EA drops ball on "Madden 06" for PSP

[mille.mots]

I was hoping to submit a user review of EA's "Madden 06" for PSP, but this game is buggy beyond belief. For days, users have been trying to get EA's attention through their "EA Nation" forums, to little or no avail. As a heads up, here's a quick run down of the situation.

In Franchise mode, the game will power off the PSP console under disparate conditions and at random times. EA's 'work arounds' to date (after ignoring the problem for days) is to:

- Pick up a high-rated Free Agent (they suggest Ty Law, who apparently isn't an FA, but there is a 'roster' issue to be discussed later)

- 'Sim' the first two weeks of the regular season

- Disable all music

- Enable 'both' lines (Line-of-Scrimmage and First Down)

Based on the user reports over in the EA forums (http://forums.easports.com/mboards/forum.jspa?forumID=44), none of these tips have individually, nor in any combination, alleviated the lockup/shutdown problem.

In addition to the lockup/shutdown issue, the game also suffers from virtually unplayable 'Online' mode via wireless, contrary to the back of the box which claims 'Compete head-to-head via local wireless or against anyone, anywhere over the Internet.' Apparently, there are stability issues with the gaming server, resulting in an extremely low number of successful game connections. Those players who do manage to get a game going typically report random disconnects, with resulting 'stat' damage (DNF %, W/L ratio, etc.).

As if randomly shutting down the users console and lack of reliable online gaming weren't enough black eyes for one game launch...EA is also advising users to *not* download the online roster updates, as they are corrupt and will result in an inability to play online. There have been no reports of corrupt roster issues affecting single-player modes.

When you take in the big picture of what these individual bugs add up to, it isn't pretty. Essentially, "Madden 06" for PSP is an expensive, single-player vs. CPU, no-franchise/no-career/no-online football simulation. On the positive side, what I can see of the graphics are incredible, the game play is well executed with the exception of occasional pauses, and the music tracks are decent, if a little heavy on the hip-hop. As a preview for "Madden 07," it's not half bad. Right.

Some members over there (on EA) have reported that calls to EA support are ineffective, as EA is claiming not to know anything about the bugs. Sony customer support says EA hasn't notified them of any problems with the game or the hardware, either. Most retail outlets won't take the opened game back for a refund but will cheerfully exchange it for an unopened copy of the same buggy game.

After the 'player size' issue (http://forum.gaming-age.com/showthread.php?t=63503) with the Madden 06 roster update, one has to wonder if EA isn't sitting on fourth down and long...and attempting to go for it.

MM

[Twigz'N'Berries]

Thanks for the heads up.
I hope they took the extra time that they didn't use on the psp version to sexy-up the 360 version. Two months away guys!!

[bobbler]

Hurray for EA. Not often do you see a game get out that is real buggy (on consoles/handhelds at least).

[ezzkmo]

that really sucks, but i'm sorry i'm gonna chuckle at this one.

it's too bad the consumers end up losing out because of EA's bullshit though. first they make sure they are the only ones that can release an nfl football game, then they fuck it up.

[theCurse]

Is anyone really surprised? They're the only game in town. Of course the quality of their games is going to decline.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

I'm sure they'll patch it sooner or later. :rolleyes:

[Demo_Boy]

This is what happens what a publisher gets so powerful they can strongarm through the console manufacturers QA pass.

Sony QA "Uhh theres issues..."
EA "These arent the bugs you are looking for, in fact there are no bugs it is your imagination. Also we are considering not supporting PS3."
Sony QA "SHIP IT!"

[DannoHung]

Boycott EA if you want the bullshit they do to stop.

I haven't bought an EA game since Burnout 3.

[Chandler]

this is probably the game where EA sent all their internships

[Cyotik]

Also boycotting EA... also since Burnout 3 and damn was Battlefield 2 tempting.

[Madhatter45]

Boycott EA if you want the bullshit they do to stop.

I haven't bought an EA game since Burnout 3.


I agree with you 100%. The only way that EA will listen is to not buy their games. I haven't purchased an EA game since 2000 and will continue not to purchase their filth for many more years to come.

[mister_slim]

I hope they took the extra time that they didn't use on the psp version to sexy-up the 360 version. Two months away guys!!
Why would they need to do that? Just make everyone work 80 hours a week instead of 60.

[Phhhh]

Well we can always look to other developers to make an NFL game for the PSP that isn't buggy as sin... oh wait...

[Sensei-X]

Just use the Ken Kutaragi approach, say it's working as intended and that no fixes will be made because no problem exists.

[Everlost_MI]

That's an impressive and informative first post, mille.mots.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

I agree with you 100%. The only way that EA will listen is to not buy their games. I haven't purchased an EA game since 2000 and will continue not to purchase their filth for many more years to come.


I too have no purchased an EA title since 2000, not counting those blasted Sims titles. They look so tempting and shiny on the shelf, and I just give in.

CURSE THEM ALL!!

[protojack]

EA free since SSX3.

Yelling on a forum only brings attention from other gamers, who don't seem to fit into EA's demographic. Hit 'em where it hurts, the bank.

[outontheporch]

http://people.ucsc.edu/~mquery/pics/ea.JPG

[bardockkun]

http://people.ucsc.edu/~mquery/pics/ea.JPG
So the Evil Empire, Rage Against the Machines have been fighting against is EA... Wow, that's pretty terrible butchering...

[LilBunnyFuFu]

I'm boycotting, too. Frankly, EA just doesn't release the games that I want to play. The only time I have played the new madden is when my friend rented it. Honestly, this is bullshit, and I am happy to see it. This shows that lack of competition and greed only breed shitty titles.

[LilAbner]

Is anyone really surprised? They're the only game in town. Of course the quality of their games is going to decline.

Actually, Madden 06 for Xbox is excellent and a vast improvement over 05 imo. Makes me miss 2K6 a little less.

As for the PSP version, thanks for the heads-up...I was debating whether to get this, but now I think I'll rent instead.

[Liquidize105]

Wow, that's one huge &$%@-up, and they're doing it like politico.

I haven't owned an EA game since NFS3, and even that was given to me.

[nonchalance]

As if EA cares about a hardcore gamer boycott?

[Chimpbot]

As if EA cares about a hardcore gamer boycott?

Unfortunately, you speak the truth. EA really doesn't care if the so-called "hardcore gamers" boycott them; we're a small part of the market and we wont be influencing all that much. They target the mainstream and "part-time" gamers, because that's where the money is. Those people'll buy anything with a logo on it that they recognize, regardless of the quality.

I do think this was entirely intentional, however; I've heard a lot of good things about the latest Madden game, so it puzzles me as to why they would screw up so badly with their PSP release. It also puzzles me as to why they seem to be ignoring the problem entirely.

As far as the whole boycott thing goes, I've been doing that since 1995, if not earlier. I only have two games published by EA in my entire collection: The Sims(the original, no expansions) and Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath. That's it.
I might end up making it a grand total of three if and when I pick up one of the Burnout games.
They rarely, if ever, publish games that interest me...which makes avoiding their games that much easier.

[Player 1]

As if EA cares about a hardcore gamer boycott?

Most publishers don't care because, frankly, what's the point? Hardcore gamers represent such a minimal degree of market share it's folly to go after them. Those gamers are informed and will buy what they *want* to, not what they're told to so it's best for EA, Activision, Ubisoft, Eidos, Infogrames and Atari (one and the same really) to persue the market they can influence.

Unfortunately, the hardcore gamer mentality tends to be quite insular and they consider themselves the majority demographic and work themselves up into a froth because they don't understand why the industry isn't listening to them.

As for this - Sony are as much to blame as EA here. I don't care how big and influential EA are, they're not going to be able to overrule Sony about whether a PSP game is ready to release. The platform is too new for Sony to be lax about it - even in this first holiday season. In my experience, SCEA's QA are the most hardcore of the bunch. I've got games through SCEE and SCEJ that SCEA would come back and get sniffy about.

As much as I have no tolerance for the constant and gleeful EA and Sony bashing that appears on this site I think there's no argument here. They need to sort this quick. Or get GTA PSP out so that nobody notices ;)

[outontheporch]

So the Evil Empire, Rage Against the Machines have been fighting against is EA...

Yup. Zach was really into the 2k series, so the NFL buyout was the last straw. That is why Rage broke up.

[Azrikam]

The real shame here is that people who bought the game aren't able to return it for cash, or for a game that actually works as advertised. That's criminal.

Course, they are PSP owners, so they obviously have too much disposable income anyway. (sorry, couldn't resist)

-Also a member of the pointless EA boycott

[pur3r4ge]

As if EA cares about a hardcore gamer boycott?

So do nothing? As consumers, we have basically one power: our money. Yeah, they may not care, but even if it makes a tiny difference, sometimes doing what little you can is better then doing nothing at all.

[Everlost_MI]

Yup. Zach was really into the 2k series, so the NFL buyout was the last straw. That is why Rage broke up.

So is Audioslave the corporate response to the vacuum that was created when RATM broke up? :)

[DannoHung]

There's a subtle illusion here, while hardcore gamers represent a very small market segment, they represent a market segment that is VERY vocal with their consumer dollars.

We may not be able to hurt EA as much as if they somehow lost all of their Madden customers at once, but we can smack the hell out of them on most of the non-sport games.

Imagine Battlefield 2's sales if there were a hardcore boycott.

[jacktion]

Also boycotting EA... also since Burnout 3 and damn was Battlefield 2 tempting.

I was also tempted by Battlefield 2 and I gave in. I am somewhat regretting it now since it only comes with like 5 maps and it needs a cutting edge system to run. And I mean really cutting edge, like 2 gigs of Ram and a 500 dollar card just to run smooth.
There have been a lot of problems with online play being choppy and unplayable even on huge systems. There is some kind of natural problem that is not working well like most succesful online games.
The reviewers never really touched on either of these issues even though the forums are full of people complaining about it. A sure sign that the reviewers are again acting stupidly.

[Player 1]

Imagine Battlefield 2's sales if there were a hardcore boycott.

And that's my entire point about 'hardcore' gamers being insular folks!

You assume that the majority of Battlefield 2 players / owners are hardcore gamers - or, you imply as such by stating that the majority of it's sales must be from hardcore gamer purchases. That's simply not the case - not least because EA games have distribution and OEM deals all over the place. You don't have to buy an EA game for EA to make money from it!

Having said that, denying yourself a fun game just to make a stand against a company that won't notice seems to be cutting your nose off to spite your face. Still, I guess it works for you :)

I don't give a toss who publishes the game so long as the game is good. You won't see me boycotting sales of PAL We Love Katamari just because it bears the EA logo.

[bapenguin]

I will only buy Preowned EA games. They aren't getting any of my money directly.

[Freakshow Billy]

"I was also tempted by Battlefield 2 and I gave in. I am somewhat regretting it now since it only comes with like 5 maps and it needs a cutting edge system to run. And I mean really cutting edge, like 2 gigs of Ram and a 500 dollar card just to run smooth."

That is spoken like someone who has not played the game. There are certainly more than 5 maps and you can adjust the settings so that most machines can run it. I am not saying the game does not have problem, but feeding misinformation is not good.

[EternalGamer]

The real power in a world of globalized capitalism only comes in the form of consumer power. As such, I believe it is the responsibility of those of us who have some of this power to use it responsibly for those who have none. I practice this not just in my videogame purchases but in everything I buy. I make an attempt to avoid buy products that know are a result of the exploitation of labor.

And the thing about it is, you don't have to make a lot of money to do this, nor do you have to really even make that many sacrifices. I am a graduate student teaching English and I make less than $10,000 a year. So I end up paying a dime more when I buy a new folder because I don't want to buy the one that was made in China, so what?. I pay a hell of a lot more for organic milk not because I really concerned about the health issues attached but because I think rBGH is a really scary, shitty and needless thing to do to cows. But so I just buy less milk, it's a luxury item anyway.

Doing a little research I found that most videogames are manufactured under pretty decent conditions. We have of course all heard the crazy crunch time stories, but for the most part, the game industry is still one that hasn't become totally saturated by an exploitation of labor. If you look through your game collection you will probably find that all your manuals, discs, and cases to XBOX, PS2, and Cube games are made in the U.S. Systems, however have been farmed out, but from what I can gather, the factory conditions of MS's production line in Mexico and Nintendo in China are fairly decent (comparatively).

EA is the only company so far whose business practices I have found so egregious as to step over a moral boundary for me. I no longer purchase their products since Oddworld Stranger's Wraith. That might seem like a fairly recent title, and the fact that EA published it weighed heavily on me. However, the Oddworld series has always been one of the few games that actually promotes the type of underlying social and political values I support (not to mention have loads of originality and artistic creativity behind them). It has always been thematically based around a discussion of issues such as environmentalism, corporationalism, and consumerism. Stranger's Wraith, perhaps even more so than previous games. So I found it incredibly ironic that it was published by the one company in the industry whose labor practices I have significant problems with.

It is not always possible to avoid buying products that were produced under conditions I disagree with, nor is it always the most effective way to voice a protest. But I feel that it is the process of at least putting this factor (heavily) into the purchasing equation counts. Sadly, most people don't give it any thought at all, hence the continual growing popularity of Walmart and the "cheapest product" always wins philosophy. Someone can laugh at my naïveté if they want, but at least I no longer feel like a hypocrite, criticizing something with my mouth while I uncritically support it with my dollar without second thought.

Dan

[Roc Ingersol]

Hardcore gamers don't represent a huge market. But part-time gamers follow our lead.

Every time you not-quite-successfully-stifle a chuckle when you see a frat boy holding an EA title, it negates 5 lame tv commercials.

Mock them. Mock them openly and they come around.

[Beelzebud]

I'm glad EA bought up all the rights to sports games.

This will give many gamers a real life lesson in why a monopoly is bad. Competition drives companies to make a quality product. Take away the competition, and the quality usually goes away with it.

I still stand by my position. I buy no EA games. Doesn't matter how cool it looks. I will not give them my money. If more people did the same, they'd be forced to put the quality back in QA...

[danhoo]

It's interesting how people get worked up into a frenzy over EA...

While there's plenty of other companies out there doing things much worse than EA, I think EA represents a potential "dark future" of gaming, where 10 years down the line, EA is dominating and selling bland, buggy games marketed towards the "casual" gamer. Most hardcore gamers do not want this future.

Personally, I haven't bought an EA game since the first SSX. I fully realize that this has almost no effect on EA's bottom line. But I feel better :-)

Beyond boycotting, being vocal about companies like EA can have effects. Sometimes. Take the whole "EA Spouse" thing. I know several new graduates who were interested in selling their souls to EA, but after that and some of the other negative press, have reconsidered. Problems hiring good new talent results in buggier games, which results in consumer dissatisfaction in the long run.

Is this the part where we all join hands and start singing?

[Librum]

You know, I still have the old 'folio' style package for the PC game Starflight, released in 1987, among some of EA's first games. I can't recall the exact language right now, but on the inside flap they've got the five or so guys who designed the game (an independent studio called Binary Systems, I think) who had been published by EA since they were so interested in bringing out 'electronic artists', hence the name, and that they were committed to this and that ideal. How times change.

[Player 1]

Doing a little research I found that most videogames are manufactured under pretty decent conditions...

...EA is the only company so far whose business practices I have found so egregious as to step over a moral boundary for me.

Dan, you need to do a lot more research - beyond the bit you read on the web and the influences of popular, yet mostly incorrect, gamer culture.

A can assure you, nobody at Bungie got much sleep before the release of Halo 2 and neither will Rare now that Microsoft have dictated to them that Perfect Dark Zero is required as a 360 launch title. Hell, even Nintendo have ordered Miyamoto to pull his socks up and get Mario ready for Revolution launch.

It is not always possible to avoid buying products that were produced under conditions I disagree with

Coming from the same post where you proudly declare milk as a luxury item then I'd expect you to be able to avoid buying anything that didn't score enough points on your morality chart. Your ideals are cute though, reminds me of when I was young :p

Hardcore gamers don't represent a huge market. But part-time gamers follow our lead.
Erm no. Insular hardcore gamer mentality strikes again! Have a glance at the game sales top 10 for any week of the year. I guess all those sales of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire were because of the hardcore-gamer influence, right?

Hardcore gamers really need to get over themselves.

EA since they were so interested in bringing out 'electronic artists', hence the name, and that they were committed to this and that ideal. How times change.

Not really. You can still find all the credits to all the people involved in EA's games and manuals. You don't get that with a publisher like Nintendo - out of the 2,200 or so staff at NOJ development, how many have you ever seen credited BEFORE you've beaten the entire game?

The problem is the end-users perception. You proabably don't look for EA credits unless you're looking for someone to blame. You probably consider Nintendo 'mystical' or 'magical' because you know so little of how they work, who they are or how they go about their business - or credit their full complement of staff. Heck, do you even know what their QA department is called??

EA get a lot of stick because they're number 1. They're at that spot because they're the best at what they do - running a business. Just like Microsoft. Just like any number one company in it's field. They get the most stick because they're the obvious target. If you wanted to you could dig up some amazing filth on Nintendo and their practices and treatment of staff, consumers and licencees in the 8-bit era and beyond. But hey, most people just want to believe in the romantic notion that Nintendo are good and EA are evil so they don't go digging for information that might burst their bubble.

And as much as I may disagree with one company's practices over anothers I'll get the damn game if I want to play it. That's all there is to it.

[trip1eX]

Next year you can buy the $50 update which will fix half these bugs and introduce a bunch of others. But hey you'll get updated rosters too.

[Beelzebud]

Player1, you work for EA, don't you? :D

[DoubleUranium]

I know everyone hates lawyers, but couldn't a class action lawsuit be filed against EA for this? The product is clearly defective and falsely advertises features that do not exist/function. All the money would go to the lawyers of course, but at least the money would come from EA.

[fitbabits]

I'm sure this has already been said, but as I'm too lazy to read the whole thread (plus, I'm at work...naughty), I'll go ahead and say it!

Welcome to the Land of No Competition, where Electronic Arts can shovel unfinished/buggy/broken crap out their Donovan McNab-adorned asses with an EXCLUSIVE LICENSE. And you'll buy it. Even though it's fucked. And you'll still buy Madden 2007, Madden 2008, Madden 2009...

[[HATE]MyLife]

The truth of the matter is that EA really couldn't care less about their handheld titles. None of them are developed in-house, and it doesn't seem like they take handheld debug seriously. The console releases, on the other hand tend to be pretty clean. EA schedules the release dates so tight that when the handheld developer doesn't have a very clean submission, EA just submits it anyhow and then starts screaming about the street date. Quite a bit of pressure to approve a title from the largest publisher in the business. Not hard to see why Sony would cave on it.

[daintySCOOPS]

I wasn't planning on putting money on a PSP game again until the one-two punch of Virtua Tennis and GTALSS . . .and this article doesn't really make me want to invest in other games any more.

Question though: (speaking of games making your psp not work)
Has anyone else been having problems with Wipeout Pure? I've been having problems with it freezing and then crashing. I'll wake it up from sleeping, start racing . . .and then VOOM! I get a pretty still-image of what was happening and then the bugger restarts.

I'm guessing it has something to do with the updated V2, or maybe because I have the memory card the system came with? Or maybe, just maybe . . .I've won so many gold medals that the game is frightened to let me continue, for fear that it will eventually be BEATEN?!?!?! :D

[Everlost_MI]

I'm sure this has already been said, but as I'm too lazy to read the whole thread (plus, I'm at work...naughty), I'll go ahead and say it!

Welcome to the Land of No Competition, where Electronic Arts can shovel unfinished/buggy/broken crap out their Donovan McNab-adorned asses with an EXCLUSIVE LICENSE. And you'll buy it. Even though it's fucked. And you'll still buy Madden 2007, Madden 2008, Madden 2009...

Such fucking language for being at work, fitbabits. ;)

[netcraazzy]

Player 1 you may have some good points but you sure know how to rain on somebody's parade. What's with all the gloom and doom huh? You can't say that the well informed gamer has NO influence on the less informed any more than you can rightfully claim that hardcore gamers mean absolutely nothing.

I know of at least 6 people who have bought Xboxes and Xbox Live because I recommended it to them. I also know of 4 people who are now happy WoW subscribers for the same reason. Many of my friends have similar experiences with their relatives and acquaintances. People may not always approach me directly regarding a game purchase they are thinking about but if the topic comes up I certainly give them my opinion on the matter, and most of the time people listen.

Hardcore gamers are the ones marketing types look to when they want to get rolling what is known as the bandwagon effect. They are early adopters, spend a large amount of their disposable income on the product (games) and are very vocal about their purchase decisions. In any other industry those are exactly the types of people you want to keep happy and brand loyal, I find it hard to believe the games industry is much different.

Your point about the top ten games being things like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is true but it’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s a testament to the broad audience that games are enjoying these days. Just because my mother likes a game show and wants to play the game on her PC does not mean I’m going to say “don’t buy that it’s not a ‘hardcore’ game.” At the same time, if my little brother wants to by a football game for his PSP I sure as hell am going to warn him against buying Madden 06 after reading this thread.

[fitbabits]

Such fucking language for being at work, fitbabits. ;)
Quite! :eek:

[Meshyf]

Madden sucks plain and simple.
Everyone needs to stop buying the lowsy "Exclusive" (buggy) Madden games and sit and wait for the Blitz franchise to make its come back.

[Player 1]

Player 1 you may have some good points but you sure know how to rain on somebody's parade. What's with all the gloom and doom huh? You can't say that the well informed gamer has NO influence on the less informed any more than you can rightfully claim that hardcore gamers mean absolutely nothing.

I didn't say that hardcore gamers meant absolutely nothing. But they have a vastly over exaggerated sense of their own importance. Knowing the names of a few Japanese designers and playing a lot of games doesn't make totally incorrect and clearly blinkered and obtuse comments carry any worth in my book.

I'm sorry that I don't dress up my comments with smilies and jokes. Working in the industry for 15 years (including handling the occasional EA product) and then reading more and more gamer rants that display lots of attitude but not much else kind of cuts through my diplomacy filter.

I know of at least 6 people who have bought Xboxes and Xbox Live because I recommended it to them. I also know of 4 people who are now happy WoW subscribers for the same reason. Many of my friends have similar experiences with their relatives and acquaintances. People may not always approach me directly regarding a game purchase they are thinking about but if the topic comes up I certainly give them my opinion on the matter, and most of the time people listen.

And I know of about 200,000 people that bought a game because EA told them to.

This is precisely what I mean about over-exaggerating your own influence. I have absolutely no doubt that your words of wisdom to your friends *are* genuinely more valuable than anything that EA's marketing department can produce. I respect that gamers know *games* (note: games - not industry). But if you think that your sphere of influence means anything in the commerical world of the videogame industry then I'm sorry to say that you're wrong.

Hardcore gamers are the ones marketing types look to when they want to get rolling what is known as the bandwagon effect. They are early adopters, spend a large amount of their disposable income on the product (games) and are very vocal about their purchase decisions. In any other industry those are exactly the types of people you want to keep happy and brand loyal, I find it hard to believe the games industry is much different.

Hardcore gamers represent a small fraction of the overall consumer demographic. To some fims such as Ignition (who specilise in bringing SNK product to the west) that's going to dictate their strategy. But that is a niche market, it's a rarity.

The majority consumer demographic will dictate what drives the market. Like it does in every industry. Your thinking would suggest entire chains of multiplex cinemas would show nothing but independent arthouse movies. In your word book stores would refuse to sell Stephen King or Harry Potter books over independent, first time authors.

Heck, your world sounds kinda cool! ;)

if my little brother wants to by a football game for his PSP I sure as hell am going to warn him against buying Madden 06 after reading this thread.

Perfectly sound reasoning there, the software's unreliable and buggy. A lot more logical than "Don't buy that game, it's made by EA".

[HelpMeee]

Damn, and this was going to be the first game I was actually going to buy for my PSP (I've had it for 2 months now w/out a single game that I'm interested in). Oh well, I guess it's back to WoW for me.

Can anyone recommend a good PSP game (any genre) for me to pick up, not including Madden '06 for the time being?

[netcraazzy]

Player 1, I can see that you and I could go back and fourth about this forever but I'm going to save everybody the grief and say that you make some good points but I don't agree with all of them. I do want to bring up one thing though.

And I know of about 200,000 people that bought a game because EA told them to.

Did EA really tell them to buy it? No. What EA did was consistently shove it in their face so that it was the most recognizable choice.

I went to a hockey game last weekend and after the replay on the video screen they showed a nice flashy ad for NHL 06. I went to a movie a few months ago and before the previews they showed an ad for Madden 06.

That is what makes EA successful and I'm surprised that very few game publishers attempt to build a marketing presence the way EA has.

As for the quality of EA's games I honestly don't think they are any worse than the industry average and average is good enough so long as you have the marketing might to back up your product.

[EternalGamer]

Dan, you need to do a lot more research - beyond the bit you read on the web and the influences of popular, yet mostly incorrect, gamer culture.

A can assure you, nobody at Bungie got much sleep before the release of Halo 2 and neither will Rare now that Microsoft have dictated to them that Perfect Dark Zero is required as a 360 launch title. Hell, even Nintendo have ordered Miyamoto to pull his socks up and get Mario ready for Revolution launch.


For now my "moral tolerance threshhold" for this sort of treatment is generally pretty high. I am mainly talking about providing people with things like a decent, livable wage, and working conditions that are not hazzardous to their health. I guess I should have been more specific about my problems with EA. I am more concerned with their overall business practices and the direction they are pushing the industry than the specific crunch time labor problems. However, I don't recall any class action lawsuits being filed at any of those other major companies you mentioned. If I am just ignorant of them, please let me know.



Coming from the same post where you proudly declare milk as a luxury item then I'd expect you to be able to avoid buying anything that didn't score enough points on your morality chart. Your ideals are cute though, reminds me of when I was young :p


That's funny because you remind me when I was young too, and when I could just shirk any sense of moral responsibility with a heavy dose of cynacism. One of the things that defines maturity, in my mind, is someone who is willing to take on responsibilities not find ways to make excuses for not doing so

We all certainly make compromises when it comes to how much of our comfort we are willing to give up in the name of helping others. My point in bring up the milk was that it was a small example of how an economic compromise can work. I determined I can just buy 1/2 of gallons of organic milk (instead of a gallon of "regular" milk for the same price) and drink more water. To me, it is worth that small sacrifice in order to avoid supporting the use of the bovine growth hormone. There is always going to be more that you could do than you currently are doing in any given area. But the importance is always on keeping a critical dialogue running in your mind about how responsible you are being with whatever amount of economic power you have.

As I said, I used to just look at all this very cynically, but I came to decide that my cynacism isn't worth shit. It doesn't do anything to help anybody. All it does is give me an easy shield and an easy out to prevent me from trying to do what I can. I would like to think that when I die, the world (and not just the human world) has not been a worse off place for me having lived in it. The odds already seem stacked against me, as I think they are for almost all of us.

This is not just some type of pointless ascetic martydom. It is just that my sense of self respect and consumer responsibility are more important to me than playing any given videogame. Having a moral standard to live by can be its own reward and does not necessarily need to be judged in terms of its utility. Of course one always hopes that it does have a utility in the greater scheme of things. But there are somethings in life whose moral applicability is not base on utilitarian standards. When it comes down to the choice between the hedonist and the humanitarian, I have to believe that the humanitarian will probably (and ironically) end up living the more fullfilling life.


Dan

[nonchalance]

Damnit, Dan.

Now boycotting EA is like boycotting sweatshop clothing companies?
Shit.

No more Sims for me. :(

[EternalGamer]

Damnit, Dan.

Now boycotting EA is like boycotting sweatshop clothing companies?
Shit.

No more Sims for me. :(


It's all contextual, hence the reason I used the phrase "in any given area" in discusssing how someone determines how much they are willing to tolerate. Their aggressive monopolizing business tactics along with class action labor suit against them are enough reason, for me, to say that in the area of videogames, this is more than I am willing to support. The amount I'm willing to put up with in an entertainment company, especially given all the inexhaustible choices I have in this field, is considerably lower than on something that is more of a necessity and which I have fewer options.

Dan

[nonchalance]

The amount I'm willing to put up with in an entertainment company, especially given all the inexhaustible choices I have in this field, is considerably lower than on something that is more of a necessity and which I have fewer options.

I haven't time to write the manifesto you've done there, but I'm on that bandwagon with clothing, coffee, and various other things, so I should probably be on it with entertainment as well - this is the gist of what I'm saying.

Certainly, it makes my 'EA couldn't give a flying fuck about a hardcore gamer boycott' redundant, because I doubt very much Nestle care that I'm not buying their coffee.

[Hizawky]

Just get an SNES emulator and load Tecmo bowl on the PSP.

It is the better football game. And you can play with Barry Sanders.

[snubber]

You know, I still have the old 'folio' style package for the PC game Starflight, released in 1987, among some of EA's first games. ... on the inside flap they've got the five or so guys who designed the game

I have the same sitting somewhere in my place. Cool to see another old gamer who's played that legendary game. And yeah, seeing the designers and reading the bios made it such a personal thing...that you're playing their work of art, their vision. Same thing for Seven Cities of Gold, if I remember correctly. Folio packaging, very personal bios on inside about the small team that made the game.

[rainbowblack]

i bought this putrid excuse of a game when it first shipped thinking EA could do no wrong with thier baby

boy was i wrong. as of that day im on the boycott bandwagon as well (thank god i bought burnout revenge beforehand. whew!)

[agrabren]

Dan,
Hate to rain on your parade, but being in the industry as long as I have, I hope you're writing this from your linux machine. The Windows team was pushed exceptionally hard to deliver the products on time. And it's not just Microsoft and EA. All software (and even hardware) publishers enter a "crunch" time, where excessive hours are required to get the job done. It's part of the job. It's like any other job, it's got its perks, and it's got it troubles. Convincing a boycott of EA based on the "sweat shop" notion without including other software companies which do the same would be hypocritical. But don't feel bad for the developers, we do a lot of it because, well, it's fun to us. And the pride of releasing a (functional) product is great.

As far as boycotting EA, having an effect or not, the best thing the gamers can do is raise their voice. You're right, one of us can't make a difference. But we can make the people who CAN make a difference make a difference. The NFL and John Madden both have their names (and in part, their reputations) on the line with this product. This is the first year of a zero-competition model, with the NFL offering exclusive license to one vendor. Now, as the news picks up on this, and bigger and bigger coverage occurs, the NFL looks like it made a very poor decision. The NFL does *NOT* like to be made the laughing stock. And they're powerful. And I promise you, the contracts in place include clauses to cover any "damages", which may include termination of the contract, or revocation of the license entirely.

EA has a lot more riding on this than a bunch of gamers. If they can't control the outcry, and the media decides it's a fun roller coaster to ride, EA can lost it all in regards to their franchises. In a highly unlikely extreme, they could even lose John Madden.

I'd bet that a recall would occur, an apology, and EA will have taken a significant blow in it's stature if this actually becomes a media circus. Because of the hit, Sony and Microsoft will both scrutinize EA titles before allowing their seal, regardless of clout. This is because the only thing more important than having games on your platform is having your platform believed in.