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

[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.

 

[fish iron4]

Isnt it funny how IGN are trying to defend EA when EA bribes IGN to give their game better reviews

 

[Bvenged]

snip

Spoiler: In the end, I'm happy that EA seems to be going down the crapper and their share prices are ever so often reaching new all-time lows:

snip

If they wanted to "better themselves" and be more attractive to consumers and get some good PR for once, they could always trim down all the fat to keep development costs lower and maybe save some money from those $100 million marketing campaigns to give them on to their customers.
They somewhat tried some of that in ~2007-08 by introducing a lot of new IP and trying to cut down on the gouging, but rather soon turned around to more of it.

Whenever they are somewhat getting into monetary trouble they aren't looking for a fault in their business models but with the customer, surely by charging more, gouging with microtransactions and offer more cut out DLC to buy at Launch, as well as producing ever more sequels and shortening the development cycle to a year or two tops they're going to fix that right up.

Yeah, I find it dumbfounding that EA's shares were awesome-high in 2007-08, around the time I like them when they were releasing new IPs, inexpensive content-filled infrequent expansion packs and a finite number of respectable sequels; and drops continually when they contracted sequel-itis and started gouging its consumers banks accounts during a global depression.

 

[GLo Jones]

They don't quite 'make good games' though. They 'make decent sequels'. Other than that, they use their powerful size to buy out developers and cripple their individual creativity, and coerce others into allowing them to help 'back' their new, fresh IP in exchange for some of the rights to it. Then they sit on those rights, and simply do nothing with them except sue people for infringing them.

 

[Kahunaburger]

Yeah, I find it dumbfounding that EA's shares were awesome-high in 2007-08, around the time I like them when they were releasing new IPs and expansion packs and proper sequels; and drops continually when they contracted sequel-itis and started gouging its consumers banks accounts during a global depression.

Haha that's exactly the thing with EA. It's not that (for instance) Valve is inherently better re: goals (make an obscene amount of money) and methods (digital distribution w/ included DRM), it's that they choose not to actively antagonize customers and release obviously terrible products. EA doesn't just suck at making games - they suck as a business.

 

[Supertegwyn]

I like EA, but that is a very poor article.

 

[Cowabungaa]

you would think that "Hey, lets not antagonize our customers!" would be a fairly straight forward concept... But for EA it apparently is not..

Because it's being run by shareholders and investors who know fuck-all about videogames and it's audience. That's not the case with companies like Valve and CDProjekt. They're ran by people who are actually part of the target audience for their product, or at least are passionate about the medium of videogames.

As I've said before, I have no doubt that many people at EA are just as passionate about videogames. The problem is that they're not on top.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Because they are all about money and controversy and they don't give a fuck about actual quality of games. Which is ironically the same reason why IGN probably loves EA!

 

[Epona]

I hate when people misuse the spoiler tag.

Hint: Don't use the spoiler tag to hide an article that is the main point of your damn thread. If it's the main point of your thread, why hide it?

Also, some people use it to hide entire quoted posts or even YouTube videos that don't contain spoilers.

As for the article, I hate when people act like anything goes because a business is supposed to make money. That's where I stopped reading the "spoiler".

 

[RedLister]

Sorry EA i just cannot forgive you for gobbling up awesome dev studios like Westwood.

Just wondering how long till bioware are kicked out on there arse.

 

[Antonio Torrente]

You know what if EA went bankrupt and goes under, it's gonna be pretty cathartic when it does happen and we laugh and celebrate at its demise.

Although I will feel sorry for the people that will lose their jobs in the process if this ever happens.