EA Being Dragged Through The Mud

Well it is ruff out here for EA, especial after a second class action lawsuit against them has been officially filed. Now I want to say that I feel bad for them, but that would not be completely true. As a gamer I have had it to about here, with developers and publishers releasing games that are not finish. Its about time this become a issue not just for gamers, but for those developers and publishers too, and there bottom line seems like a good place to start. I mention in a previous article called EA Turning Into Cancer For Developers, how I use to love EA, and how I would like to like them in the future. But EA has to go back to believing that gaming is a art, and there is no way you let a artist release a unfinished piece, so why release a unfinished game. Ubisoft got it right when they said in a interview that they would never release an unfinished Assassin's Creed game, not even to uphold a "annual release date" you can find that article here. Now you see that is what I am talking about, a game developer/publisher caring more about the quality of a game over a release date. EA already has a large fan base from all of there different franchises, and the way you grow a base is by of course periodically releasing a updated version of your game. But also by the quality, and undated functionally you put into your updated release. At first I thought EA was getting it when they pulled there NBA Live franchise, deciding to take it back to the labs to refine it,you know make it into a product worth playing. But then four years later, all I can think is did they just release a rehashed version of the NBA Live 10 game (the one they were afraid to release due to how horrible it was) with a updated roster.

I don't just want to pick on just EA, There are several gaming publishers, and developers who have release games that weren't completely finished. There was Bethesda's Skyrim, a game I really enjoy playing but it was patched up like a holey grail. There was Fable 3, Fallout: New Vegas,Dragon Age 2, Grand Thief Auto 5 and those are just a few. I know EA is thinking why is everyone picking on us, we were not the first or last company to release a blatantly unfinished game. But I say, "that is true" which is way a partly feel bad for EA, since they shouldn't be the only one's holding the bag on this. But because of the big publicity other gaming companies will think twice, no three times before they even think about release a unfinished game.

EA Turning Into Cancer For Developers

EA (Electronic Art) was founded in 1982 and when I was a kid, I use to love seeing the EA badge on a game or hearing the " EA it's in the game" slogan. In fact I use to sing the slogan for everything even for things that weren't game related. Like shooting my sock into the sock drawer, "it was in the game". To Keep it simple EA use to produce and publish some awesome games. Old Medal of Honors like Allied Assault, the more older versions of Madden, Mass Effect 2, Need for Speed. But Lately when I see the EA badge on a game, my heart drops a little because "EA its in the game" has turned into "EA its for the money". Its like quality control has gone out the window for quicker release dates. Especial if the previous game was a hit. EA was founded on recognizing gaming as a art form hence their name Electronic Art (EA). But the way that EA has been pushing unfinished games out into the market makes me think that there new version of art is like a mobile phone app, something that needs to be updated weekly. Here are a couple of rules that I wished developers and publishers lived by number 1 not selling me a broken game, number 2 not having day one updates the size of half the game. Number 3 not selling me DLC that should have already been apart of the original game. Those are the three simple rules that gamers need both game dev's and publishers to follow. We are trusting these companies with are money before we even play the game especial when we buy the DLC bundle like packages since we have no idea what type of actual content is going to be on them besides a few screen shoots, that right there is us trusting you not to screw us over. On a rudimentary level we are expecting our games to work. And not some of the features on the back of the box but all of them. (I'm talking to you Rock Stars with that recent GTA5 online multi-player debacle). But I'm also talking about games like Battlefield 4, whose online issues are keeping gamers who purchased that type of game for only one reason, the online multi-player. EA's recent stock drop should be that wake-up call to get themselves together and produce and publish art, and not unrecognizable crap. Here's hoping that one day (and hopeful one day soon) I will be able to fall back in love with "it's in the game".