Complete list of EA's mistakes for future reference (in progress)
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Kind-of, EA bought out Bioware in 2007 while Dragon Age was released in 2009. Assuming they did at least a years worth of planning before its announcement in 2004 the majority of DA's development would have been free of EA.the hidden eagle said:
There was still about 2 years of dev time from when EA bought Bioware to when DA:O was released - A lot can happen in 2 years for game development, at the time, it was nowhere near "final stages of production".the hidden eagle said:
As for "usual features", you say that like there's some DLC/MT bible that all the studios have to follow, even though every implementation I've seen differs. Oh hey, didn't Respawn say they're not doing any microtransactions for Titanfall? Like it was really up to the studio to decide how to develop the title... Hm...
I'll totally give EA crap for allowing DK to go through in the state it was in, though.
I've written out a bit about microtransactions, I'm not sure if this is what OP was looking for though. On this topic, while I do personally hate microtransactions, probably more than anything else that's in fashion in games these days, I really can't say EA are the sole offenders here. It seems that almost every big publisher (Ubisoft, Activision, Eidos/Square et al) is shoe-horning this poison into their games just as much. Anyway:
MICROTRANSACTIONS
What it is : Small, in-game purchases (usually under ?/$ 3) that are do not add enough to be considered expansion packs or ordinary DLC.
How it's implemented : They are often numerous, perhaps tens or even hundreds of small additional items (it could be weapons, character skins, a new level or even just in-game currency) that you can buy. They are completely non-essential although usually more effective than the items given in the game for free. Some "freemium" model games are severely hindered if you do not decide to pay for them.
Why it's good or bad : It misleads consumers on the price of the product. Often, since they are so numerous, for a single game you would need to spend more than the price of the standard game to get the complete content. They are also generally disproportionately expensive compared to the cost of the game itself and the prices never drop. They also give an uneasy feeling of penny-pinching as developers are trying to collect these tiny amounts of money. When players have paid for their game, they generally do not want to see advertisements to pay more money. Some players feel it breaks the spirit of the actual game as well when it allows people to pay to make the game easier instead of making it easier through skill. The prices almost never go down either, meaning players can't simply wait to pick them up in a sale.
Relevant examples : Mass Effect 3, Dead Space 3, The Simpsons Tapped Out, Battlefield 3, The Sims 3
How to improve : Remove them. A better idea might be to include smaller items like these as part of larger expansion packs. This has been done in games before. The Sims expansion packs always included new items in addition to new gameplay features; the same goes for Civilization where expansion packs include (in addition to new strategy systems) many smaller things such as new civilizations and maps.
MICROTRANSACTIONS
What it is : Small, in-game purchases (usually under ?/$ 3) that are do not add enough to be considered expansion packs or ordinary DLC.
How it's implemented : They are often numerous, perhaps tens or even hundreds of small additional items (it could be weapons, character skins, a new level or even just in-game currency) that you can buy. They are completely non-essential although usually more effective than the items given in the game for free. Some "freemium" model games are severely hindered if you do not decide to pay for them.
Why it's good or bad : It misleads consumers on the price of the product. Often, since they are so numerous, for a single game you would need to spend more than the price of the standard game to get the complete content. They are also generally disproportionately expensive compared to the cost of the game itself and the prices never drop. They also give an uneasy feeling of penny-pinching as developers are trying to collect these tiny amounts of money. When players have paid for their game, they generally do not want to see advertisements to pay more money. Some players feel it breaks the spirit of the actual game as well when it allows people to pay to make the game easier instead of making it easier through skill. The prices almost never go down either, meaning players can't simply wait to pick them up in a sale.
Relevant examples : Mass Effect 3, Dead Space 3, The Simpsons Tapped Out, Battlefield 3, The Sims 3
How to improve : Remove them. A better idea might be to include smaller items like these as part of larger expansion packs. This has been done in games before. The Sims expansion packs always included new items in addition to new gameplay features; the same goes for Civilization where expansion packs include (in addition to new strategy systems) many smaller things such as new civilizations and maps.
I like that you simultaneously lament the overabundance of hyperbole on this site while resorting to using it yourself.Thoralata said:
But is it ok to trash a much-loved IP? It may be an iOS game, and while I personally think it is a pathetically poor iOS game, it being an iOS game of the kind it is at all is an issue for me, and I haven't even played the originals.kiri2tsubasa said:
I've been thinking about that. I might have the title changed to ''Complete list of game publisher's mistakes'' for the sake of being complete. You'd be surprised to see what a clear, complete and cohesive list of unpopular features can do.Thoralata said:
To do that, there will have to be some digging into the past to list them all. Any help towards this goes a long way because they WILL all be listed.
Large entry into the microtransactions bit of the list added.
New entry in the list of webpages at the bottom of post 1.
If you're interested, please read the new entry of microtransactions. These are drafts, and therefor subject to change. Feel free to add / discuss / suggest. As said, I want to make this list as complete as possible. Any suggestions for games that fit the bill with the different versions of microtransactions will be added as long as they apply.
New entry in the list of webpages at the bottom of post 1.
If you're interested, please read the new entry of microtransactions. These are drafts, and therefor subject to change. Feel free to add / discuss / suggest. As said, I want to make this list as complete as possible. Any suggestions for games that fit the bill with the different versions of microtransactions will be added as long as they apply.
Such dealings serve to remind us that 1) they do some good, and 2) this list, at the bottom of it's intent, is made because we care about the game industry and we want to see it do well, by telling it to give us what we want, by critiqueing it.
Here's an appropriate quote. It comes from Call of Duty MW 2.
(I can't believe I'm doing this but here goes...)
''I love America more than any other country in the world, and therefor I insist on the right to criticize it perpetually''. John F Kennedy I think.
It means criticism is often meant to explain a desire for improvement.
Here's an appropriate quote. It comes from Call of Duty MW 2.
(I can't believe I'm doing this but here goes...)
''I love America more than any other country in the world, and therefor I insist on the right to criticize it perpetually''. John F Kennedy I think.
It means criticism is often meant to explain a desire for improvement.
Easy really, i just buy the games i want to play. Dont give a crap what company made it or published it. If your disappointed by a game then dont buy the sequel or wait for a review to come out before buying it.
1. That's your opinion. I use the steam community a lot.Requia said:
2. With the steam community I can check if any discussion I'm into has new posts with a single glance. With 50 different forums to check, no way I would be checking any of them. Nor uploading photos, nor anything else.
You mean like the game doesn't slap in your face the quests you haven't paid for, just like the sims 3 slaps in your face the items you haven't paid for?Ed130 The Vanguard said:
Dude there's a thread about Valve at the first page. Also I consider that they are neither saints or demons.Thoralata said:
I'm sorry for you if people having enough intelligency to rate some companies over others hurts your feelings. Overblown this days? Yeah Dungeon Keeper, I don't know what's that.
Btw Activision can go fuck themselves too. Are you guys seriously trying to defend EA because "someone else also does bad"? That's the lamest excuse ever, I don't think even EA employees would use it.
I have many reasons to complain about EA instead of Activision, starting with "They like to buy franchises I like and ruin them into the ground with always more sophisticated methods". I critizice them because I WANT THEM TO IMPROVE. GODAMNIT. I couldn't care less about what Activision does, I've never liked their games.
Easy: You can expect what kind of crap you will find in a game depending on who is making it.SonOfVoorhees said:
I disagree, i wouldnt dismiss a companies future releases by a few current crappy releases. But then its about the games not the companies. DA2 wasnt the greatest thing ever but that wont stop me looking into DA3 and see if they have fixed stuff and what reviewers think of it. Although, i think the problem with gaming now is that things connected to ftp games and mobile gaming are moving into full price console games. Currently both Grand Tourismo and Forza gimped there games to force people to buy money.Qvar said:
End of the day people shouldn't buy games based on the name, especially now with prices now £50 (will PS4/XB1) and then you end up wasting cash on crap like Knack and Ryse.
Yet if I liked DA:O (I didn't, just following your example), bought DA2, and it turned out to be crap, I will critizice the hell out of it, in hopes to itch the producers enough to make them change whatever they did bad back to how it was on the first game.
I will both vote with my wallet and voice my opinions, and I certainly won't be silenced by people thinking that it's enough to vote with my wallet. EA has proved to have stupid execs, I feel forced to spell it out for them.
I will both vote with my wallet and voice my opinions, and I certainly won't be silenced by people thinking that it's enough to vote with my wallet. EA has proved to have stupid execs, I feel forced to spell it out for them.
My memories of the first game are pretty cave simulator based, with the odd "miscelaneous medieval house" simulatyion thrown in.King Whurdler said: