EA Wins Consumerist's Golden Poo twice in a Row; Whines and Compla

[Deleted472477User]

http://consumerist.com/2013/04/05/ea-admits-it-can-do-better-but-blames-worst-company-success-on-homophobes-and-whiny-madden-fans/

 

They fail to understand the concept of "Don't want to get another golden poo award? STOP SUCKING SO BADLY!"

 

I've hated EA since they destroyed the Ultima series. They have redeemed themselves somewhat with Mass Effect, only to fudge it again with 3's dreadful ending. Don't even get me going on the SimCity fiasco.

[Lisnpuppy]

The more I read of the reactions of EA and the things they have announced they have planned or their view on things...the more I think that they are completely, 100% out-of-touch. Not only with their ever, dwindling consumer base...but with reality. What...are...they...smoking. They remind me of the far extremes of most political parties that just spew the same, broken record of thought.

 

However...it seems gamers have a pretty short attention span when it comes to this stuff. All the SimCity rage and now that its working there is basically not a peep. Until gamers speak with their pocketbook, and speak so loudly that EA can not spin it away as part of the economic downturn (and really...gamers have tons of money to share if they want....just looks at the various Kickstarters) then I doubt there will be any change.

[hector530]

well the ea COO spoke out about it and by spoke out i mean dodged the questions, made excuses, defended its actions and said NOTHING about how it would fix the problems EA has.

 

one of the best was "Some claim there’s no room for Origin as a competitor to Steam. 45 million registered users are proving that wrong."

 

yes because they didnt force it on its biggest games! EA still defended its micro translations on full priced games.

 

classic example of accepting responsibility and then claiming it's everyone else's fault.

 

is EA the worst company in america? no. worst company is gaming? is it even a contest?

[Ahvaren]

Until gamers speak with their pocketbook, and speak so loudly that EA can not spin it away as part of the economic downturn (and really...gamers have tons of money to share if they want....just looks at the various Kickstarters) then I doubt there will be any change.

 

Yep. I'm going to admit that I'm one of those gamers that are part of the problem. As bad as EA likes to be, I still own five of the Sims 3 expansions, some of their micro-transaction material from the online store, and I plan to buy more soon.

[JimboUK]

The only way to bring EA into line is through their pockets, anyone who buys their products is condoning their behaviour. Ubisoft saw a 90% drop in PC game sales when they inflicted their always on DRM onto paying customers, they've now changed their ways because the consumer forced it on them. We have the power to stop EAs nonsense, it's just a shame people lack the self control to use it.

[Deleted472477User]

The only way to bring EA into line is through their pockets, anyone who buys their products is condoning their behaviour. Ubisoft saw a 90% drop in PC game sales when they inflicted their always on DRM onto paying customers, they've now changed their ways because the consumer forced it on them. We have the power to stop EAs nonsense, it's just a shame people lack the self control to use it.

Tha, and the fact that they're actually releasing a PROPER Might and Magic game gives me some more hope for them. I'm not putting down Heroes here: I'm talking about how they finally decided to work on a proper Might and Magic X instead of crap like Dark Messiah. I realize that unless you played the turn based RPGs from the first one on you likely don't see the big deal, but it's big for us old school fans :D

[TRoaches]

I knew EA was a stupid company run by people who are out of touch with gamers. I love the ME games (even the ending), but I had a very low opinion of them as a company even before I read this thread and read the material linked here. Even so, I am completely blown away by the stupidity of the COO's response. I would have assumed that public statement's like that, even when presented as the unfiltered word of an executive, had to pass through a PR filter of some kind to prevent a top guy from making the company look that bad.

I worked for many years in the restaurant business. Any restaurant, no matter how incredible the food or service is, will attract complaints. I suspect that for some people it may even be their primary motivation for going out to eat: they love to complain, and love the attention that they receive when they do. When running restaurant it is imperative that you always keep your ego in check and remember that old cliche that the customer is always right. The merits of their complaints are, to a large extent, irrelevant You do not respond to them with anything other than apology, an acceptance of responsibility, and a bribe of some kind to make them happy (free cocktail/beer/dessert/entire meal) and keep them as a customer. It has to be this way because it is a cut-throat business, the profit margins can be slim to begin with, and your competitor is often one door away. If I had ever heard an employee say anything resembling that COO's statement to a customer (hey at least we're not as bad as BP amiright?) that employee would have been fired immediately. If possible I would have done it in view of the customer.

Applying this to EA, their competitor is one click away, which is even less distance for a customer to travel. I was considering purchasing a mass effect DLC, but after reading this thread I probably won't. I think the only thing that will fix EA's problems is a big drop in income. EA's problems seem to stem from holding investors above customers. They institute these DRM schemes because they like to assure their investors that it prevents their games from being pirated (not true) and that the only people who have a problem with it are the pirates. A decline in sales is probably the only thing that would prove this to be false.

**Addendum** I started playing Civ 5 this week. I cut my gamer's teeth on Simcity in the early 90's and have never played any of the Civ games until now. I would love to try the new version of Simcity but not with the DRM problems. If anyone is fiending for a Simcity fix I recommend CIv 5 as an alternative. It is not quite the same, but it is a very fun, very well designed game. I play it through steam, and if there is a hidden "must be connected" DRM that I don't know about I can at least testify to it working 100% for me.

Edited April 6, 2013 by TRoaches

[Beriallord]

I'm not buying any more EA/Bioware games. I skipped ME3, and I got no plans on getting DA3 when it comes out either. Even though they are both genres I generally enjoy playing. Bad company, bad games. EA can go suck it.

[JimboUK]

I'd played the first two Mass Effect games and wanted to see how it ended so I bought a console used copy, that way I got to see the end (wish I hadn't bothered) and EA never saw a penny. Other than that I've not bought any of their games since they decided to inflict Origin on people, I take security on my PC seriously and I'm not going to install what is Spyware just to play a video game. I won't be buying DA3, Bioware is Bioware in name only these days, the stuff they release stinks of EA, their days as a quality developer are behind them.

[lonewolfkai]

Other than that I've not bought any of their games since they decided to inflict Origin on people, I take security on my PC seriously and I'm not going to install what is Spyware just to play a video game.

This is one of the reasons I don't install EA games on my computer. I'd love to at least try the Mass Effect and DA series, but I'm not skilled enough on how to remove Origin if I did.