[RIP] LucasArts

[YellowKing]

I felt a great disturbance in the Force. As if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced.

[jnecros]

Gladius, not that they were going to make a part two even if they didn't get shut down, but seriously one of my most played games of all time. I think I have 500 some hours logged over the years. What a pity

[El Guapo]

Man, people really do not like EA.

[TiLT]

Man, people really do not like EA.

They don't win the "worst company" award twice in a row for nothing.

[YellowKing]

To be honest I've played a ton of EA games over the years and enjoyed many of them. I think most of us have. But their apparent pride in pissing their customers off is what has earned them their hatred. Even winning worst company two years running seemed to be something they laughed off. I don't have a problem with businesses making money, but you've got to be at least somewhat cognizant of customer perception and customer relations. I suppose they're so big, they figure they no longer have to give a damn.

Reminds me of the local Honda dealer I visited one time. Sales guy wouldn't help me, dismissive, condescending, etc. Would not come down on any prices. Finally I said well I'm going to head over to the Toyota dealer. His response? "We don't have to cut deals because there will always be someone else that will buy it."

EA knows people will buy the next iteration of Madden no matter how bad their company is perceived to suck, so why bother. I can't stand that attitude. But yet I still went and bought SimCity and Mass Effect 3 like a good little sheep. They know they have me and millions like me over a barrel.

[morlac]

If this leads to Dice working on a new SW Battlefront than I will be happy. I am having a hard time working up much angst over this. When was the last good SW game? Will EA make a crappy SW game? Most likely but they will also make some good ones I would think.

[TiLT]

To be honest I've played a ton of EA games over the years and enjoyed many of them. I think most of us have.

It wasn't until Dragon Age 2 that their complete disregard for the customers started to show, and it has grown increasingly worse for every game they've published since (taking a giant leap with the creation of Origin). They used to be okay, but apparently being "okay" didn't earn them enough money.

I stopped buying EA games after Mass Effect 3, which I swore would be my last until they changed completely. The interesting thing is that despite not buying games like Dead Space 3 or SimCity, I haven't missed them for a second. In fact, I feel great about not buying them. This shit is like an addiction, and it's not until you stop that you realize just how little it gives you.

There are many companies out there that produce quality games without bending you over and buggering you without lube. More than enough that none of us should need EA.

[LordMortis]

To be honest I've played a ton of EA games over the years and enjoyed many of them.

Me too. I can't say exact timing for sure but I think those years were about 1984 to 1998. And then for whatever reason, they led the charge for destroying my desire to buy $50 games and putting my love for PC gaming mostly on hiatus for a decade.

The distaste for them (not enough to make them most hated company material reserved for companies like WalMart and ComCast) stems from their betrayal. They went from the top to using their stellar reputation to take advantage of my desire to game.

[Grifman]

You all take this far too personally. EA's a company, they do some good things, they do some bad things, none of which is really all the important in the greater scheme of things. I buy their games that I like, those I don't like, I don't buy - I don't really care about EA one way or another, I just care about whether they are making a game that I might like. Nothing they do is really worth getting all that worked up about. Talk of "betrayal" is totally over the top, as if EA had some special duty to you.

[EzeKieL]

You all take this far too personally. EA's a company, they do some good things, they do some bad things, none of which is really all the important in the greater scheme of things. I buy their games that I like, those I don't like, I don't buy - I don't really care about EA one way or another, I just care about whether they are making a game that I might like. Nothing they do is really worth getting all that worked up about. Talk of "betrayal" is totally over the top, as if EA had some special duty to you.

I totally agree.

[Grifman]

In fact, I feel great about not buying them. This shit is like an addiction, and it's not until you stop that you realize just how little it gives you.

There are many companies out there that produce quality games without bending you over and buggering you without lube. More than enough that none of us should need EA.

This makes little sense. If gaming is an addiction give you so little, then why are you happy about the quality games that you can get despite not buying EA games?

[Grifman]

And then for whatever reason, they led the charge for destroying my desire to buy $50 games and putting my love for PC gaming mostly on hiatus for a decade.

They went from the top to using their stellar reputation to take advantage of my desire to game.

If you didn't buy PC games for a decade, then how did they take advantage of your desire to game?

[Grifman]

Frankly, I'm glad SOMEBODY has the license since LA wasn't exactly doing much with it. EA has a financial incentive here to make some good games since they have some skin in the game. I suspect there will be some good games, some mediocre games and some bad games - there always are. But at least we'll get SOME games out in the Star Wars universe.

[LordMortis]

And then for whatever reason, they led the charge for destroying my desire to buy $50 games and putting my love for PC gaming mostly on hiatus for a decade.

They went from the top to using their stellar reputation to take advantage of my desire to game.

If you didn't buy PC games for a decade, then how did they take advantage of your desire to game?

Feeling like I was getting burned at $50 a pop. Around 1998 and 99. I was probably spending about $200 a month on PC gaming and it was in blind buying. There weren't a lot demos then. You bought a box for about $50 pop and hoped you'd enjoy the game. I was finding I was buying a lot of games based on past performance and then feeling putting the games away after not enjoying them for about a half an hour. It's my own fault, but it took me a year or two to realize I disliked the industry was becoming. While it may be my own fault, it's still something EA took advantage of. They were happy to repackage an old game and call it new in a game like SimCity 2000. And even for a winner like DKII, they had no problems with killing the last generation of CD Player (which weren't cheap at the time) with SafeDisk.

But then I'm not full of piss and vinegar. They've just used up most of their chances with me while I lament how they used to be right at the top of my favorites list. I can't see my buying another EA game at full price nor doing so without playing a demo first.

[TiLT]

In fact, I feel great about not buying them. This shit is like an addiction, and it's not until you stop that you realize just how little it gives you.

There are many companies out there that produce quality games without bending you over and buggering you without lube. More than enough that none of us should need EA.

This makes little sense. If gaming is an addiction give you so little, then why are you happy about the quality games that you can get despite not buying EA games?

You're reading it wrong. I'm saying it's EA's latest games that give me so little that I don't feel any loss by ignoring them. I play plenty of games and love them, but EA makes me rage.

[Gavin]

You all take this far too personally. EA's a company, they do some good things, they do some bad things, none of which is really all the important in the greater scheme of things. I buy their games that I like, those I don't like, I don't buy - I don't really care about EA one way or another, I just care about whether they are making a game that I might like. Nothing they do is really worth getting all that worked up about. Talk of "betrayal" is totally over the top, as if EA had some special duty to you.

Maybe. While making bad business decisions will just lose them money, there is a very real fear that holding epic titles hostage to their tactics may succeed financially and slowly begin to erode games as a form of entertainment. I don't play free to play games because I don't know the cost just like I'll regularly pass up merchandise in a store if it has no price tag.

The idea that EA keeps throwing new and less customer friendly DRM or bad DLC practices is insulting. The fear that they may drag the rest of the market along with it if it ever shows promise is actually scary.

So yeah, being angry at a company that is actively/openly trying to make the gaming market a more hostile, less clear, more expensive place where the customer has less say than ever is a legitimate response. They've only recently begun to go down this route of making sure that games become a service instead of a product so that we can never really own or have control over their games. The fact that they occasionally have good IPs just makes it worse. It means we have to put up with their bad service/practices in order to experience the game. I've had to stop buying their games on principle unless I find them at an incredibly discounted rate.

[Daehawk]

this is one of the worst things that could happen to any company or game franchise. EA is the devil. Im surprised they are still around.

[Gavin]

this is one of the worst things that could happen to any company or game franchise. EA is the devil. Im surprised they are still around.

It kind of depends on how they use the franchise. EA is inconsistent on when it enforces its negligent DRM policies. MA 3 and Crysis 3 weren't bad, for example. Though they still did some odd DLC there. I'd say EA is good at throwing money at games. What they produce is typically high quality so there is at least hope that it can turn out alright. With a new CEO at the helm and a firm grasp on how people feel about the company, we may start to see things turn around. "May" being the extremely operative term.

[AWS260]

Afterlife was classic, too. At least among us citybuilding fans. Disco inferno! Hell in a handbasket!

An Afterlife retrospective.

Another detail the game leaves you to figure out is that certain sins and virtues are just distinctly bad for Heaven or Hell. In Heaven, Chastity, Peace, Humility and Contentment are ideal, while in hell the opposite Sloth, Greed and Gluttony are best. Focus on influencing the planet in these sins and virtues and the evolutionary rate of your structures gets supercharged. What’s funny is that this implies, mechanically, that there are heavenly virtues like Diligence and Charity that just kinda suck to be around, while sins like Lust and Wrath are too much fun.

[Kraken]

Nice thread necro! I hadn't thought of this game in years.