Goodbye, EA!

[MC Prussian]

Feel sorry for the messenger somehow (and then again, I don't), representative of what's wrong with the gaming industry today.

I won't buy another EA product for the foreseeable future.

 

Pay for a product, then pay x amount that amount just to be able to compete on a decent level. Because without, you're behind right from the start and can only play catch-up as time progresses.

 

It's not boycotting, it's not giving a shit any longer.

 

Bethesda, Bioware and Blizzard, same. So many once respected game developers going down the drains. Industry's fvcked.

[Legend_in_blue]

EA have done a great job of taking Bethesda and Bioware down with them.

 

The last Mass Effect game was the final EA purchase I have made.  Although it has to be said Ubisoft are verging on doing exactly the same with their games - at least it is optional in the case of the AC games and it doesn't affect gameplay as it does with EA.  I'm thinking Star Wars Battlefront there.

 

I'm tempted by Fallen Order out in November though. 

 

 

 

[MC Prussian]

2 hours ago, Legend_in_blue said:

EA have done a great job of taking Bethesda and Bioware down with them.

 

The last Mass Effect game was the final EA purchase I have made.  Although it has to be said Ubisoft are verging on doing exactly the same with their games - at least it is optional in the case of the AC games and it doesn't affect gameplay as it does with EA.  I'm thinking Star Wars Battlefront there.

 

I'm tempted by Fallen Order out in November though. 

Ubisoft are bordering on the verge of being highly annoying, for the way they are squeezing the last ounce out of their Assassin's Creed franchise. How many more ACs do we really need?

The market's oversaturated, and it'll take further cuts, redundancies and bankruptcies for the industry to get back to a healthier level.

Edited 12 August 2019 by MC Prussian

[Jaspa]

I smelt the coffee in 2012, can't believe some have taken this long to cob on, they've been inching that shaft further and further into you with each willfully played iteration of FUT. The real problem is it's not actually you they're targeting, don't get me wrong they do take advantage, but the real target is children with lazy or busy, rich parents who let their children free on the virtual fun fair that is modern gaming - the conveyor belt for that market regenerates as the kids/gamers grow out of the cycle to be replenished by more and more excitable, bored kids.

 

Good effort boycotting EA but without the government stopping them milk ridiculous amounts of money out of children and parents, passively or willingly allowing it, it won't stop.

[jammie82uk]

It’s not just EA tho, Rockstar have been doing it for years as well with GTA V not only have they avoided paying any corporation tax for 10 years and was successful in claiming tax credits of £70 million for having a “culturally British” game 

 

they have just released an update where you can actually gamble real world money for in game credits with no withdrawal methods 

[MC Prussian]

The micro transactions thing is one part of the issue, generating some sort of dependency or junior addicts, the other is that franchises such as FIFA or Madden or Assassin's Creed see new prequels and sequels on a yearly basis.

The interest is no longer in providing a good, enthralling game - it's about profit.

 

Mass Effect: Andromeda killed the series for me. Should have left the original three parts alone, or really made an effort of telling a grandiose story.

The end product turned out to be a total mess.

 

The changes in interface, graphics, gameplay from one year to another are minimal. Hence why it feels as if you're paying for the same game again a year later. Sometimes, developers are even as lazy as using the same game mechanics from the previous installment, giving it a bit of a paint job and expect people to pay full price for a half-baked game riddled with bugs (looking at you, Bethesda - Fallout 76, anyone?). Or they re-implement modes previously scrapped, claiming it to be something "new" (Madden).

 

The sooner more people stop buying these products, the better. Players should be rewarded again for playing, not for paying.

Edited 12 August 2019 by MC Prussian

[Dan LCFC]

Sadly can't really see a way back from it. It's too easy a money maker.

[HoustonFox]

Watching this video while playing FIFA UT... 

[Raw Dykes]

Any pay-to-win game can get in the bin. Even if money was no object, I don't see how you're supposed to get any enjoyment out of winning when you know you've got an unfair advantage.

 

I probably sound like an OAP, but I grew up in the 8-bit era, when you had to put a lot of practice into most games to get anything out of them. It meant you got a sense of achievement when you beat a game.

 

I don't really play many games now, but I can echo @jammie82uk's comment about Rockstar. I used to love their games. GTA4 had a decent multiplayer. It was pretty simple and fun. GTA5's was shite, and it replaced the old DLC content, which was almost like a whole new game. Red Dead Redemption's multiplayer was perfect, but I knew that they'd ruin the sequel's in the same way they did GTA5's. I didn't even buy it.

[Guest]

I've never bought a game where you had to pay to compete.

 

You simply have to adjust your expectations and desires. There are plenty of games to choose from.

[RoboFox]

27 minutes ago, FIF said:

I've never bought a game where you had to pay to compete.

 

You simply have to adjust your expectations and desires. There are plenty of games to choose from.

Absolutely this. I've never paid a penny in microtransactions (I only play single player games, because, well... people.)

 

Also those mobile games: bin. Total shit.

 

It's not just pay-to-win either. Companies have started stripping out chunks of content with the intent of selling it back to players at a later date.

 

I've ranted on about this plenty of times on here. The games industry will continue to do this whilst people make the purchases. There are companies that have seemingly made a stand against micro-transactions thus far (CDProjektRed and Hello Games) which is refreshing, but for the vast majority of these AAA gaming studios microtransactions are a gift. They continue to rake in vast sums of money from games months after the release date.

 

And because people are idiots, they will continue to do so.

 

 

[spacemunky]

You don't have to pay in Fifa. There is other modes besides Ultimate Team. Even in UT, you don't have to pay to play. Of course, it is an option and there's that need to compete and spending money comes into play.

 

I certainly understand the draw of Fifa Ultimate Team. I've been playing it for awhile and have chosen to spend money to better my team. I stopped doing that awhile back and will no longer do so. 

 

I did pre-purchase the "Ultimate" Edition of Fifa 20. I get enjoyment out of the game and don't buy many others, so I didn't mind paying for it. I won't be buying packs this time around. I'm not a pro gamer, nor am I making a living playing the game. 

 

If Fifa 20 isn't enjoyable, then I will stop playing it.

 

I would like to see a system where, to improve your team, you are rewarded by spending time playing the game. But of course, that ain't making EA money. 

 

Maybe the banning of Fifa points, like we saw in Belgium, is the way to go.

 

I support those choosing not to buy the game this time around. Maybe EA will get the message.

Edited 13 August 2019 by spacemunky

[Buzzell]

EA will never give a fvck. It’s like a merry-go round. We jump off, someone else jumps on. There’s too much money involved in it nowadays. They only care where the money is. They’ve only started to improve single player modes and Pro Clubs now buts that’s only because the community have been badgering on about it for years but for EA that’s not the money maker. They couldn’t give a toss about updating the game so people enjoy it.

Edited 13 August 2019 by buzzer_b

[Finnegan]

All aboard the CDPR circle jerk love in hype train. Woop woop. 

[Legend_in_blue]

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-04-13-star-wars-jedi-fallen-order-is-a-single-player-story-game-with-no-multiplayer-and-no-microtransactions

 

EA have made this clear.  Ok.

 

 

 

No loot boxes confirmed, no surprise mechanics yet to be confirmed.

 

[Ashley]

Whilst I agree with the majority said in here. If you learn how to trade on Fifa or understanding of a market then you dont need to be buying FP. 

 

I learnt how to trade on the back end of 18 and continued into 19. These past two years I can guarantee they've been my best teams ever and 19 was better than 18. 

 

20 will be better than both. Sadly it's an easy way out to buy FP for people because it's less time consuming. 

 

More games should run like Epic do with Fornite. That is skill based. Yeah if you want buy the battle pass/buy skins or even save the world however the latter pays itself back if you do challenges and missions... 

[RonnieTodger]

Glad I can’t stand Ultimate Team, I’d probably be skint

[Kyuubi]

Cant believe the cow compared loot boxes to kinder f'n surprises!!!

 

[Kyuubi]

1 hour ago, Ashley said:

Whilst I agree with the majority said in here. If you learn how to trade on Fifa or understanding of a market then you dont need to be buying FP. 

 

I learnt how to trade on the back end of 18 and continued into 19. These past two years I can guarantee they've been my best teams ever and 19 was better than 18. 

 

20 will be better than both. Sadly it's an easy way out to buy FP for people because it's less time consuming. 

 

More games should run like Epic do with Fornite. That is skill based. Yeah if you want buy the battle pass/buy skins or even save the world however the latter pays itself back if you do challenges and missions... 

This!

Haven't spent a single penny on FUT ever and still make a few million coins a year trading... this year I've got around 10mil coins from trading and rewards.

 

Trading is one of the aspects of fut I enjoy the most, that's the sad businessman in me coming out

[kingcarr21]

3 minutes ago, Kyuubi said:

This!

Haven't spent a single penny on FUT ever and still make a few million coins a year trading... this year I've got around 10mil coins from trading and rewards.

 

Trading is one of the aspects of fut I enjoy the most, that's the sad businessman in me coming out

Last time I played FUT (probably 3 or 4 years ago) it was all about trading kits. The Man City 3rd kit in particular was always a gold mine. Picking them up for 150 coins and easily selling for anywhere between 700-1200. Was so easy to make coins, especially when you work on a laptop and you have the auctions going all day everyday  

 

Is it still as simple as buying and selling kits or has it got harder to make money?

[Kyuubi]

2 hours ago, kingcarr21 said:

Last time I played FUT (probably 3 or 4 years ago) it was all about trading kits. The Man City 3rd kit in particular was always a gold mine. Picking them up for 150 coins and easily selling for anywhere between 700-1200. Was so easy to make coins, especially when you work on a laptop and you have the auctions going all day everyday  

 

Is it still as simple as buying and selling kits or has it got harder to make money?

 used to sit in the office and do the same thing, now I'm checking the app on my phone every hour!

 

For me I could never get into selling badges/kits, I think it's harder to do so now anyway as the market gets flooded with them so quickly, always used to stick to players and position cards.

[Carl the Llama]

I find it hard to blame companies entirely when consumers have repeatedly proven willing to put up with their practices.  For my part I've refused to pick up anything other than single-purchase games and the odd dlc if it genuinely adds to the game, the only exception being a brief few months of a WOW subscription on special offer.  People are capable of making informed choices.

 

That said we absolute should improve the laws around video games for two very critical reasons:

 

1. Children play a lot of these games.  Impressionable kids who don't necessarily possess the common sense not to drain mum & dad's credit card gambling on finding strong characters/weapons with randomised purchases.

 

2. Video games can be addictive for adults too, especially when you introduce pay to gamble to win mechanics.  There's no easy way to protect people from this if our laws won't stop video game companies putting this 'content' into their games.  FUT is a great example of this: Take a look at the FIFA threads each year and you'll see a few posters who don't seem to be having any actual fun with the game but they keep playing anyway hoping for better 'pack luck'.

 

Edited 16 August 2019 by Carl the Llama

[MC Prussian]

I think the right way of doing it is following Rockstar's model with RDR II, which is a finished game (as far as I know), with only a multiplayer DLC out.

(But I'll let the experts clear that one up in case I'm wrong)

 

And Capcom did it right with Resident Evil 2 Remake also, a game which pretty much offers four separate playthroughs in one game and various bonus modes in the sales copy.

You can tell Capcom loves this game, the amount of detail and graphics are outstanding (RDR II, of course).

[Sir Shep]

Rockstar originally stated that their GTA 5 game was going to have single player dlc, then realised billions can be made online through shark cards. Such a shame but no doubt when GTA 6 is released in about 5 years time I’ll be there drooling and buying day 1. And don’t even get me started on Mass Effect Andromeda 

[Manwell Pablo]

I don't really see the problem buying the base game if you're going to still enjoy the base game, I don't enjoy FIFA anymore predominantly because of loot boxes but they actually make the game less fun and take focus away from other aspects of the game and just make EA focus on UT.  It is alright saying learn how to trade but that still takes a lot of time time and effort which people with a huge bank balance will just bypass.

 

But with other games like Overwatch I'm not so bothered. Surely the best way to send the message is to not by in game purchases not avoid the game all together.

 

EA are the pits for it though, the shit they've just pulled in Apex Legends is an utter joke and I'll be taking an extended break after this season is over.