EA Games And The Ethics of The Computer Games Industry

I started on Atari and have owned just about every game system since, with the exception of a Sega Saturn. I currently have a PS4, 2 XBox 1s, one Wii U, and three 360's. Of course, the PS4 can stream PS3 games. As far as games go, I have well over five hundred across the above-mentioned consoles... and let us not forget Steam.

Now that I have provided my bonafides, I first want to thank TrueBrit for the OP. This issue has really gotten to me of late. Battlefront 2 is not a very good game. I have played it. The idea that EA wanted to make an absolute killing by ripping people off and giving them a sub-par game at the same time is just pathetic. I wonder what the private market is going to do about it, but I sure don't want legislation. Gamers have a lot of power, and I will not be getting Battlefront 2 (of course I have BF1 lol).

But to the subject in general, I remember getting a bit miffed when DLC became a thing. Up until then, a game was a game, and if you wanted more, you hoped they made a sequel that didn't suck. Now, I appreciate that devs can now be in the position to keep all of a game's assets in place, and to add onto a game. Borderlands 2 had some amazing DLC, and I did not mind paying for that kind of extra content. Bioshock Infinite had one bit of horrible DLC, and then Burial at Sea, which was fantastic. But this whole Season Pass thing is really getting to me. When there are three different versions of every game, and your experience is tailored to how much money you spend on each game. Gamers used to be equal in opportunity, if not skill. It was what made games fun. Now we have class warfare in gaming, and it sucks.

As many systems and games as I have, I have very little time to play. The idea that I would have to sink thousands of hours into one game in order to get what I had already payed for? It is a sad state of affairs. And there are many more guilty parties. I think the thing to do is vote with your wallet and let it be known that we are onto what these people are doing, and that we don't like it.

a reply to: TrueBrit

Agree on all points regarding modern gaming.

I have a question for older gamers (over 40) if you would be kind enough to indulge me. This a bracket i occupy (for a while) but lately have been starting to feel a bit guilty actually gaming.....like i'm a bit too old, even though i still really enjoy. So my question is this.....has anyone else experienced this and if so, please reassure me it will soon go away!

EA has been a blight on The Gaming Community for a decade at least now I honestly avoid them like the plague I avoid them more than I avoid Ubisoft.

a reply to: Flavian

As of last year the average age for gamers was 35. So I don't think there's anything to feel guilty about.

a reply to: Flavian


My dad is 72, a retired Navy master chief and 25 year veteran of AT&T.

He still games daily because he finds TV as boring as I do.

You're just a youngster.

originally posted by: seagull
First off, I'm not a gamer. Some of this jargon that is being tossed around in this thread, I've no clue what's specifically being talked about...

No matter. If I understand the gist of it, EA, and I suppose the many other gaming companies out there seem to be requiring you to spend, after spending God awful amounts in the first place for a game set, to spend even more money to fully enjoy the game?

I've seen the prices they charge for 'em--Sweet Nefertiti!! ...not only are they wanting you to spend money within the game itself, but the quality, in some opinions anyway, seems to have begun lacking?

That hints at a problem that is all too prevalent with any industry that has had such incredible growth. A distinct lack of ethics, and an all too obvious over load of greed.

I know they're monstrous within the industry, but just how big is EA? I'd say stop buying the products--is that a feasible tactic, and still be able to game?

As I said, I know nothing about any facet of this industry. The last console I owned was a Sega--twenty some years ago. When the rule books became novel length, my interest waned, a lot. I'd rather read a real book...

There was a link provided earlier in the thread page 2 or 3 I believe, that listed every developer they have gobbled up, TONS of them
and now most of them are defunct.

They seem to be trying to buy out their competition, eliminate them so they dont have to worry about employees not in line with their "ethics" and corner their markets.

Disgusting

originally posted by: Flavian
a reply to: TrueBrit

Agree on all points regarding modern gaming.

I have a question for older gamers (over 40) if you would be kind enough to indulge me. This a bracket i occupy (for a while) but lately have been starting to feel a bit guilty actually gaming.....like i'm a bit too old, even though i still really enjoy. So my question is this.....has anyone else experienced this and if so, please reassure me it will soon go away!

Guilty about what? Our generation was the first to experience gaming. I'm in my mid 40s. I enjoy video games. I also race RC cars. Funny thing about the RC cars, at races I'd venture half of the people there are over 30. More than a few father / son combos racing.

Gaming is so complicated nowadays anyway and geared more towards adults. Nothing wrong with maintaining some connection to your youth.

The nice thing about doing this kind of stuff as an adult is that you can afford it. I bought an X Box Scorpio on a whim. I'm a casual gamer and don't follow industry stuff closely and didn't realize they had a new system coming out to support 4k. I just bought a 4k TV. Saw they were taking pre-orders so I bought one. When I was 15 I'd have to beg for one for x-mas or wait until I cut enough lawns to buy it.

a reply to: seagull

There are an enormous amount of companies out there besides EA, though they do have a good amount of the most popular titles.

The issue comes in when others start to adopt the same practices because it is more profitable and less resource intensive. Makes perfect sense from a business standpoint and any customers that walk are more than offset by those that don't.

The drastic dip in quality is a good thing from the businesses standpoint; it requires substantially less effort and funds to create the product.

Customers that love to game and enjoy quality on any level other than visual are irrelevant to the business model and will become moreso as other companies adopt it. It behooves anyone in the industry to actually move in this direction en masse, as long as they are not concerned with putting out a quality product. They don't need to, and its more profitable.

I'm still playing my old PS1, worms, micro machines, street fighter, tiger woods golf, etc.
All my mates love it including youngsters because they are so playable and easy to learn.
I guess I'll only upgrade when I can no longer buy discs for it.
I find new games too tiresome to learn needing hours of play for me to master the controls.

a reply to: Serdgiam

Thus the rise we've seen in indie developers. People that actually care about the final product and not just the money. Sure they might not look as good as AAA (although Hellblade looked absolutely gorgeous) but when they're done right they can provide a much more satisfying and complete experience.

a reply to: Xcalibur254

Its actually those companies that do give me hope.

While I think the most likely option is bad news for gamers, the other possibility is that games like Hellblade (truly, truly impressive) and The Witcher will set a precedent that dismantles companies like EA.

*crosses fingers*

originally posted by: Edumakated

originally posted by: Flavian
a reply to: TrueBrit

Agree on all points regarding modern gaming.

I have a question for older gamers (over 40) if you would be kind enough to indulge me. This a bracket i occupy (for a while) but lately have been starting to feel a bit guilty actually gaming.....like i'm a bit too old, even though i still really enjoy. So my question is this.....has anyone else experienced this and if so, please reassure me it will soon go away!

Guilty about what? Our generation was the first to experience gaming. I'm in my mid 40s.

Uh,, no. I was playing Adventure and FoxRab in the 1970's. Zork was released in 1977. If my math is right, that was before you were born. You represent the second generation to experience gaming. But to the original question--no need for guilt. I believe watching TV is far worse. My grandson got me into SW:TOR and this has enhanced my relationship with he and his friends. They are quick to offer me suggestions for new games, and it's kind of funny to see them tailor their suggestions to my limitations of coordination and vision as an older player. I have to keep telling them to slow down because there is no way I can react that fast. My grandson kept bugging me to fight" him and I refused. Eventually I gave in and unleashed a lightning bolt on his character, which killed him in one blow. He doesn't challenge me any more. Once the kids get over the fact that a granddad plays the same games they do it can lead to some spirited conversations. I'm knowledgeable about the hardware so they often ask me for opinions on various rigs. It's kind of fun, actually, because they would be more or less cut off from me without that connection. I'm 68.

originally posted by: schuyler

originally posted by: Edumakated

originally posted by: Flavian
a reply to: TrueBrit

Agree on all points regarding modern gaming.

I have a question for older gamers (over 40) if you would be kind enough to indulge me. This a bracket i occupy (for a while) but lately have been starting to feel a bit guilty actually gaming.....like i'm a bit too old, even though i still really enjoy. So my question is this.....has anyone else experienced this and if so, please reassure me it will soon go away!

Guilty about what? Our generation was the first to experience gaming. I'm in my mid 40s.

Uh,, no. I was playing Adventure and FoxRab in the 1970's. Zork was released in 1977. If my math is right, that was before you were born. You represent the second generation to experience gaming. But to the original question--no need for guilt. I believe watching TV is far worse. My grandson got me into SW:TOR and this has enhanced my relationship with he and his friends. They are quick to offer me suggestions for new games, and it's kind of funny to see them tailor their suggestions to my limitations of coordination and vision as an older player. I have to keep telling them to slow down because there is no way I can react that fast. My grandson kept bugging me to fight" him and I refused. Eventually I gave in and unleashed a lightning bolt on his character, which killed him in one blow. He doesn't challenge me any more. Once the kids get over the fact that a granddad plays the same games they do it can lead to some spirited conversations. I'm knowledgeable about the hardware so they often ask me for opinions on various rigs. It's kind of fun, actually, because they would be more or less cut off from me without that connection. I'm 68.

I was born in '73. My father is the one who actually got me into video games. He brought home the computers and Atari 2600. He would play along side me.

Old School Gamers on this end.

I started out with Atari 2600, and my husband (the avid gamer) has been through every console there is but stopped at the PS2. Battlefront was his favorite game, until the GameSpy servers locked down and it was no longer able to be played online.

These days he plays Star Trek Online via his computer, and is constantly talking about how it costs so much to purchase in game perks, and all the gold star subscription fees even though it's a free to play game.

I'm proud of him that he hasn't bought into the hype, and the EA desecration of Battlefront II has really gotten our goats lately.

It's not just the micro-transactions, it's the targeted crafting of a game that plays off the willingness of the consumer to get the Dopamine High for perks and lootcrates. For us, it's the sheer principle of the thing, and with many games there is no ethic and it is just cleverly masked extortion all for the bottom line dollar.

So many of these "free to play" micro-transaction games are bad enough, and yes, targeted towards children who don't know the value of a dollar and have little to poor impulsive control.

Good on Belgium and good on Hawaii.

What a lot of what these games are doing is based on the elemental psychological principles of gambling.

It's turned cellphones, consoles and desktops into a Skinner Box in every home.

Rats pressing levers for the next "fix" of Dopamine.

originally posted by: Flavian
a reply to: TrueBrit

Agree on all points regarding modern gaming.

I have a question for older gamers (over 40) if you would be kind enough to indulge me. This a bracket i occupy (for a while) but lately have been starting to feel a bit guilty actually gaming.....like i'm a bit too old, even though i still really enjoy. So my question is this.....has anyone else experienced this and if so, please reassure me it will soon go away!

Life has a lot to offer. Don't trade it for a game. Games don't put food on the table. They don't make babies. They're not social. They're not real. This is why you feel guilty. Because it's true. Many gamers know this, but like a cancer, it grows on you and healthy cells are replaced by bad ones.

I notice how so many people now are carrying mobiles or computers and always looking at them. Computers used to be niche. Only people with money and technical needs or interests had them. The affects if any were minimal at the time. Soon though average people started buying them. Our world was once a more social place where we pursued each other in a freer, more natural manner. It's increasingly not that way anymore. Phone systems and radio were one of the very first virtual influences, so this can't be pinned solely on modern computers. Arthur C. Clarke was right social meeting places moved away from cities (and real life) to virtual places, but he's wrong it's the same thing. We're drawing inward and creating unhealthy circumstances which is forcing us to reinvent ourselves. In many ways this is natural. We've always had to adapt and reinvent ourselves or our environment. We've always done this, but maybe for me it's more jarring than a normal person.

If we someday become AI's, by moving parts of our mind to machines, or if we're changing our own mind with AI's or synthetic elements, when do we stop and ask ourselves if this is going too far? OR is that to be considered fear of change, so we should embrace whatever comes along and doesn't immediately present a threat? Maybe we should at least give people the freedom to make their own decisions about this. I dread the day when people are not given a choice because we're deemed unfit to do so.

EDIT: Even just look at arcades. Arcades were around possibly as early as the 60's. But consider they're a much more social environment than modern MMO gaming. Meeting other players in a arcade is a very social and natural physical experience. Sitting at home speaking with others on voice chat whilst blasting baddies is not equal. In our world, ti's being made to be equal, but it's not equal. I don't think it's intentional. It's just happenign. I don't know what academics or experts think about it, but my intuition tells me they're going to focus on the symptoms and not the causal agents. So all this will be invisible to them and get buried by history.

a reply to: jonnywhite



Yeah! Damn computers for making us antisocial!

originally posted by: Xcalibur254
a reply to: jonnywhite



Yeah! Damn computers for making us antisocial!

They don't make us more or less social than industrial or modern life made us overweight or sedentary. Not every1 is susceptible either. And I"m only offering an idea, or fear, of what they might be. I'm not claiming empirical truths. These're all my conjecture. I"m well aware there're numerous technophobes. I've spotted them in my years. It's possible I'm becoming a technophobe as the years pile on, and maybe a subtle cynicism is developing in me. Maybe I've lost my mind? I undeniably have lost some of it.

a reply to: Flavian

Why?

What are you going to do in your spare time? Sit on your butt and watch TV like our parents did?

originally posted by: jonnywhite

Life has a lot to offer. Don't trade it for a game. Games don't put food on the table. They don't make babies. They're not social. They're not real. This is why you feel guilty. Because it's true. Many gamers know this, but like a cancer, it grows on you and healthy cells are replaced by bad ones.

I'm 57 and I game about 20-25 hours a week...I watch maybe a few hours of TV per week. You don't need to trade anything and unless you do consider gaming above everything else then there is no issue. If I'm home with no plans, I will game... that is about it, been that way for 40 years...

originally posted by: Christosterone
Great post...
Here’s my list and which game “defines” each memory...
Basically which game pops up when I think about the console...

Atari - Combat(reflecting tank bullets)
Nintendo - Super Mario
Super Nintendo - Madden
Computer - Doom
XBox - Elder Scrolls of Oblivion

-Chris

Pong
Atari - Missile Command
Nintendo - Zelda
Amiga - Pirates & MegaLoMania
3DO - Star Control 2
Playstation - Resident Evil

Then To PC Eternally.... no more consoles.