In 2004 i started playing an MMO called Earth and Beyond, granted it wasn't a Large game, its base was around 50,000 subscribers. The game was a good game, came along before eve in fact a lot of eve's success is old Earth and Beyond players. EA shut down Earth and Beyond, not because it was a poor game but it is in my opinion and opinion of guildmates that the managing and marketing was the cause of the downfall of the game. My guild in Earth and Beyond moved to Star Wars Galaxies, we played there for a couple years and of course i'm sure everyone knows what went on there, but the strange thing was EA was commissioned to oversee SWG - Japan. Well, EA made quick work of that game and before you knew it, it was shutdown as well. This year EA shutdown Sims Online which really wasn't a surprise, Earth and Beyond players were offered a 1 month sub to Sims Online to try and Bait some players into moving over there, but overall the players were disgusted with the offer. EA has tried to make it in the market but continues imo to fail in first of all Managing and secondly Marketing. EA Shutdown Both sequals to their hit title Ultima Online before their planned release. According to their record they buy companies, Aquire their assests and games, and run them into the ground. So my advice to people who want to play Warhammer Online, play it but, consider their track record and be careful, do some research, I hope it never gets shutdown but, to all those that know EA, and their history with managing games, are gunshy to support anything EA produces. Electronic Arts Games Earth and Beyond - Shutdown Sims Online - Shutdown Motor City Online - Shutdown Ultima Online sequals x2 - Shutdown before Release SWG Japan - Shutdown Quote from http://wiki.tentonhammer.com/index.php?title=Electronic_Arts "EA is also notorious for the practice of rushing out products, setting extremely short deadlines and emphasizing good graphics to compensate for the lack of gameplay aspects originally intended by many developers, not implemented due to lack of time." "EA is also criticized for shutting down its acquired studios after a poorly performing game. Many see EA's control and direction as being primarily responsible for the game's failure rather than the studio"
Keeper
EA is the worst of the worst. I have successfully boycotted each and every EA product, and I might breach the boycott for one game: WAR, after I test it myself.
EA milks its consumers through a strategy of releasing expansions and updates that offer little and are meaningless but appeal to a lower-intelligent gamer, examples:
Need for Speed 1, Need for Speed 2, Need for More Money for Speed, Need for Crap: Highway of Death Speed, Need for Nothing
Sims 1, Sims 2, Sims 2 Party Pack, Sims 2 College Thing, Sims 2 Pets, Sims 2 Mo Money
Madden 98, 99, 00, 01 ... 08
EA has also destroyed a number of excellent games:
Sim City
Dungeon Keeper
Ultima Online
EA's long and wide and sordid history of violating the trust, welfare, and financial resources of its customers has not gone unnoticed.
The only way to stop this tyrant --and now it wants to buy Take-Two to destroy the Grand Theft Auto games-- is to boycott EA's products.
It acquires companies, milks their titles, and then destroys the title. Boycott EA.
Don't forget all the non-MMO games they close too. Here's another thing they do, which involves closing games, but not MMO's:
Alright, they make the Burnout and Need for Speed series on the Xbox and Playstation - These game's are playable online. On the Xbox, because of Microsoft's Xbox Live service that people pay for - Microsoft Xbox Live offer all games developers to pay, maintain, and host the servers for every online game on the Xbox - And Microsoft don't close games that people play.
Now, obviously every company accepts this offer, and once a company makes an online game for the Xbox, they don't have to worry about keeping the servers online and whatnot - Microsoft do all that for them (there's exceptions here - like with Halo, Bungee have some control over the servers. But it's still all through Xbox Live - having control over their game's servers is optional for the game developers - Anyway, back to the point...).
Now, here's the twist:
EA deny Microsofts offer to host and maintain the game servers - Instead, they choose to go through the hastle of hosting their own online services (they call it 'EA Nations' or something)... Why is this you wonder? -
The reason they do this, is so when they launch a new game, they can shutdown the old one. Thus, forcing players to upgrade (buy the new version! there's no monthly fee's to these games remembe?), wether they prefer the older version of the game or not.
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EA really are the bastards of a video games company. This is why I don't dare to even touch anything they make. If I want a game by EA, I pirate it. I'm totally against giving money to business' like that.
Oh yeah, mother f***ers killed Medal of Honor too! Mythic are next.
_________ Currently playing: Black Desert Korea (Waiting for EU)
Always hating on instances in MMOs! Open worlds, open PvP, territory control and housing please. More persistence, more fun.
I don't expect WAR to experience the same fate as those other games for several reasons. Those other games were all aquired, weren't they? They don't sound as though they were particularly exciting or successful either, no offense intended. Well that is until the investors start whinning about losing money.
WAR was made alongside EA from the start, and is a much more attractive game overall. Some may remember this but again I will say that at least one other larger IPs development and direction hinges in large part on the reception of WAR, IMO. They have to have WAR as a successful game so that they can research on a broad scale what players like and what works that can easily be applied to this Other Project.
edit: Not to mention they want to challenge Blizzard for the video game crown. Its the one thing Blizzard has that they don't, and I imagine that makes them jealous. blizzard is also working on a new MMO
Well all you have to do is look at Spore to see what direction EA is heading in. The most onerous copy protection ever, it basically installs a virus on your computer that you can't remove.
Sorry EA is digging their own grave. No matter how good a game is, you won't find me touching any game they put out with such a horrendous DRM scheme.
Far as I am concerned I hope everyone boycotts them. Serves them right.
If you don't believe me, go look at Amazon rattings. 9 out of 10 posters rate the game a 1 primarily because of the DRM.
I spent the evening helping reformat and reinstall windows on a neighbor's hard drive after he found out about the virus the game put on his computer. He does actual work on the computer and he actually got a memo today warning of the game from his network people. He is sending the game back and his kids now are irate at him. Such a shame for such a good game.
Comments
EA is the worst of the worst. I have successfully boycotted each and every EA product, and I might breach the boycott for one game: WAR, after I test it myself.
EA milks its consumers through a strategy of releasing expansions and updates that offer little and are meaningless but appeal to a lower-intelligent gamer, examples:
EA has also destroyed a number of excellent games:
EA's long and wide and sordid history of violating the trust, welfare, and financial resources of its customers has not gone unnoticed.
The only way to stop this tyrant --and now it wants to buy Take-Two to destroy the Grand Theft Auto games-- is to boycott EA's products.
It acquires companies, milks their titles, and then destroys the title. Boycott EA.
Anyone knows if Warhammer's customer support is outsourced to India like UO's?
I wish you good luck in EA's clutches.
No, in US Mythic is responsible for customer and tech support, in EU it's GOA - and that's bad news for Euros, as GOA sucks bad.
Don't forget all the non-MMO games they close too. Here's another thing they do, which involves closing games, but not MMO's:
Alright, they make the Burnout and Need for Speed series on the Xbox and Playstation - These game's are playable online. On the Xbox, because of Microsoft's Xbox Live service that people pay for - Microsoft Xbox Live offer all games developers to pay, maintain, and host the servers for every online game on the Xbox - And Microsoft don't close games that people play.
Now, obviously every company accepts this offer, and once a company makes an online game for the Xbox, they don't have to worry about keeping the servers online and whatnot - Microsoft do all that for them (there's exceptions here - like with Halo, Bungee have some control over the servers. But it's still all through Xbox Live - having control over their game's servers is optional for the game developers - Anyway, back to the point...).
Now, here's the twist:
EA deny Microsofts offer to host and maintain the game servers - Instead, they choose to go through the hastle of hosting their own online services (they call it 'EA Nations' or something)... Why is this you wonder? -
The reason they do this, is so when they launch a new game, they can shutdown the old one. Thus, forcing players to upgrade (buy the new version! there's no monthly fee's to these games remembe?), wether they prefer the older version of the game or not.
-
EA really are the bastards of a video games company. This is why I don't dare to even touch anything they make. If I want a game by EA, I pirate it. I'm totally against giving money to business' like that.
Oh yeah, mother f***ers killed Medal of Honor too! Mythic are next.
_________
Currently playing: Black Desert Korea (Waiting for EU)
Always hating on instances in MMOs! Open worlds, open PvP, territory control and housing please. More persistence, more fun.
Well all you have to do is look at Spore to see what direction EA is heading in. The most onerous copy protection ever, it basically installs a virus on your computer that you can't remove.
Sorry EA is digging their own grave. No matter how good a game is, you won't find me touching any game they put out with such a horrendous DRM scheme.
Far as I am concerned I hope everyone boycotts them. Serves them right.
If you don't believe me, go look at Amazon rattings. 9 out of 10 posters rate the game a 1 primarily because of the DRM.
I spent the evening helping reformat and reinstall windows on a neighbor's hard drive after he found out about the virus the game put on his computer. He does actual work on the computer and he actually got a memo today warning of the game from his network people. He is sending the game back and his kids now are irate at him. Such a shame for such a good game.
That's EA for you