Why EA? Just why?

[Bvenged]

EA made C&C3, I liked C&C3; and the Mass Effect series (minus the ending, and sheer amount of DLCs).

But they 100% annoy the balls off of me with pretty much everything else they do. Sometimes I, and many others, can blatantly see where they're doing something just to bolster their profits with what appears to be little thought for the rest of us. Like charging for player card packs on Fifa's multiplayer, but refusing to acknowledge the fact that when matches are crashing, frequently, for a lot of people, wasting their money, was not EA's fault... until after they were grilled live in front of a few million people by the BBC's consumers show, Watchdog.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2012/03/fifa.html

That's just the first thing that popped into my head... Screwing over consumers with project $10 was another one...

Or their bigoted response to being awarded the worst company in America 2012...

The sheer amount of good companies they bought out just to eliminate competition...

I swear their logo once grew horns, swore at me, sacrificed a goat then disappeared from the screen.

 

[lapan]

Ok, I'm kind of getting a little bit frustrated with "Fuck EA" and "Origin Sucks" and not to mention that you have the whole "Company A is now apart of EA, their games will now suck to the nth degree".

I don't know why, but I don't see anything wrong with them. Yeah they had made mistakes but the thing is that they can afford to. The question is WHY!? Fuck, even the never ending rage about the ME3 ending got them voted "Worst Company" which is just about the stupidest thing I've ever seen this decade. Way to go gaming community, you know how to kick them under the bus quickly.

And just why and where the fuck do you guys get all this hate? Why do you think that the companies that become a part of EA end up sucking when I see good games turned out.

I'm looking for a good explanation why, add some analysis, and not some stupid fucking answer that amounts to "just because they are EA."

I want good answers, and I want to get to the bottom of this.

It's not just ME3 that got them voted as the worst company.

EA has a history of buying and later closing developers beloved by the comunity. It has a horrible outsourced customer support. It tends to focus mostly on annual series of games that barely change because of the easy money. Their PR department isn't exactly the best either and their campain to make it seem like the hate is just a product of homophobes is laughable. The failing Bioware games are just a little problem of many.

 

[ThriKreen]

Also Origin Systems. That tanked the minute EA picked them up. Or do I have to talk about Ultima 8 and 9? Among other games they pumped out that were crap.

Found the article. Funny enough, it's an Escapist Magazine article from 2005:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_14/87-The-Conquest-of-Origin

Couple times I've noted:
- Origin was about to die when EA bought/bailed them out. Makes one wonder if, given the reputation, if the other bought studios weren't already at death's door when they "sold out". Blizzard's RTS games have always been more popular than Westwood's, could that have been a factor? So is "EA bought them out then closed them 5-10y later" worst compared to "They would have closed anyway within 1 year?"
- I got the projects wrong, it was the exact opposite, but still, doubling headcount and project count in the span of a year is never a good idea. Even worse, most were manned by inexperienced people.
- Garriott would start from scratch between Ultima projects. As someone who also deals with art tools and pipelines a lot, I can say that's a lot of wasted time redeveloping things.
- UO would probably not have existed without EA.
- Money and success got into people's heads. Would have happened regardless of what publisher bought them out.
- EA stepped in when it turned out Origin was getting crazy and burning through money.

Point is, going back to the OP's question - is that you need to expand your view and account for everything that goes on, instead of just reverting to an "EA IS EVIL" mantra. There's a lot of factors at play that, when viewed as a whole, doesn't really point to any one party as the only culprit.

It's just that a lot of the perception of "unsavory" actions EA has done, it did to SURVIVE. Closing an unprofitable studio to prevent wasting money? Try to make them pick up the pace to produce more games at a faster pace? Had they not done so, they could have ended up like Accolade, Microprose, or Sierra. Would you guys be hating on those publishers too had they done the same and gotten as big? If EA had not done so, they could have ended up being just a footnote in gaming history.

 

[lapan]

It's not just ME3 that got them voted as the worst company.

Well, in the case of the voting: Yes it did. This is how the interenet works, since they were at the center of negative attention a lot of the votes were just because of ME3.

A part of the votes was probably stirred up because of that recent issue, but saying it's the only reason they got voted as worst company is wrong.

 

[pilouuuu]

Because EA are the reapers! They are indoctrinating and assuming control of all great developers. They like to destroy and have no respect for developers or gamers!

 

[Dandark]

EA made C&C3, I liked C&C3; and the Mass Effect series (minus the ending, and sheer amount of DLCs).

But they 100% annoy the balls off of me with pretty much everything else they do. Sometimes I, and many others, can blatantly see where they're doing something just to bolster their profits with what appears to be little thought for the rest of us. Like charging for player card packs on Fifa's multiplayer, but refusing to acknowledge the fact that when matches are crashing, frequently, for a lot of people, wasting their money, was not EA's fault... until after they were grilled live in front of a few million people by the BBC's consumers show, Watchdog.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2012/03/fifa.html

That's just the first thing that popped into my head... Screwing over consumers with project $10 was another one...

Or their bigoted response to being awarded the worst company in America 2012...

The sheer amount of good companies they bought out just to eliminate competition...

I swear their logo once grew horns, swore at me, sacrificed a goat then disappeared from the screen.

I have to ask, if you liked C&C3, how did you feel about C&C4?

 

[Bvenged]

snip

I have to ask, if you liked C&C3, how did you feel about C&C4?

If I ever see a copy, I'd burn it with fire. Piece of...

I love RTS'. All the strategies, tactics,developing play styles, BASE BUILDING, FAIR ONLINE PLAY in EQUAL BATTLEGROUNDS...

C&C3 held all of that, C&C4 did not. So preferably, burn it. Another reason to add EA to the hate-list. When they do get something right, they go and cock it up anyway.

 

[Dandark]

snip

I have to ask, if you liked C&C3, how did you feel about C&C4?

If I ever see a copy, I'd burn it with fire. Piece of...

I love RTS'. All the strategies, tactics,developing play styles, BASE BUILDING, FAIR ONLINE PLAY in EQUAL BATTLEGROUNDS...

C&C3 held all of that, C&C4 did not. So preferably, burn it. Another reason to add EA to the hate-list. When they do get something right, they go and cock it up anyway.

Wait what? I knew that they took out base building and the story looked retarded but how was online unbalanced? Did they use pay to win or something like that? I ask because im always happy to have even more reasons to hate EA, it's seriously become part of my schedule, do work, visit forum, find new reason to hate EA, sigh and go back to work.

 

[spartandude]

snip

I have to ask, if you liked C&C3, how did you feel about C&C4?

If I ever see a copy, I'd burn it with fire. Piece of...

I love RTS'. All the strategies, tactics,developing play styles, BASE BUILDING, FAIR ONLINE PLAY in EQUAL BATTLEGROUNDS...

C&C3 held all of that, C&C4 did not. So preferably, burn it. Another reason to add EA to the hate-list. When they do get something right, they go and cock it up anyway.

Wait what? I knew that they took out base building and the story looked retarded but how was online unbalanced? Did they use pay to win or something like that? I ask because im always happy to have even more reasons to hate EA, it's seriously become part of my schedule, do work, visit forum, find new reason to hate EA, sigh and go back to work.

they included a levelling up system where you unlock new units. the ones who got the game when it was released would have all avaliable units while new comers would only have the basic ones meaning they get destroyed EAsily

 

[Dandark]

snip

I have to ask, if you liked C&C3, how did you feel about C&C4?

If I ever see a copy, I'd burn it with fire. Piece of...

I love RTS'. All the strategies, tactics,developing play styles, BASE BUILDING, FAIR ONLINE PLAY in EQUAL BATTLEGROUNDS...

C&C3 held all of that, C&C4 did not. So preferably, burn it. Another reason to add EA to the hate-list. When they do get something right, they go and cock it up anyway.

Wait what? I knew that they took out base building and the story looked retarded but how was online unbalanced? Did they use pay to win or something like that? I ask because im always happy to have even more reasons to hate EA, it's seriously become part of my schedule, do work, visit forum, find new reason to hate EA, sigh and go back to work.

they included a levelling up system where you unlock new units. the ones who got the game when it was released would have all avaliable units while new comers would only have the basic ones meaning they get destroyed EAsily

-_-



No..........................................................Just no
I don't believe you. That is so stupid, they couldn't of done something that retarded, just no.

What the hell am I talking about? Of course they would be that stupid. EA why do you do these stupid things, just why!?

 

[Fappy]

snip

snip

While I'm not sure exactly what you guys are talking about (I never was into those card games myself - so all this talk of colorless and mana and 4/4 is over my head) however, I get the jist of it.

So might I present the true face:

Spoiler

[HEADING=1]Galactus - Eater of Worlds -[/HEADING] Consumes entire planets to feed his enormous power and leaves them an empty husk.​

Does that make Bioware Silver Surfer?

 

[Bvenged]

snip

I have to ask, if you liked C&C3, how did you feel about C&C4?

snip

Wait what? I knew that they took out base building and the story looked retarded but how was online unbalanced? Did they use pay to win or something like that? I ask because im always happy to have even more reasons to hate EA, it's seriously become part of my schedule, do work, visit forum, find new reason to hate EA, sigh and go back to work.

Haha I think a lot of gamers are becoming more aware of what goes on behind the scenes of their games, and subsequently more and more gamers are getting bad tastes with some developers, but more so against the big name publishers.

With C&C4 there's little/no base building and the story was trash. While C&C3 was a bit... strained, at least it was fun and fitted into the lore okay.

Also, you can rank up playing singleplayer/skirmishes, and when you rank up you unlock new units, some of which are bloody powerful in comparison to the defaults. When you play on line and come across an opponent as good as you, but he has those units. you're screwed. That is unfair as it should boiled down to whoever makes the first mistake/exploit a weakness in their opponent fairly. this situation comes down to one player having a unit the other player doesn't. EA took an RTS, and they crapped it up for me and many others.

 

[Atmos Duality]

You read pretty far into that, haha.

I used Phage because everything she touches dies, much like every developer EA swallows up

It's an excellent metaphor.
Phage is a threat to everything, including the player controlling her.

Nobody wants to play her and nobody wants to deal with her, but you can't ignore her at all once she's there.

 

[Vanbael]

Spoiler: Bullfrog's most brilliant game mechanic

I miss this company's humor.

 

[BeerTent]

EA's not your girlfriend. Why do you care if she's being picked on?

I will adress this.

EA is indeed not "my girlfriend", but it does seem like people have lost objectivity. EA is a publisher, and a powerful one at that. Without EA, many of the games we play would simply not exist, at all, period. I started playing EA games back in the days of the Mega Drive, and I still fondly remember their logo as a symbol of quality. And back then, if, say, "Road Rash" didn't have enough tracks or if it ended too soon, we would not go on a hypocritical "crusade" against the company, cynicaly denouncing it while playing their games. I'd be happy knowing I enjoyed the majority of the game, because no game is perfect.

The issue of entitlement has been thrown around a lot, and most gamers defend the rights of their community without pausing to think things through. as if the whole debacle with ME3 wasn't enough, this thing with Dark Souls is simply ridicullous: "We demand Dark Souls on the PC!"

Lo and behold, they give you "Dark Souls" on the PC, even though making games for the PC these days is pretty much just asking for trouble.

But wait... it's GFWL...

"We demand the game come out on Steam!"

What next? Are we to start setting prices as well? Level designs? I trust professionals to make the games I play, and I've found that the more some communities get involved, the more things fall apart from the game's original vision.

I'm not saying EA are angels. But I cannot join this mass movement against a company whose games I enjoy. And if they release a product I don't like, then I simply! Don't! Buy it!

Feel free to rant away now.

I'm going to add to this. I'm not a fan of EA, as some of their business practices are absolutely atrocious. I'm not gonna hate EA because they may have botched an ending to a game, or not released another game on my platform of choice. That's just fucking stupid. Know what I did when I didn't get 'my way' with Infamous? I didn't play it. I didn't have a PlayStation. Didn't want a PlayStation, And one game wasn't going to get me to buy a console and two exclusives.

Why the fuck is this an impossible task for everyone else? Why do we need OUR Game that we dreamed of? I Didn't rage about how APB is a fucking disaster, did I? Instead, I didn't pay for the content, and I stopped playing because APB is a fucking lopsided unbalanced disaster.

I may have raged on Krater, but that was because I couldn't tell the Beta from the release when it came out on the 12th. I didn't rip on the level caps. I didn't talk about weapon drops, or complain about how the game was ungodly easy and lacked any real dangers when not playing Hardcore. I tore on the excessive amount of terrible interface decisions, and generally incomplete localization. ("" is a doctor in Solside. Fatshark's Testing department is probably an empty room.)

Which brings me to the Bold part. Your probably wondering why I did that, hunh? I've seen a lot of decisions included because the fan base wanted them, and not very many of them made much sense. "We should have a Sniper Rifle do more damage." The community said, and then when the other half of the community who wanted a good game turned around and said "Well, wait, this rifle when combined with this grenade breaks the game. You can't avoid it."

By this point, The development team is done making stupid errands and tweaks to the game, and this second suggestion has been blasted by the community into oblivion. This unbalanced rifle stays.

The development team is not perfect. But these people do this sort of shit for a living. If something really, really doesn't make sense. (Like that tutorial, and then dumping the characters your in love with a half an hour later.) Then yeah, speak up about it, and offer constructive feedback, but don't fucking foam in the mouth about how the "Autosnipers are shit unbalanced and need to be removed." when there are actual problems the Devs cannot fix because they have to deal with the muffin abuse of half a million foaming retards because the ending didn't go their fucking way.

I don't like EA, but I think this sick sense of abusive PC gamer entitlement is significantly worse.

EDIT: Just realized, Posted in a old dead thread. Sorry~!
Following links from other forum threads can be dangerous!

 

[Dr. Dice Lord]

I don't buy Valve products because I dislike Steam, mostly because I hate having to log-in to play single player games, and don't mention Steam Offline mode, it's completely worthless, but anyway, I think people just need a company to use as an example and EA got picked up as the company that's going to be used as an example.

I don't know if I'm the luckiest man alive, or what, but I've never had any problems with Steam Offline Mode, ever. I just turn on my PC steam fails to connect, and I hit "restart in offline mode." And it does, on demand, whenever I want it to. Even with no internet connection at all.

Does this just not work for you?

*Edit* Following forum links can indeed be dangerous...

 

[Racecarlock]

Ok, I'm kind of getting a little bit frustrated with "Fuck EA" and "Origin Sucks" and not to mention that you have the whole "Company A is now apart of EA, their games will now suck to the nth degree".

I don't know why, but I don't see anything wrong with them. Yeah they had made mistakes but the thing is that they can afford to. The question is WHY!? Fuck, even the never ending rage about the ME3 ending got them voted "Worst Company" which is just about the stupidest thing I've ever seen this decade. Way to go gaming community, you know how to kick them under the bus quickly.

And just why and where the fuck do you guys get all this hate? Why do you think that the companies that become a part of EA end up sucking when I see good games turned out.

I'm looking for a good explanation why, add some analysis, and not some stupid fucking answer that amounts to "just because they are EA."

I want good answers, and I want to get to the bottom of this.

Take it away, jim!

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/5946-Why-Do-People-Hate-EA

I don't really need to cover anything else, he pretty much got it spot on.

 

[Kae]

I don't buy Valve products because I dislike Steam, mostly because I hate having to log-in to play single player games, and don't mention Steam Offline mode, it's completely worthless, but anyway, I think people just need a company to use as an example and EA got picked up as the company that's going to be used as an example.

I don't know if I'm the luckiest man alive, or what, but I've never had any problems with Steam Offline Mode, ever. I just turn on my PC steam fails to connect, and I hit "restart in offline mode." And it does, on demand, whenever I want it to. Even with no internet connection at all.

Does this just not work for you?

*Edit* Following forum links can indeed be dangerous...

Well I haven't tried it in a very long time, but when I tried it it didn't work well at all, and since I keep hearing people complain about it I just figured it was still just as bad, anyway I don't really trust Valve that much, but in general I just hate DRM so even the smallest form of it annoys me, then again I think not trusting big corporations is reasonable, it's a good thing that all the games I have on steam came from Humble Bundles so I just use the DRM free version instead, I just added them to steam because I could.