Sorry, but I just have to rant here. I am so sick of people ragging on EA. I am not saying that EA is without faults, because no company is, but lets be real. A sizeable chunk of EA's problems is not their actions, but the douchebag nature of a vocal portion of the video game player culture. I have to say, having been a gamer for nearly 25 years, that video game players are some of the whiniest pieces of shit in this world. every little thing in a video game or a game franchise gets ripped apart by selfish little basterds who always seem to need to be complaining about something. for example. about 30 minutes ago, Maxis announced the next sims 3 store world, Dragon Valley, and did so with a 20 secondish teaser trailer that showed very little, and just gave a few glimpses. Within 5 seconds, people were already posting threads bitching and moaning about how EA is stupid, and that the world is shit, and EA needs to be burned at the stake for being stupid, and they did mention, EA is stupid! All a video game company needs to do is say that an expansion is in pre-production, and people are already whining about how it is a sucky expansion, even if they dont release any info on it. I havent had problems with EA coustomer support, and my games are generally highly stable. I dont mess around with my computer, hacking it and overclocking it, and take care to maintain it weekly. I dont see the bugs and glitches other people moan about, even after it is revealed that they are cused by bad mods and improperly maintained computers. but I am sick of people acting like their first child has been killed when a video game company makes a simple anouncement, or releases info on an upcoming product that really doesnt show much about it.
I think some of what EAs problems are related to their apparent disregard for their customers. I say this because of such things as Origin taking more private information then any sensible Person should allow or pushing the DLC idea to the point people pay more then any sensible person should. There's been other odd things I've read in news clips about how and why they do things. I can't rightly recall them all, but I'm sure a simple Google search will give me a right large amount of dirt. I don't really have many nice things to say. Sorry.
I understand your frustrations. To dondonnas - I see where you are coming from, too...but customer disregard *shouldn't* have anything to do with a product.... it was JUST announced. The product hasn't even hit shelves yet. I'm not a big gamer, but I have this same issue with music. I recently bought the new Goo Goo Dolls single......I saw they had a new album coming out (won't be released until this summer) and it's already got a not so great rating. I HATE that. I don't care if people have somehow listened to it. The album IS NOT OUT YET. Also, people complained about just one song. Hello...comment on that single, not the whole album. It's part of our culture now. People want to complain about EVERYTHING.
Origin alone should be enough to condem EA. If the gaming community did not voice their opinions about an upcoming product, if any community did not voice their opinions about any product, well who knows what would be released. I'd rather gather feedback during design/planning stage rather then anger customers with poor releases and make changes later. The Diablo II real money AH anyone? Even Blizzard regrets that one, and we told them they would.
I don't typically bitch and whine about games but EA has done plenty of things to stir controversy and anger their customers. Consumerism is all about selling a product and how a company appears means a great deal to customers. Look at companies like CDProjekt who include all their DLC, soundtrack, and extra content in the original game. This company does all they can to let their customers know that they are passionate about gaming and want gamers to enjoy their product. Now look at EA. Whenever they can charge extra for a game they will. They are notorious for charging money for content that it on the disc already such as day one dlcs (downloadable packages and missions that should have been included in the game but you have to pay extra then the $60 you paid on the day you get it to unlock the content.) Even though customers have complained about this EA has stated that they plan to do micro-transactions for all of their future titles. (Ignoring the important consumer-company relationship) Consumerism is about customer satisfaction and honestly it doesn't take much to make me satisfied but this is just bull. EA is also accustomed to dumming lovable franchises down in order to make more money and reach out to the "casual gamers." Look at what happened to Mass Effect and Dead Space. EA has also stated that they plan on putting multiplayer in all of their games, most likely to reach the causual gamers. Even though multiplayer doesn't work with some games. (ehem Dead Space) I understand you being annoyed with people's bitching and I am not going to bitch about a game until I play it myself. But I don't appreciate a company charging me more then they should and watering down my favorite franchises in order to make more money.
You're a smart lady Asari! My exact thoughts only far more clear. It's not a major million dollar company, but I always give high praise to Spiderweb software as an example of pleasing customers. Whenever they redesign a game, while not popular, they offer a discount to anyone who bought a previous version! Shoot, they let me download fresh copies of games I bought years ago free of charge no questions asked....EA could learn a thing or two from some smaller indie developers.
well they do "online pass", make you pay for stuff thats already on the disc, have kinda just ruined dead space and other games by wanting co op and stuff, and making dlc before the game is even out. How is that even DLC if it's being made while the game is still being made? its just another way to rip people off... it isnt really just EA that have been doing this, Epic Games have started it, and even rockstar who where announcing DLC for max payne 3 before the game had even been finished. so many things in the game industry now are based on nothing but ripping the costumers of cash, making you pay for stuff that should have been in the game from the start and such. thats why some people complain . i dont bother complaining anymore, i do the sensible thing and do not buy games from these companies anymore that do this. oh and i see spiderweb software has been mentioned in this thread so let me just say I used to LOVE blades of exile ! only shame was the forums on their site was filled with a few ppl who just trolled and flamed and seemed to get let off because they had been long term members who had contributed to the community with custom made scenarios and stuff.
I think that Origin is one of the few redeeming things for EA at the moment. It's a very well put together piece of software and works a lot better than EA. However, their obsession with DRM and microtransactions has just gone too far. As a publisher, EA has destroyed a few game series (such as Mass Effect) and as a developer, they've completely blown two of the biggest game releases in the past year with their always-on DRM. The games that we always loved are becoming online only, and for those who love their solitary gaming time, this makes the games barely playable. EA are taking franchises, scraping every penny they can from them, and throwing the empty husks back at us. I don't care about The Sims DLC - they always do a really good job with those (although the Katy Perry stuff really shouldn't have happened).
Mhm MHm I was considering buying the new simcity game... but after spending some time reading reviews about it... i think i'll just save my 60 bucks for school funds hahaha. It's ridiculous that you pay so much for a disk that is only essentially a download link. They have completely destroyed the "Simcity" name and legacy :/
Pretty much this. Origin is decent, but that's almost it. They've ruined my gaming experience in more than one game. That plus their goal to add microtransactions to all of their games...they get two thumbs down from me. SimCity is horrendous. I played all I could during their troubling launch, and by the time the game was fixed and playable...I didn't want to play it anymore. I keep trying to go back to it, but I can only handle it in 10 minute increments before I find myself bored to tears. The only game from them that I have come to depend on is The Sims. It's still pretty fun, and it's probably the only EA game I play on a regular basis.
I know what you mean. When the Orange Box was released in 2007, EA ported it because at the time, Valve didn't have a PS3 department. Well... It is slightly flawed. Emphasis on slightly. Sometimes, it gets this crinkly sound and the loading screens are a bit long. Gamers had a sh#t fit. People called it the "Step child" version. It is supposedly supposed to have occasional low frame rate but I haven't experienced any. Seriously, there is barely any thing wrong with it. I don't get why everyone flipped out. Long story short, Neither Valve or EA wanted to responsibility for the backlash. They each blamed the other. So, there was never a patch or update that could be installed. It seems like they both are trying to forget about it. Still, even 5 years later, I had to pay $50 for it on PS3. I could only get the UK version. There's no difference except the rating system but still, I don't understand why it was so hard to buy. If I had a nice computer, I could have bought all Valve games for $50 if Steam was having a sale. It just goes to show how I'm never buying a console again. Console gamers are too picky.
