How EA's CEO is Developing from People's Need to "Steal"

[Tortilla the Hun]

This reminds me of a Korean fairy tale I read once - a king is throwing a celebration asks his old teacher to tell him a joke. The teacher, being an old and wise man, initially refuses, knowing that joking with kings can be hazardous for one's health. But the king insists, so the teaches tells him - "Your majesty, you resemble a (high ranking monk)." The king frowned - "That isn't very funny. You look like a pig." The teacher nodded and smiled. The king was drunk and failed to understand his joke - a holy man may see divinity, whereas a pig sees nothing but a pig.

If you see your potential customers as thieving bastards, what does that make you, mr Wilson?

Spoiler: The irony here is just...

While the title of the article is misleading, further reading will show that his point was basically "people like value" which, I assume, is not what you saw.

Regardless, and more on topic, I really can't say whether or not the subscription service offers all that much value as I really haven't looked into it.

 

[Maze1125]

Yes EA, say your consumer base is people who would steal,

Except that's not what he said at all.
The shitty headline completely misrepresents his viewpoint.

He prettied the statement from 'it's stealing' to 'getting value', it's still insulting buyers that they need incentive to pay for games otherwise they'd download.

No, again, he didn't say that.
You guys are really letting your anti EA bias show.

What he said was that people like to feel that the things they gain are of more value then the money they've spent on it. Which is completely and utterly true.

Yes he could have an underlying negative feeling towards those customers where he believes they're all really penny-pinching pirates at heart and he has to trick them into buying things. But absolutely nothing in what he said meant, nor implied, that.

 

[Grumman]

You're all missing the point. What people should be paying attention to is the fact that Mr. Wilson's plan to make us feel like we're getting value is to make people think of video games as something we rent access to, and not something we own. You know, the same mindset that lead to EA's Dungeon Keeper.

 

[Maze1125]

You're all missing the point. What people should be paying attention to is the fact that Mr. Wilson's plan to make us feel like we're getting value is to make people think of video games as something we rent access to, and not something we own. You know, the same mindset that lead to EA's Dungeon Keeper.

See guys, it's completely possible to make an anti-EA argument without just making stuff up. It's pretty easy actually!

 

[V4Viewtiful]

This reads like the gutter of business spiel next person says they pirated an EA game i'm going to start giving out hugs (not that it's a good thing, especially for EA employees but EA execs to me are giving off the "If you can't beat'em" rhetoric while trying trying to hide/veiling their practices)

 

[ElMinotoro]

Lol EA. "We understand human nature. We are staffed entirely by human people with human person motivations".

Sure you are.

 

[Amaror]

Is it just me that is having a Deja-vu or did we have basically this topic of news just a few weeks ago?
It was the exact same new just in different words.

 

[seditary]

So when are you going to make things you sell have value?

I haven't seen any yet.

 

[gamegod25]

On the one hand the headline is misleading and he was actually saying (in perhaps a awkward way) that people like to get more for less, or at least feel like they are. And yeah people like to get a good deal and feel like they are getting what they paid for.

On the other hand this is coming from the company that took away free demos and require paying for EA Access to get them. So yeah once again EA screwing over players in order to give a false sense of value for their paid service.

 

[MrHide-Patten]

Im beginning to think that the EA we hear the news and business decisions from might just be an entirely different business, devoted to cars or kitchen appplainces and all the gaming press gets them mixed up with the one that makes game. Frankly the EA that makes games doesn't know what value means anymore beyond; "Sell back the content that used to be free".

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Maybe you should focus on MAKING GOOD GAMES and forget about all this EA Access BS. Value priced crap is still crap.
Also why am I reminded of that Ikea commercial where the woman looks at her receipt and then runs out to her car yelling to her husband "Start the car!"

 

[Mezahmay]

Well, Andy Wilson here sure is onto something: if I actually wanted anything EA sold, I'd feel inclined to steal it.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Hm...depending on the quality of the games and how much red tape a customer has to go through, that actually sounds like a good deal. I'm interested to see how this works. Thirty dollars a year for access to (I'm assuming) all of EA's games does sound like a pretty good deal. Of course, no one is choosing to focus on that part, but what are you going to do...

It does seem like this new guy is trying to change EA's reputation at least, but he apparently has a long way to go.

 

[Scorpid]

Really... thats the high bar you've set for yourself is to not be the most hated company this year? That's it? That's like saying i'm tackling my problem of murdering people by murdering less people per month then the worst murderer. ALSO you pay this dude, god knows how much, and he equates not wanting to be ripped off by EA as a character flaw like stealing? Heres a hint its not about bulk of games you can put out at a low price. If it was then Zynga would be on the Fortune 500... but its about putting out polished games that don't shit themselves at launch and need apologies from developers who force themselves to take all the blame for you. That have depth beyond shooting gallery BS. That has a story that holds my attention or how about at least not trying to utterly reinvent itself with every reitteration to "widen the audiance" or "Stream line the mechanics". Or maybe just stop threatening your audiance like you did with the Sims 4 after you released (surprising no one) a worse sims game then the previous title with which was itself a already stripped down version of the Sims 2. Stop looking like you are run by insect minds corperate presidents who are befuddles by human emotions like value in trade and not wanting to feel like the game they bought was incomplete because you cut important features for DLC.

Hm...depending on the quality of the games and how much red tape a customer has to go through, that actually sounds like a good deal. I'm interested to see how this works. Thirty dollars a year for access to (I'm assuming) all of EA's games does sound like a pretty good deal. Of course, no one is choosing to focus on that part, but what are you going to do...

It does seem like this new guy is trying to change EA's reputation at least, but he apparently has a long way to go.

Don't be. They'll eventually come out with Premium platinum plus edition for 100 dollars a year and cut off the features of the base subscription to give "value" to that.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

EA has a long way to go before they are seen as a good company again, but as long as they are making strides to do so, I can't complain.

Packing value into their games is a good start, but unfortunately he never said they would be doing that, just giving us a cheaper option, which is sad. I'd love to see their games given more time to develop rather than rushed out.

 

[Something Amyss]

The idea of offering value is a great one. If only they actually tried it.

Yes EA, say your consumer base is people who would steal, what could go wrong from insulting them? CONSUMER FIRST!

Maybe if EA would make actual good games, people will buy them?

You should probably read the articles before you respond.

 

[Baresark]

Marketing speak just makes me mad sometimes, especially when they improperly paraphrase and coop language they have no business using. I see what's happening... he mentions Russell Simmons and we are then supposed to associate the two of them. Not gonna happen. I can paraphrase and modify Plato, but that doesn't make me like Plato.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Nice sentiment I guess, but I'm still left with the feeling that my definition of 'value' and EA's will differ somewhat.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

A subscription fee for their entire catalog seems like a good idea, in theory. The problem I am seeing with it is bandwidth usage. Observe;

You pay your subscription, download and play. Finish playing and the game deletes itself, you are (essentially) renting it remember (most likely after a set period of time, 24-48 hours maybe?). Now while this may seem like a fairly big assumption, keep in mind this is EA here.

Now to circle back to my starting point, bandwidth usage. The average data plan is, what, 300gb? With games clocking in at around 20-30gb installs means you will burn your entire allotment very quickly.

 

[senordesol]

I know EA has an inherent need to steal! Perhaps they figured it applies to everyone?

Honestly, I don't believe a damn thing EA says anymore. If an EA exec told me the sky was blue, I'd go to my grave insisting that it's red.

What they really want is more money based on faith, and the less they have to dole out in actual content; the better. Not buying it, guys, in every sense of the phrase.