EA responds to impending 'Worst Company in America' win

[Baasha]

EA buys all the companies which have potential for growth to there size.
Then they kill that division off.

Its been there model to assimilate all the other companies so only they remain.

The sad thing is when they assimilate a good company and destroy it and completely butcher a title.

A lot of people are just peeved at this notion.

I agree. This goes against the very notion of "disruptive technology" or innovation - in this case games that can really alter the landscape. If a company doesn't allow that "division" to flourish on their own terms, they are bound for failure. EA is too large a corporation to be nimble - it should really be a shell company that has several subdivisions that focus on their own IPs.

Running an agile, versatile, and innovative business like a factory is a mismatch of gargantuan proportions. Many a company have fallen victim to this tragedy.

DICE, miraculously, seems to be doing alright for now.

I also don't get the massive hatred towards Origin - it works fine and doesn't interrupt gameplay. What gives?

Plus, many gamers are whiny little bitches.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I agree. This goes against the very notion of "disruptive technology" or innovation - in this case games that can really alter the landscape. If a company doesn't allow that "division" to flourish on their own terms, they are bound for failure. EA is too large a corporation to be nimble - it should really be a shell company that has several subdivisions that focus on their own IPs.

Running an agile, versatile, and innovative business like a factory is a mismatch of gargantuan proportions. Many a company have fallen victim to this tragedy.

DICE, miraculously, seems to be doing alright for now.

I also don't get the massive hatred towards Origin - it works fine and doesn't interrupt gameplay. What gives?

Plus, many gamers are whiny little bitches.

1) Dice released a game that was good. They are ok now but if the next game is a $60 map pack with new paint...I think things will be very different. Especially when they would now be competing almost directly with Bungie's Destiny which will probably take away many potential players.

2) Origin collects information about you without your direct consent. You have to agree to their terms to play the game but their terms include snooping inside your PC and sending that info back to EA. It's not really known what they are looking for. Probably trying to target ads and stuff by looking at the games you have installed and the type of system you are running etc.

 

[Lonyo]

Um, they changed that about 5 minutes after people complained, back in August 2011...
http://www.gamespot.com/news/ea-changes-origin-eula-6331203

 

[cmdrdredd]

Um, they changed that about 5 minutes after people complained, back in August 2011...
http://www.gamespot.com/news/ea-changes-origin-eula-6331203

They can pledge what they want...who really knows what they actually do. They say they won't "sell personal information" or "install spyware" but if Origin is spyware and they simply give the stuff away to their partners, they didn't violate what they said did they?

 

[blastingcap]

I agree. This goes against the very notion of "disruptive technology" or innovation - in this case games that can really alter the landscape. If a company doesn't allow that "division" to flourish on their own terms, they are bound for failure. EA is too large a corporation to be nimble - it should really be a shell company that has several subdivisions that focus on their own IPs.

Running an agile, versatile, and innovative business like a factory is a mismatch of gargantuan proportions. Many a company have fallen victim to this tragedy.

DICE, miraculously, seems to be doing alright for now.

I also don't get the massive hatred towards Origin - it works fine and doesn't interrupt gameplay. What gives?

Plus, many gamers are whiny little bitches.

Origin sucks in my limited experience. I had to go around it just to get my DA:O DLC to work. I mean wtf, EA? Also it hurts the game resale market for obvious reasons. Same with Steam, except Steam actually works.

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

There is a viewpoint of "gay people exist and are normal people like everyone else" and the other which is "my religion says gays are bad and <insert god here> hates them! now let's all hate them together!" People who have a problem that gay people exist might as well have a problem with gravity and the earth being round. It exists, deal with it.

The idea that a company is "the worst in America" because they published a game that some developers added in something they disagree with on some religious / moral grounds, which was not even a part of the game at all, is such a load of shit. Just because some people feel it is okay to infringe upon the rights of others, does not mean I need to grow up and understand that that kind of hate breeding culture has a different viewpoint than me.

They can view it all they want, but they damn sure aren't right.

Typical liberal. Complains of bigotry and one sided views, then makes a bigoted, one sided statement. Anyway this is not "Off Topic" so keep it on topic.

Back to the topic: I agree that there are worse companies than EA and that it shouldn't have gained the top spot again.

 

[Jadow]

I can never forgive them for what they did to the original "Origin" the great game developer behind Wing Commander and Ultima Games.

 

[Pr0d1gy]

Leave politics out of entertainment and I'll be much happier.

I guess you didn't hear about the bill they passed on the Hill that said we could make war propaganda films recently despite the rest of the world agreeing that it wasn't cool after the whole Nazi Germany thing.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Perhaps one of their best defenses would be to say: "Hey! At least we're not a bank or a mortgage company or a health insurance company."

 

[JTsyo]

Anything EA tries to do make up for lost ground will be fumbled and do more harm than good. I get the feeling that the EA execs are businessmen and not in touch with the gaming industry. They should just give the developers as much free reign as they can.

 

[splat_ed]

Anything EA tries to do make up for lost ground will be fumbled and do more harm than good. I get the feeling that the EA execs are businessmen and not in touch with the gaming industry. They should just give the developers as much free reign as they can.

Not always the best solution though. Look at Duke Nukem Forever... The developer kept changing engines and designs wasting time and money.
Someone with a good idea of the numbers/money needs to have some oversight otherwise the company will just go bankrupt. It's a balancing act between money and freedom.

 

[AdamantC]

This.

Also, Activision is guilty as well; look at what happened to Blizzard after the merger of alleged equals (but it wasn't equal--the resulting CEO was from Activision). Not to mention the whole CoD fiasco with Infinity Ward.

I definitely agree Blizzactardvison is just is bad as EA, albeit with a smaller body count.

Basically EA is Jason Voorhees, while Blizzatardvison is Norman Bates with CoD being his mother.

 

[Red Storm]

People hate Origin because it's EA, it's also the same reason why a lot of people love Steam. I feel pretty sure that if Valve didn't launch Steam, we'd be buying our PC games for $60 at retail stores displaying nothing more than a single shelf worth of games.

 

[you2]

Well a couple of points here; if there was no online distrubtion I think stores would carry more pc games. yea sales are down a little; but it is internet distribution that really killed it for stores. If Sony and MS distribute most of their games via internet for xbox-3 and PS4; you can bet stores are not going to carry very many of their games.
-
Just before steam became a 'big thing' I remember buying most of my pc games from gogamer and bestbuy for $15-$20 (yea that is best buy) a few months after release; which is hardly the $60 you mentioned.

People hate Origin because it's EA, it's also the same reason why a lot of people love Steam. I feel pretty sure that if Valve didn't launch Steam, we'd be buying our PC games for $60 at retail stores displaying nothing more than a single shelf worth of games.

 

[Phokus]

Oh hey, they won the title again, 'congrats' EA! http://consumerist.com/2013/04/09/e...-history-wins-title-for-second-year-in-a-row/

 

[Soundmanred]

Oh hey, they won the title again, 'congrats' EA! http://consumerist.com/2013/04/09/e...-history-wins-title-for-second-year-in-a-row/

That's what this thread is about...

 

[Clinkster]

That's what this thread is about...

Well if you read closely, it's actually about how EA is about to win since this is the internet, and EA was in the (semi?)finals at the time of OP's submission.

The polls just closed today and EA won so...that is news in this thread.

 

[Anonemous]

http://www.dorkly.com/article/51363/eas-reponse-to-being-named-the-worst-company-in-america

 

[Jodell88]

http://www.dorkly.com/article/51363/eas-reponse-to-being-named-the-worst-company-in-america

 

[Soundmanred]

http://www.dorkly.com/article/51363/eas-reponse-to-being-named-the-worst-company-in-america

I hope nobody believes this is real.

 

[shortylickens]

People hate Origin because it's EA, it's also the same reason why a lot of people love Steam. I feel pretty sure that if Valve didn't launch Steam, we'd be buying our PC games for $60 at retail stores displaying nothing more than a single shelf worth of games.

Nope, Amazon or CD universe for me.

Of course, Amazon also has downloads now, which was probably encouraged by Steam.

And GOG.

But anyways, for me it would be a big "no". I stopped paying 60 bucks for retail long before Steam even existed. I just go without.

 

[PrincessFrosty]

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/04/05/ea-comments-on-worst-company-in-america-poll


”Many continue to claim the Always-On function in SimCity is a DRM scheme. It’s not. People still want to argue about it. We can’t be any clearer – it’s not. Period.”

See this is why they are hated so much by gamers, especially the non-casual crowd.

Everyone KNOWS that the online only component of SimCity is basically just DRM, it's a way to try and protect their content by forcing unnecessary features online.

Yet their PR turns around and vets statements where they outright deny it, so not only are they treating customers like total shit, but they also make the assumption that we're dumb enough to just roll over and accept their assertions that it's not DRM.

It's just a next level of arrogance that's slowly influenced my purchasing decisions from simply ignroing their games to an actual deep hatred of them which influences my future purchasing decisions before they've even released products. Even if they made the perfect game now my attitude would be "go fuck yourself".

 

[smackababy]

See this is why they are hated so much by gamers, especially the non-casual crowd.

Everyone KNOWS that the online only component of SimCity is basically just DRM, it's a way to try and protect their content by forcing unnecessary features online.

Yet their PR turns around and vets statements where they outright deny it, so not only are they treating customers like total shit, but they also make the assumption that we're dumb enough to just roll over and accept their assertions that it's not DRM.

It's just a next level of arrogance that's slowly influenced my purchasing decisions from simply ignroing their games to an actual deep hatred of them which influences my future purchasing decisions before they've even released products. Even if they made the perfect game now my attitude would be "go fuck yourself".

The thing is, I actually believe the developers of SimCity wanted the online to be an integral feature of the game. They just didn't have the resources / time to actually flesh that part out. Forcing you to interact with other cities online for import / export and tourism would be a great part of the 'simulation.' However, what ended up being released was not what I think the developers envisioned when they added that feature.

 

[Jodell88]

The thing is, I actually believe the developers of SimCity wanted the online to be an integral feature of the game. They just didn't have the resources / time to actually flesh that part out. Forcing you to interact with other cities online for import / export and tourism would be a great part of the 'simulation.' However, what ended up being released was not what I think the developers envisioned when they added that feature.

If that's the truth then EA released another half baked game. That's another thing PC gamers don't like.

 

[smackababy]

If that's the truth then EA released another half baked game. That's another thing PC gamers don't like.

Then it just boils down to how much money EA is willing to go overbudget on for this project. Release on time, within budget and a fairly finished product that can be updated and maintained for a fraction of the development cost OR delay and pay continue paying everyone to finish something the developers want but couldn't do in the time estimated. From a business standpoint, EA makes the right decision.