As much as I'd love to be a lemming on this subject and just jump onto the Internet hate for EA, the fact remains that Activision still has their paid loot crates, with very little backlask, so all that is really proven with this line of discussion is that the Internet says they don't like EA, a meme that pre-dates memes themselves. It hasn't proven that paid loot crates aren't acceptable, it's shown that anyone (even the largest AAA publisher in the world) can have paid loot crates.... unless you're EA.
Where is the rock you've been living under and can I move in because it must be really quiet?
Activision has faced huge, continued backlash for Destiny 2, especially for loot crates. The only real difference is that their bottom line hasn't been hit as hard (namely because the loot crates weren't revealed until the beta tests and their ramifications on the game were obfuscated).
As much as I'd love to be a lemming on this subject and just jump onto the Internet hate for EA, the fact remains that Activision still has their paid loot crates, with very little backlask, so all that is really proven with this line of discussion is that the Internet says they don't like EA, a meme that pre-dates memes themselves. It hasn't proven that paid loot crates aren't acceptable, it's shown that anyone (even the largest AAA publisher in the world) can have paid loot crates.... unless you're EA.
i like loot crates. i bought them occasionally. i dont see the big deal. you want one, buy one. if you dont, then dont.
As much as I'd love to be a lemming on this subject and just jump onto the Internet hate for EA, the fact remains that Activision still has their paid loot crates, with very little backlask, so all that is really proven with this line of discussion is that the Internet says they don't like EA, a meme that pre-dates memes themselves. It hasn't proven that paid loot crates aren't acceptable, it's shown that anyone (even the largest AAA publisher in the world) can have paid loot crates.... unless you're EA.
i like loot crates. i bought them occasionally. i dont see the big deal. you want one, buy one. if you dont, then dont.
I have the exact same relationship with herpes.
Constantine, The Console Poster
"One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves." - Carl Jung
As much as I'd love to be a lemming on this subject and just jump onto the Internet hate for EA, the fact remains that Activision still has their paid loot crates, with very little backlask, so all that is really proven with this line of discussion is that the Internet says they don't like EA, a meme that pre-dates memes themselves. It hasn't proven that paid loot crates aren't acceptable, it's shown that anyone (even the largest AAA publisher in the world) can have paid loot crates.... unless you're EA.
Where is the rock you've been living under and can I move in because it must be really quiet?
Activision has faced huge, continued backlash for Destiny 2, especially for loot crates. The only real difference is that their bottom line hasn't been hit as hard (namely because the loot crates weren't revealed until the beta tests and their ramifications on the game were obfuscated).
It hasn't "hit" their bottomline though. Their results - available here http://investor.ea.com/ - are in line with what they said 3 months ago; which were ahead of what they predicted 3 and 6 months before that. The headline number is impacted by the tax reform changes.
And maybe - maybe - this is because PC games as a whole represent only a small part of what EA does. And the PC side pretty much comes down to The Sims and various incarnations of BattleField.
"Registering annoyance" with a product to make a company change its ways - great thing to do. And EA did react - and they commented pretty extensively about that in their results. If you take the view "never going to support" though why should they change?
Reserve the "never support attitude", imo, for companies / countries that support "bad stuff" whilst looking positively on companies that support "good stuff". Bigger fish to fry out there.
As much as I'd love to be a lemming on this subject and just jump onto the Internet hate for EA, the fact remains that Activision still has their paid loot crates, with very little backlask, so all that is really proven with this line of discussion is that the Internet says they don't like EA, a meme that pre-dates memes themselves. It hasn't proven that paid loot crates aren't acceptable, it's shown that anyone (even the largest AAA publisher in the world) can have paid loot crates.... unless you're EA.
i like loot crates. i bought them occasionally. i dont see the big deal. you want one, buy one. if you dont, then dont.
As much as I'd love to be a lemming on this subject and just jump onto the Internet hate for EA, the fact remains that Activision still has their paid loot crates, with very little backlask, so all that is really proven with this line of discussion is that the Internet says they don't like EA, a meme that pre-dates memes themselves. It hasn't proven that paid loot crates aren't acceptable, it's shown that anyone (even the largest AAA publisher in the world) can have paid loot crates.... unless you're EA.
Where is the rock you've been living under and can I move in because it must be really quiet?
Activision has faced huge, continued backlash for Destiny 2, especially for loot crates. The only real difference is that their bottom line hasn't been hit as hard (namely because the loot crates weren't revealed until the beta tests and their ramifications on the game were obfuscated).
Meh, the D2 stuff was a bit of a different bag, right? Like there was more nefarious stuff going on there. People were fine with the model as it was with Bright Engrams before they found out that Activision was directly and knowingly restricting their progress towards their next FREE Bright Engram.
Even with that, though, after some ruffled feathers, the seas are calm... ish.... once again, right? Destiny 2 still shows as one of the top 3 games of the year, as far as sales go, next to CODWW2 which also has paid loot crates for things that apparently impact the game.
That's mostly my point. When you compare the backlash against each of them, the reasoning is quite clear. It's not a loot crate issue, it's an EA issue.
As much as I'd love to be a lemming on this subject and just jump onto the Internet hate for EA, the fact remains that Activision still has their paid loot crates, with very little backlask, so all that is really proven with this line of discussion is that the Internet says they don't like EA, a meme that pre-dates memes themselves. It hasn't proven that paid loot crates aren't acceptable, it's shown that anyone (even the largest AAA publisher in the world) can have paid loot crates.... unless you're EA.
Where is the rock you've been living under and can I move in because it must be really quiet?
Activision has faced huge, continued backlash for Destiny 2, especially for loot crates. The only real difference is that their bottom line hasn't been hit as hard (namely because the loot crates weren't revealed until the beta tests and their ramifications on the game were obfuscated).
It hasn't "hit" their bottomline though. Their results - available here http://investor.ea.com/ - are in line with what they said 3 months ago; which were ahead of what they predicted 3 and 6 months before that. The headline number is impacted by the tax reform changes.
And maybe - maybe - this is because PC games as a whole represent only a small part of what EA does. And the PC side pretty much comes down to The Sims and various incarnations of BattleField.
"Registering annoyance" with a product to make a company change its ways - great thing to do. And EA did react - and they commented pretty extensively about that in their results. If you take the view "never going to support" though why should they change?
Reserve the "never support attitude", imo, for companies / countries that support "bad stuff" whilst looking positively on companies that support "good stuff". Bigger fish to fry out there.
I wouldn't have expected immediate effects on ActiBungie (BungieVision?), seeing as how, by the time the lootboxes were even known of, most of the community had preordered the game and expansion pass. The earliest we will see any impact is for future non-expansion pass dlc or games, and that's assuming the outrage lasts that long.
Flat year on year growth, with $186m loss in Q3. Means they must have had a good first two quarters to balance out that massive loss. Is that loss due to SWBF2? Is it a more general, overall downturn in revenue due to loss in reputation? Did they get fined by Disney? Are their costs just going up as they ramp up Anthem development or new Battlefield development?
I really want to feel smug about this news as I despise EA, but not enough information available.
More data you say?!?!?
Here's another article I found. It's not flat YOY growth. Their sales of dlc, items, etc. is up 40% YOY while the rest of their sales are flat. So can't really say that I'm surprised to hear that microtransactions will be re-introduced into BF2 in the next couple months.
Simply put, when your sales of digital shit exceeds your game sales by 3 fold, regardless of how many times people tell you that "If only you did away with cash shops, I'd buy your game", you have to believe the numbers. Honestly, if I was a shareholder, I would be disappointed if they decided to do away with microtransactions.
As much as I'd love to be a lemming on this subject and just jump onto the Internet hate for EA, the fact remains that Activision still has their paid loot crates, with very little backlask, so all that is really proven with this line of discussion is that the Internet says they don't like EA, a meme that pre-dates memes themselves. It hasn't proven that paid loot crates aren't acceptable, it's shown that anyone (even the largest AAA publisher in the world) can have paid loot crates.... unless you're EA.
You are definitely right, EA seem to have taken a lot more shit for their loot crates than other companies have.
I think the major difference is that EA do a lot of bad stuff as well as predatory monetisation. I know, personally, that I started boycotting EA games long before their monetisation became overly aggressive. I started boycotting because their games were shit. Every game published under the EA brand has been a disappointment, at least for the last 10 years.
My experience is always that the core game loop is OK, usually fairly bug free and polished. But thats it. I just start getting into a game and then its over. The mechanics don't go deep enough, there are too many restrictions and not enough content. I am disappointed each and every time I play an EA game. Even the Skate series, which I absolutely love, was a disappointment. They have the core loop (the skating) sorted, but everything around it is lacklustre. Not enough missions, world too small, skate park editor too limited, not enough creativity etc.
So, when you take the mediocre games, coupled with EA's ability to destroy popular game studios, the aggressive monetisation just becomes the straw that broke the camel's back.
At least with ActiBlizz, Ubisoft and the other big devs/publishers, they are still trying to make good games. They still experiment with mechanics, new IPs, interesting stories and stuff. They are putting in effort to give us a good experience, even if they don't always get it right. It certainly makes me much more forgiving of their monetisation policies (well, I say that, I still wouldn't play a game that included p2w or lootcrates). This may also explain why there was such an outcry about Destiny 2 - the core game was a disappointment because it didn't offer much beyond D1, so coupled with the lootcrates it just felt wrong.
As much as I'd love to be a lemming on this subject and just jump onto the Internet hate for EA, the fact remains that Activision still has their paid loot crates, with very little backlask, so all that is really proven with this line of discussion is that the Internet says they don't like EA, a meme that pre-dates memes themselves. It hasn't proven that paid loot crates aren't acceptable, it's shown that anyone (even the largest AAA publisher in the world) can have paid loot crates.... unless you're EA.
Where is the rock you've been living under and can I move in because it must be really quiet?
Activision has faced huge, continued backlash for Destiny 2, especially for loot crates. The only real difference is that their bottom line hasn't been hit as hard (namely because the loot crates weren't revealed until the beta tests and their ramifications on the game were obfuscated).
Meh, the D2 stuff was a bit of a different bag, right? Like there was more nefarious stuff going on there. People were fine with the model as it was with Bright Engrams before they found out that Activision was directly and knowingly restricting their progress towards their next FREE Bright Engram.
Even with that, though, after some ruffled feathers, the seas are calm... ish.... once again, right? Destiny 2 still shows as one of the top 3 games of the year, as far as sales go, next to CODWW2 which also has paid loot crates for things that apparently impact the game.
That's mostly my point. When you compare the backlash against each of them, the reasoning is quite clear. It's not a loot crate issue, it's an EA issue.
Nah. It's an industry wide issue of preying on gamers with all manner of obfuscation. It simply came to a head with SWBF2 and Destiny 2 to such an extent that some who are normally oblivious to it noticed it and commented.
That the games continue to sell well despite that is just an indication that the lemmings - the real lemmings - will just keep bending over and saying "Fuck it. I don't care if they're screwing me. It's new, it's shinny and by gosh I'm going to play it."
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
As much as I'd love to be a lemming on this subject and just jump onto the Internet hate for EA, the fact remains that Activision still has their paid loot crates, with very little backlask, so all that is really proven with this line of discussion is that the Internet says they don't like EA, a meme that pre-dates memes themselves. It hasn't proven that paid loot crates aren't acceptable, it's shown that anyone (even the largest AAA publisher in the world) can have paid loot crates.... unless you're EA.
Where is the rock you've been living under and can I move in because it must be really quiet?
Activision has faced huge, continued backlash for Destiny 2, especially for loot crates. The only real difference is that their bottom line hasn't been hit as hard (namely because the loot crates weren't revealed until the beta tests and their ramifications on the game were obfuscated).
Meh, the D2 stuff was a bit of a different bag, right? Like there was more nefarious stuff going on there. People were fine with the model as it was with Bright Engrams before they found out that Activision was directly and knowingly restricting their progress towards their next FREE Bright Engram.
Even with that, though, after some ruffled feathers, the seas are calm... ish.... once again, right? Destiny 2 still shows as one of the top 3 games of the year, as far as sales go, next to CODWW2 which also has paid loot crates for things that apparently impact the game.
That's mostly my point. When you compare the backlash against each of them, the reasoning is quite clear. It's not a loot crate issue, it's an EA issue.
Nah. It's an industry wide issue of preying on gamers with all manner of obfuscation. It simply came to a head with SWBF2 and Destiny 2 to such an extent that some who are normally oblivious to it noticed it and commented.
That the games continue to sell well despite that is just an indication that the lemmings - the real lemmings - will just keep bending over and saying "Fuck it. I don't care if they're screwing me. It's new, it's shinny and by gosh I'm going to play it."
Why would you say they're bending over? By all indications they are getting fucking awesome stuff that is giving them a distinct advantage over everyone else.... at least that's what people have been saying.
To be completely fair, if I was a billionaire, I would probably spend thousands of dollars on games just to assert my real life authority over people in any game that would allow me to do that. So, in that regard, you'd be bending over for me.
As much as I'd love to be a lemming on this subject and just jump onto the Internet hate for EA, the fact remains that Activision still has their paid loot crates, with very little backlask, so all that is really proven with this line of discussion is that the Internet says they don't like EA, a meme that pre-dates memes themselves. It hasn't proven that paid loot crates aren't acceptable, it's shown that anyone (even the largest AAA publisher in the world) can have paid loot crates.... unless you're EA.
Where is the rock you've been living under and can I move in because it must be really quiet?
Activision has faced huge, continued backlash for Destiny 2, especially for loot crates. The only real difference is that their bottom line hasn't been hit as hard (namely because the loot crates weren't revealed until the beta tests and their ramifications on the game were obfuscated).
Meh, the D2 stuff was a bit of a different bag, right? Like there was more nefarious stuff going on there. People were fine with the model as it was with Bright Engrams before they found out that Activision was directly and knowingly restricting their progress towards their next FREE Bright Engram.
Even with that, though, after some ruffled feathers, the seas are calm... ish.... once again, right? Destiny 2 still shows as one of the top 3 games of the year, as far as sales go, next to CODWW2 which also has paid loot crates for things that apparently impact the game.
That's mostly my point. When you compare the backlash against each of them, the reasoning is quite clear. It's not a loot crate issue, it's an EA issue.
Nah. It's an industry wide issue of preying on gamers with all manner of obfuscation. It simply came to a head with SWBF2 and Destiny 2 to such an extent that some who are normally oblivious to it noticed it and commented.
That the games continue to sell well despite that is just an indication that the lemmings - the real lemmings - will just keep bending over and saying "Fuck it. I don't care if they're screwing me. It's new, it's shinny and by gosh I'm going to play it."
Why would you say they're bending over? By all indications they are getting fucking awesome stuff that is giving them a distinct advantage over everyone else.... at least that's what people have been saying.
To be completely fair, if I was a billionaire, I would probably spend thousands of dollars on games just to assert my real life authority over people in any game that would allow me to do that. So, in that regard, you'd be bending over for me.
I guess you either get fair pricing or you don't. If you're willing to pay any price for anything then yeah bud, you're bending over. If you're so wealthy that it doesn't matter to you one way or the other you're just bending over conspicuously with a smile on your face.
It's beyond my comprehension how anyone can deny the concept of fair and appropriate pricing. It makes absolutely no difference whether or not you can afford it.
Funny though that your mind immediately went to paying to win when it's not even about that.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
As much as I'd love to be a lemming on this subject and just jump onto the Internet hate for EA, the fact remains that Activision still has their paid loot crates, with very little backlask, so all that is really proven with this line of discussion is that the Internet says they don't like EA, a meme that pre-dates memes themselves. It hasn't proven that paid loot crates aren't acceptable, it's shown that anyone (even the largest AAA publisher in the world) can have paid loot crates.... unless you're EA.
Where is the rock you've been living under and can I move in because it must be really quiet?
Activision has faced huge, continued backlash for Destiny 2, especially for loot crates. The only real difference is that their bottom line hasn't been hit as hard (namely because the loot crates weren't revealed until the beta tests and their ramifications on the game were obfuscated).
Meh, the D2 stuff was a bit of a different bag, right? Like there was more nefarious stuff going on there. People were fine with the model as it was with Bright Engrams before they found out that Activision was directly and knowingly restricting their progress towards their next FREE Bright Engram.
Even with that, though, after some ruffled feathers, the seas are calm... ish.... once again, right? Destiny 2 still shows as one of the top 3 games of the year, as far as sales go, next to CODWW2 which also has paid loot crates for things that apparently impact the game.
That's mostly my point. When you compare the backlash against each of them, the reasoning is quite clear. It's not a loot crate issue, it's an EA issue.
Nah. It's an industry wide issue of preying on gamers with all manner of obfuscation. It simply came to a head with SWBF2 and Destiny 2 to such an extent that some who are normally oblivious to it noticed it and commented.
That the games continue to sell well despite that is just an indication that the lemmings - the real lemmings - will just keep bending over and saying "Fuck it. I don't care if they're screwing me. It's new, it's shinny and by gosh I'm going to play it."
Why would you say they're bending over? By all indications they are getting fucking awesome stuff that is giving them a distinct advantage over everyone else.... at least that's what people have been saying.
To be completely fair, if I was a billionaire, I would probably spend thousands of dollars on games just to assert my real life authority over people in any game that would allow me to do that. So, in that regard, you'd be bending over for me.
You don't think the Call of Duty lootboxes are the same as the ones planned with Battlefront 2, do you? You seem to equate the two, when they aren't even close. The difference there in provides a pretty easily identifiable reason that EA, not Activision, caught the brunt of the consumer pushback.
If you think they're the same level of monetization, I encourage you to read further on what's contained in CoD loot boxes. EA was selling things that were objectively, without a doubt, upgrades. CoD boxes contain boosters for chances to get rare weapons (a skin or attachment), boosters to XP, and items for co-op zombie mode. CoD may be guilty of selling direct upgrades if the weapon attachments have no downsides at all, but if that's the case they poorly implemented the attachments in the first place.
As much as I'd love to be a lemming on this subject and just jump onto the Internet hate for EA, the fact remains that Activision still has their paid loot crates, with very little backlask, so all that is really proven with this line of discussion is that the Internet says they don't like EA, a meme that pre-dates memes themselves. It hasn't proven that paid loot crates aren't acceptable, it's shown that anyone (even the largest AAA publisher in the world) can have paid loot crates.... unless you're EA.
Where is the rock you've been living under and can I move in because it must be really quiet?
Activision has faced huge, continued backlash for Destiny 2, especially for loot crates. The only real difference is that their bottom line hasn't been hit as hard (namely because the loot crates weren't revealed until the beta tests and their ramifications on the game were obfuscated).
Meh, the D2 stuff was a bit of a different bag, right? Like there was more nefarious stuff going on there. People were fine with the model as it was with Bright Engrams before they found out that Activision was directly and knowingly restricting their progress towards their next FREE Bright Engram.
Even with that, though, after some ruffled feathers, the seas are calm... ish.... once again, right? Destiny 2 still shows as one of the top 3 games of the year, as far as sales go, next to CODWW2 which also has paid loot crates for things that apparently impact the game.
That's mostly my point. When you compare the backlash against each of them, the reasoning is quite clear. It's not a loot crate issue, it's an EA issue.
Nah. It's an industry wide issue of preying on gamers with all manner of obfuscation. It simply came to a head with SWBF2 and Destiny 2 to such an extent that some who are normally oblivious to it noticed it and commented.
That the games continue to sell well despite that is just an indication that the lemmings - the real lemmings - will just keep bending over and saying "Fuck it. I don't care if they're screwing me. It's new, it's shinny and by gosh I'm going to play it."
Why would you say they're bending over? By all indications they are getting fucking awesome stuff that is giving them a distinct advantage over everyone else.... at least that's what people have been saying.
To be completely fair, if I was a billionaire, I would probably spend thousands of dollars on games just to assert my real life authority over people in any game that would allow me to do that. So, in that regard, you'd be bending over for me.
You don't think the Call of Duty lootboxes are the same as the ones planned with Battlefront 2, do you? You seem to equate the two, when they aren't even close. The difference there in provides a pretty easily identifiable reason that EA, not Activision, caught the brunt of the consumer pushback.
If you think they're the same level of monetization, I encourage you to read further on what's contained in CoD loot boxes. EA was selling things that were objectively, without a doubt, upgrades. CoD boxes contain boosters for chances to get rare weapons (a skin or attachment), boosters to XP, and items for co-op zombie mode. CoD may be guilty of selling direct upgrades if the weapon attachments have no downsides at all, but if that's the case they poorly implemented the attachments in the first place.
Oh I don't disagree with regards to the level of the monetization. I remember the time it would have taken to collect all heroes based on playing without purchasing crates, and it was ridiculous.
However, you are also addressing the fact that Activisoin is selling competitive advantages and received less backlash, and less sustained backlash. The only data we're really missing is whether or not EA would have received less or more backlash had they done the same thing as COD. That being said, the difference between selling star cards and weapon upgrades is negligible. The only REAL difference is the grind element that was in BF2.
As much as I'd love to be a lemming on this subject and just jump onto the Internet hate for EA, the fact remains that Activision still has their paid loot crates, with very little backlask, so all that is really proven with this line of discussion is that the Internet says they don't like EA, a meme that pre-dates memes themselves. It hasn't proven that paid loot crates aren't acceptable, it's shown that anyone (even the largest AAA publisher in the world) can have paid loot crates.... unless you're EA.
Where is the rock you've been living under and can I move in because it must be really quiet?
Activision has faced huge, continued backlash for Destiny 2, especially for loot crates. The only real difference is that their bottom line hasn't been hit as hard (namely because the loot crates weren't revealed until the beta tests and their ramifications on the game were obfuscated).
Meh, the D2 stuff was a bit of a different bag, right? Like there was more nefarious stuff going on there. People were fine with the model as it was with Bright Engrams before they found out that Activision was directly and knowingly restricting their progress towards their next FREE Bright Engram.
Even with that, though, after some ruffled feathers, the seas are calm... ish.... once again, right? Destiny 2 still shows as one of the top 3 games of the year, as far as sales go, next to CODWW2 which also has paid loot crates for things that apparently impact the game.
That's mostly my point. When you compare the backlash against each of them, the reasoning is quite clear. It's not a loot crate issue, it's an EA issue.
Nah. It's an industry wide issue of preying on gamers with all manner of obfuscation. It simply came to a head with SWBF2 and Destiny 2 to such an extent that some who are normally oblivious to it noticed it and commented.
That the games continue to sell well despite that is just an indication that the lemmings - the real lemmings - will just keep bending over and saying "Fuck it. I don't care if they're screwing me. It's new, it's shinny and by gosh I'm going to play it."
Why would you say they're bending over? By all indications they are getting fucking awesome stuff that is giving them a distinct advantage over everyone else.... at least that's what people have been saying.
To be completely fair, if I was a billionaire, I would probably spend thousands of dollars on games just to assert my real life authority over people in any game that would allow me to do that. So, in that regard, you'd be bending over for me.
You don't think the Call of Duty lootboxes are the same as the ones planned with Battlefront 2, do you? You seem to equate the two, when they aren't even close. The difference there in provides a pretty easily identifiable reason that EA, not Activision, caught the brunt of the consumer pushback.
If you think they're the same level of monetization, I encourage you to read further on what's contained in CoD loot boxes. EA was selling things that were objectively, without a doubt, upgrades. CoD boxes contain boosters for chances to get rare weapons (a skin or attachment), boosters to XP, and items for co-op zombie mode. CoD may be guilty of selling direct upgrades if the weapon attachments have no downsides at all, but if that's the case they poorly implemented the attachments in the first place.
Oh I don't disagree with regards to the level of the monetization. I remember the time it would have taken to collect all heroes based on playing without purchasing crates, and it was ridiculous.
However, you are also addressing the fact that Activisoin is selling competitive advantages and received less backlash, and less sustained backlash. The only data we're really missing is whether or not EA would have received less or more backlash had they done the same thing as COD. That being said, the difference between selling star cards and weapon upgrades is negligible. The only REAL difference is the grind element that was in BF2.
Not exactly, though. If the weapon attachments contain tradeoffs with detriments, it's much more comparable to a sidegrades system. I know the Battlefield series, traditionally, took this route. Of course, the most recent title completely eschewed sidegrading in favor of straight up "+20% turn rate" upgrades.
Again, if CoD features attachment as straight up upgrades, then their attachment system was poorly implemented and may be geared towards pushing Microtransactions. From what I've read, I'm not certain that's the case with CoD. Seems to be largely focused on XP boosters and collectibles.
AAA game development has always been a corporate concern with the amount of money it can generate. The problem is that business executives don't always understand that the quality of the game and the loyalty of the fanbase (also known as customer retention in the business world) are usually what drives the bottom line in AAA development.
EA's Executives actually understand this very well. What they have been doing very successfully is buying up companies with good reputations, wringing as much money as they can from those companies' goodwill, and then discarding them and repeating the process. They use other companies' quality and loyalty, so they don't need their own. It's because their goals are short-term (5 years or less).
Is it going to catch up to them? It hasn't yet.
Personally, I believe they are delaying to put even more loot boxes/microtransactions into the game, or at least in a way that has less PR issues. But they are definitely do more, not less.
I flat out refuse to buy anymore EA games. After the shit show that was Mass Effect Andromeda and the loot boxes in Battlefront. When I heard this news my thoughts were "good I hope they go out of business."
My gripe is with EA and not the developers who work under their yoke.
Well, a lot of people actually have herpes. There are two common types of herpes viruses.
Herpes Simplex I and II = The oral cold sore lesions are I, the genital lesions are 2 Herpes Zoster (varicella zoster)= Chicken Pox - which can give shingles later on in life.
A lot of people are infected with both. It is the herpes simplex II, which people just think of when they think of Herpes, which tarnishes the 'wonderful' reputation of the variety of herpes virus.
Practically anyone born before the varicella vaccine will have herpes zoster in them.
That doesn't include the other herpesviridae - Epstein-Barr virus, Cytomegalovirus, roseolavirus, and kaposi sarcoma.
Yes you can buy herpes, just go to a brothel of ill-repute and buy some merchandise, don't look before you stick, and you may end up buying it.
Cryomatrix
Catch me streaming at twitch.tv/cryomatrix You can see my sci-fi/WW2 book recommendations.
You go ahead and buy those loot crates(or their pathetic games). I will pass.
Its called consumer responsibility. We should all give up on corporation responsibility. Not happening.
Well, EA employs nearly 10,000 people and the stock just hit an all-time high in the last 24 hours. So...... I don't know what to say. You can disagree with loot crates, that's completely logical. However, to say that people are losing their jobs at a higher rate than anywhere else in the industry and to say that the CEO isn't performing when their stock price has nearly doubled in the past year is fucking retarded. Sorry. I'm not saying you're retarded, I'm saying that idea is retarded.
You go ahead and buy those loot crates(or their pathetic games). I will pass.
Its called consumer responsibility. We should all give up on corporation responsibility. Not happening.
Well, EA employs nearly 10,000 people and the stock just hit an all-time high in the last 24 hours. So...... I don't know what to say. You can disagree with loot crates, that's completely logical. However, to say that people are losing their jobs at a higher rate than anywhere else in the industry and to say that the CEO isn't performing when their stock price has nearly doubled in the past year is fucking retarded. Sorry. I'm not saying you're retarded, I'm saying that idea is retarded.
Pure speculation on my part , but I would have to say that EA's stock only soared because of the rumored Microsoft buyout news. And we are seeing the designed effect of such news. I am sure that BUPG Corporations who is another business that was rumored to be bought out stock value went up. And Microsoft has gone up as well.
Valve was another company that was rumored to be look at by Microsoft, but since it is a private company I don't see Gabe wanting to get rid of it even though he came from Microsoft. But, you gotta love the speculation aspect of rumored news because it drives the market and makes money. Fear and greed and speculation fuel the stock market.
Flat year on year growth, with $186m loss in Q3. Thats what happens if you are trying to convert entertainment into a money-milking industry.And exactly that is what prevents nowadays games to shine as old ones despite the fact that computers and whole IT industry are almost 200 times better than lets say 15 years ago. So keep destroying the gaming with pathetic attempts for implementation on paid services in them.We will be all pleased both to not play em and reading about your loses.
Flat year on year growth, with $186m loss in Q3. Thats what happens if you are trying to convert entertainment into a money-milking industry.And exactly that is what prevents nowadays games to shine as old ones despite the fact that computers and whole IT industry are almost 200 times better than lets say 15 years ago. So keep destroying the gaming with pathetic attempts for implementation on paid services in them.We will be all pleased both to not play em and reading about your loses.
by flat you of course mean upward slope. . .
Shit on EA all you want, they continue to make more and more profit every year. . .
Comments
Activision has faced huge, continued backlash for Destiny 2, especially for loot crates. The only real difference is that their bottom line hasn't been hit as hard (namely because the loot crates weren't revealed until the beta tests and their ramifications on the game were obfuscated).
It hasn't "hit" their bottomline though. Their results - available here http://investor.ea.com/ - are in line with what they said 3 months ago; which were ahead of what they predicted 3 and 6 months before that. The headline number is impacted by the tax reform changes.
And maybe - maybe - this is because PC games as a whole represent only a small part of what EA does. And the PC side pretty much comes down to The Sims and various incarnations of BattleField.
"Registering annoyance" with a product to make a company change its ways - great thing to do. And EA did react - and they commented pretty extensively about that in their results. If you take the view "never going to support" though why should they change?
Reserve the "never support attitude", imo, for companies / countries that support "bad stuff" whilst looking positively on companies that support "good stuff". Bigger fish to fry out there.
Meh, the D2 stuff was a bit of a different bag, right? Like there was more nefarious stuff going on there. People were fine with the model as it was with Bright Engrams before they found out that Activision was directly and knowingly restricting their progress towards their next FREE Bright Engram.
Even with that, though, after some ruffled feathers, the seas are calm... ish.... once again, right? Destiny 2 still shows as one of the top 3 games of the year, as far as sales go, next to CODWW2 which also has paid loot crates for things that apparently impact the game.
That's mostly my point. When you compare the backlash against each of them, the reasoning is quite clear. It's not a loot crate issue, it's an EA issue.
Crazkanuk
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Azarelos - 90 Hunter - Emerald
Durnzig - 90 Paladin - Emerald
Demonicron - 90 Death Knight - Emerald Dream - US
Tankinpain - 90 Monk - Azjol-Nerub - US
Brindell - 90 Warrior - Emerald Dream - US
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More data you say?!?!?
Here's another article I found. It's not flat YOY growth. Their sales of dlc, items, etc. is up 40% YOY while the rest of their sales are flat. So can't really say that I'm surprised to hear that microtransactions will be re-introduced into BF2 in the next couple months.
Simply put, when your sales of digital shit exceeds your game sales by 3 fold, regardless of how many times people tell you that "If only you did away with cash shops, I'd buy your game", you have to believe the numbers. Honestly, if I was a shareholder, I would be disappointed if they decided to do away with microtransactions.
Crazkanuk
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Azarelos - 90 Hunter - Emerald
Durnzig - 90 Paladin - Emerald
Demonicron - 90 Death Knight - Emerald Dream - US
Tankinpain - 90 Monk - Azjol-Nerub - US
Brindell - 90 Warrior - Emerald Dream - US
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I think the major difference is that EA do a lot of bad stuff as well as predatory monetisation. I know, personally, that I started boycotting EA games long before their monetisation became overly aggressive. I started boycotting because their games were shit. Every game published under the EA brand has been a disappointment, at least for the last 10 years.
My experience is always that the core game loop is OK, usually fairly bug free and polished. But thats it. I just start getting into a game and then its over. The mechanics don't go deep enough, there are too many restrictions and not enough content. I am disappointed each and every time I play an EA game. Even the Skate series, which I absolutely love, was a disappointment. They have the core loop (the skating) sorted, but everything around it is lacklustre. Not enough missions, world too small, skate park editor too limited, not enough creativity etc.
So, when you take the mediocre games, coupled with EA's ability to destroy popular game studios, the aggressive monetisation just becomes the straw that broke the camel's back.
At least with ActiBlizz, Ubisoft and the other big devs/publishers, they are still trying to make good games. They still experiment with mechanics, new IPs, interesting stories and stuff. They are putting in effort to give us a good experience, even if they don't always get it right. It certainly makes me much more forgiving of their monetisation policies (well, I say that, I still wouldn't play a game that included p2w or lootcrates). This may also explain why there was such an outcry about Destiny 2 - the core game was a disappointment because it didn't offer much beyond D1, so coupled with the lootcrates it just felt wrong.
That the games continue to sell well despite that is just an indication that the lemmings - the real lemmings - will just keep bending over and saying "Fuck it. I don't care if they're screwing me. It's new, it's shinny and by gosh I'm going to play it."
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
Why would you say they're bending over? By all indications they are getting fucking awesome stuff that is giving them a distinct advantage over everyone else.... at least that's what people have been saying.
To be completely fair, if I was a billionaire, I would probably spend thousands of dollars on games just to assert my real life authority over people in any game that would allow me to do that. So, in that regard, you'd be bending over for me.
Crazkanuk
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Azarelos - 90 Hunter - Emerald
Durnzig - 90 Paladin - Emerald
Demonicron - 90 Death Knight - Emerald Dream - US
Tankinpain - 90 Monk - Azjol-Nerub - US
Brindell - 90 Warrior - Emerald Dream - US
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It's beyond my comprehension how anyone can deny the concept of fair and appropriate pricing. It makes absolutely no difference whether or not you can afford it.
Funny though that your mind immediately went to paying to win when it's not even about that.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
If you think they're the same level of monetization, I encourage you to read further on what's contained in CoD loot boxes. EA was selling things that were objectively, without a doubt, upgrades. CoD boxes contain boosters for chances to get rare weapons (a skin or attachment), boosters to XP, and items for co-op zombie mode. CoD may be guilty of selling direct upgrades if the weapon attachments have no downsides at all, but if that's the case they poorly implemented the attachments in the first place.
Crazkanuk
----------------
Azarelos - 90 Hunter - Emerald
Durnzig - 90 Paladin - Emerald
Demonicron - 90 Death Knight - Emerald Dream - US
Tankinpain - 90 Monk - Azjol-Nerub - US
Brindell - 90 Warrior - Emerald Dream - US
----------------
Again, if CoD features attachment as straight up upgrades, then their attachment system was poorly implemented and may be geared towards pushing Microtransactions. From what I've read, I'm not certain that's the case with CoD. Seems to be largely focused on XP boosters and collectibles.
EA's Executives actually understand this very well. What they have been doing very successfully is buying up companies with good reputations, wringing as much money as they can from those companies' goodwill, and then discarding them and repeating the process. They use other companies' quality and loyalty, so they don't need their own. It's because their goals are short-term (5 years or less).
Is it going to catch up to them? It hasn't yet.
Personally, I believe they are delaying to put even more loot boxes/microtransactions into the game, or at least in a way that has less PR issues. But they are definitely do more, not less.
My gripe is with EA and not the developers who work under their yoke.
Herpes Simplex I and II = The oral cold sore lesions are I, the genital lesions are 2
Herpes Zoster (varicella zoster)= Chicken Pox - which can give shingles later on in life.
A lot of people are infected with both. It is the herpes simplex II, which people just think of when they think of Herpes, which tarnishes the 'wonderful' reputation of the variety of herpes virus.
Practically anyone born before the varicella vaccine will have herpes zoster in them.
That doesn't include the other herpesviridae - Epstein-Barr virus, Cytomegalovirus, roseolavirus, and kaposi sarcoma.
Yes you can buy herpes, just go to a brothel of ill-repute and buy some merchandise, don't look before you stick, and you may end up buying it.
Cryomatrix
You can see my sci-fi/WW2 book recommendations.
http://insiders.morningstar.com/trading/executive-compensation.action?t=EA
You go ahead and buy those loot crates(or their pathetic games). I will pass.
Its called consumer responsibility. We should all give up on corporation responsibility. Not happening.
Well, EA employs nearly 10,000 people and the stock just hit an all-time high in the last 24 hours. So...... I don't know what to say. You can disagree with loot crates, that's completely logical. However, to say that people are losing their jobs at a higher rate than anywhere else in the industry and to say that the CEO isn't performing when their stock price has nearly doubled in the past year is fucking retarded. Sorry. I'm not saying you're retarded, I'm saying that idea is retarded.
Crazkanuk
----------------
Azarelos - 90 Hunter - Emerald
Durnzig - 90 Paladin - Emerald
Demonicron - 90 Death Knight - Emerald Dream - US
Tankinpain - 90 Monk - Azjol-Nerub - US
Brindell - 90 Warrior - Emerald Dream - US
----------------
Valve was another company that was rumored to be look at by Microsoft, but since it is a private company I don't see Gabe wanting to get rid of it even though he came from Microsoft. But, you gotta love the speculation aspect of rumored news because it drives the market and makes money. Fear and greed and speculation fuel the stock market.
Shit on EA all you want, they continue to make more and more profit every year. . .