Thoric485 said:
I like to think of games as art, but I can't think of anything that comes out of EA as art.
They cut out chunks from games to monetize separately, often damaging the core experience, they choke studios with ever-shortening development cycles, not allowing them to further their craft, and they hoard licenses they have no use for, keeping them from people that can do something good with them.
They deserve nothing but scrutiny and bile.
I was gonna type out a rather long rant, but you paraphrased most of my thoughts exactly, Thoric. Now they're getting to work on destroying DICE, my favorite gaming company in the entire world next to Valve. Games can be "art" but people shouldn't use this as an excuse to overlook problems within a game. In my opinion, games are "GAMES," they're entertainment first, and art second. Sure some indie devs change this around somewhat but I feel that's a generally accurate rule of thumb. Would you buy a majority of your games because they're "artistic?" I doubt it. I buy games because they're fun, end of story.
I think the people raging about the whole artistic integrity debacle have every right to do so. If I buy a product and am displeased with it, I have every right to disparage the company and complain about it. I joined Retake ME3 because we were -blatantly- lied to about what to expect in Mass Effect 3; the thought that it somehow being "art" makes that totally okay just baffles me. That sounds like a "head-in-the-sand" tactic to me.
As for the general hatred surround "games as art", maybe it has gotten a little out of hand. But honestly, I'd rather belong to an over-critical fan base than a group of sheeple that swallow whatever comes their way with a "thank you sir, may I have another." Like it or not fan outcry is the fastest way the change the industry, and personally, the industry needs a lot of change right about now.
