What is EA actually doing wrong as a developer?

[rohit9891]

Well,I dont think they have much of a problem with making games...but their DRMs are just crap.
Even if they use such strict DRMs,games will eventually get cracked by someone,so why bother spending so much money on that piece of shit...
Well nyways I'm really looking forward to how nfs:shift shapes up

 

[Strong Intelligent]

They published Timesplitters three so I'm oblidged to worship them.

But yeah, it seems with some games (mostly Mirror's Edge) they put more effort into the demo than the game.

 

[wgreer25]

I give EA props for supporting the developers that made Dead Space and Mirror's Edge. Now Dead Space was a shit ton better than ME, but at lease they were trying something new with ME. For me, Dead Space may have been my game of the year, never have I seen a game that so immersed me in the atmosphere. Mirror's Edge, however... never have I seen a game that raised by blood pressure so quickly. The game was an exercise in frustration (trial and error). But I do still appreciate trying something new and a little different.

 

[0thello]

Well I don't know the direct politics but lettting Def Jam FFNY and Vendetta descend into some ol' bulls*** like Def Jam Icon was one of the worst things I've witnessed in video gaming.

 

[hannahdonno]

Sequels, for most of their original ideas are very innovative. But crappy sequels...

BURN THEM?

 

[willard3]

Mirror's Edge was good. Dead Space was alright.

However, Dead Space was developed by an affiliate of EA named Redwood Shores.
Mirror's Edge was only published by EA. Developed by DICE.

This thread is making me pretty happy so far...so many people confuse "publisher" and "developer", often lumping them together into one entity. Very few publishers are also developers, and even then, it's usually a specific studio within the publishing company that develops the game. EA Redwood Shores is a good example, as are Ubisoft Montreal and Blizzard North.

The developer makes the actual game, while the publisher often gets to yell deadlines at the developers, make suggestions/requirements, and pay the unit production fees.

 

[Doug]

How about 'they can't make anything new and good!'

Dead Space Meta Review score:
Xbox 360: 89
Playstation 3: 88
PC: 86

Mirror's Edge Meta Review score:
Xbox 360: 79
Playstation 3: 79
PC: 80

How the heck are those not good scores?

Who said anything about scores?! Reviewers can be bought anyway, and given MGS IV managed to get 90%+ reviews all around, review scores mean very little to me now. Spore got good scores too, but had tissue thin gameplay.

 

[MercurySteam]

EA comes second next to The Halo series in which they both recieve undeserved hate, but my main foucus here is EA. I'll never play a sports game as long as i live, but apparently EA Sports has made some good games. Red Alert 3 wasn't a GOOD game but it wasn't a BAD one either. EA's main problem is that despite how big they are, releasing games in quick succession does NOT work. I have not played Mirrors Edge yet, but Dead Space........... it has alot potential, mainly becasue I think with the sheer number of possible ways to look at it from: the game, the CGI movie, the ainimated comics, the upcoming Wii game and noknownsurvivors.com all piece together a universe of possibilites (and is a very good rip-off of Event Horizen). It just goes to show what Electronic Arts CAN do when they put ther mind to it.

 

[Sevre]

Nowadays EA are just doing it for the money. They don't care about the game or the gamer ( Tech support and online play is dropped for older sports titles) they just want to churn it out as fast as possible for sales purposes.

 

[MercurySteam]

EA is a MASSIVE company, just because they have franchises and release sequels doesn't make them a bad company. Do you have any idea how large the EA umbrella is? It's gigantic, and now they've even incorporated Maxis, Bioware, and Mythic. All of which have been very successful studios in the past.

Don't forget Westwood the original makers of the Command and Conquer series. The problem is that the Westwood fanboys don't understand that Westwood decided to close down and sell its rights to EA. EA was/ still is bashed for having the audacity to accept this kind offer. If you don't believe me look on Newgrounds and you'll see how far they really go.

 

[dekkarax]

EA isn't doing anything wrong, they made some terrible mistakes in the past; now they are getting much better, the problem is people won't give them a chance.
it's all a case of reverse-loyalty.

 

[Flour]

How about 'they can't make anything new and good!'

Dead Space Meta Review score:
Xbox 360: 89
Playstation 3: 88
PC: 86

Mirror's Edge Meta Review score:
Xbox 360: 79
Playstation 3: 79
PC: 80

How the heck are those not good scores?

Review scores are shit. The people that like the game will give it a high score, the people that hate the game will either ignore it or give it a 1.

 

[Doug]

EA isn't doing anything wrong, they made some terrible mistakes in the past; now they are getting much better, the problem is people won't give them a chance.
it's all a case of reverse-loyalty.

Its more a case of convincing people EA have gotten better. And yeah, the experimented with Mirrors Edge and Dead Space, but it remains to be seen if they'll keep it up AND make good games.

 

[Random Argument Man]

How about 'they can't make anything new and good!'

Dead Space Meta Review score:
Xbox 360: 89
Playstation 3: 88
PC: 86

Mirror's Edge Meta Review score:
Xbox 360: 79
Playstation 3: 79
PC: 80

How the heck are those not good scores?

Review scores are shit. The people that like the game will give it a high score, the people that hate the game will either ignore it or give it a 1.

We're talking about journalists here. When they review a game, they have standards to follow. How does the control works, Are the graphics presentable, Is it fun, what's new, how does the story progress and etc etc.

They base their scores on that.

 

[Doug]

How about 'they can't make anything new and good!'

Dead Space Meta Review score:
Xbox 360: 89
Playstation 3: 88
PC: 86

Mirror's Edge Meta Review score:
Xbox 360: 79
Playstation 3: 79
PC: 80

How the heck are those not good scores?

Review scores are shit. The people that like the game will give it a high score, the people that hate the game will either ignore it or give it a 1.

We're talking about journalists here. When they review a game, they have standards to follow. How does the control works, Are the graphics presentable, Is it fun, what's new, how does the story progress and etc etc.

They base their scores on that.

Maybe one time that was true. Not these days.

 

[Random Argument Man]

How about 'they can't make anything new and good!'

Dead Space Meta Review score:
Xbox 360: 89
Playstation 3: 88
PC: 86

Mirror's Edge Meta Review score:
Xbox 360: 79
Playstation 3: 79
PC: 80

How the heck are those not good scores?

Review scores are shit. The people that like the game will give it a high score, the people that hate the game will either ignore it or give it a 1.

We're talking about journalists here. When they review a game, they have standards to follow. How does the control works, Are the graphics presentable, Is it fun, what's new, how does the story progress and etc etc.

They base their scores on that.

Maybe one time that was true. Not these days.

It actually cause quite a ruckus in 2007 (maybe 2006). Reviews these days seems very...unprofessionnal. (No offense to the reviewers here).

 

[Frank_Sinatra_]

EA themselves publish some good games but EA sports on the other hand...
Can someone get them off the copy machine?

 

[xxcloud417xx]

lol thread should be called: "What EA ISNT doing wrong as a developper?" At least that way the list will not look like a novel when we fold it hehehe...

 

[Flour]

How about 'they can't make anything new and good!'

Dead Space Meta Review score:
Xbox 360: 89
Playstation 3: 88
PC: 86

Mirror's Edge Meta Review score:
Xbox 360: 79
Playstation 3: 79
PC: 80

How the heck are those not good scores?

Review scores are shit. The people that like the game will give it a high score, the people that hate the game will either ignore it or give it a 1.

We're talking about journalists here. When they review a game, they have standards to follow. How does the control works, Are the graphics presentable, Is it fun, what's new, how does the story progress and etc etc.

They base their scores on that.

Ah, I knew it would be a problem when I posted without reading the whole thread.
But still, journalists, or publishers in this case have to sell their product. This product depends on revenue created by subscribers and advertisements.

Since this thread is about EA, a publisher for loads of smaller developers, you get this problem where, if a journalist gives game X a poor review, then EA can just refuse to send an early copy of game Y. If this happens a lot, then the people reading the magazine/website/blog will go somewhere else for pre-release information and early reviews.