I have Origin installed, but I don't really use it.

All in all, as long as EA continues the way they do I will scoff at their stupid choices and their announcements, but I wont care much beyond that. EA isn't any more evil than most companies. They're just fronting stupidity more. I guess I can understand the EA hate, but I'm not one of those who hate.

 

[TwiZtah]

Because they always want to "broaden the audience" IE. Make a shooty shooter of everything.

 

[Ghilz]

Can't help but notice how the article makes no mentions of EA's habit to buy out promising/successful developpers and franchise, then grind mediocre, poorly developed sequels till they become a mere joke of what they once were and then EA can then close the studio.

Ya know, like Ultima 8&9, Dragon Age II (DA:O had begun development before EA happened to Bioware), etc...

I'm sure everyone's got their own memory of franchise going to hell after EA happens to them.

 

[Hattingston]

I think IGN is going to see their numbers start dropping pretty soon. With their lack of acknowledgement of the fiasco that was the ME 3 ending, lack of comment on Diablo 3 problems, and articles like this cropping up, their viewership will (hopefully) realize that this site doesn't voice opinions they value and leave.

 

[devotedsniper]

The main thing i hate is when they say there going to make the next game for a wider audience (nothing wrong with that), usually when it comes to dev's working for EA that means scrap most things the previous game has and make it different!

Theres also the fact they push such tight deadlines on developers that it affects the work, just look at Dragon age 2 compared to origins, the amount of recycling going on is dreadful. Personally i think that alot of developers which EA have working for them would be better off with other publishers.

 

[xPixelatedx]

It's like when people rage over a company changing the format of a game like Dead Space 3 (without even having played it): if you don't like the new direction the developer is taking, then you still have two perfectly good games that you clearly already like to play; let the rest of us who aren't so close-minded try something new and also, if it really is the wrong direction, let the sales dictate that.

It's really easy to say, "Hey everyone, lets all hold hands and forget about our worries; to each their own." One could technically use this argument against almost any grievance others might have, but sadly life isn't that easy. You can say 'let us enjoy this new thing while you cling to your old' but you completely ignore the fact that this is the death of the series. That is not an opinion, but the reality you have to accept. This "New Direction" has increased production costs so much, they said if the game doesn't sell 5 million, they will kill the franchise because it is no longer profitable. In case you don't know about the average game sales, it's basically guaranteed not to sell that much, (the second game didn't even sell half that much) hence Dead Space is now no-more, thanks to EA's business practices. They created a problem, asked us to bail them out, all because they made changes to a franchise, changes that no one asked them to make.

 

[Dryk]

I think the 'if you don't like it, don't buy it' ideal stills holds up in the above scenario because, as I've pointed out several times, all of the games mentioned in the example are sequels; if you like the series then you already have a previous installment in your collection.

That argument never holds up with media, because by its nature you have to buy it before you know if you'll like it. Which along with a few other factors makes it damn-near worthless as a control system.

 

[.No.]

I think IGN is going to see their numbers start dropping pretty soon. With their lack of acknowledgement of the fiasco that was the ME 3 ending, lack of comment on Diablo 3 problems, and articles like this cropping up, their viewership will (hopefully) realize that this site doesn't voice opinions they value and leave.

I'm pretty sure that if people put up with all the other bullshit IGN pulls, they won't be losing many people due to this.

 

[Kahunaburger]

I can't tell if this is funny or sad. Maybe a little of both.

 

[Scrustle]

I avoided this article since I knew it was going to be bull shit, plus I didn't want to give IGN the ad revenue for what was clearly nerdbaiting, but God damn you IGN.

Firstly, when will people realise that publishers do not make games. Publishers fund, publicise and distribute games. They do not create them. The only times when a publisher has any input to the actual creation of a game is when they want to meddle with it's design in a way that can make them more money. See Dead Space 2 multiplayer. But the main thing which I feel need re-iterating (for IGN et al., not The Escapist) is that publishers do not deserve credit for the creation of a game! EA owns some great studios who make great games, because they have loads of money. EA knows this and exploits this.

And yeah, EA is a corporation. Big woop. We all know that. That's not what pisses people off. It's how they run their corporation. They do it by using underhanded tactics to squeeze as much money out of the consumer as possible. Online passes, day 1 DLC, over priced DLC, paying for servers etc. These things are not necessary to be successful. Obviously a corporation wants to be as successful as they possibly can, so they won't be content in only being moderately successful if they're trying to be the best, but you don't have to be unethical about it. Valve and Steam for example. Valve are extremely successful and they have done it in a way that is focused around pleasing the customer and not being a dick, and it works ridiculously well, even though Valve are the biggest trolls in the industry.

And the past is irrelevant. So what if the company started trying to makes games that make people cry? It's been a very long time since they gave a shit about that. Now they just want your money. That version of EA is long gone. I'm not going to give a free pass to all the shit they try to pull now because they started out with good intentions. And at the risk of breaking Godwin's law, there are plenty of examples I could give of people who started with good intentions but ended up being completely evil pricks. Just because they started out trying to do the right thing doesn't mean that they are somehow undeserving of scorn for their later actions.

Although I think I should point out something. This article will probably perpetuate the idea that publishers (especially EA) bribe gaming news sites (especially IGN) in to saying nice things about them and their games. This isn't true. There's no evidence for this other than the fact that IGN and others give inflated scores (or perceived inflated scores) to certain games. But what's actually happening isn't bribery, it's worse. They pretty much blackmail them. And this is no secret. There's plenty of cases of publishers bullying gaming sites in to being nice or else they will withdraw their support, thus losing them ad revenue. Take a look at the firing of Jeff Gerstmann for his Kane and Lynch review at GameSpot. The editors buckled under pressure from Square Enix because Jeff dared to call it like it is.

 

[Hattingston]

I'm pretty sure that if people put up with all the other bullshit IGN pulls, they won't be losing many people due to this.

I'm inclined to disagree. Prior, they didn't (or at least I didn't notice) when they outright denied large vocal elements of the gaming community and trumpeted the publishers or developers when the community was so obviously in the right. I see it as the difference of someone saying "Hey, this is pretty cool" and "NO. SHUT UP. THIS IS F*CKING AWESOME. STOP NOT LIKING IT."

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

Any company that alienates its fanbase with every move it makes, claiming to do so for them, is akin to a company that spits in your eye and tells you you asked for it. The nitty gritty business side? Yeah, it's kinda awful. But EA is an insulting company. Everything it does in an insult to those who like its products, and to videogames in general. People feel insulted by EA's very presence.

 

[rob_simple]

I think the 'if you don't like it, don't buy it' ideal stills holds up in the above scenario because, as I've pointed out several times, all of the games mentioned in the example are sequels; if you like the series then you already have a previous installment in your collection.

That argument never holds up with media, because by its nature you have to buy it before you know if you'll like it. Which along with a few other factors makes it damn-near worthless as a control system.

...Or you could read reviews, watch gameplay footage on Youtube, see what the forums are saying (ignoring all the RAEG comments,) rent it, play it at a friend's house, download the demo that is usually available after a few weeks. So there are in fact numerous ways to know if you'll like something before you buy it, and even then, if you're still not sure wait til it's in a sale so there's less scope for loss on your part.

Games are probably the one medium where 'if you don't like it, don't buy it' holds up more than anything else, the only people who could be affected the way you describe is the day one purchasers, and that's their own fault for lacking patience.

It's like when people rage over a company changing the format of a game like Dead Space 3 (without even having played it): if you don't like the new direction the developer is taking, then you still have two perfectly good games that you clearly already like to play; let the rest of us who aren't so close-minded try something new and also, if it really is the wrong direction, let the sales dictate that.

It's really easy to say, "Hey everyone, lets all hold hands and forget about our worries; to each their own." One could technically use this argument against almost any grievance others might have, but sadly life isn't that easy. You can say 'let us enjoy this new thing while you cling to your old' but you completely ignore the fact that this is the death of the series. That is not an opinion, but the reality you have to accept. This "New Direction" has increased production costs so much, they said if the game doesn't sell 5 million, they will kill the franchise because it is no longer profitable. In case you don't know about the average game sales, it's basically guaranteed not to sell that much, (the second game didn't even sell half that much) hence Dead Space is now no-more, thanks to EA's business practices. They created a problem, asked us to bail them out, all because they made changes to a franchise, changes that no one asked them to make.

I love the fact that you equate the facts of life to video games. In the grand scheme of things video games are fun, sure, but they are not important. And you can't say for absolutely certain that the game will under perform, so it is in fact an opinion --abeit a likely one-- but it is in no way reality.

And I love this weird thing you and other people seem to have that once a franchise has been shelved it can never be brought back. We're living in a time when small indie projects are becoming a lot more popular and things like DLC make it possible for big developers to roll out smaller versions of potential new projects to test the water, and you think that when a franchise underperforms once it is gone forever? You're either deluded or trying to exaggerate to give your weak argument some ground.

 

[GoaThief]

Can't read the article as it's a massive image.

Thanks OP, stellar job! (That's sarcasm, by the way)

 

[martyrdrebel27]

wow, just the first sentence of that "article" and you can tell it's not anything worth reading, it's just a corporate handjob. fuck ign, fuck ea, and fuck that article.

 

[martyrdrebel27]

Can't read the article as it's a massive image.

Thanks OP, stellar job! (That's sarcasm, by the way)

sorry for the double post, but you're missing the point in the douchiest of ways. it's been linked as a giant image so as not to contribute to their page hits. its an elegant solution, and you shit all over it because you cant open an image.

 

[Legion]

I'm having trouble reading this with a straight face past the point where they referred to "biggest" and "high Metacritic score" as some sort of valuable qualities.

That is EA all over though. You criticise them they come back with "Oh? Well look at these statistics" as if they actually mean a damn thing to anybody outside the actual industry.

 

[Jes7a]

After having to wait 35mins just to play Battlefield 3 because the log in centre would not accept my details, and to then be told I had to log into the site for reasons not disclosed. This is just too much fiddle farting around to just play a game. I strive to not purchase any EA games after this annoyance. I dont play console games to have to sign in to a computer. Id play PC if i wanted that.

I really don't care what my total lifespan of gaming information with EA is.

Ubisofts Uplay was ok though. I still log in from time to time to get wallpapers (massive AC fan) but otherwise I think these servies are next to pointless. There are too many games that require accounts and log ins and frankly, its enough to warrant me putting down the controller if more take to this process.

 

[johnnnny guitar]

Can't read the article as it's a massive image.

Thanks OP, stellar job! (That's sarcasm, by the way)

Sorry about that all you had to was ask nicely (edits post) there we go now are you happy

 

[Somebloke]

Mmmmm, the best thing about the fine taste of shoe polish is that it lasts you the entire day.