If the video game community had a popularity contest right now, EA would be on the very bottom rung.
One of the biggest gaming developers in the industry, Electronic Arts is also the gaming scene’s most hated. From YouTube to Facebook, there is no shortage of fans complaining about EA ripping them off, ruining their favourite games, or denting the gaming industry as a whole.
If you’re a casual gamer who likes playing SBOBET on your phone, you’re probably wondering why EA is on the receiving end of so much animosity. EA is responsible for so many popular video games, including Battlefield, Mass Effect, Need for Speed, and The Sims franchise.
While we can justify or condone an aversion directed towards any game developer, people in the gaming community dislike EA games for the following reasons:
1. Forced multiplayer
In recent years, EA has noticeably pushed multiplayer versions for sequels on games that were originally single-player favourites.
Mass Effect 3, the wildly popular space RPG, received negative reviews after it was launched with tacked-on multiplayer. EA was also forced to publicly defend its decision to introduce co-op gameplay on Dead Space 3, a single player horror game whose strength was making you feel isolated.
For gaming purists, this shift in gameplay proved sacrilegious.
2. Cashing in on classic IPs
Whether it’s the gripping storyline or engaging gameplay mechanics (or both), Need for Speed, Battlefield, and Medal of Honour are among the iconic titles in video game history.
However, EA has been churning out sequels for these games so frequently that there has been a remarkable dip in quality. Need for Speed has had a myriad of reboots in the last decade alone.
The Battlefield series had also become diluted with sequels until DICE revamped it in Battlefield 1.
3. Exaggerated marketing
While big game publishers do have the cash and manpower to roll out the red carpet in promoting their newest titles, EA has been accused of pushing PR stunts that skirt the border of ethics.
The publisher specifically received heat online when it reportedly piggybacked on charity organizer, Child’s Play, to promote Mass Effect 3 in 2012. The company also gained notoriety for hiring actors to pose as Christian activists to protest its new game, Dante’s Inferno, in 2009.
4. Buying out studios and gutting them
Probably the most prominent issue that gamers have against EA is its habit of acquiring smaller game studios and leaving them to rot.
Highly popular developers, like Bullfrog Entertainment, Pandemic, and Westwood Studios, were gobbled up by the gaming behemoth. EA published one or two of the games (often with microtransactions) until shutting the companies down for good.
EA also came after small casual game studios, like PopCap and Playfish, who met the same fate as the larger counterparts.
5. Too much DLC
Aside from buying out popular studios, EA gained notoriety for pushing downloadable content (DLC) for its games, especially on launch day.
While DLCs are no longer a rare sight in video games, EA’s selection has had many of its major gameplay elements locked away as exclusive content. It came to a head when the company released the “beat ‘em up” game called Asura’s Wrath in 2012. The accompanying DLC that purportedly showed its true ending, leaving many of its customers unavoidably wrathful.
How do you feel about EA Games in general?
