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Note to EA. . .Stop Buying Developers, Make More Games. . .
thegamereviews.com — Everyone ’s favorite Madden factory is growing, but it’s profits aren’t following suit.
Four20- 951 diggs
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- Razer210, on 05/16/2008, -7/+15Well, in my books, they get one more year to try and change (seeing as Mirror's Edge is pretty cool) and after that, they go to the deepest pit of hell.
- diggingfornews, on 05/16/2008, -3/+10What a hypocrite you are, you'll buy their games you like but pretend to hate them. Ooooookay.
I'm looking forward to Mirror's Edge too, by the way, and Spore and Red Alert 3.- Lyph5, on 05/16/2008, -1/+3As long as they don't ***** up RA3 like they did with C&C3 I'll be happy.
- grat2001, on 05/16/2008, -4/+2The last Burnout is actually one of my favorite games this year. The work done at EA is just to spotty. EA Sports being the worst part of the company.
- championchap, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Criterion is the Developer.
EA just bought them.- grat2001, on 05/17/2008, -0/+1No wonder I like it! Thanks for the reply.
- championchap, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Criterion is the Developer.
- modifiedbears, on 05/16/2008, -1/+2Mirror's Edge isn't being made by EA. It's another example of a developer they bought making a game for them.
- chongli, on 05/17/2008, -1/+1What amazes me is that EA has 7900 employees (as of 2007, according to Wikipedia) and they can't churn out one decent game! Then you have a company like Bit-Blot (2 employees) that creates a totally amazing game (Aquaria).
What the hell is wrong with this picture? Do those 7900 people just hang out and play ping pong all day?- acanaday, on 05/17/2008, -0/+1No. Those employees make great games like boom blox, mirrors edge (part of those 7900 employees) The upcoming BioWare MMO, Burnout paradise, Great sports games (NHL and Madden were two of the best reviewed sports games as of late) Spore,..
All of you that think EA employees sit around and do nothing need to wake up. We are the ones working our asses off to make these games great.
EA's average game scores have been going up actually, so I dont know what everyone is complaining about. Working for "the new" EA is actually pretty nice! They pretty much let each studio do their own thing and be creative. - Dhekke, on 05/18/2008, -0/+1It's too much business, "marketshare" here, "target audience" there and buzzwords running a game company...
You can't have a company that depends on your creativity and open mind and then lose your soul
- acanaday, on 05/17/2008, -0/+1No. Those employees make great games like boom blox, mirrors edge (part of those 7900 employees) The upcoming BioWare MMO, Burnout paradise, Great sports games (NHL and Madden were two of the best reviewed sports games as of late) Spore,..
- diggingfornews, on 05/16/2008, -3/+10What a hypocrite you are, you'll buy their games you like but pretend to hate them. Ooooookay.
- AnthonyC, on 05/16/2008, -1/+51They should be focused on quality over quantity. All of their sports franchises have grown stale. Last year's football games were had some terrible bugs that prevented them from even being playable, in my opinion. Fix that stuff.
- tendonut, on 05/16/2008, -2/+9Thats what happens when you own the entire NFL franchise and the good developers can't develop anymore. I predicted this the moment I heard of that sale going through. No more motivation to make Madden good. Just make it sell. And and after working at EB for 3 and a half years (02-05), I learned that as long as it has the Madden name on it, it will sell like crazy. Even if over half the people trade the game in the next day and say "It's just like last year!"...but they will buy the game again next year, and again the next year, and again the next year, all trading it in saying the SAME thing every time.
- winmywii, on 05/16/2008, -1/+7SEGA sports was kicking there ass and selling for a cheaper price. I agree with you, when EA got the sole rights the NFL nothing good could come from it. Thats stifles innovation in NFL, or at least competition. EA has done a great job with the Madden brand and we keep buying the same recycled game year after year because it is "new"
- EagleTG, on 05/16/2008, -1/+8This is 110% correct. Instead of making a great game, or at least competing fairly, they decided to use their infinitely deep pockets to make sure they were the only "game" in town. It would have been nice to see them pour the money into development instead of licensing. I wonder where the franchise would be if that was the case.
- Lyph5, on 05/16/2008, -2/+3Eagle, what's nice about their blowing money on things like that is that it proves their pockets aren't that deep. According to the article they ended up losing half a billion dollars last year. Even with 3.5 billion in income, they blew $4bn on dumb ***** like the NFL contract.
- dibling, on 05/16/2008, -2/+1I would be interested to see EA offer some form or subscription model via XBL. Say for $5 to $10 a year you can receive updated rosters and team changes, but not have to buy a full version every year. Overall, I suspect they would improve their revenue, as the die-hard fans would still buy the newest version each year with more realistic "uniforms that flap in the wind!" Yet they would be making a few incremental dollars from the casual base.
- winmywii, on 05/16/2008, -1/+7SEGA sports was kicking there ass and selling for a cheaper price. I agree with you, when EA got the sole rights the NFL nothing good could come from it. Thats stifles innovation in NFL, or at least competition. EA has done a great job with the Madden brand and we keep buying the same recycled game year after year because it is "new"
- BigT383, on 05/16/2008, -3/+2Come work for QA and find those bugs before ship then.
- AnthonyC, on 05/16/2008, -1/+1I find it impossible to believe that the super sim mode was even tested. If you are playing 10 minute quarters and do super-sim, you'll end up with more than 200 plays in the game.
There is nothing in the code to adjust for length of the game. Obviously, this was not tested because I found this out the first time I played it. Absolutely horrible.
Come code for an automotive application where there can be 0% failure rate, or people die. I have no sympathy for EA. - WanderingGuru, on 05/17/2008, -0/+2As someone who has worked in EA QA, it doesn't matter. Bugs that are found and should be fixed often aren't unless it would prevent the title from shipping. EA has grown fond of the "ship now, patch later" mentality and with what is possible with the PS3 and 360 having hard drives... that mentality is now starting to infect console gaming.
EA does not care about it's customers, only the bottom line. They only worry about getting a certain number of titles shipped out each quarter, they don't care if those titles happen to be crap because people out there will still buy them.- Dhekke, on 05/18/2008, -0/+1EA should be remembered that "A game is only late until it's released. A bad game is bad forever"
- AnthonyC, on 05/16/2008, -1/+1I find it impossible to believe that the super sim mode was even tested. If you are playing 10 minute quarters and do super-sim, you'll end up with more than 200 plays in the game.
- tendonut, on 05/16/2008, -2/+9Thats what happens when you own the entire NFL franchise and the good developers can't develop anymore. I predicted this the moment I heard of that sale going through. No more motivation to make Madden good. Just make it sell. And and after working at EB for 3 and a half years (02-05), I learned that as long as it has the Madden name on it, it will sell like crazy. Even if over half the people trade the game in the next day and say "It's just like last year!"...but they will buy the game again next year, and again the next year, and again the next year, all trading it in saying the SAME thing every time.
- michaelphw, on 05/16/2008, -4/+59I dunno if I want EA to make more games.
- Shawn4168, on 05/16/2008, -2/+96Note to EA...just stop.
- dajuggernaut, on 05/16/2008, -0/+24EA is nothing more than a software sweatshop
- Katana314, on 05/16/2008, -8/+3Well...c'mon, can't you guys remember the good they've done? I admit, right now their games suck, but they were the ones who stood up to the media during that FOX thing over Mass Effect. They also did respond to users who didn't want Purchased Weapons in Battlefield Heroes, and people who hated SecuROM in Spore.
- Planets, on 05/16/2008, -1/+3Of course they stood up for Mass Effect, it's their new IP and thus it's their image. You think they actually care for the product?
- broodking, on 05/16/2008, -18/+6EA r only still around cause they purchased great company's like Westwood that make the c&c series
- Andyschism, on 05/16/2008, -11/+3Dear EA,
Come with me if you want to live.
Signed, The Terminator - Ducksa, on 05/16/2008, -3/+50Their integration of advertising into games has left a sour taste in my mouth.
- slayerab, on 05/16/2008, -1/+4I laughed when I put NFS underground 2 in my xbox a couple days ago and saw the cingular crap, those ads were just a great way to date itself early. Guess its back to ad free Mario Brothers...
- BearinG, on 05/16/2008, -2/+2I wouldn't mind if in turn, they lowered the prices of their games.. but obviously that's not the idea.. its just more money for them. Honestly, with or without advertising, it doesn't really matter.. It doesn't change the actual game. I see advertising every day in everything so seeing it in a game is not really a surprise..I don't pay attention to them anyway.
Something I'm wondering.. does anyone here actually buy stuff because of advertising ? I don't... I can actually enjoy the rare "good" commercials every now and then.. but that really doesn't have any weight on the actual brand for me.. all it means is their marketing department did a good job. People should be doing their own research and conclusions for buying anything. - noseeme, on 05/16/2008, -1/+4They are making money off of it. EA has gotten so big and successful that they don't even give a ***** about what their customers think.
- swimmin00, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2product placement FTL
- RespectableGuy, on 05/16/2008, -14/+3EA should make a new 007 game... it's been awhile...
- Lazydriver, on 05/16/2008, -0/+7Activision now has 007 rights! (Good!)
I believe they're working on Quantum of Solace.- RespectableGuy, on 05/16/2008, -1/+2I'm glad to hear EA doesn't have the rights anymore. hopefully Quantum of Solace will be good, time for me to look that game up.
- potterboy, on 05/16/2008, -2/+2Am I the only one who actually liked From Russia with Love? In fact Nightfire was my introduction to PC gaming.
- fumar, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3EA made 1 original/good Bond game and that was Everything or Nothing. Every other game was just run of the mill and short.
Although I don't have faith in Treyarch to do a good job. They might just make a WWII Bond game!- coresnake, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2From Auschwitz with Love
- Lazydriver, on 05/16/2008, -0/+7Activision now has 007 rights! (Good!)
- johnnynapalm, on 05/16/2008, -4/+11You DO know that EA is a publisher first and foremost, correct? Development has always been ancillary for them.
- fuzzynyanko, on 05/16/2008, -1/+1Yeah, as a publisher they are doing great. As a development house, not so good. Also, I didn't like their customer support.
- zzqzzqzzq, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3You have been paying attention to their latest copy protection strategy?
They're not even a game publisher anymore, they're a game rental store.......... - diggrim, on 05/25/2008, -0/+1and yet why other companies hire EA to port games to the Playstation...makes no sense!
- mikephimikephi, on 05/16/2008, -1/+12Several iterations of their EA-Sports franchises have been so similar that in this day and age, they could probably have been released as a patch over XboxLive / PlaystationNetwork.
- winmywii, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Updated rosters would be an easy download!
- toxicityj, on 05/16/2008, -3/+54EA, free westwood and maxis. PLEASE.
- SamuelHenderson, on 05/16/2008, -0/+10Seconded.
It's interesting to see how Maxis went from turning out a variety of different simulation games (Sim City, Sim Farm, Sim Earth, Sim Tower, Sim Copter, Sim Isle etc) before being bought by EA to pretty much focusing on 3 titles:
1. Sim City (which afaik is pretty much dead in terms of a new game comming out)
2. The Sims
3. Spore
I mean, The Sims already has 15 expansion packs between two games! How many expansion packs will the Sim's 3 have? The worst part about the expansions is that they don't update the actual engine or anything... they just for the most part add more crap (or vacation spots, jobs etc etc).- toxicityj, on 05/16/2008, -1/+4That's how I justify pirating the expansions and legally purchasing the actual game. Is the ability to send my sim to college worth $30? nah. is it worth some time spent downloading? yup.
It's a shame about Sim City. Sim City 4 was so amazing and in-depth as far as city-control went. Then, from what I've heard, SC: Societies or w/e ruined the complexity (aka any bit of difficulty the game had) and it ended up being a crappy game. - casey148, on 05/16/2008, -0/+0"(which afaik is pretty much dead in terms of a new game comming out)"
I remember hearing about a popular upcoming SIM city like game, but can't, for the life of me, remember its name... - coresnake, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1I liked SimAnt the best :)
- toxicityj, on 05/16/2008, -1/+4That's how I justify pirating the expansions and legally purchasing the actual game. Is the ability to send my sim to college worth $30? nah. is it worth some time spent downloading? yup.
- TsarDusan, on 05/17/2008, -0/+2WESTWOOD!
I WANT MY DUNE!
- SamuelHenderson, on 05/16/2008, -0/+10Seconded.
- galvanize, on 05/16/2008, -2/+21EA is going the way of the major movie studios... consolidation all across the board. Watered down versions of spin-offs and sequels that stifle creativity and innovation.
DOWN WITH EA!- Tebixan, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2My former roommate worked for EA, he said that unless you can prove without a shadow of a doubt to the EA bigwigs that a game will turn a significant profit, they refuse to make the game.
What does that result in? Endless remakes of successful games, and pretty much a ban on innovation.
- Tebixan, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2My former roommate worked for EA, he said that unless you can prove without a shadow of a doubt to the EA bigwigs that a game will turn a significant profit, they refuse to make the game.
- daridave, on 05/16/2008, -5/+9"Everyone's favorite Madden factory". Well, I don't know anybody else who makes Madden games...
- noseeme, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2Stupid people allowed Madden to become so popular that they were able to buy out the rights to the NFL, allowing them to get away with making Madden more and more *****.
- Bornhuetter, on 05/16/2008, -1/+18Its really depressing remembering all the great studios that were around in the 90's and seeing how EA has bought so many of them out. I guess it's no surprise that releasing the same crappy sports sims every year makes more profits than taking risks on making truly innovative games.
- AzzX, on 05/16/2008, -5/+26AzzX to EA:
Don't buy Valve! I don't care what else you do, just not this!!!!!!- fumar, on 05/16/2008, -3/+10Valve wouldn't sell themselves. They are becoming a publishing force via Steam and everything they make is godlike. I just can't see Valve doing it.
- slayerab, on 05/16/2008, -2/+15Don't buy Rockstar either!
- Katana314, on 05/16/2008, -1/+4However it probably should be noted that when it comes to Wal-Mart's shelves, Valve does use EA as a publisher. (it's nothing like the lock-in contract most companies get though. Valve can dismiss them at any time, and managed to get much fewer restrictions; for instance, Steam is entirely theirs.)
- zcrazed1, on 05/16/2008, -1/+15If we allow EA to buy up everything it would mean the end of modern gaming as we know it. It'd be a monopoly of over priced chop house games.
- Ducksa, on 05/16/2008, -2/+3Your understanding of economics and business is flawed
- JBobtheGr8, on 05/22/2008, -0/+0"Your faith in your friends is yours."
- Ducksa, on 05/16/2008, -2/+3Your understanding of economics and business is flawed
- pablo0713, on 05/16/2008, -34/+17You all need to STFU. The minute EA makes a game your violent obsessed minds can't live without, you'll be flocking to the stores and licking EA's boots. Gamers suck. Fickle whores. This is the only reason why EA is big as it is today and Microsoft is actually in the console market (still don't know how that happened...I thought everybody hated Microsoft). Gamers are fools. You deserve the ***** entertainment EA mass produces. Eat it up, bitches, and keep on making EA rich.
- masterofshadows, on 05/16/2008, -2/+5People don't hate Microsoft, they hate Windows and many of the business practices of the Microsoft corporation. I myself am an avid user of Linux (ArchLinux http://www.archlinux.org ) and promote it as much as anyone, yet i own an Xbox 360. Why? Because Microsoft did very well on it. the buddy system, online play, everything about it was superb. Now that doesn't mean I will always like it, if for example Sony was to come out with some feature i couldn't live without and the games to back it up (if Square left Sony I honestly believe that Sony would be out of the console market) then i would be back to Sony. Nintendo doesn't compete so much with those two as they target different segments of the populace.
- hartley, on 05/16/2008, -0/+12No, I hate EA because their games suck.
Your assumption that the majority of gamers are driven by a few drops of pixelated blood shows that you are really the fool.
Theres one reason EA is number 1.
Sports... - winmywii, on 05/16/2008, -0/+10"The minute EA BUYS a game your violent obsessed minds can't live without...." Fixed.
- Katana314, on 05/16/2008, -4/+2Flame him all you want. He's actually sort of right. True, the intelligent review-reader like anyone reading this comment is smart enough not to buy their games. Regardless, their games are bought. To them, it comes down to marketing, and it works for them more than you would think.
- SteveMax, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1When they release the 100th iteration of a standard sports franchise, most people here won't give a damn.
When they finally release a good game (like Spore hopefully will be), most people here will buy it.
This works exactly like any other publisher. I don't know anyone who would (or would not) buy a game just because it's published by Nintendo, Sony, Activision or whatever. Let the quality be a factor, not the publisher.
Unfortunately for EA, their crap/quality ratio approaches infinity very quickly...
- SteveMax, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1When they release the 100th iteration of a standard sports franchise, most people here won't give a damn.
- Tebixan, on 05/16/2008, -1/+1Most of EA's success comes from the NCAA, Tiger Woods, Madden & Sims franchises. Those are games that don't appeal to all "hardcore" gamers, but have massive casual gamer fanbases. They are also pretty hard to screw up, and their fans don't really expect any major innovations in the series, just prettier graphics.
For a while, EA was buying up smaller studios and trying to change what made them successful, often with negative results. The biggest example of this was Ultima, which was very popular up until EA bought it, then they ruined the series.
Recently, the new EA CEO has changed company policy, and though they are still buying up smaller studios, they have granted much more autonomy to them. Because of this, the EA subsidiaries have produced much better games in the last couple years, such as Rocky Band, Crysis, and Burnout.
- zomgorly, on 05/16/2008, -4/+4Isn't EA buying these developers to make more games, I would rather have a good quality game than a ton of crappy ones.
- Tebixan, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1EA buys developers not for more game producing manpower, but for the intellectual property they own. Easier to buy a popular franchise than make one from scratch.
In the past, they've then proceeded to change what made those franchises popular, and ruined several good studios. Their current CEO says they're stepping away from that policy, and will be allowing their subsidiary developers more autonomy. We'll have to see if they keep their word.
- Tebixan, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1EA buys developers not for more game producing manpower, but for the intellectual property they own. Easier to buy a popular franchise than make one from scratch.
- godzillaWax, on 05/16/2008, -8/+12Jesus, for the first time in well, ever, EA is actually pruning it's sports titles and creating original IPs and what do we get? Fanboys bitching. Christ, learn to recognize when a company is turning ***** around.
Buried as lame.- STKD, on 05/16/2008, -1/+6Don't you know? This is digg. Mob mentality rules apply.
- OrderedChaos, on 05/16/2008, -1/+4Yeah, buried for inaccuracy. They posted a loss because they purchased two major studios during that fiscal year. It wasn't because of a lack of games. Oh well.
- galvo, on 05/16/2008, -5/+16EA is the worst thing to happen to the video game industry. They've already started sucking the soul out of the art, watch them tear it down completely.
- schlef, on 05/16/2008, -2/+0Really? EA has made the video game industry what it is today; it has been one of the largest game developers over the last *20* years... and EA is the worst thing to happen? Go read about the late 70s and early 80s... perhaps you should brush up on your video game history a bit.
- galvo, on 05/16/2008, -2/+3Perhaps you should brush up on gaming RIGHT NOW. I lost all respect for EA when they bought the rights to the NFL. Now I'm forced to play the inferior football title, Madden. 2k Sports was crushing EA sports from 1999-2005. After EA purchased the rights, everything went downhill for 2k.
EA Sports Tracks are also the worst thing to happen to video games. Thank god for custom soundtracks.
I could care less what they did when videogames were almost obsolete.. I care now, when video games are a HUGE industry. EA is all about the money, and if you can't see that, I'm sorry that you're blind to the fact.- ShugNinx21, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1I wish people would quit acting like the NFL didn't offer up the rights to a singular publisher because they wanted 1 company to represent the NFL for continuity across the medium. EA simply bid the most. If 2k had won the license would everyone be talking about what asshats 2k are because they bought up all the rights, ***** no.
You may not like EA but to make it some kind of evil conspiracy when they bid for the NFL rights as if they forced this upon the NFL, is just stupid. The NFL forced this on the publishers and EA bid the most. - galvo, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1That doesn't change the fact that EA is only on the lookout for more money rather than making good games. Madden has sucked since Madden 2003.
And it also doesn't change the fact that they're trying (and succeeding) in buying out every decent developer.
Please, for the love of God, do NOT ruin Mass Effect 2. Just let Bioware do there business. - SteveMax, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Galvo, if not for EA, Activision and some other companies, you wouldn't be playing anything right now. They were fundamental in bringing the consoles back to life, and then in turning them in a big medium. You can hate what they do now, but they are FAR from the "worst thing to happen to the video game industry" (example: 1983 crash). One very simple thing they did marked what was the first really big step towards graphical realism and developers having full control over what they display on the screen: Deluxe Paint (look it up)
- ShugNinx21, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1I wish people would quit acting like the NFL didn't offer up the rights to a singular publisher because they wanted 1 company to represent the NFL for continuity across the medium. EA simply bid the most. If 2k had won the license would everyone be talking about what asshats 2k are because they bought up all the rights, ***** no.
- galvo, on 05/16/2008, -2/+3Perhaps you should brush up on gaming RIGHT NOW. I lost all respect for EA when they bought the rights to the NFL. Now I'm forced to play the inferior football title, Madden. 2k Sports was crushing EA sports from 1999-2005. After EA purchased the rights, everything went downhill for 2k.
- schlef, on 05/16/2008, -2/+0Really? EA has made the video game industry what it is today; it has been one of the largest game developers over the last *20* years... and EA is the worst thing to happen? Go read about the late 70s and early 80s... perhaps you should brush up on your video game history a bit.
- bar10dr, on 05/16/2008, -3/+12I've had it with EA, never again.
- 3tcp, on 05/16/2008, -1/+7To be more specific, start making GOOD games and stop ruining the franchises that you buy. As crappy as some of the EA games have been that I've played, I've never hated them more than when I played Sim City 4...
- Ganja420, on 05/16/2008, -1/+6they dumbed down Sim City 4 so toddlers could play it.... =(
- Aharoni, on 05/16/2008, -1/+3Toddlers? what are you talking about? they should have called it "accounting: the game".
Part of the charm of previous Sim City games was that you couldn't mess things too much... In Sim City 4 they tried to make things more challenging by having you fight for every dollar in your balance. That pretty much ruined the game for me... when I was too busy looking at sheets and balances than actually playing the game and building stuff.
- Aharoni, on 05/16/2008, -1/+3Toddlers? what are you talking about? they should have called it "accounting: the game".
- Ganja420, on 05/16/2008, -1/+6they dumbed down Sim City 4 so toddlers could play it.... =(
- Iterion, on 05/16/2008, -3/+3The writer of that article is trying to hard to act like he's skilled at English. It was just distracting from the information he was giving. If you're going to try to make jokes with the ever so popular strikethrough technique, at least make sure the word your are "strikingthrough" works in terms of the sentence.
- ummfada, on 05/16/2008, -1/+4Madden 2008 is the worst game I have ever played the franchise is regressing...
- ButchersBoy, on 05/16/2008, -1/+8When Electronic Arts made Deluxe Paint II for the Amiga they were cool. Now I wouldn't touch their games with a barge pole.
- dafragsta, on 05/16/2008, -9/+10I am NO fan of EA's business practices, but you guys are ***** INSANE if you think EA hasn't put out good games or risks losing market share, even if they come from the developers they bought. What is the point of this argument. Let me look at my game shelf and see which ones are EA: Tiger Woods Golf 07, NCAA 08, skate, Fight Night Round 3, and let us not forget about Rock Band. In the coming year, they have Spore and Mirrors Edge for new IP, and don't forget the mounds of cash they make on The Sims, and the rest of the EA sports catalog. MOST of these games are really good and as much as EA might be evil, I think people are grasping at straws here to call for EA's demise because they don't like big companies.
Why doesn't someone write a similar article about Nintendo, which hasn't really had a new idea in years. They keep riding the franchise gravy train all the way to the bank.- fotbr, on 05/16/2008, -1/+2No, I don't think most of EA's games are "really good".
They ruined the Need for Speed series when they decided to focus on the street racer / ricer crowd of gamers (starting with NFS:Hot Pursuit), and while the games may (or may not) be of good quality - they've ruined the concept. Maxis used to make a whole slew of games around their SimWhatever concept -- SimFarm, SimAnt, SimTower, etc. EA killed all of that and have neglected the SimCity series in favor of grinding out more "The Sims" expansions. The Command & Conquer series lost its way after EA took over, and is only now re-discovering the gameplay that made the originals so much fun.
I don't understand the complaints about how SportsGame'0x isn't really any different than the previous one; the mechanics of the game simply do not change much from year to year. You can only push the graphics of a console so far -- once you hit that limit, all you can really do is update team rosters and change the music.
The whole "lets beat on a plastic guitar" music game genre is stupid although there's ridiculous amounts of money to be made on stupid music games, so kudos to them.
They make lots of money, and though I don't hold that against them, the majority of Digg seems to believe that any and all profit is evil, and will hate them for that even if all their other complaints are removed.- dafragsta, on 05/16/2008, -1/+4The VERY FIRST Need For Speed game was a street racer. They all are. The only one I can think of where you race on closed off courses is Porsche Unleashed. I agree that the ricer crap began the downfall, but that didn't start until Need for Speed Underground.
- fotbr, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2There's a difference between "street racing" and racing street circuits.
NFS I, II and III had some great street circuits, but there wasn't the emphasis on dodging traffic, outrunning cops, and adding bling to your car that creeped in starting with hot pursuit.
- fotbr, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2There's a difference between "street racing" and racing street circuits.
- dafragsta, on 05/16/2008, -2/+1Wow, I really should've responded to the rest of that rhetoric too. The whole "let's beat on a plastic guitar" thing is actually "let's just hang out and play a video game that let's us act like jackasses because it's fun," but I LIKE those games, and I consider myself somewhat of a musician. Trent Reznor basically told the Dresden Dolls drummer that his audition was to play Rock Band. Whether he was kidding or not isn't important. Serious musicians enjoy those games for what they are.
If you want to talk innovation at EA, take a look at how they kicked Activision in the balls by making a better product TWICE with Rock Band AND skate, which is by far the best skateboarding ever made. They also reinvented the boxing genre with Fight Night. They took those same control mechanics into other sports games ~2004 and made them feel considerably less like button mashers.- fotbr, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Hey, I'm not bashing EA for making the game, I'm just saying I don't like the entire genre, so I don't consider any of them to be good games.
If music games or sports games are your thing, great. I think they're stupid. Many people think flight simulators (not flying shoot-em-ups) are stupid, but flight simulators are some of my favorites.
The point I was trying to make is that I do not consider most EA games to be "good" because they're based on ideas that do not appeal to me. - fotbr, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Instead of bashing away blindly at points I didn't even attempt to make, you'll note I'm agreeing with a lot of what you said:
We agree that a lot of people hate EA because they make money.
We agree that the arguments about EA's sports games don't make a lot of sense.
I don't care for EA because the few games studios I did like they've driven into the ground and are only beginning to turn some of them around. I don't think that most of EA's catalog is "good" because I simply don't like most of the types of games EA produces.
- fotbr, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Hey, I'm not bashing EA for making the game, I'm just saying I don't like the entire genre, so I don't consider any of them to be good games.
- SamuelHenderson, on 05/16/2008, -0/+2Damn, I wish I would have read your comment fotbr before posting pretty much the exact same thing about Maxis in a reply above you.
My apologies for posting what you already said. That being said, I agree 100% with you.
- dafragsta, on 05/16/2008, -1/+4The VERY FIRST Need For Speed game was a street racer. They all are. The only one I can think of where you race on closed off courses is Porsche Unleashed. I agree that the ricer crap began the downfall, but that didn't start until Need for Speed Underground.
- STKD, on 05/16/2008, -4/+2"which hasn't really had a new idea in years"
SNES: Shoulder triggers. Now standard on all machines.
N64: Analogue joystick. Now standard on all machines.
DS: touchscreen interfaces that actually work, and a microphone. Lead to among others, Brain Training, Nintendogs...
Then there's this thing you might have heard of called the Wii. Wii Sports? Heard of that? Wii Fit? Heard of that one..?
Nintendo are the ONLY one's giving us new ideas these days.- dafragsta, on 05/16/2008, -1/+3Yeah, I'm going to spend LOADS of hours on the in-depth gameplay that is Wii Fit. Control innovations are not part of this discussion because EA is not a hardware company. We are talking about games of substance, not party games here. Any 2 bit company can make Wii Sports or any other party game and Wii Sports is a ***** hardware demo.
You would've been better off saying that Nintendo made Pikmin and Animal Crossing, but when was that? Oh, yeah, right. 2002. - schlef, on 05/16/2008, -1/+2Those are hardware, not software. EA is not a hardware company.
Wii sport is revolutionary? I remember a year or so before the Wii game out seeing a one off game at target where you would swing a bat and be able to play on your TV... the same held true for a tennis game where you would swing a racket... Wii Sports isn't even close to revolutionary.
Wii Fit... I guess it is different... hardly revolutionary.
Nintendogs... what were those stupid pets that you had to feed and all that crap back in the late 90s that kids had? I can't remember what they were called... but virtual pets are not all that new.
Brain training... Not new, but I have to hand it to them for making such a simple game where you take quizzes sell well.- JBobtheGr8, on 05/22/2008, -0/+0Yeah, that baseball game your talking about kinda had ATARI ***** JAGUAR graphics.
- dafragsta, on 05/16/2008, -1/+3Yeah, I'm going to spend LOADS of hours on the in-depth gameplay that is Wii Fit. Control innovations are not part of this discussion because EA is not a hardware company. We are talking about games of substance, not party games here. Any 2 bit company can make Wii Sports or any other party game and Wii Sports is a ***** hardware demo.
- STKD, on 05/16/2008, -2/+1Personal dislike of games vs facts. Welcome back digg.
- CandidateZero, on 05/17/2008, -0/+1Fight Night was good but is no longer being made.
Rock Band is trying to capitalize on Guitar Hero's success.
Sports games are far from "risky" and The Sims have been milked to death.
Occasionally, as with Spore, EA will benefit from buying up everything, but as a company, they are one of the worst and damage the credibilty of the gaming industry.
- fotbr, on 05/16/2008, -1/+2No, I don't think most of EA's games are "really good".
- anshuman, on 05/16/2008, -14/+1Its a Microsoft Company... What do you expect?? Thats how things under microsoft roll. Buy and put labels.
- HolyChimp, on 05/16/2008, -0/+4Um, no it's not?
- SamuelHenderson, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3I think he meant it's 'like a' Microsoft Company... One that just buys and mandates profits and quantity above quality.
Not that there's anything wrong with profits, or quantity, but quality is important too and is usually the first thing that goes out the window in rushing for the quantity bit...
- SamuelHenderson, on 05/16/2008, -0/+3I think he meant it's 'like a' Microsoft Company... One that just buys and mandates profits and quantity above quality.
- HolyChimp, on 05/16/2008, -0/+4Um, no it's not?
- quomen, on 05/16/2008, -1/+3Madden used to be a terrific franchise; I remember how exciting it would be to play the new version.. This was back in 2000. I remember the leap from 2000 to 2001 being huge. It was all good until 2006 when they overcomplicated their game with new "features" which actually hindered game play. The QB Vision cone was terrible.
- heir0fisildur, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Oh man I hate QB Vision. I never play with it turned on. Of course for some reason I am also unwilling to lose when playing Madden. I mean what the heck is the point of playing if you lose. Which means its not overly difficult either, and after a season or so I'm tired of breezing through undefeated.
Same thing happened to me in baseball. Somehow 162-0 is a somewhat unrealistic record... - itsfullofstars, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1They lost the edge for the franchise when they got the NFL contract. Probably lost it before that but it was really evident after they were the only ones with the NFL license.
Bottom line is that the NFL is stupid/greedy and whored out to the highest bidder (EA) thus ruining innovation and creativity.
Good job!
Keep buying the game though.... /sarcasm
- heir0fisildur, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Oh man I hate QB Vision. I never play with it turned on. Of course for some reason I am also unwilling to lose when playing Madden. I mean what the heck is the point of playing if you lose. Which means its not overly difficult either, and after a season or so I'm tired of breezing through undefeated.
- WilliamTM, on 05/16/2008, -0/+4Burnout Paradise is okay, but that's not REALLY done by EA, it's done by Criterion.
- schlef, on 05/16/2008, -2/+1Oh really? You should tell the Criterion people that, I'm sure they would love to know where their paycheck is coming from.
- Tubilakken, on 05/16/2008, -3/+1then make a SKATE 2 alreday
- fr3ddie, on 05/16/2008, -4/+1Ive got FOUR words for you.....
- geniuslocimusic, on 05/16/2008, -2/+3"It's in the game!" (or at least it could be in the game if our board approves the conceptual direction as proposed by a panel of independent software designers, utilizing ques from multi-demographic focus groups...)
- haysmoke, on 05/16/2008, -1/+4madden 08 is horrendous. i was shocked to see how crappy it has become
- noseeme, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1That's what happens when you force developers to churn out a game every year without giving them enough time to make it good. They can't improve upon certain things in the game, because they have to send a final product out to market soon. The same thing happened to the Tony Hawk series, just much faster.
- AlucardX24, on 05/16/2008, -6/+6EA needs to stop existing in general. The last thing gaming needs is one company publishing everything. I don't know about you guys, but I don't purchase EA games unless they're published Valve games.
Also, I couldn't help myself but... DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS!- Katana314, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1Fascist. If you truly supported Valve, you'd buy their games on Steam so they get an extra $10 or so.
- swimmin00, on 05/16/2008, -1/+1Did you throw in that last bit just make sure you got dugg down?
- Sillywombat, on 05/16/2008, -2/+3If one day you wake up and come to the conclusion that there arnt really any more original/fun games left on the market today... chances are that its EAs fault. Im personally bopycotting their products!
- DaDiggydiggyDOC, on 05/16/2008, -2/+5My note to E.A.: Please if your going to force me to play through your servers online can we get a smooth experience? Tiger woods a 4 player game that lags, why? And secondly why aren't you making every game you release use the Fight Night engine? I don't get it is E.A. some french acronym or slang for incompetent? Seriously stop taking a ***** in a box and asking me for $65..
- tumbler360, on 05/16/2008, -0/+12As long as EA continues to make money why would they listen to gamers? That horrible excuse for a game called Army of Two sold 800k copies? That couldn't have cost very much to make but people still buy that crap. They still Buy madden every year also, and ever other ea sports title they churn out.
If you want EA to get better or stop altogether just stop buying their games. It's really that simple. Don't buy anything that comes from them. - Tokyosexwhale, on 05/16/2008, -0/+8Their EA BIG series sucks right now. It used to have some sweet games, but EA is clearly just not focusing on their content right now. Seeing an EA logo on a video game is almost like a mark of shame these days. That's sad EA, fix the damn problem.
- Sharik, on 05/16/2008, -3/+6***** EA!
- wildmXranat, on 05/16/2008, -4/+3LOL, after a couple of job interviews with EA, I decided to not follow up after doing some research into their practices.
We're turning our back to you EA, take notice !- schlef, on 05/16/2008, -3/+2And where are you working now? What practices are you talking about?
- wildmXranat, on 05/16/2008, -1/+1Easy there Sherlock Holmes. I took the time to ask some developers working there, end of story.
- AnthonyC, on 05/16/2008, -0/+1I know a few people that have worked there and said it was the worst place they've ever worked.
- schlef, on 05/16/2008, -3/+2And where are you working now? What practices are you talking about?
- haysmoke, on 05/16/2008, -2/+5listen up EA people ***** hate your guts. clean up your act and start producing quality again. right now it's complete garbage
- AnimeCwboy, on 05/16/2008, -1/+21EA Challenge Nothing, Buy Everything
- exhume, on 05/16/2008, -0/+0How long is it going to be before they release "Dr. J and Larry Bird Go One on One 2009"? Come on, guys!
- scotishstriker, on 05/16/2008, -1/+1why so many pages? 10 seems over the top
- Kidsturk, on 05/16/2008, -1/+1Challenge everything.
Hey guys, this is exactly what EA needs, though. As a controller of these studios, they will push innovation if it looks like improving their profits. So...buy innovative games, and the behemoth will respond. - davideparker, on 05/16/2008, -4/+0Spelling.
- stark2051, on 05/16/2008, -2/+3EA kills puppies!!
- McShr3dd3r, on 05/16/2008, -0/+0I saw it on CNN!!
Just horrible atrocities they did, not to mention they started the fires in San Francisco after the great quake in 1906.
- McShr3dd3r, on 05/16/2008, -0/+0I saw it on CNN!!
- xceptionaly, on 05/16/2008, -3/+2Buried for improper use of the word 'eminent'
- Vash3001, on 05/16/2008, -1/+9EA is just awful.
- MCA2142, on 05/16/2008, -0/+6better proposal: please let the the developers go free.
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