EA Sports - Reason for big $$$ loses?

[you2]

Too much money on advertising not enough money on quality.

 

[Golgatha]

Thats just the tip of the iceberg. According to wiki 38 aquisitions over 21 years. Talk about buying out the competition.

Replace Activision with EA and you have the idea...

 

[Renob]

They've been dicking us around.

/agree

 

[Franz316]

It could be that people are waking up to the fact that every year EA makes marginal changes to its sports games and has the audacity to charge $60 for slightly rehashed video game. You would think they would improve the gameplay every year, but NO, sometimes the newer version is actually worse than the previous one. Then they can come up with some clever marketing garbage for the following year saying how much better the new one is.

What they should do is release the games every other year and do roster updates on the non release years.

 

[Kev]

Additionally, their customer service is HORRIFYINGLY TERRIBLE. The absolute worst I've ever experienced. Personal anecdote here:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2232317

Oh and I use to have an online dynasty going with my friends in NCAA football. Until EA shut the servers down for our version of the game. That was the last EA sports title I will ever purchase (since then I've decided to just boycott the company completely).

 

[TJCS]

What EA Sports is doing wrong:
Releasing the same sports games every year with minor graphics and stat updates.

What EA Sports is doing well:
- Releasing the same sports games every year with minor graphics and stat updates.
- POS Origin revamps their product distribution strategy and control over distribution.

 

[Gheris]

I think EA has seen losses due to a few key factors.

1. EA has a poor reputation. A google search can give you all the facts you need.

2. The sports line is literally a small mechanics update and roster changes. That's pretty much it. Not worth a $60 investment year after year.

3. Advertising. EA has established the Madden product and at this point it should pretty much sell on it's own. Yet they pump so much money into advertising you'd think it was a new license or something. Poor money management if you ask me.

 

[Chaotic42]

/this i have a older madden game. a buddy has 2011 besides minor team updates i don't see a difference.

There is no reason to buy the SAME game every year.

Also EA is just releasing shit. they purchased bioware and turned it into a shit company. used to be i would buy games from them 1st day adn they were fine. now? yeah i will wait. if at all.

I bought 2011 because it has Brees on the cover (Who dat?). I might start buying every five years or so. Unless the Saints start to suck. Then I'll skip until they get better.

 

[shurato]

I used to play the 2K series and then EA got the sole license for the NFL and I bought Madden the year it was the only officially licensed NFL game out. Never bought another copy after that. It's the same garbage year after year.

 

[thejunglegod]

Forgive me if i am wrong, but i get the feeling that OP is an EA hired executive out here for damage control after the "worst comapny in America" debacle. Once gain, forgive me if i am wrong, but that is just what i feel. And even if this is true, then i think this is a good gesture from EA cos they are genuinely interested in customer feedback.

Please put in your valuable inputs. For all you know, they might seriously consider them.

 

[Rifter]

Forgive me if i am wrong, but i get the feeling that OP is an EA hired executive out here for damage control after the "worst comapny in America" debacle. Once gain, forgive me if i am wrong, but that is just what i feel. And even if this is true, then i think this is a good gesture from EA cos they are genuinely interested in customer feedback.

Please put in your valuable inputs. For all you know, they might seriously consider them.

If that is the case stop doing this EA


http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/11/14/ea-forum-bans-are-still-affecting-games/

I especially like this one:

"We also heard from Rob. Rob’s encounter with EA’s seemingly arbitrary banning process makes much less sense. His account was suspended for having posted a “commercial”. What he had in fact posted was a link to his non-commercial blog, to a guide to “network troubleshooting”, recently updated for helping gamers get connected to BF3. A link that’s been repeatedly posted to the same forums for a couple of years, and better still, has actually been linked to by EA Support themselves. The link, says Rob, is mentioned on their own corporate support site and FAQ! He too found that the live chat support was absolutely useless, with those replying unable to deviate from a script that endlessly, uselessly loops. This led to his being banned from his gaming account for 72 hours, as well as a permanent “strike” on EA’s “three strikes” system. Something it’s not possible for him to dispute."

Yeah lets steal a guys troubleshooting guide and use it on our own support page website then ban his account for 72hours and give him a permanent strike on his accout for linking to the same guide! Like seriously FUCK EA!



that is what made me stop purchasing any EA games at all, unless they are less than $5 on steam, and have zero DRM(other than steam, obviously).

 

[JonB-School]

They bought Bioware to be used as a badge of quality, only for the latter to completely squander their reputation with a disastrous DA2/ME3 and leaving them with a sinking ship called SW:TOR. Karma? Terrible business acumen? Who knows.

Please explain this. Ray Muzyka & Greg Zeschuk founded bioware and they are still in charge aren't they? Please forgive my ignorance, I don't understand how EA can ruin something when the original people are still at the helm. I'm aware of the Mass Effect 3 ending protests. This quote stuck out in my mind: Muzyka said he was "genuinely surprised" by the negative reactions to the game's ending, calling such responses "incredibly painful." He added he is trying to "accept the criticism and feedback with humility," and said the development team is listening to that feedback while creating new content for the game.

So it sounds like the original all star cast made the blunder.

Not sure what you are talking about with DA2.

 

[JonB-School]

*deleted*

 

[sandorski]

Please explain this. Ray Muzyka & Greg Zeschuk founded bioware and they are still in charge aren't they? Please forgive my ignorance, I don't understand how EA can ruin something when the original people are still at the helm. I'm aware of the Mass Effect 3 ending protests. This quote stuck out in my mind: Muzyka said he was "genuinely surprised" by the negative reactions to the game's ending, calling such responses "incredibly painful." He added he is trying to "accept the criticism and feedback with humility," and said the development team is listening to that feedback while creating new content for the game.

So it sounds like the original all star cast made the blunder.

Not sure what you are talking about with DA2.

Meddling. EA makes demands of them.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Please explain this. Ray Muzyka & Greg Zeschuk founded bioware and they are still in charge aren't they? Please forgive my ignorance, I don't understand how EA can ruin something when the original people are still at the helm. I'm aware of the Mass Effect 3 ending protests. This quote stuck out in my mind: Muzyka said he was "genuinely surprised" by the negative reactions to the game's ending, calling such responses "incredibly painful." He added he is trying to "accept the criticism and feedback with humility," and said the development team is listening to that feedback while creating new content for the game.

So it sounds like the original all star cast made the blunder.

Not sure what you are talking about with DA2.

I could care less who screwed who. The only thing I know is Bioware went into the shitter ever since EA bought them.

As for the ME3 ending it was Bioware that kept fueling the fire on how they want to preserve their "artistic integrity" bullshit even with the rumored DLC. EA might have nothing to do with Bioware's antics but it is still their job to ensure their own brands don't get flushed into the toilet. Allowing Bioware to continue their own stupidity is the fastest way to that.

 

[Chaotic42]

I really don't see anything wrong with the ME3 ending. The "one button for use/crouch/run" idea? Sure. The combat? Absolutely. The DLC? I can see that. The ending though? I hope they don't just listen to everyone complain and start making the story suit the whiners. They did that with the gameplay for BF2, and look where it got us.

 

[Regs]

What does their balance sheet say? Is this contributed by a drop in revenue, investment action, or other fixed asset expenditure?

 

[pontifex]

everyone hates EA but everyone runs out and buys their games - BF3 anyone?

 

[Martimus]

Please explain this. Ray Muzyka & Greg Zeschuk founded bioware and they are still in charge aren't they? Please forgive my ignorance, I don't understand how EA can ruin something when the original people are still at the helm. I'm aware of the Mass Effect 3 ending protests. This quote stuck out in my mind: Muzyka said he was "genuinely surprised" by the negative reactions to the game's ending, calling such responses "incredibly painful." He added he is trying to "accept the criticism and feedback with humility," and said the development team is listening to that feedback while creating new content for the game.

So it sounds like the original all star cast made the blunder.

Not sure what you are talking about with DA2.

I am not sure if you have ever designed anything, but what your employer emphasizes makes a big difference on what you design. It affects when your product is released, what it will do, how it will do it, how well it is tested, how well it is supported, and how well it works among other things.

DA 2 was mentioned because it was a very bad game, that was nowhere near as good as the original. Beyond that, both Skyrim and The Witcher 2 were released in the same time period in the same genre, and both were FAR superior.

That said, the quality of EA games isn't even their biggest issue. It is the lack of support they give to customers, and the difficulty even getting the games to work (due to different DRM and Server issues) that make them hated and avoided more than shoddy games.

 

[Wreckem]

That is the saddest part for me :'(

The majoity of the companies EA has bought were already run into the ground financially.

 

[nismotigerwvu]

I used to play the 2K series and then EA got the sole license for the NFL and I bought Madden the year it was the only officially licensed NFL game out. Never bought another copy after that. It's the same garbage year after year.

There's a sizable portion of fans still dedicated to updating rosters for NFL 2k5. The sad thing is that, at least in my opinion (and many among us) it STILL plays better than the most recent Madden iterations. It certainly has more features (has madden actually implemented gang tackling yet? 2K has had it since the Dreamcast....), more polished presentation (the halftime shows with Bermann are still pretty impressive and in 2004 was groundbreaking), the play by play is still better (you can't coach that) and the animations are more realistic (for some reason EA seems to think NFL players run around like asimo). To top it off, they shell out HUGE sums of cash to maintain that exclusive rights contract, but only sell 1 (!!!!) game. They very easily could milk the NFL franchise and sell 4 games a year, an over the top NFL Blitz style arcade game, your standard Madden, a front office game (like head coach but not crap) and then a "hard knocks" type story driven game (think like superstar mode but actually meaningful and fleshed out, maybe even some light RPG elements and Bioware-style conversation trees...hell the more I talk about this, the more I want it....the life of a burly thick bearded fullback struggling to eek out a living in the league who's the prankster of the lockroom...).

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

You guys are missing what's really hitting them hard. Piracy.

 

[fatpat268]

There's a sizable portion of fans still dedicated to updating rosters for NFL 2k5. The sad thing is that, at least in my opinion (and many among us) it STILL plays better than the most recent Madden iterations. It certainly has more features (has madden actually implemented gang tackling yet? 2K has had it since the Dreamcast....), more polished presentation (the halftime shows with Bermann are still pretty impressive and in 2004 was groundbreaking), the play by play is still better (you can't coach that) and the animations are more realistic (for some reason EA seems to think NFL players run around like asimo). To top it off, they shell out HUGE sums of cash to maintain that exclusive rights contract, but only sell 1 (!!!!) game. They very easily could milk the NFL franchise and sell 4 games a year, an over the top NFL Blitz style arcade game, your standard Madden, a front office game (like head coach but not crap) and then a "hard knocks" type story driven game (think like superstar mode but actually meaningful and fleshed out, maybe even some light RPG elements and Bioware-style conversation trees...hell the more I talk about this, the more I want it....the life of a burly thick bearded fullback struggling to eek out a living in the league who's the prankster of the lockroom...).

I'd buy it.

But yea, EA has dropped the ball on their football games, and it's starting to show in their sales numbers. Madden and NCAA are still big sellers, but not like they once were. People are starting to realize that more so than ever, EA sports has been putting out the same game for the past 5-6 years. We've had the same basic gameplay engine all these years with minor tweaks. EA seriously needs to put a new team other than Tiburon on the football games, because their shit is getting stale. Get rid of the fluff in the game (like my superstar) and focus on the franchise and gameplay.

But yea, I'd totally buy a football RPG. I'm surprised EA isn't being EA here, they love to milk money from their consumers...

 

[destrekor]

Meddling. EA makes demands of them.

Yep.

Essentially, gaming as a medium is, more and more, resembling the other creative works industries. Movies, music, books - gaming used to be more "free" in that the creative artists, aka developers, had a lot of room to show off their creativity, and thus the developer studios basically dictated the direction... leaving the publishers to simply do that, publish the product... and only when deemed ready by the studio/developers.

Today, the major publishers not only own quite a few of the largest studios, they also dictate the direction, style, and exert deadlines and massive influence - leaving the developers to simply comply, or finding a new place to call home.

Which is not really much different from the major publishers in any medium these days.

And we get to enjoy launch-day patches, and hell... a constant stream of patches in many cases... simply because the devs had to rush the development simply to meet deadlines, else suffer a loss of income due or worse. Then there are the contractual obligations and other bullshit. In short, our favorite franchises are usually ruined because publishers just don't give a fuck in that regard because they just want to see the stream of moneys flow their way.

 

[rgallant]

Too much money on advertising not enough money on quality.

+1

bf3 would have sold it's self and they put 300 mil .into promo.