Why people hate EA

[thedarkrider]

It wasn't much of a surprise when Electronic Arts was recently voted the Worst Company in America by readers of Consumerist for the second year in a row. Though the game publisher's sins are arguably less substantial than those of their competition, nerds have soundly declared that borked SimCity servers are officially worse than the predatory housing loan tactics responsible for the current financial crisis.

Regardless of whether you agree with EA's win, it's obvious that gamers really dislike this software giant. Let's take a look at the reasons why.

 

http://www.destructoid.com/why-people-hate-electronic-arts-251899.phtml

[Heaven Angel]

meh.

 

What a biased and stupid article.

 

Only thing that made EA bad was: Simcity.

 

That online DRM made people go mad, nothing else.

Origin is pretty good these days.

 

EA games are good as well. -> Sims/BF/NFS/FIFA+++.. Not to say, they announced f**king ME and Star Wars as well.

(EA games are best-selling video games - PC.)

 

DLC, get over it! Every company has DLCs now. Look at Gearbox! They released $200 worth DLCs just for Borderlands 2.

Used games-They got rid of online pass.

Non-Existent Customer Service - It's pretty much same everywhere. At least they talk to you live/online unlike other companies where you send e-mail and wait for days.

 

If you're going to talk about firing people, you should first check up with Blizzard/Activision/Ubisoft studio.

 

You can put any company there! Activision/Ubisoft/Gearbox/SEGA..etc, list goes on.

[Nemo]

^^

 

Truer words were never spoken. Respect.

Hate for EA is fine, but it is in no way justifiable to exclusively hate EA. All gaming companies do what EA are doing, and unlike others' EA's games are atlest good enough.

 

The voting for 'worst company' is perfect example of the ridiculous delusion of self entitlement gamers are cultivating now a days. I mean when you look at the kind of names in that grid, the AT&T, BoA, Walmart and compare their list of follies to that of EA, you can see how detached from reality the general gaming community is.

 

....

[ALPHA17]

Non-Existent Customer Service - It's pretty much same everywhere. At least they talk to you live/online unlike other companies where you send e-mail and wait for days.

 

You are so wrong on this one, I have had the most wonderful experience with the guys over at GoG.com. Respect for those guys. It wasn't live but the service was excellent and my problem was resolved by the same guy assisting me through out.

 

No escalation to seniors, no idea of I am clueless about what is going on.

 

I don't love or hate any game publisher / developer, okay I do have a yellow streak of respect for CD PROJEKT RED but then again, they completely earned my good will. Same goes for relic, Creative Assembly, Tripwire and a couple other peeps.

 

Why I dislike UBISOFT and EA,

• Treat us like dirt, they have mentioned it in several press-releases that they think the gaming community as a whole is too 'dumb' to MOD their software. This causes affront.
• Business is business, so treat it like so, innovation is not, the community is not a cash cow. Tripwire, Valve and a couple other devs / publishers (who I have missed) have repeatedly proven that MOD's make a game really, really lucrative.
• Everything is DLC. Okay, I have seen difficulty being packaged as DLC, stupid skins and weapon packs to round it off but maps, the normal building block of a game, to put that as DLC and then segregate between those who pre-order and those who don't. I don't see that.
• We want to compete with an established system of distribution and we want to control everything, strait-jacket those prices. Avoid sales and no you cannot get our codes from anywhere else. Oh! And if you are from a certain country forget about any alternates, save our online system or a distributor who has business ethics that we would like to inculcate.
• We want to widen our player base, by loosing the original fans. For all the hate TF 2 garners for its HATs and parallel economy, people still play it, new and old.

I think best to leave it at this because I don't want to be labelled as a blind guy who hates major publishers.

 

Suffice to say, I have weaned myself off EA franchises, couple of others going is not such a hard loss.

[Shadoken]

I'll leave this here

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EA#Criticism

 

The hate for EA isnt something new ,not just because of DLC or DRM... They have been criticized ever since the 90s for a LOT of scumbag moves no other company at the time were doing.

 

If anything i remember back in 2006-08 EA was getting a lot of praise for how well they were treating devs when games like Mass effect ,DS1,DA origins came out. Now its all gone back to how it was. They never really try to take big risks with new IPs in different genres or anything.

 

 

The voting for 'worst company' is perfect example of the ridiculous delusion of self entitlement gamers are cultivating now a days. I mean when you look at the kind of names in that grid, the AT&T, BoA, Walmart and compare their list of follies to that of EA, you can see how detached from reality the general gaming community is.

 

 

And yes voting EA as worst company in america is the most retarded thing ever , but its mainly because most of the internet audience are young gamers. They arent really affected by BofA ..or w/e. People who have a job,family...etc dont really make up the majority of the internet. Or spend enough time on it as others.

[Shadoken]

You can put any company there! Activision/Ubisoft/Gearbox/SEGA..etc, list goes on.

 

Activision - maybe , I cant judge them ,all they release is COD and the COD ppl seem pretty happy.

Ubisoft - noway , these guys make new Ips...and take risks... Yes they do also milk a lot , but its just one franchise.

Gearbox - These guys are just small time devs. I believe publisher was 2k for borderlands?

Sega - ROFL ... Id like to know the reasoning behind this , the guys who saved Relic , funded Platinum Games... put out so much free DLC is now evil??

 

And Id like to know how you ll throw in companies like Nintendo or Sony in there. Which basically makes all the gaming giants out there.

[Heaven Angel]

 

You are so wrong on this one, I have had the most wonderful experience with the guys over at GoG.com. Respect for those guys. It wasn't live but the service was excellent and my problem was resolved by the same guy assisting me through out.

 

No escalation to seniors, no idea of I am clueless about what is going on.

 

I don't love or hate any game publisher / developer, okay I do have a yellow streak of respect for CD PROJEKT RED but then again, they completely earned my good will. Same goes for relic, Creative Assembly, Tripwire and a couple other peeps.

 

Why I dislike UBISOFT and EA,

• Treat us like dirt, they have mentioned it in several press-releases that they think the gaming community as a whole is too 'dumb' to MOD their software. This causes affront.
• Business is business, so treat it like so, innovation is not, the community is not a cash cow. Tripwire, Valve and a couple other devs / publishers (who I have missed) have repeatedly proven that MOD's make a game really, really lucrative.
• Everything is DLC. Okay, I have seen difficulty being packaged as DLC, stupid skins and weapon packs to round it off but maps, the normal building block of a game, to put that as DLC and then segregate between those who pre-order and those who don't. I don't see that.
• We want to compete with an established system of distribution and we want to control everything, strait-jacket those prices. Avoid sales and no you cannot get our codes from anywhere else. Oh! And if you are from a certain country forget about any alternates, save our online system or a distributor who has business ethics that we would like to inculcate.
• We want to widen our player base, by loosing the original fans. For all the hate TF 2 garners for its HATs and parallel economy, people still play it, new and old.

I think best to leave it at this because I don't want to be labelled as a blind guy who hates major publishers.

 

Suffice to say, I have weaned myself off EA franchises, couple of others going is not such a hard loss.

 

GOG is not a publisher. It's DRM free store owned by subsidiary of CDPR. In that case, even Steam/Amazon/GMG provides excellent support.

 

We are talking about BIG publisher support like Ubisoft/Activision/Blizzard who don't even reply you.

 

I sent mail to Ubisoft regarding Far Cry 3 online not working and there is no reply till now. I can't even play online still.

 

Diablo 3 issue, DUDE! Let's not talk about Blizzard support. Activision, nothing to talk about it.

 

When compared to those BIG publishers, EA is miles better in everything.

 

 

Everything is DLC. Okay, I have seen difficulty being packaged as DLC, stupid skins and weapon packs to round it off but maps, the normal building block of a game, to put that as DLC and then segregate between those who pre-order and those who don't. I don't see that.

 

I agree DLCs for such stuff is bad. But, they are not alone. Even Activison/SEGA/Gearbox is selling skins, HEADS, guns, perks, commanders, etc for $1-5. How are they not evil?

 

Heck, Deep Silver selling "RANGER MODE" for $4.99.

 

When Half-Life 3 comes out, even Vavle will put up DLCs. Why? Because it's good for business and sells well.

[Shadoken]

Another EA gem.

 

ESPN NFL 2K5 was the first in the 2K series priced at $19.99 the day it shipped, much lower than market leader Madden NFL at $49.99. This greatly reduced Madden sales that year; one EA Sports developer recalled that "t scared the hell out of us".^[10] EA reduced Madden NFL 2005's price to $29.95. In December 2004 EA Sports acquired an exclusive rights agreement with the NFL and NFLPA to be the sole creator of NFL video games.^[11]

 

 

Oh sh*t whats that we are having some competition?? Quick lets buyout the NFL license so we can go back to milking customers.

 

So when PES starts outselling Fifa... FLASH NEWS "EA buys exclusive rights to publish Football games."

[spindoctor]

 

 

 

We are talking about BIG publisher support like Ubisoft/Activision/Blizzard who don't even reply you.

 

I sent mail to Ubisoft regarding Far Cry 3 online not working and there is no reply till now. I can't even play online still.

 

Diablo 3 issue, DUDE! Let's not talk about Blizzard support. Activision, nothing to talk about it.

 

When compared to those BIG publishers, EA is miles better in everything.

 

It's ironic that the person advocating against irrationally hating one publisher does exactly that for others. Blizzard support is miles better than EA will ever be. Just because you get to talk to someone online with EA, it doesn't mean that their support is good.

 

 

Epic customer support right there eh.

[Heaven Angel]

 

 

Activision - maybe , I cant judge them ,all they release is COD and the COD ppl seem pretty happy.

Ubisoft - noway , these guys make new Ips...and take risks... Yes they do also milk a lot , but its just one franchise.

Gearbox - These guys are just small time devs. I believe publisher was 2k for borderlands?

Sega - ROFL ... Id like to know the reasoning behind this , the guys who saved Relic , funded Platinum Games... put out so much free DLC is now evil??

 

And Id like to know how you ll throw in companies like Nintendo or Sony in there. Which basically makes all the gaming giants out there.

 

 

Activision- Only COD? DUDE!

 

Recently:

 

Deadpool

Fast & Furious 6

The Walking Dead

etc.

 

Please check those games.

 

Not to say, they are charging $60+60 for every CoD every year, $60 for every game, EVEN retail.

 

_

 

Ubisoft - Fired the guy who made AC..Yet not evil.

Forces Online DRM when AC2 came out, yet not evil.

Retail keys are UPLAY, forcing you to use their software. Yet not evil.

 

Yeah dude.

 

__

 

Yes, sorry there, It's 2K. Who sells sells everything via DLC. $200 worth DLC just for Borderlands. and yet not evil.

 

__

 

If people are going to mock at EA for DLC,then SEGA is not far behind.

 

 

These day DAY 1 DLC.

 

 

How is EA evil and these guys are good?

 

 

EA

 

Origin - bad start, but now it's growing better.

DLCs - again, get over it.

Premium - It's same as DLC package. $15x4 times or $50 one time. Plus this is once in 2 years when Battlefield comes. Not every year like CoD.

Game support - bad but not bad like Ubisoft/Activison/Blizzard.

Origin support - dumb, but they try to help you online.

Firing people, please! It's business and and they'll fire people. Check Ubisoft (fired the guy who made AC, doesn't pay him either) /Activison (almost entire infinity ward. Those guys made CoD)..

 

At the end, EA > Ubisoft/Activision/Blizzard.

 

(Don't say I'm biased. I have all CoD, Uubisoft and Blizzard games.)

[The Wolfy among us]

Hilarious! time and again i got a suspicion that Mohd is a bot.

[Shadoken]

@joe cool

 

Like I said , I dont have much problems with DLC or Franchise milking . Give the fans what they want. But they rarely come out with new IPs or take risks. And the buying out the competition is just the biggest scumbag move I have ever seen the industry. I cant see anyone defending that.

 

 

Not to say, they are charging $60+60 for every CoD every year, $60 for every game, EVEN retail.

 

Yes but for that 1 yearly franchise Activision has... EA has 4-5 games they put out yearly.

 

 

If people are going to mock at EA for DLC,then SEGA is not far behind.

You can buy them all together for much cheaper instead of individually paying and getting them. Again not saying EA doesnt have this , but WTH its not 90$ for all the DLC lol.

 

 

 

Epic customer support right there eh.

 

 

GODDAMN LOL. I remember there was thread on neogaf about this. one dude replied with "asdasbdiasdb" .... hilarious stuff.

[ALPHA17]

 

I agree DLCs for such stuff is bad. But, they are not alone. Even Activison/SEGA/Gearbox is selling skins, HEADS, guns, perks, commanders, etc for $1-5. How are they not evil?

 

Heck, Deep Silver selling "RANGER MODE" for $4.99.

 

Everything is DLC. Okay, I have seen difficulty being packaged as DLC, stupid skins and weapon packs to round it off but maps, the normal building block of a game, to put that as DLC and then segregate between those who pre-order and those who don't. I don't see that.

 

I said what you said, either you did not read my post or could not comprehend it.

 

Also, no one forces you to buy DLC, save EA and ACTIVISION, want to play on that map, cough up, play on it early if you pre-order. Cough up if you want this balance destroying weapon, cough up if you want to try new game modes.

 

If people are going to mock at EA for DLC,then SEGA is not far behind.

 

 

You don't have to buy any of these commanders and skins and they don't affect the game in any way save cosmetics. Everyone who bought the game has access to multi-player, the base commanders, skin sets (by levelling up) and so on.

 

No balance destroying and no you are not kicked off a map in-case you did not pre-order or get the PREMIUM edition of the game. Also, the DLC commanders are nothing great, I have four of them and they really are not game changers, as long as you play well you shall pull through.

 

Also, this is not SEGA, this is relic, they did the same with DoW: Retribution seems you missed that.

EA

 

Origin - bad start, but now it's growing better.

DLCs - again, get over it.

 

Bad start, they are dead in the water, they want to compete with STEAM but think they have all the time in the world to get to its level of accessibility.

 

DLC's, already over them, will get the ones I need, cosmetic packs can wait.

Premium - It's same as DLC package. $15x4 times or $50 one time. Plus this is once in 2 years when Battlefield comes. Not every year like CoD.

 

Early access, Premium servers, MAP access and so on is not. It causes a rift and penalises the folks who held out or did not go 'premium'.

Game support - bad but not bad like Ubisoft/Activison/Blizzard.

Origin support - dumb, but they try to help you online.

 

You really need to hear this conversation for teh Lulz itself, I am banned @Soundcloud.

Firing people, please! It's business and and they'll fire people. Check Ubisoft (fired the guy who made AC, doesn't pay him either) /Activison (almost entire infinity ward. Those guys made CoD)..

 

At the end, EA > Ubisoft/Activision/Blizzard.

 

Do I have to remind you the number of studios EA has destroyed or dissolved, lets start (high profile ones that I recall)

• Westwood
• BIOWARE
• Danger Close (recent)
• A list of companies 'killed' by EA @Wiki

At the end EA is just as deep in this as UBISOFT, ACTIVISION-Blizzard (they are joint now). As you said

Firing people, please! It's business and and they'll fire people.

[kemosabe]

Most of the points mentioned in the article are generic, almost every major game developer/publisher use these business practices. But EA take the major hits,, because they are the LARGEST, they released more number of games in compare their competitors. So in the whole pie EA cover the major share . I contacted both EA and Ubisoft customer care (raised tickets and chat) and got support immediately, I may be lucky till today in that regards. Few of the reasons specific to EA for hating will be - game server support - EA used to cut off lots of popular game servers after few years - they never do any fan servicing by keeping their servers up for last few hardcore fans who want to still play those games. examples - gamespot articles. While old games like Company of Heroes (2006 released) still supporting the servers (even the publisher THQ shutdown)- source

 

I think the main problem with EA is they are too big and a public company. Their business decisions are taken based on shareholders and stock market interests only. But companies like Valve,CD Projekt Red are private companies with limited number of games and services. I am sure Valve and CDPR make good money but at the same time, they know how to do fan servicing which companies like EA and Ubisoft need to learn. EA and Ubisoft really need to work on their PR department, very often their top executive make public statement which create more problem and confusion with gamers. If Valve does not become what it is now, EA might get less heat and criticism as people always like to compare. No matter what EA or Ubisoft do, they have to meet standards set by Valve or CDPR like competitors.

[spindoctor]

EA

 

Origin - bad start, but now it's growing better.

DLCs - again, get over it.

Premium - It's same as DLC package. $15x4 times or $50 one time. Plus this is once in 2 years when Battlefield comes. Not every year like CoD.

Game support - bad but not bad like Ubisoft/Activison/Blizzard.

Origin support - dumb, but they try to help you online.

Firing people, please! It's business and and they'll fire people. Check Ubisoft (fired the guy who made AC, doesn't pay him either) /Activison (almost entire infinity ward. Those guys made CoD)..

 

At the end, EA > Ubisoft/Activision/Blizzard.

 

 

 

The cognitive dissonance in this post is astounding.

 

Complaining about Uplay keys but ignoring that EA does the same for Origin.

Complaining about Sega's DLC but for EA we should 'get over it'

Complaining about AC2 being always online and conveniently ignoring Simcity.

Complaining about Call of Duty $60+$60 model but for Battlefield it's okay.

Complaining that Ubi fired Desilets without acknowledging that EA has been murdering studios forever.

And when you finally get cornered on the bullshit claim of EA having terrible customer support, "it's not as bad as everyone else because reasons".

[The Wolfy among us]

Killed it!

[Heaven Angel]

Yes but for that 1 yearly franchise Activision has... EA has 4-5 games they put out yearly.

 

 

Even EA has only on year ly franchise with premium membership. That's Battlefield.

 

If you are going to say, FIFA/NFS/etc..They don't have premium.

 

If you are going to say, EA put 4-5+ games yearly, Activision does it as well.

 

4 games already out by Activision so far this year and all 4 are turd.

 

Ice Age 4, Deadpool, Walking Dead, Fast & Furious.

 

 

you can buy them all together for much cheaper instead of individually paying and getting them. Again not saying EA doesnt have this , but WTH its not 90$ for all the DLC lol.

 

 

Those skins are useless and they are asking $40 (deluxe upgrade).

 

Plus, price is different in EU and east side of the world.

 

 

 

_

 

Deep Silver selling difficultly mode for $4.99

(people going mad on forums)

 

Hitman: Absolution - makes stealth games, sell weapons as DLC.

 

Tomb Raider - makes adventure game, sells perks, weapons and shits as DLC. (get game for less than $10 but pay $40 for DLCs)

 

Borderlands 1/2 - makes 1st person games, sells body skins, heads which player cannot see itself. ($US: $128.66 to AU: $201.02 USD)

 

list goes on mate!

 

Let's pick Ubisoft's ROCKSMITH game! Selling each song for $2.99, that's more than iTunes music price.

 

Game - Rocksmith - $29.99

 

DLC - US: $659.30 - AU $774.80 USD

 

 

 

 

What's the point of making the game without any songs and then sell each song as DLC?

 

If this is not evil, then I cannot say anything.

[Ne0]

 

The cognitive dissonance in this post is astounding.

 

Complaining about Uplay keys but ignoring that EA does the same for Origin.

Complaining about Sega's DLC but for EA we should 'get over it'

Complaining about AC2 being always online and conveniently ignoring Simcity.

Complaining about Call of Duty $60+$60 model but for Battlefield it's okay.

Complaining that Ubi fired Desilets without acknowledging that EA has been murdering studios forever.

And when you finally get cornered on the bullshit claim of EA having terrible customer support, "it's not as bad as everyone else because reasons".

 

nail on the head !

[Noctis]

Coh 2 skin packs cannot be compared to locking maps or weapons. If and when Sega starts selling new maps as DLCs and lock mods then maybe we can put them together with EA.

 

The other big publishers receive a lot of criticism as well, EA just manages to be the worst of the bunch.

[ThE JuGgErNaUT]

EA games are great, pricing is