Beware of EA games

[Estebang]

"Terra Diver/Battle Garegga double pack"

"EA Shmups, it's da bomb!"

[Blackbird]

People avoid good games due to publishers?

I don't give my money to people I loathe. Game development is nominally my profession. Seeing companies like Activision disrespect my profession by trampling on the creative rights of the developers they finance infuriates me. Furthermore, I find the money grab elements they inject into their games distasteful. Perfect example: Diablo III. It's practically a rebranded ebay with a skin of RPG graphics. A complete sham. The only way to meaningfully voice disapproval of a company's actions is to strangle their cash flow, because that is the only thing they ultimately care about. Therefore, companies like Activision are on my boycott list until they man up, grow some morals, and quit letting greed ruin their games. It would help if they threw that slime Kotick on the street, too.

People that parrot the "it's just one sale" argument irritate me too. If enough people grew some balls and were actually discriminating about the companies they buy from, then the boycott would become meaningful. One person doesn't matter much, but ten thousand or a hundred thousand do.

But most gamers are hypocrites. They complain about the companies and the games, then roll over like a wet noodle when the new game they've been waiting for comes out. It would be horrible if they actually had to stick to their guns and sacrifice something (the opportunity to play the next big thing) for the sake of principles, after all.

[Paradigm]

One person doesn't matter much, but ten thousand or a hundred thousand do.

Exactly.

When millions of people are buying these games and EA are making shit tons of money, one (or ten) people on the internet 'boycotting' them isn't going to make a blind bit of difference. And you saying "well if there was a hundred thousand of us..." is entirely pointless, because there isn't and there isn't going to be. The only person you're hurting is yourself. If you don't like their games, that's fine, don't buy them. But if you let a publisher put you off buying a game you want, that's just moronic.

[Moniker]

I wouldn't argue that boycotting is moronic, just ineffective in regards to gaming. Different people have different breaking points when it comes to getting pissed off by publisher BS, and when it gets bad enough, enough consumers will vote "no" with their wallets. Look, eg, at the Guitar Hero franchise. I didn't buy LA Noire because of those reports of lousy work conditions (which may be naive) but I think a lot of people felt that way, and either due to that or the press, Team Bondi is no more.

In other words, an organized boycott is unnecessary. When push comes to shove, people value their money too much to throw it at crap products. Of course there are fads and whatever else that push people to buy the next big thing, but in the long run, rationality tends to win out. If EA put out shit games with shit purchasing models, they wouldn't last long. Problem is, they generally put out good games with shit purchasing models. And to most people, it nets out to the positive. But they'll only go so far if their practices continue the way they're going. At which point they'll pull back just enough to keep people buying. If they were dumping chemicals in drinking water, or supplying weapons to African civil wars that'd be one thing, but the way it is each consumer has to decide for themselves whether they're being exploited. This is why boycotts don't really work in this industry.

[tinotormed]

For this reason either, I started avoiding products made out of "EA". I did also told my friends and my cousin to get along with me either, because the games they make nowadays are G-A-R-B-A-G-E.

Plus, I cannot believe they would ruin most of my favorite RTS franchises (Command and Conquer & Dungeon Keeper, to say the least) which were the best.

In particular, I like DK1 + DD more than DK2, plus I disliked CNC 4.

[nem]

I didn't buy LA Noire because of those reports of lousy work conditions (which may be naive) but I think a lot of people felt that way, and either due to that or the press, Team Bondi is no more.

I'm sure all those mistreated employees are super happy that they don't have to work there anymore. Because, you know, they couldn't have left their jobs any other way. But I digress.

Do you really think that Take Two will equate LA Noire underperforming with lousy work conditions in any way and not, I don't know, the setting or the gameplay not appealing to consumers? I can totally see some exec going "action adventure game set in the 1940's? Tried it, doesn't sell".

[MadScientist]

Reasons to boycott EA;

Supporting a bill that will censor the internet

http://www.pixelperfectmag.com/2011/11/ ... ernet.html

Spyware masquerading as a digital distribution platform;

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/ ... acy?page=1

Blocking people from playing their own games because their username showed up on the EA forums in a post where someone else was swearing;

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/topic/28 ... s-swearing

Online passes found in new copies of games expire;

http://www.shacknews.com/article/71376/ ... ers-report

Many 360 owners have reported that their accounts have been hacked and FIFA 12 seems to be involved somehow. EA denies there's a problem.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011 ... dening.ars

Attacking used game sales and shutting down development teams, while boasting how they're spending ~$100 mill on promoting Battlefield 3;

http://bf3blog.com/2011/04/battlefield- ... -campaign/

Do I need to keep going, or should that at least be enough to prevent people who boycott EA being called 'morons'?

[Blackbird]

Nice one, MadSci. Got any dirt on Activision you'd like to share =D?

We could start with Kotick's widely quoted opinion that "games are best developed in an atmosphere of fear and skepticism".

[BrianC]

EA jumped the shark when they stopped calling themselves Electronic Arts.

Dropping the EOA logo was a more of a disappointment. I miss that logo.

[shmuppyLove]

Dropping the EOA logo was a more of a disappointment. I miss that logo.

You mean this one?

[gameoverDude]

Battlefield 3? Pah. I'll play MW3 instead. Crysis 2 was the last EA game I bought, and it could very well be the last I will buy. Fuck Origin.
Why not Steamworks? EA can suck a bowlful of stinky congealed sludge.

Check this shit out. Apparently Origin is spyware- "Steuer" is German for tax.
Still think EA's Origin is harmless?

Someone get EA to release Soukyugurentai on XBLA, I'm sure they still own the license.

That and other Raizing titles (Battle Garegga, Kingdom Grandprix). This would be good penance for the multitude of sins they've done lately.