UPDATE: "Nintendo Was Dead to Us" After Wii U Launch, Says EA Source

[major_chaos]

I just love how when "anonymous sources" say something that is unpopular everyone links to that one critical miss comic and assumes its fake, but when "anonymous sources" confirm preconceived notions people assume they are legit.

OT: I'm not a huge fan of EA but at least they make games I enjoy, something Nintendo hasn't done since the GC. And for that matter big N is ramping up the BETRAYAL!!! counter way faster than EA ever has, so I say good for EA. Leave Nintendo flailing around trying to recapture old glory and focus on making games for systems I would actually buy without a gun to my head.

 

[Something Amyss]

I wish that publishers would stop using "Kids" as an insult, as if an all ages game is somehow lesser than Ultra-Hardcore-HD-Guns-And-Tits.

For the most part though, aren't the latter set of games the ones that sell better in general? I mean, sure, Nintendo's core titles are generally huge sellers, but isn't the list of successful "all ages" games in recent history pretty short?

The Dreamcast also never had any EA games on it. I wonder if thats coincidence

While superficial similarities stack up, keep in mind that the Dreamcast was difficult to fully program for (which would be more similar to the Xbone) and was the third or fourth console released in short succession from the same company. EA's issue with Nintendo here appears to be a tantrum, whereas issues with the Dreamcast were more "Oh no, we're not falling for that again!"

Games. Are. Toys.

You weren't wrong here. The problem comes in where your words are woefully incomplete. Games are toys. That doesn't mean that toys are all for kids or even necessarily aimed at a children's market. Nor do they need to be; toys for dudebros are a pretty big thing.

 

[Something Amyss]

I just love how when "anonymous sources" say something that is unpopular everyone links to that one critical miss comic and assumes its fake, but when "anonymous sources" confirm preconceived notions people assume they are legit.

There's a lot of people rebuking the notions while assuming it's legit, so I'm not sure that's the case.

 

[Trishbot]

"We don't really make games for kids"

Oh really? Then why do I hear so many children running their mouths off in Battlefield and Mass Effect's multiplayer? Also, don't kids play sports games and racing games? I seem to remember that EA makes sports games and racing games.

There's a difference between making games for kids, and making games that kids play. You don't see Mass Effect being marketed to the under-18 crowd. You won't see a commercial for Battlefield on the Disney Channel.

I shit you not there's call of duty mega bloks.

Yep, and it continues to amuse me to no end.

TOTALLY not for kids.... nope.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Seriously, is there some memo I missed where people are obligated to insult EA every single article that involves anything that can be connected to them? Because that describes about half the comments.

Half is quite the low estimate in all honesty. But yeah, EA are never allowed to win according to the internet. People bitched about them raising money solely for charity, for example. To be fair, it does at least make me laugh seeing the leaps of logic that some people make to always paint EA in a bad light. Sometimes, EA make it easy for them, but still. Also happens for Microsoft too now, since the internet has a Sony-boner (or Soner) at the moment.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

"We don't really make games for kids"

Oh really? Then why do I hear so many children running their mouths off in Battlefield and Mass Effect's multiplayer? Also, don't kids play sports games and racing games? I seem to remember that EA makes sports games and racing games.

There's a difference between making games for kids, and making games that kids play. You don't see Mass Effect being marketed to the under-18 crowd. You won't see a commercial for Battlefield on the Disney Channel.

I shit you not there's call of duty mega bloks.

That's sad. But even then, COD is Activision, not EA, so my point still stands. Now, if they were to make, say, a Lego set to build the Normandy, then their statement about not making games for kids gets a bit wobbly.

 

[major_chaos]

I just love how when "anonymous sources" say something that is unpopular everyone links to that one critical miss comic and assumes its fake, but when "anonymous sources" confirm preconceived notions people assume they are legit.

There's a lot of people rebuking the notions while assuming it's legit, so I'm not sure that's the case.

The "notion" I was referring to was "EA are assholes" (which seems to be the majority sentiment in this thread) not anything about Nintendo.

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

Sounds like EA up to it's old Saturday cartoon hijinks again, same old tune, I still don't give a shit about who said this or who said that, just hurry up and die EA so C&C can finally be free or given to someone who actually cares, same with letting DICE go so they can actually spend a lot of time and put effort into the Battlefield series.

 

[gyrobot_v1legacy]

But shows like walking dead and breaking bad shows how people want see more mature anti escapist media in general. COD was as antiescapist as possible. I felt like a powerless grunt unable to save the world

And then what happens....5 minutes after? You become the most powerful badass in the game.

But the point is more about youth-targeted games, though. Do you think anti escapist media is demanded by kids? I tend to be under the impression that kids play CoD mainly because of the age old desire to not be a kid. So they play older people games for the self-image, then boil the game, and all of its tonal effort down to a game of.. I dunno, lazer tag?

If COD wanted to make me badass then make our squad nigh indestructible, not giving a fatality rate of 99% in my elite squad. Seriously, TF141 goes through more men then an advocacy group goes through for canvasing. It's like that speech from the guy from Space Oddity, the kids of back then looked up to heroic antisceptic heroes, now we look up to flawed individuals sicne the idolized heroes of back then was too good for us. We don't deserve them, we deserve morally flawed beings

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

I'd suggest people read the article sourced before freaking out. It's not just about EA's opinion and has good points that have been argued on these threads for months.

Thanks for suggesting that. It was interesting to read, but in the end, it sounded like they were saying that Nintendo should just try to copy what the competition is doing. It saddened me to read some of the comments that were posted afterwards. I get the impression many of them were not gamers, and it was depressing to see how they saw us, saying that all gamers want is better graphics, and more shooters, sports games, and violent, gritty games. I felt tempted to create an account just so I could argue with that mindset.

I'm honestly disappointed in some of the comments here. It's clear that a lot of people on these forums make kneejerk responses to headlines.

Thanks for being on of the few to read the article. I just wanted people to read the actual article whether or not they agreed on it before going on yet another Escapist style "Fuck EA" tangent but that has failed.

I honestly think the writers should stop using EA's name to generate hits. The article barely had EA mentioned but people on these forums don't care.

Not an EA apologist, just would like the focus to be on what the actual source article stated rather than the on quote the author shined a light on.

 

[Hero of Lime]

This is making me really glad the last EA game I could possibly be interested in (Dead Space 3) was bought used for 10 dollars.

I honestly don't have many reasons to hate EA, though I have no love for them either, especially after sending their games to die on Wii U and whine about the lack of success. Activision proves that a western developer can find success on Wii U by making games for more than one audience.

I didn't want your buggy, poorly released games played on any of my systems anyway, especially Wii U.

 

[Sneezeguard]

"It became a kids IP platform and we don't really make games for kids. That was pretty true across the other labels too. Even the Mass Effect title on Wii U, which was a solid effort, could never do big business, and EA like Activision is only focused on games that can be big franchises".

Hmmm for all we know this anonymous source could just be mr. Sock, but if this is the general feeling at EA all I have to say is this.

Nintendo have some of the biggest and longest running franchise in the industry and most of them are aimed at kids or kid friendly. To write off "kid games" is incredibly short sighted.

 

[lacktheknack]

So I walked in here and everyone was taking an anonymous source seriously. Which, surprise surprise, was promptly batted down.

I have so many "mfw" reactions right now I don't think I could post them all, but they're all smug, annoyed and leering.

 

[lacktheknack]

Yep, and it continues to amuse me to no end.

TOTALLY not for kids.... nope.

Which only leads credence to the highly-probable reality that the "anonymous source" is, in fact, a sock puppet.

You know, like pretty much every anonymous source ever.

And yet everyone falls for this one.

Because EA!

Jesus Christ, and people wonder why their ideological opponents ignore "facts" and fall for "obvious shams"... maybe because EVERYONE does, particularly people in this thread.

 

[Compatriot Block]

Yep, and it continues to amuse me to no end.

TOTALLY not for kids.... nope.

Which only leads credence to the highly-probable reality that the "anonymous source" is, in fact, a sock puppet.

You know, like pretty much every anonymous source ever.

And yet everyone falls for this one.

Because EA!

Jesus Christ, and people wonder why their ideological opponents ignore "facts" and fall for "obvious shams"... maybe because EVERYONE does, particularly people in this thread.

You know how this works. It's because EA threads aren't about truth. They're about truthiness. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truthiness]

 

[lacktheknack]

You know how this works. It's because EA threads aren't about truth. They're about truthiness. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truthiness]

DAAAAMN IIIIIT COOOLBERRRRRT! D:

But yeah, that's pretty darn accurate.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

"It became a kids IP platform and we don't really make games for kids. That was pretty true across the other labels too. Even the Mass Effect title on Wii U, which was a solid effort, could never do big business, and EA like Activision is only focused on games that can be big franchises".

Hmmm for all we know this anonymous source could just be mr. Sock, but if this is the general feeling at EA all I have to say is this.

Nintendo have some of the biggest and longest running franchise in the industry and most of them are aimed at kids or kid friendly. To write off "kid games" is incredibly short sighted.

Yeah, especially since you're effectively throwing away the chance to keep growing a fanbase. Too many game companies are obsessed with making all these M-rated franchises or one that just aren't family-friendly, leading to a very homogenized environment as well as basically losing the chance to connect with younger fans. It comes off as something I'd expect from an insecure youth, not from a grown man.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

After the update, it seems to solidify the original...nothing against Peter Moore but if Nintendo is such a great partner then why would EA have abandoned them? EA-owned devs may be making games for the 3DS (since I'm sure Disney will insist upon it for Star Wars games) but I thought EA made it clear they were done with the U before summer of 2013. If Moore is telling the truth though than maybe we can finally have some kind of Mass Effect Complete Collection on the U...or...well anything really.

 

[144_v1legacy]

Seriously, is there some memo I missed where people are obligated to insult EA every single article that involves anything that can be connected to them? Because that describes about half the comments.

As for the article, this is why you should always be suspicious when someone is making inflammatory comments, but insists on staying anonymous. Especially when there is no real reason to. I mean, if he was trashing EA, OK, I can see why he'd remain anonymous, considering that they could fire him if they knew his identity. But in this case, what would be gained by being anonymous?

The only reason for him to be anonymous is that he is a lower-level employee at EA, or not an EA employee at all. Either way, he is professing to speak for an entire company's policies without having any grounds for doing so. As for the possibility that a higher-up was the commenter...if they were a higher-up at EA, why would they remain anonymous? I mean, EA has PR problems, so it's not like their higher-ups have a problem with putting their foot in their mouth publicly.

Right on all counts.

And I don't know why EA is such a lighting rod when there are so many worse companies, even in the game industry, for each categorical criticism laid upon them.

 

[Strazdas]

I wish that publishers would stop using "Kids" as an insult, as if an all ages game is somehow lesser than Ultra-Hardcore-HD-Guns-And-Tits.

I will agree to that when developers will stop using "kids" as an excuse to develop inferior products.