Well, we all know we should hate EA. Day one DLC, Micro transactions, Vulture capitalism, but I want to show you why you need to hate them more. So, I'm writing this.
Part 1: Entry level douchebaggery (IE buying, and closing companies)
Bullfrog Productions: Founded by Les Edgar and Peter Molyneux in 1987, it was acquired by EA in 1995, then merged with EA UK in 2003/4 (People can't seem to agree, it wasn't that long ago, how do we not know this?). Bullfrog became known early on for their game Populous, and later in 1993 for their game Syndicate. Peter Molyneux later went on to form Lionhead Studios.
They recently decided to use Bullfrogs IP Syndicate as a quick cash grab, and brand recognition. They abandoned the top down, tactical style, for a first person shooter, alienating many of the original fans, in an attempt to reach a wider market. Now, I don't want to be completely biased against EA. Top down games are pretty much dead and gone, but, tactical shooters are alive and well, and a cyberpunk tactical shooter could have been a very unique game.
Westwood Studios: Founded in 1985 by Brett W. Sperry and Louis Castle, Westwood Studios started out small, very small. They started in a garage, and later went on to make some of the most popular RTS games out there. The Command and Conquer series. They were bought by EA in 1998, and merged with EA Pacific in 2003, ending the company's almost twenty year run.
Recently, Bioware, has started work on Command and Conquer Generals 2.
Pandemic Studios: Founded in 1998, it became a part of EA in 2007, then was quickly closed down in 2009.
(Full disclaimer, this stuff is a bit out of my depth, so it may be inaccurate, I'll do my best.) Now I say became a part of, because EA didn't buy them, not directly, nor did Pandemic (I imagine) want to be bought by them. In 2005, Pandemic Studios and Bioware joined in a partnership through Evaluation Partners, a private equity fund that invest in IPs. Basically, they were doing it to get funding, WITHOUT, having to be bought by a publisher. It was specifically designed to increase their viability as independent developers, while, obviously, remaining independent. The resulting company was called VG Holding Crop. EA bought that through some sort of "deal" with Evaluation Partners, thus, they aquired both Bioware, and Pandemic studios.
Origin Systems: Founded in 1983, by Brothers Richard and Robert Garriott, their father Owen, and Chuck Bueche. Quite literally a family company. They became known for their Ultima, and Wing Commander Series. They were lauded for their writing, and attention to detail. Ultima maintains a cult following to this day. Origin was bought out by EA in 1992, their last game was released in 1997, and now only create online programs. EG Origin, EAs online distribution service, which uses a repurposed version of the Origin Logo.
Part Two: You want what with what? IE: Day one DLC, and Microtransactions.
Because I can't say it any better than the man himself, ladies and gentlemen, John Roccitello, live, via satellite. (If you have an imagination.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR6-u8OIJTE
Brings a tear to the eye it does... On to day one DLC.
EA has started something called "Project Ten Dollar", I'm sure you've all heard of it. Basically, it means if you don't buy the game new, you miss out on ten dollars of content. An incentive, to buy new, thus making them money. Inoccent enough right? It was, I didn't really agree with it, but I didn't get incredibly mad about it. But since then EA has started, shall we say "testing the waters" to see just how far they can push this.
My main problems with Project Ten Dollar is for gamers who aren't connected to the internet, sure, most of us are, but, there are allot of people who aren't. PS3s being the highest internet connectivity at 78%, the Xbox 360s at 73%, then Wiis at about 54%. So, I'll just focus on the PS3, and 360, since I doubt anyone of the five people who read this are serious, hardcore Wii gamers. That leaves 20% of PS3 players, and 30% of Xbox players out in the rain. That's a significant amount when you look at how many units both have sold. The Xbox 360 has sold 67.2 Million units world wide, 30% of that is 20.1 million, while the PS3 has sold 63.9 million, 20% of that is 12.78 million. Now, obviously, not everyone buys EA titles, (pretty clear due to their stock prices BOOM! TAKE THAT! WHADDYA GONNA DO JOHNNY? WHADDYA GONNA DO?) but, the numbers are there, and a significant proportion of gamers, will be left out. Now recently they've moved to putting in online passes, which obviously negates the problem of gamers being left out, more than they already were anyway.
As I said earlier, EA has been testing the waters, seeing how far they can push it. Recently with ME3, they with held content and released it as paid DLC, for anyone who didn't buy the collectors edition. I won't bore you with a rant about the ME lore, suffice it to say, the character was a pretty big deal in Mass Effect. Not only did they do this, but, it was later found out that the content its self was actually on the disk.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRRpGlmtws8
And through leaked scripts, we can see that he wasn't something added in at the last second, or whatever justification they gave, he'd been planned for almost a year.
Part 3: Karma
EA, like everyone else, had their stock prices take a nose dive back in 08.
And they never really recovered. I'm not going to lie, this sort of stuff is way out of my league. I'll just try and list some things that have happened, and let you put it together. However, this guy does a very good job. (It's a video.)
Recently EA had to lay of 500 to 1000 employees, meaning almost 10% of their staff. This is due to a number of things, one being they haven't really made a profit since 08'. Which is strange considering they've basically cornered the market on sports games, but as I said, way out of my element.
Bioware, responsible for TOR (a game with a budget rumored to be massive) had to lay off employees due to poor performance.
TOR itself has dropped to an alarmingly low player base, I'm guessing it will go F2P soon, which would be embarrassing.
And of course, EA was voted worse company in America by the consumerist.
So, I guess in closing...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T_LT8-uuX4
Right, well, I'm actually sort of proud of myself.
