Dear EA Louse: Anonymity is for Pussies

[modeps]

The next chapter in the EA Louse saga has been written. Sure we had David Jaffe being David Jaffe, but now we've got a direct response from someone who doesn't hide behind a shroud. Jeff Preston (http://ordohereticus.wordpress.com/2010/10/13/anonymous/) from EA Mythic Art and Design (http://warhammervault.ign.com/fullstory.php?id=58733) has come out swinging, systematically dismantling EA Louse for being a coward and for his illogical ranting.

This whole tirade by EA Louse has me in stitches at the short-sightedness of it. people have no idea what the current management at EA Mythic has done since launch so safeguard people’s jobs. Just no fucking idea. Instead there is just an anonymous letter to stir up a lunch mob of people who know nothing about what’s going on. The truth…it doesn’t matter. “If it bleeds it leads” right? If you get enough buzz, and cry loud enough, people will believe you. People will believe what they want to believe.

In summary, in counter to the woefully biased, slanted and in some cases inaccurate rants of EA Louse I offer a counter from the other side. Admittedly biased as these three people, Jeff, Paul and Kate are my friends. From THIS side of the wall of anonymity I KNOW how hard they work at keeping EA Mythic alive and breathing, to keep seats filled.

Update: This douche isn't from EA, he was just talking about his friends. Non-news and moved.

[Strider]

I read up to the part where it says Warhammer is not for everyone. Yes, indeed, any game is not for everyone.

But still I can't shake the feeling that Warhammer has and still is tanking badly, and not because of the above mentioned reason.
Mythic has not been itself since they went to EA, and that's what I see as the truth. (Also, it's happened lots of times before -> Origin, Westwood etc)

[AspectVoid]

I read up to the part where it says Warhammer is not for everyone. Yes, indeed, any game is not for everyone.

But still I can't shake the feeling that Warhammer has and still is tanking badly, and not because of the above mentioned reason.
Mythic has not been itself since they went to EA, and that's what I see as the truth. (Also, it's happened lots of times before -> Origin, Westwood etc)

Last numbers I saw was that Warhammer Online still had a couple hundred thousand subscribers. Even if the subscriber base has dropped to 100,000 people since then, that's still making over a million dollars a month. I wouldn't call that tanking.

[Strider]

Yes I totally agree on your financial logic. But I am sure EA will stomp it within the next year. They only want big income, a little is too much effort for them.

[Bludgums]

I can support a lunch mob. Is there a Cracker Barrel mob? I'd like the French Toast breakfast?

[Strider]

Also, you didn't calculate the costs for running WAR in your calculation.

I can only say (as old DAoC player) that everyone I know moved on from WAR.

[AspectVoid]

Also, you didn't calculate the costs for running WAR in your calculation.

I can only say (as old DAoC player) that everyone I know moved on from WAR.

I also didn't include any money made off of advertising, new copies purchased, or other EA Mythic projects. The fact is we really don't have any details about their total revenue stream or expenses. But to me, anything that brings in over a million dollars a month isn't something to sneeze at.

[HeartbreakRidge]

Well, a man who is coming out and defending EA Mythic, and his friends, hardly needs to be protected by anonymity.

[Fatbot]

Last numbers I saw was that Warhammer Online still had a couple hundred thousand subscribers. Even if the subscriber base has dropped to 100,000 people since then, that's still making over a million dollars a month. I wouldn't call that tanking.

It just depends on your overhead. I worked as an ABM at a pretty big game company and the ad spend on projects is incredible

It's not like people like Pachter don't let people know it's just that if on average a marketing budget is 60% of a development cost than a 10M+ game gets a 6M+ marketing budget.

So if a game like Warhammer cost 50Mto make it cost 25M to market.

This post was just "life sucks and is not black/white so get used to it" post. Without sounding to horrible or cynical it just makes me wonder why everyone is some cutthroat capitalist when these "businesses are supposed to make money" retorts come up, regardless of the person's political/social disposition.

[MusicToEat]

Warhammer is not for everyone. not everyone will get it. If you aren’t familiar with warhammer, and what it’s about, it looks like a dark, dirty fantasy setting. It is way WAY more than that, and people trying it out from WOW-land will not get it. Folks who pick up WAR on a whim…won’t get it.

...or maybe your games just not fun?

[abso]

...or maybe your games just not fun?

Yup. I played WAR for a couple months when it launched. There just wasn't anything in the game worth doing. Regular questing was nothing special and tended to be buggy. Public quests were cool, but largely underused - I often had to go back to a PQ after I was overleveled to complete it solo. RvR areas were empty due to a lack of content sending you into the RvR areas. The only thing people really played were the various scenario fights. I did enjoy them, but they were so disjointed from the rest of the game that I lost interest.

WAR had the trappings of a good game, but it lacked cohesion. There were too many disjointed parts and it killed the experience before you even realized there was a lack of T3/4 content.

[xXJayeDuBXx]

I'm sure WAR is doing fine. It will never get the numbers WoW has, but I doubt anything ever will.

[kwolf]

Management at EA has always been f*cked up. A while back my bro got laid off from there. I heard many similar stories. I was also in the early WAR beta.
I believe Louse.

[MadHiro]

Well, a man who is coming out and defending EA Mythic, and his friends, hardly needs to be protected by anonymity.

Ding. This. In a world where Corps think its perfectly a-okay to fire someone for not being happy with upper brass, where job performance can be ignored if you don't have the right 'attitude', anonymity is really the only way to say anything that isn't the party line.

Ragging on someone because they aren't stupid enough to raise their hand, wave it about and shout," Me! Unfairly and incorrectly fire me!" isn't the most sensible thing.

[Kragg]

*NOTE: I am not, have never been an EA or MYTHIC Employee. I never worked on WAR or any other EA title. Just so there is no confusion. I’m a freelance illustrator named Jeff Preston and I work in the gaming industry doing art and design stuff. My work website is at team-preston.com if you want my bonafides. I’m keeping this and my work as separate as I can (for obvious reasons).

Short of being shot at, poisoned, stabbed or otherwise given a bad case of death, hiding behind a facade of internet anonymity is for cowards. Could you lose your job? Probably. So get another one. I can guarantee that some place will hire you simply for being forthright, honest and not a pussy when it comes to doing the right thing

Hahahaha, Jeff Preston, you are a self-promoting, opportunistic piece of shit who is utilizing this controversy to drum up your own business.

Being a pussy is jumping into a fight you have nothing to do with (I am not, have never been an EA or MYTHIC Employee. I never worked on WAR or any other EA title.) to defend the big guy, while simultaneously kicking the little guy when they are down.

Pussy.

PS: Your grammar is terrible.

[modeps]

You know what's awesome? I saw this blog post, and went to find out who this guy was and IGN told me that he was from EA Mythic (http://warhammervault.ign.com/fullstory.php?id=58733). Thanks fuckheads.

[Kragg]

You know what's awesome? I saw this blog post, and went to find out who this guy was and IGN told me that he was from EA Mythic (http://warhammervault.ign.com/fullstory.php?id=58733). Thanks fuckheads.

Nope. He says in giant bold letters that he is unaffiliated. Hence my thinking he is just a douche who knows these people and is defending them. He's just graspin' to get noticed while this fire is hot.

I have no ill will whatsoever against Mythic. I'm a current WAR subscriber. I've talked to Carrie Gouskos before and actually enjoy that game.

[modeps]

Nope. He says in giant bold letters that he is unaffiliated. Hence my thinking he is just a douche who knows these people and is defending them. He's just graspin' to get noticed while this fire is hot.

I have no ill will whatsoever against Mythic. I'm a current WAR subscriber. I've talked to Carrie Gouskos before and actually enjoy that game.

That bolded section was added after it hit the scene, you know, when the post was already getting looked at.

[Meusli]

Ding. This. In a world where Corps think its perfectly a-okay to fire someone for not being happy with upper brass, where job performance can be ignored if you don't have the right 'attitude', anonymity is really the only way to say anything that isn't the party line.

Ragging on someone because they aren't stupid enough to raise their hand, wave it about and shout," Me! Unfairly and incorrectly fire me!" isn't the most sensible thing.

Hey Madhiro can you PM me please. :D

[lockwoodx]

Yup. I played WAR for a couple months when it launched. There just wasn't anything in the game worth doing. Regular questing was nothing special and tended to be buggy. Public quests were cool, but largely underused - I often had to go back to a PQ after I was overleveled to complete it solo. RvR areas were empty due to a lack of content sending you into the RvR areas. The only thing people really played were the various scenario fights. I did enjoy them, but they were so disjointed from the rest of the game that I lost interest.

WAR had the trappings of a good game, but it lacked cohesion. There were too many disjointed parts and it killed the experience before you even realized there was a lack of T3/4 content.

RVR now is the only thing to do in WAR. Lakes are always active, SCs poppin, people hitting the city obnoxiously too often.... The game feels like it was put back in the oven finally and if it can survive till the next patch (rvr/skaven pack) then it has a solid chance of recovering.

For anyone interested in trying WAR out, roll/transfer to the Badlands server. It's still the best pvp game out atm sadly.

[randir14]

I am more inclined to believe at least some of EA Louse's story, partly because he brings up obscure subjects that most people don't even remember (like Sanya Thomas's sudden departure from Mythic years ago.) Also nobody believed the explanation Mark Jacobs gave when he left Mythic, the story Louse gives sounds more truthful.

[Booda]

I can support a lunch mob. Is there a Cracker Barrel mob? I'd like the French Toast breakfast?

Yea, a lunch mob sounds great. Sign me up.

[Anenome]

Sandwich monsters and burger demons >_>

[Hennecke]

Flying spagetti monster