Why does everyone hate EA?

Well it's been a while since I've asked this, so I figured I'd give it another shot. No one seems to be able to answer me with an explanation as to why they think EA sucks, other than "they treat their employees bad" and "they rush game developers", so please leave those reasons out. They are vague, and don't really explain anything from a gamers perspective. (I'm not retarded; I just don't care about employees having to work "longer hours" to work on a game...it's called a job)

If you could, please list the games that EA has touched that suck. Other than Lord of The Rings: Conquest. I have that one, and yes, it does suck.

(and no, I am not trolling, most of my game collection of 30 games has EA on the case)

Nobody hates EA man...this is unneccesary, the displeasure is associated with their sports titles, (Madden and NBA Live) that have gone down hill since the early 2000's thats why most rag on EA.

Who would hate EA ? they publish the best titles, amazing games

Dead Space

Battlefield

Mirrors Edge

Mass Effect

Burnout etc........

I like EA. I find them to be a top company

its not that they are bad... they just do a lot of little dirty tricks. if you follow them closely they are known for buying up game studios and shutting them down, (called LOSING jobs, so in a sense they treat their employees bad, which affects YOU the gamer because now they aren't making games for you), they got in trouble for their little monopoly on nfl games(which have gone down hill since they haven't had any other competitors for an nfl game)

yes they have lots of good games, mass effect, dead space, fifa and so on... they are just kind of the big bully on the block.

It seems that every time a new game comes out from them, the boards get flooded with topics of "EA sucks again..." and "Way to go again EA".

Even now with the BC2 demo. The servers get flooded, and people are flaming the boards with the negative topics. It just doesn't make any sense to me. People are a little too bitter with EA, even with all of the great games they've been involved with.

If I don't include my Socom days or playing Lord of the Rings: Online, I could probably say that half of my gaming life has been on EA games, lol. (I've only recently gotten back into the sports games, but they seem fine to me)

Okay, that may be an overstatement being that I am 30, but still... Over half of my Xbox 360 games are EA, and then the Sims series on PC...

It seems that every time a new game comes out from them, the boards get flooded with topics of "EA sucks again..." and "Way to go again EA".

Even now with the BC2 demo. The servers get flooded, and people are flaming the boards with the negative topics. It just doesn't make any sense to me. People are a little too bitter with EA, even with all of the great games they've been involved with.

If I don't include my Socom days or playing Lord of the Rings: Online, I could probably say that half of my gaming life has been on EA games, lol. (I've only recently gotten back into the sports games, but they seem fine to me)

Okay, that may be an overstatement being that I am 30, but still... Over half of my Xbox 360 games are EA, and then the Sims series on PC...

chasingmaynard

They suggest quantity over quality. They sell out. Madden 08,09,10 and lets not forget Madden 08 in espanol. They couldn't make one game with a launguage option. They can make crap games and good games but they come out before they are ready. They are already pushing on Skate 3.

its becuz they use to dominate sports games, but now they just keep rehashing the same garbage over and over again. they need to rethink and reinvent their sports titles. Sports games are what made the company, now its there weakest asset

They suggest quantity over quality. They sell out. Madden 08,09,10 and lets not forget Madden 08 in espanol. They couldn't make one game with a launguage option. They can make crap games and good games but they come out before they are ready. They are already pushing on Skate 3.

spyroiskool

its becuz they use to dominate sports games, but now they just keep rehashing the same garbage over and over again. they need to rethink and reinvent their sports titles. Sports games are what made the company, now its there weakest asset

2pac_makaveli

[QUOTE="2pac_makaveli"]

its becuz they use to dominate sports games, but now they just keep rehashing the same garbage over and over again. they need to rethink and reinvent their sports titles. Sports games are what made the company, now its there weakest asset

DranzarTypeF

Seriously? But then he (someone) went on further to talk about Skate 3, and ask how much can actually change in the skating world to warrant a yearly title... yet doesn't complain about the yearly sports titles being excessive and not needed? How much changes in the NFL other than rosters and maybe some wacky new "don't touch the quarterback" rule? How is a company supposed to change the gaming experience for a sports title?

Anyways... they are complaining on these boards. The BC2 boards... the LOTR:Conquest boards when that game came out (though justified)... the Skate 2 boards when that came out...

Bah... I'm just gonna shut up. I think I'm just irritated that I am here at work and not at home playing the BC2 demo...

Sorry for the rant. WOOOHOOO!!! EA IS HAVING MY BABY!!!

I like their games(especially NHL games)but one thing that really irks me is that EA allows people to buyboost packs for NHL 10 and than go online and have an unfair advantage over everyone else. I think there is similar things for all there sport games too.

Just such adumb way to make money, and rip off people.

[QUOTE="DranzarTypeF"][QUOTE="2pac_makaveli"]

its becuz they use to dominate sports games, but now they just keep rehashing the same garbage over and over again. they need to rethink and reinvent their sports titles. Sports games are what made the company, now its there weakest asset

chasingmaynard

Seriously? But then he (someone) went on further to talk about Skate 3, and ask how much can actually change in the skating world to warrant a yearly title... yet doesn't complain about the yearly sports titles being excessive and not needed? How much changes in the NFL other than rosters and maybe some wacky new "don't touch the quarterback" rule? How is a company supposed to change the gaming experience for a sports title?

Anyways... they are complaining on these boards. The BC2 boards... the LOTR:Conquest boards when that game came out (though justified)... the Skate 2 boards when that came out...

Bah... I'm just gonna shut up. I think I'm just irritated that I am here at work and not at home playing the BC2 demo...

Sorry for the rant. WOOOHOOO!!! EA IS HAVING MY BABY!!!

[QUOTE="chasingmaynard"]

[QUOTE="DranzarTypeF"]This is all you need to know TC.DranzarTypeF

Seriously? But then he (someone) went on further to talk about Skate 3, and ask how much can actually change in the skating world to warrant a yearly title... yet doesn't complain about the yearly sports titles being excessive and not needed? How much changes in the NFL other than rosters and maybe some wacky new "don't touch the quarterback" rule? How is a company supposed to change the gaming experience for a sports title?

Anyways... they are complaining on these boards. The BC2 boards... the LOTR:Conquest boards when that game came out (though justified)... the Skate 2 boards when that came out...

Bah... I'm just gonna shut up. I think I'm just irritated that I am here at work and not at home playing the BC2 demo...

Sorry for the rant. WOOOHOOO!!! EA IS HAVING MY BABY!!!

Well they wouldn't get much money that way, lol.

Anyways... I'm glad to see some positive responses towards EA. Maybe the haters are on the individual game boards... Commence lurking...

Take care guys!

[QUOTE="DranzarTypeF"][QUOTE="2pac_makaveli"]

its becuz they use to dominate sports games, but now they just keep rehashing the same garbage over and over again. they need to rethink and reinvent their sports titles. Sports games are what made the company, now its there weakest asset

chasingmaynard

Seriously? But then he (someone) went on further to talk about Skate 3, and ask how much can actually change in the skating world to warrant a yearly title... yet doesn't complain about the yearly sports titles being excessive and not needed? How much changes in the NFL other than rosters and maybe some wacky new "don't touch the quarterback" rule? How is a company supposed to change the gaming experience for a sports title?

Anyways... they are complaining on these boards. The BC2 boards... the LOTR:Conquest boards when that game came out (though justified)... the Skate 2 boards when that came out...

Bah... I'm just gonna shut up. I think I'm just irritated that I am here at work and not at home playing the BC2 demo...

Sorry for the rant. WOOOHOOO!!! EA IS HAVING MY BABY!!!

thats why i was wondering why they were making a new skate game every yr, becuz there is not enough new things happing in the skating world that would require a yrly release. vs professional sports were they change coaches, teams, players, stadiums, uniforms, etc. every yr.

here's my beef with EA... Activision... whatever.

They consume small, indepedent developers, decide they aren't making enough money, then lay off the entire staff.

It's not the art of the game, it's how much money it's going to make for the CEO. That's the problem with these huge conglomorates. The game itself is not a factor, it's the return.

Money and profits are important. It's how companies stay alive. However, the problem is that EA, Activiz, whatever... will shut-down studios even if they studio was able to support itself BEFORE the merger.

Lets say you're working for a small, independent studio. Your studio pays you well and you can take care of yourself and your family. The company is small, doesn't make tons of profit, but makes enough to sustain itself AND make quality games people enjoy.

One day you see lawyers from EA in the office. The next day, you find out your company has been acquired.

The next month, EA decides... the studio you work for doesn't generate enough money for EA, and is better off being shut down. So they lay you off. Good bye.

Lets say you're working for a small, independent studio. Your studio pays you well and you can take care of yourself and your family. The company is small, doesn't make tons of profit, but makes enough to sustain itself AND make quality games people enjoy.

One day you see lawyers from EA in the office. The next day, you find out your company has been acquired.

The next month, EA decides... the studio you work for doesn't generate enough money for EA, and is better off being shut down. So they lay you off. Good bye.

imperial_agent

Ya see... the only way this would affect me as a gamer is if they kill the projects of the studio they consumed. If they do that, then that really sucks because gamers could be missing out on some potential games.

As far as getting laid off... in the computer industry... that doesn't pull my heart strings at all. It sucks for the programmer, but he chose to work in a volatile field (even if you aren't working in game design). I almost laugh everytime a friend of mine gets outsourced or loses their precious little IT job.

The only game I have from EA that I regret buying was LOTR:Conquest, but that was more of an issue with Pandemic.

here's my beef with EA... Activision... whatever.

They consume small, indepedent developers, decide they aren't making enough money, then lay off the entire staff.

It's not the art of the game, it's how much money it's going to make for the CEO. That's the problem with these huge conglomorates. The game itself is not a factor, it's the return.

Money and profits are important. It's how companies stay alive. However, the problem is that EA, Activiz, whatever... will shut-down studios even if they studio was able to support itself BEFORE the merger.

Lets say you're working for a small, independent studio. Your studio pays you well and you can take care of yourself and your family. The company is small, doesn't make tons of profit, but makes enough to sustain itself AND make quality games people enjoy.

One day you see lawyers from EA in the office. The next day, you find out your company has been acquired.

The next month, EA decides... the studio you work for doesn't generate enough money for EA, and is better off being shut down. So they lay you off. Good bye.

imperial_agent

EA's hate should be diminishing as they aren't nearly as bad as in the past.

I disliked EA. I didn't hate them. Hate is a bit strong. I dislike them less these days. I hate Activision, though.

part of it is there madden and nba live franchise, part of it is there business practices and part is from bad games and part is taking over game studios and purtting out average games. (burnout series was never the same for me after EA took over)

A lot of people hateEA because they killed college hoops 2k and nfl 2k whenthey bought exclusive sports license rights to prevent any competition.

here's my beef with EA... Activision... whatever.

They consume small, indepedent developers, decide they aren't making enough money, then lay off the entire staff.

It's not the art of the game, it's how much money it's going to make for the CEO. That's the problem with these huge conglomorates. The game itself is not a factor, it's the return.

Money and profits are important. It's how companies stay alive. However, the problem is that EA, Activiz, whatever... will shut-down studios even if they studio was able to support itself BEFORE the merger.

Lets say you're working for a small, independent studio. Your studio pays you well and you can take care of yourself and your family. The company is small, doesn't make tons of profit, but makes enough to sustain itself AND make quality games people enjoy.

One day you see lawyers from EA in the office. The next day, you find out your company has been acquired.

The next month, EA decides... the studio you work for doesn't generate enough money for EA, and is better off being shut down. So they lay you off. Good bye.

A lot of people hateEA because they killed college hoops 2k and nfl 2k whenthey bought exclusive sports license rights to prevent any competition.

commander-cool

EA has no passion about their products. They have no heart. They are in it for the money. This wouldn't be a problem in itself, because they are just like every other big buisness. The problem with this is that they buy out Dev's that do have passion. That would rather make a great game they love and break even then make a bland game they don't care about that makes millions. It's not just EA, it's 2k and Activision as well. Gaming is moving from a niche industry full of people who care, to big buisness filled with people who only care about profits. We can't go back to what it was 10 years ago, no matter how much we want.dlindenb2000

am agreed i feel that EA can sell me the worst game ever and they dont care at all , as developers i dont like them at all, the % of suck EA games have is pretty high, as publisher they are smart at least

i hate EA because i bought mass effect 2 on launch day and still havent been able to get dlc to work correctly

When i go to ea.com i cant even choose to send them an email about mass effect 2 because i need to choose a game to email about, and ME2 is not in the list.

I hate EA because i just got done downloading the BFBC 2 demo and i cant play an online game because it cant access ea servers.

These companies should spend a little less time trying to squeeze every penny out of cosumers with DLC, and pushing 3D down our throats and focus on making there games actuall work right, out of the box.

I hate them because they killed off two of the best game producers in Bullfrog and Westwood.Wildesy

I wanted to just let this thread end, but I wanted to mention that I really did like Westwood back in the day. They were my favorite developer at the time. I spent quite a long time on Lands of Lore and Dune II.

Anyways... I understand why people don't like them now. I think the anger is sometimes a bit excessive, but at least I know why now.

no hate here, they make some of my favorite games.

last time I heard anyone bash EA in real life was when they bought BioWare/Pandemic.

me personally, I like EA a lot. I've had friends work at EA (one as a tester for overa year, the other as an environmental modeler . . . ironically both for Tiger Woods games. 08 and 09), and they've all said they get treated awsome and that it's a great company to work for (them treating employees like crap ended nearly 10 years ago, with the "Wives of EA" court case.)

that, and the original IP's they release now are all top notch. Dead Space was fantastic, Dante's Inferno (the demo) was just ascrisp, and just as gory as a multi-plat God of War style game should be. and their other labels also turn out top notch work (Mass Effect 2, Battlefield Bad Company)...

I'll admit, I never did get into the sports games. I know some people were howling "monopoly!" at them . . . but I just thought I'd throw in this bit of info, so you know were my view point was coming from. (only time I ever played Madden was a 3 minute timed demo for Madden 1997 on PlayStation)

here's a good one for you:

Westwood Studios, creators of all the C&C games, the word Tiberium etc.

EA bought them out in 1998, let them do their own thing, after release of CNC Generals and CNC Renegade(2002-2003), both fair success, all games holding communities to this day.

They liquidate them in 2003. 3 years later, EALA pops up, they create CNC 3, they go on to make RA 3, which was pure **** and now they're making another CNC: Tiberium Twilight.

so.....they liquidate a company, use their IP 3 years later and milk it for what's left.

and there's Pandemic, who made Battlefront, insult to injury.

such a counter-productive disgrace.

edit: and I apologise if anyone does like the new CNC or Red Alert, but it just wasn't the same. I more so despise what they did than the game itself.

and nice to see you were a Westwood fan.

I disliked EA. I didn't hate them. Hate is a bit strong. I dislike them less these days. I hate Activision, though.

x-2tha-z

I'll like Activision once they release their owner ship to MechWarrior 2:)

and Zipper Interactive needs to drop what they own for MechWarrior 3, the entire franchise, will be free with MechWarrior 4. Win.

EA has been doing well in my opinion. They now cover just about every genre, there's something that everyone will like. They're taking good franchises that they've acquired and are expanding on them (ex. Battlefield) and giving studios more creative projects such as Dead Space.

as someone said, the offer quantity, instead of quality

but not always, they do release a bunch of a lot of games, and not all of em are bad, but some are

and there are some that i've liked A LOT

-dead space

-mirros's edge

-burnout

and i have some years buying fifa every year

so, maybe people dislike that they release a lot of games, and some are not that good, but ea is one of the brands i like the most

Their multiplayer games never have system link. So how can we play multiplayer when they decide to shut down the servers ?

Thats the only negative thing I can think of at the moment...