EA-stories of how they screwed you over

[Irridium]

It was many a year ago, the release of Spore was imminent. I followed it like crazy, the game looked amazing. However, one thing stuck out about it in the things I've read, the DRM. I foolishly ignored it. "It won't be that bad, that'd just be insane!" I said.

When I finally bought it and took it home, I attempted to install it. This is where it all went horribly wrong. It would not install. It apparently needed to connect to the internet. I had flaky dial-up, so that prospect was horrifying to me. Still, "whatever", I thought. I'll just do this quickly. There is no quick with dial-up. Over and over I tried to connect and install, and the game kept refusing to do so. Eventually it just gave up, and said I used up all my "install privileges". I was dumbfounded. Install privileges? The fuck are those? Well, I eventually managed to contact EA support, told them of the issue, and they said all this was to protect from people pirating their game, and that if I wanted to attempt to install again, I would have to buy another copy of Spore.

Yeah, no, FUCK you EA. I spent $50 on a game I really anticipated, then the game wouldn't install and ended up breaking itself because it couldn't verify that it was the legit copy. And on top of all this, apparently at one point Spore forced SecuROM on my PC, without even telling me. This SecuROM would stay, and never leave. It kept coming back, no matter how much I removed it. EA had forced malware on my PC, with Spore, because they think I, a kid with fucking DIAL-UP, would pirate the game. Even though I bought it.

Eventually, my friend lent me his pirated copy of Spore. It was alright, but the whole event just soured me on it and EA.

Then there was this other time, pretty recently in fact, where I tried to buy the ME2 arrival DLC. I had a pre-paid credit card, I've used ones like this one to buy DLC from EA before. Well for some reason this one wouldn't go through. I figured alright, fine, things change. So I went and tried to buy something from GoG, only to find I couldn't because for some reason my credit card lost some funds.

Turned out every time I tried to buy the Arrival DLC with the pre-paid card, EA charged $1 for every attemt (about $3 in all). They said they couldn't charge the card, then charged the card, EVEN WHEN THEY SAID I WOULD NOT BE CHARGED FOR THE FAILED ATTEMT TO BUY THE DLC.

Yeah, fuck EA.

 

[brainslurper]

It's your decision, but maybe this is a sign that dedicating lots of time to EA's MMO is not such a good idea? In a way, MMOs are like the ultimate DRM screw job. All the time you put into the game is at the mercy of the company that runs it.

The game will constantly change over time. Most of the updates will be good, but things you like will also change and disappear forever (forced updates, no mods), and over the course of years the game becomes almost unrecognizable. The general trend of the updates is to make more profit, which in the long run means selling out to attract more casual players and milking the current subscribers with extra things to pay for. I'm not talking about EA specifically, this happens in every single MMO, look at WoW or any other; it's just part of the territory.

Now, I agree that MMOs can be a ton of fun. Tons of content, great social aspect, etc, totally unmatched in non-MMOs. But this always has to be weighed against the DRM screw job part of it. So when EA are the ones handling the screw job, for me the downsides outweigh the benefits.

Sorry for painting a grim picture, especially when launch is the most fun time for a new MMO. My advice is to enjoy it for what it is right now, but keep in mind that EA will screw you in the long run, 99% guaranteed.

Or everyone can go play WOW, and sleep happy knowing their progress is at the mercy of customer support nice enough to unban someone because they drew them a picture of a unicorn.
http://kotaku.com/5869466/all-world-of-warcrafts-customer-service-ever-wanted-was-a-unicorn

 

[Marcus Kehoe]

The main reason I'm mad is that hey destroyed all my battlefield 3 progression and didn't in any way warn me about it till after ward. The 12 hours being spent on help lines afterwards didn't help either. I won't quit EA for this but their disregard for my data and my time makes me mad.

 

[-Datura-]

Most recently -- sold me a retail copy of the Complete Battlefield 2 Collection with useless CD keys, then refused to do anything about it.

These days, even when I find a game of theirs I enjoy immensely (Medal Of Honor, the Dead Spaces), I'm convinced they work despite EA, not because of them. And they can keep their Origin "service", I hope Steam eats them alive.

 

[brainslurper]

Me? I have never ever had a single problem with EA, or anything EA has done. Personally, i dont see why people hate EA.

They think it makes them look cool on the internet.

One of the main things that EA gets flak for is buying a company and then closing them when that company loses both profit and the ability to make games that aren't mediocre.

What makes me laugh is that THQ, Activision, Take-Two, and just about every other major publisher has done the same thing.

People just don't like seeing a business act like a business, and some people suffer from what I personally call 'Che Guevera syndrome'. If it's a corporation they express their disdain on the internet while they keep buying corporation product.

It's kind of like the guy wearing the Che Guevera shirt who talks about how great he was.

We all know one.

But we don't have the heart to tell him that when he bought the shirt, he spat on every idea that Che had.

Really cool bro. Have you ever used origin? That would explain your un-hate for EA.

 

[Qitz]

Didn't they say you could play SW:TOR without Origin though?

Only time I've been "screwed" by EA was buying BF2 and finding out it wasn't anything like BF 1942. I miss that game and Secret Weapons of WW2, it was fun playing campaigns as both sides.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

they made me PAY for their game!! the fucking NERVE!

soryr I havnt had many problems with EA...I am wary of them but I dont hate them

I don't hate EA.

I despise them.

 

[repeating integers]

Eventually, my friend lent me his pirated copy of Spore. It was alright, but the whole event just soured me on it and EA.

That has to be the most ironic thing I've read all month.

 

[isometry]

It's your decision, but maybe this is a sign that dedicating lots of time to EA's MMO is not such a good idea? In a way, MMOs are like the ultimate DRM screw job. All the time you put into the game is at the mercy of the company that runs it.

The game will constantly change over time. Most of the updates will be good, but things you like will also change and disappear forever (forced updates, no mods), and over the course of years the game becomes almost unrecognizable. The general trend of the updates is to make more profit, which in the long run means selling out to attract more casual players and milking the current subscribers with extra things to pay for. I'm not talking about EA specifically, this happens in every single MMO, look at WoW or any other; it's just part of the territory.

Now, I agree that MMOs can be a ton of fun. Tons of content, great social aspect, etc, totally unmatched in non-MMOs. But this always has to be weighed against the DRM screw job part of it. So when EA are the ones handling the screw job, for me the downsides outweigh the benefits.

Sorry for painting a grim picture, especially when launch is the most fun time for a new MMO. My advice is to enjoy it for what it is right now, but keep in mind that EA will screw you in the long run, 99% guaranteed.

Or everyone can go play WOW, and sleep happy knowing their progress is at the mercy of customer support nice enough to unban someone because they drew them a picture of a unicorn.
http://kotaku.com/5869466/all-world-of-warcrafts-customer-service-ever-wanted-was-a-unicorn

I'm no fan of Blizzards customer service, I had to buy Diablo 2 three times even though I never did anything wrong (might be hard to believe, but that was 10 years ago, D2 had a huge problem with cheaters and scammers and a lot of innocent players got screwed by that, games protect better against that stuff now).

In my post, I say that WoW/Blizzard have all the same problems I just listed, that all MMOs have those problems. Diablo III will be a DRM screwjob for sure.

With all these games I recommend to enjoy it while it lasts but expect the company to screw you in the long run.

 

[Sir Shockwave]

I'm usually on okay terms with EA - as bad as they are, at least they're not ActiVision.

Then Generals 2 was announced. This shows two things:

1) The C&C series is now a Zombie Series that has well and truely run past it's course.

2) EA really, really don't care for world events. Given (from what I understand of the world stage right now) the Americans have just pulled out of Afghanistan and we're all doing Mop Up Operations in Libya.

To quote a great man - "There is no middle finger big enough!".

 

[Realitycrash]

Geh, is SWTOR really Origin-required? Really-really? You can't just buy it, install it and not install Origin?

Only if you want the digital version, the boxed retail copy doesn't require it.

Sweet. The dreaded ass-pirates of EA won't be forcing me to install their "we're legally allowed to scan your computer for anything we want, whenever we want, no matter how connected it is to our products"-software.

 

[Irridium]

Didn't they say you could play SW:TOR without Origin though?

Only time I've been "screwed" by EA was buying BF2 and finding out it wasn't anything like BF 1942. I miss that game and Secret Weapons of WW2, it was fun playing campaigns as both sides.

You need an Origin account, not Origin itself if you buy the physical version. Not the actual client.

Digital requires Origin in full though.

Apparently the digital version does not require Origin. Alright then.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Me? I have never ever had a single problem with EA, or anything EA has done. Personally, i dont see why people hate EA.

They think it makes them look cool on the internet.

One of the main things that EA gets flak for is buying a company and then closing them when that company loses both profit and the ability to make games that aren't mediocre.

What makes me laugh is that THQ, Activision, Take-Two, and just about every other major publisher has done the same thing.

People just don't like seeing a business act like a business, and some people suffer from what I personally call 'Che Guevera syndrome'. If it's a corporation they express their disdain on the internet while they keep buying corporation product.

It's kind of like the guy wearing the Che Guevera shirt who talks about how great he was.

We all know one.

But we don't have the heart to tell him that when he bought the shirt, he spat on every idea that Che had.

Really cool bro. Have you ever used origin? That would explain your un-hate for EA.

I actually have.

It works fine.

Worked fine for my friend who bought TOR off it as well.

Are you trying to tell me that because you don't like Origin that's reason enough for me to hate EA? That's a pretty lackluster point.

 

[iRevanchist]

making a sequel to kotor 400 years after everything happened! seriously, wtf?

 

[Fappy]

making a sequel to kotor 400 years after everything happened! seriously, wtf?

Lol, does it really matter how long the time gap is? Star Wars history is the most static lore in the history of popular fiction.

 

[Black Dahlia]

Small backstory: I bought the special edition of Mass Effect 2 on Steam back when it came out, and associated the license and DLC keys with my Bioware account. With Mass Effect 3 around the corner, I thought I'd polish up on my save files and get all the remaining DLC packs. This is where problems started to arise.. when I loaded up ME2, it wouldn't let me sign into my Bioware account/access the Cerberus Network and said none of the installed DLC was licensed and would be disabled ingame as a result. I went to the site to reset my password thinking it was that (It had been a couple of months..), and the website tells me my e-mail address isn't associated with an account, which I know isn't true as I have several e-mails in my inbox from EA and Bioware for things like the account creation and past password resets.

I contacted their live support and after waiting in a 30+ minute queue, finally got to talk to someone. Only the support rep. was clearly dealing with multiple people at once making responses slow at best, and at one point linking me to a Football FAQ telling me that the solution to my issue was there (And then realising he'd linked it to the wrong window and apologising). He wasn't able to find out what had happened to my account (And said he 'couldn't open' links to images I'd uploaded containing evidence of inbox items from EA/Bioware) and told me he had 'escalated' my call, and someone would be in contact with me after 24/48 hours and disconnected. Well that came and went with no e-mail, so I ended up contacting their support again waiting 40mins this time. After giving this new support rep all the details I could, they asked me to wait and then promptly disconnected on me.

TL;DR - EA support was useless, I lost my account with one-use game licenses and DLC codes attached.

 

[Marcus Kehoe]

Other than this still hellish experience I listed EA has been decent to me. Though the people have been nice to me the time I am forced to spend trying to do things their way is horribile, and its fixed nothing.

Other than version some of the worst customer service I've had to deal with.

 

[Gizmo1990]

They forced Bioware to rush Dragon Age 2 thus making it a Giant pool of Giraffe piss.