DRM at it's finest - EA deactivating Servers

[bullbert]

Dragon Age, NFS: Shift, Battlefield series, Dead Space, Crysis etc. I think I'm gonna go ahead and not join the hate bandwagon, because many of my favorite games are EA titles.

I think your reasoning is backwards. (i.e. I do not consider them to be EA "titles" since EA is only the publisher and not the developer)

a) You SHOULD buy a game, based on a good developer.
** i.e. The developer can "make or break" a title.

b) You should NOT buy a game, based on a bad publisher.
** i.e. The publish cannot "make" a title, but can only "break" a title. (poor funding, poor release schedule, poor DRM, poor support, etc)

The developer is who raises the Quality, and the publisher is who lowers the Quality.

A trade-off happens when your hated publisher is forced upon your favored developer. Do you or don't you buy?

 

[thujone]

i don't view the dragon age DLC's as nickel and diming... it's just a straight rip off. the original price of the game is $50-60 depending on what system you bought it for.

the current dlc's available total up to almost $30. THAT'S HALF OF WHAT YOU PAID FOR THE ORIGINAL GAME FOR **3** EXTRA MISSIONS.


while i agree it's up to the consumer to make their decisions... having a pricing scheme like this in a game where there's already a dev kit available to make user content just seems like it's taking advantage of all the console folks out there.


i'd like to see a user made DLC that comes as close to imitating the EA dlc's as possible.

 

[Sureshot324]

They are most definitely nickel and diming. There are currently 3 DLC packs (not including the recently announced expansion) with more on the way.

Return to Ostagar - $5
The Stone Prisoner - $15
Warden's Keep - $7

http://dragonage.bioware.com/addon/

And if you want a hat for you xbox 360 avatar you can get one for only 80ms points! ($1.00 US) lol
http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/offers/011f0003-0000-4000-8000-0000454108c0

Seriously, you can't possibly look at that addons page and tell me they aren't attempting to nickel and dime people..

So? They are a business and are trying to make money. Nothing wrong with that. Dragon Age had more than enough content out of the box to justify the price. Why is it that people think they are entitled to ALL of the content bioware has made by release date?

 

[Via]

Baldur's Gate is probably my all time favorite game.

There's enought content in BG to last for months. Hell - Over Christmas I loaded up and played an old save after everyone else had crashed. I played for at least 7-8 hours and didn't even advance the main plot. That save was from one of the Cloakwood tiles and my party was loaded up with loot, so I worked my way out of the woods (I had forgotten how hard that is) and back to Beregost to check out what I hadn't bought from the smith.

Hours later, I'm still at the bottom of the map exporing and tieing up loose ends. Is that the Sun coming up? Shit.

Now that's a ton of content.


BUT -

Would even my first game of BG have been as enjoyable if I KNEW that Bioware was holding back some content and charging extra for it?

There's no way it would have been. What if they had advertised the encounter with what's-his-face (the drow) as DLC, so you could get the defender +5? I was barely able to scrape enough $ to buy BG; it really would have bugged the hell out of me to know I didn't have access to everything.

This has nothing to do with "now vs. then". This is only to answer those who say DA has enough content on it's own and to just ignore the DLC if you don't want to pay for it.

There's no way it's not going to affect your enjoyment of the original game. And I hate that direction for games. If this is successful all games will start employing some form of DLC eventually.

 

[pathos]

You know, I preordered the regular version of DA:O, knowing there was going to be downloadable content. I bought none of it, only installing the 1 or 2 items I got for free with the preorder.

I thoroughly enjoyed the game, and thought it was well worth the money I paid for it. And I was not once tempted to pay for the extra content. Nor did I really begrudge them the fact that they had downloadable content.

Is this type of thinking really that weird? From what I've read here, It must be. As long as the original product stands up by itself as a finished project, I don't mind bioware and EA's attempt at making more money off a popular game. Sure, it would have been nice if it was released with the original game, but it wasn't, so I wont see it.

Will I buy the expansion pack they've announced? Perhaps. Price point seems a bit steep for listed playtime. I guess we'll just see.

I suppose it's not all roses though. I said I didn't really mind the extra paid content, but I do know how this stuff works. If this type of downloadable content does well enough, then things will only get worse. How long till you only get half a game to start, and have to pay more to actually finish the game?

Oh yeah, thats right, valve already did that with episodic content (although, to be fair, the price point for each episode is much lower than a full game's price).

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

You know, I preordered the regular version of DA:O, knowing there was going to be downloadable content. I bought none of it, only installing the 1 or 2 items I got for free with the preorder.

I thoroughly enjoyed the game, and thought it was well worth the money I paid for it. And I was not once tempted to pay for the extra content. Nor did I really begrudge them the fact that they had downloadable content.

Is this type of thinking really that weird? From what I've read here, It must be. As long as the original product stands up by itself as a finished project, I don't mind bioware and EA's attempt at making more money off a popular game. Sure, it would have been nice if it was released with the original game, but it wasn't, so I wont see it.

Will I buy the expansion pack they've announced? Perhaps. Price point seems a bit steep for listed playtime. I guess we'll just see.

I suppose it's not all roses though. I said I didn't really mind the extra paid content, but I do know how this stuff works. If this type of downloadable content does well enough, then things will only get worse. How long till you only get half a game to start, and have to pay more to actually finish the game?

Oh yeah, thats right, valve already did that with episodic content (although, to be fair, the price point for each episode is much lower than a full game's price).

Valve gets away with that because of the time between releases, the length of the episodes, the lower price point, and the fact that they release regular free content updates for their other games (see Team Fortress 2).

 

[exar333]

EA was not always crap, but there was a management change, probably round about the time you were born.

I think it was a pretty accurate summary. Just because your a$$ doesn't hurt anymore from constantly bending over doesn't mean that it applies to others as well.

A bad publisher is a bad publisher, and EA is no exception. They may release some good games (they sometimes do) but that doesn't change their constant poor treatment of their customers.

FYI - I have probably been gaming longer than you, and EA was and has never been that great. Some old titles were good, as outlined in the thread, but they are more business than creative nowadays. My point was more to summarize the common responses, since these EA threads come up pretty much with every major release they have, or when they make a decision to cut-off customers yet again.

 

[bullbert]

FYI - I have probably been gaming longer than you, and EA was and has never been that great.

I was gaming in the late mid-to-late 1970s, sponging off others' mainframe timeshare time and off others' "PC"s, and in summer of 1980 finally splurged and bought my own Apple ][.

EA "lost their way" about the same time Nike did, but about a decade before Walmart did. Maybe the business schools of the 1970s were teaching the business leaders of the 1980s and 1990s how to screw their [replaceable] customers and their [replaceable] suppliers (developers) for maximum personal gain.

edit: thinking back, I think Walmart went off-mission at around the same time, and not a decade later

 

[thujone]

ok... also... reason #1 i won't buy DLC. the fallout 3 DLC's... that were later all bundled and sold in a GOTY version.


i'll wait.

 

[wanderer27]

Just an update, no need for another thread on this.

More games and Servers added to the deactivation list:

http://www.actiontrip.com/link.phtml?http://www.ea.com/2/service-updates

 

[simonizor]

It sucks that they shut down servers like that, but if you ever buy a game that's published by EA, it usually says something like "Online play may be disabled with 30 day notice." I'm not saying that I support this, but all of those games were outdated sports games that no one plays anymore anyways.

 

[mindcycle]

It sucks that they shut down servers like that, but if you ever buy a game that's published by EA, it usually says something like "Online play may be disabled with 30 day notice." I'm not saying that I support this, but all of those games were outdated sports games that no one plays anymore anyways.

They're discontinuing support for more than just a few outdated sports games.

March 16, 2010 Online Service Shutdown

Def Jam for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Godfather for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Lord of the Rings: Conquest for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames for PC
Need for Speed: Carbon for PlayStation Portable
Need for Speed: ProStreet for PlayStation Portable
Simpsons for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

 

[BladeVenom]

They're discontinuing support for more than just a few outdated sports games.

But they did give 30 days notice.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Pretty sure Diablo 1 is still up and running on b.net... How long ago was that released? Seems less about DRM and more about EA just being a terrible company in general. EAs business model is get money no matter what. If that means shitting on your customers so be it. I'll stick with companies that try to make money by treating their customers right and having their customers return to them for more.

Not to be cynical, (well I guess I am), but would you care to name a few of those "nice" companies in the gaming area? Maybe Stardock and Valve before Steam. Otherwise, EA seems about the norm to me, especially since Bioware sold out to EA.

 

[paperfist]

A bit silly to rant about since most online sports players move on to newer versions to play with the current teams.

This isn't like disabling all online play for a classic FPS like Unreal Tournament '99 or Quake 2.

Did EA disable offline play? No? Then the DRM part of the rant is misguided, you need to rant against "no private servers" instead.

Def Jam for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Godfather for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Lord of the Rings: Conquest for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames for PC
Need for Speed: Carbon for PlayStation Portable
Need for Speed: ProStreet for PlayStation Portable
Simpsons for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat for Xbox
Medal of Honor Pacific Assault™ for PC

Looks like some classics to me being shut down. What's the point of playing some of those games in single player?

If I had any of those games and they were shut down in the future I wouldn't pay more then $10 to 'rent' them.

To me it looks like more of a way to control used game sales. What a devastating blow to companies like Gamestop that is if they are trying to sell year old copies of Madden.

 

[soccerballtux]

Def Jam for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Godfather for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Lord of the Rings: Conquest for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames for PC
Need for Speed: Carbon for PlayStation Portable
Need for Speed: ProStreet for PlayStation Portable
Simpsons for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat for Xbox
Medal of Honor Pacific Assault™ for PC

Looks like some classics to me being shut down. What's the point of playing some of those games in single player?

If I had any of those games and they were shut down in the future I wouldn't pay more then $10 to 'rent' them.

To me it looks like more of a way to control used game sales. What a devastating blow to companies like Gamestop that is if they are trying to sell year old copies of Madden.

I think this will backfire on them. They'll fool the customer once, but if they think they can get away this in this economic climate...heh...people will find other places to spend their money.

 

[SlickSnake]

Just an update, no need for another thread on this.

More games and Servers added to the deactivation list:

http://www.actiontrip.com/link.phtml?http://www.ea.com/2/service-updates

WTF EA !?!?!?! D: :twisted: :|

>>>Lord of the Rings: Conquest for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
>>>Mercenaries 2: World in Flames for PC
>>>Medal of Honor Pacific Assault™ for PC

I just bought LOTR- Conq. and MERC 2 last Friday, and hadn't even received them yet!

Online servers for these games are to be SHUT DOWN on March 16, 2010!

LOTR-Conq was ONLY released for a year and a half!

Merc 2 was ONLY released for a year and a half! EA gobbled up and ate Pandemic that made it, and now they killed the bastard stepchild for desert, too!

Rather than fix the many bugs in this game, like being able to LOG ONLINE TO PLAY IT (see EA's many forum posts about this log in failure), lazy EA instead decided to SHUT IT DOWN!

So, EA is shutting down online support for Merc 2 because supposedly too few players play it, WHEN MANY PLAYERS CAN'T EVEN LOG ON TO PLAY IT IN THE FIRST PLACE! OH, THE IRONY and the corporate shill STUPIDITY!

EA's customer support response times are now either nonexistent or take WEEKS or MONTHS to even get one! And if you happen to actually get help from EA on an online chat, it is a canned response which is usually USELESS for most technical and bug problems!

This is what happens when a company gobbles up other good game companies, fires nearly everyone, then farms their customer service out to clueless tech support in foreign countries for the cheapest wages!

I now wish I had not just bought these games a few days ago. Yes, the games were CHEAP, but that's no excuse. EA needs to recall any nonsupported unsold games from retailers before they are sold to unsuspecting buyers! The order has already shipped, so I will be stuck with DEAD GAMES that EA refuses to debug or support anymore. I only found this out AFTER I bought them while I was researching the games. And this post was the only place I found out about the deactivation link on EA.

EA has fallen into the bottomless black hole of gaming with poor or no customer support, by gobbling up other smaller gaming companies and firing their programming staffs to make a quick buck.

Gamers who pay EA's wages need to take note of how EA is destroying their reputation one failed game at a time, while screwing their customers and the gaming companies they pillage and burn behind them. This is what happens when clueless office suits ignore the paying customers and focus instead on higher profits and bonuses at the expense of the quality of the games they produced.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

 

[wanderer27]

WTF EA !?!?!?! D: :twisted: :|

>>>Lord of the Rings: Conquest for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
>>>Mercenaries 2: World in Flames for PC
>>>Medal of Honor Pacific Assault™ for PC

I just bought LOTR- Conq. and MERC 2 last Friday, and hadn't even received them yet!

Online servers for these games are to be SHUT DOWN on March 16, 2010!

LOTR-Conq was ONLY released for a year and a half!

Merc 2 was ONLY released for a year and a half! EA gobbled up and ate Pandemic that made it, and now they killed the bastard stepchild for desert, too!

Rather than fix the many bugs in this game, like being able to LOG ONLINE TO PLAY IT (see EA's many forum posts about this log in failure), lazy EA instead decided to SHUT IT DOWN!

So, EA is shutting down online support for Merc 2 because supposedly too few players play it, WHEN MANY PLAYERS CAN'T EVEN LOG ON TO PLAY IT IN THE FIRST PLACE! OH, THE IRONY and the corporate shill STUPIDITY!

EA's customer support response times are now either nonexistent or take WEEKS or MONTHS to even get one! And if you happen to actually get help from EA on an online chat, it is a canned response which is usually USELESS for most technical and bug problems!

This is what happens when a company gobbles up other good game companies, fires nearly everyone, then farms their customer service out to clueless tech support in foreign countries for the cheapest wages!

I now wish I had not just bought these games a few days ago. Yes, the games were CHEAP, but that's no excuse. EA needs to recall any nonsupported unsold games from retailers before they are sold to unsuspecting buyers! The order has already shipped, so I will be stuck with DEAD GAMES that EA refuses to debug or support anymore. I only found this out AFTER I bought them while I was researching the games. And this post was the only place I found out about the deactivation link on EA.

EA has fallen into the bottomless black hole of gaming with poor or no customer support, by gobbling up other smaller gaming companies and firing their programming staffs to make a quick buck.

Gamers who pay EA's wages need to take note of how EA is destroying their reputation one failed game at a time, while screwing their customers and the gaming companies they pillage and burn behind them. This is what happens when clueless office suits ignore the paying customers and focus instead on higher profits and bonuses at the expense of the quality of the games they produced.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Pretty much seems that as soon as sales taper off to a trickle, EA want's to kill the game and force you to buy something new.

This is why I won't buy a game requiring online authentication.
Forget used games sales, they don't even want you to be able to play your games a couple years down the road.

But this is all fine with everybody, right ?