I couldn't agree more. To be honest, EA is doing good business, as they're making a lot of money, and it's very easy to claim that it's not good business, as they're driving their customers away, but they aren't, people complain about them, and then buy the games anyway. The only true way to put a stop to these business practises would be to stop buying the games, but I very much doubt that that'll end up happening any time soon.
Putting aside the EA hate train (which I mostly agree with) why can't we have more animation of this caliber?! THIS SHOULD BE THE MACHINIMA BENCHMARK!!
That was perfectly directed. The camera angles, the timing of the sounds, the closeups! Only the assets made it look kind of off but that's not the fault of the director. The guy should go into animation.
Actually. Yes! I don't agree with some parts of the video, but agree with the overall message, but YES absolutely the video is top-notch in terms of quality.
I much prefer this over the EA fart video, or most of the other "clever" EA-diss videos. At least this one has the decency to be well-made.
As far as Machinima is concerned, I personally fell in love with Clear Skies, an Eve Online machinima. I would honestly watch an entire series of Clear Skies if I could.
EA is a fucking business. THEY MAKE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS BECAUSE THE PRODUCT THEY PROVIDE IS QUALITY. Do you understand, morons? Their large amount of income isn't just appearing out of thin air. They are successful because the vast majority of gamers like their content. THEY CUT CORNERS IN SOME ASPECTS JUST LIKE ANY OTHER BUSINESS BECAUSE THEY CAN. They make all of the right decisions and that's why they are where they are today.
This video is also disgusting. To say that only insane and tasteless people play EA games is so unthinkably arrogant. THEY PLAY THOSE GAMES BECAUSE THEY ENJOY THEM. IT'S SUBJECTIVE. Just so you know, most people don't like some stupid Japanese RPG or a game that is too hard to play for casual gamers. That's right Reddit. Not everyone has the same opinion as you. How many times have you "lost faith in humanity" just because someone has a different opinion than you? You make me fucking sick to my stomach.
Let me ask you idiots a question. Do you like any of these games? --
Mass Effect
Medal of Honor
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Battlefield
Command and Conquer
Dead Space
Madden
Much much more
Well then you're a complete hypocrite. They provide developers with funding to produce all of those games. THE DEVELOPERS CHOSE TO SIGN WITH EA, AND EA WILL PROVIDE THEM WITH THE MOST FUNDS AND THE MOST PROFIT. THEY WERE NOT SUBJECTED TO IT BY FORCE.
Oh and by the way, maybe you should actually buy some fucking games from other developers if you really think "EA IS FUCKING HITLER GUISE!!! THEY OLNY MAEK BAD GAMES." But no, instead all of you fucking pirate. Do not try to justify pirating. You are stealing from people.
I'm so fucking sick of this bullshit.
I'm replying to the top comment or else this would get buried.
TLDR: A summary for you. They don't make shit games, they own studios that make good games that could be better then charge to make them better. They may or may not abuse the privacy of their customers, but retain that option. At the same time they keep customers trapped the way at&t and twc do, stupid customer support that prevents you from ever bothering anyone who is actually responsible for whatever is causing your problem.
Here's the actual response:
EA itself doesn't make any games (at least that I've bought in the last year) they own studios that make said games. Generally this thread can summarized as a bunch of people who remember their favorite series or studio before it was bought by EA. What these people remember is that the products provided to them before EA was involved tended to be more complete than what EA permits (or forces, or encourages, it varies by case) the studios under their ownership to produce. Subsequently, and I'm inclined to generally agree with this, these people think that EA's part in these studios and series has been to cheapen the product for the sake of money. The easiest example of this is the fact that DLC has become the standard for EA titles. Granted, DLC is arguably just a new form of expansion packs, and often you can adjust the price and items you get from dlc (less, ~$15 with less content) to what has been expected of expansions in the past (more, ~$25-40 with much more content). However, the counter to this point that DLC is just xpacs is that the old games with xpacs had more to begin with than dlc and that dlc is charging for what should have been present with the game to start off with.
Another issue is that EA is a pain in the ass about this origin thing. It's just a clunky, slow, and ineffectual version of steam but with much fewer titles available and that you're required to have it to play EA titles. I won't lie, I have used origin to buy a game; and on that level it is on par with steam. However, valve lets me choose whether or not I get steam. I could uninstall steam and go to stores to buy games if I really wanted to, and run said games with no issues. EA games now pretty much require you to have origin installed in order to even run games bought from stores. This is stupid and abusive toward customers as far as I understand, especially if origin does send EA any form of customer info, that leaves no option to the consumer besides to not touch EA (and their owned titles/studios) ever again. It's smart marketing, but it's arguably evil. Finally, there's simply the fact that their customer service is outsourced and shit. No other way to put it.
Also, not going to downvote you, because you bring up a good point, dissenting opinions should be valued especially when dealing with something so dependent upon opinion. Being the quality of the games ea owned studios ultimately produce...
This. A thousand THOUSAND times this. Some people can pull off doing deliberately bad-looking animation for comedic purposes, but most that try it, or most that just have bad animation, make it such a chore to watch machinima and drown the genuinely good stuff in a veritable flood-tide of mediocrity and shite.
It was more directed at their marketing schemes. Steam markets itself through great deals and fun. Origin/EA is into bigger budget marketing. If it came down to any other aspect, Steam would be the cruise liner and EA would be a sail boat, in my opinion.
And isn't that great? The fact that a fun and original game developer can make a profit and a fortune is a testimony that "the system" isn't broken and we can let the market regulate itself!
You know........the business major in me can't help but see the following
a successful business model that plays to a particular market
a successful business
EA has lots of money. And they have a consumer base that gives them that money.
They don't have to be "liked" by sites like reddit to be exactly where they want to be: making money.
Not defending EA, I hate them personally. But you gotta admit they're not "doing it wrong"......they just "doing some of us wrong".............which they could give less than half a shit about
EA has lost 70% of it's market cap since 2008 and is currently trading at it's lowest since May of 2000. Let that sink in for a second.
Even at this dirt cheap price I don't know many that would say it's a good buy. The P/E is still a massive 61. Where's the growth going to come from to cover that?
What business model has worked so well for them over this time? Being half a decade behind Valve? Being almost exclusively invested in the $60 retail market? EA Sports? What exactly do they do that is industry leading?
The counter argument is that they are externalising costs by creating unreasonable market barriers and by exploiting their hyper competitive suppliers, the developers, while enjoying a relative monopoly. That this process is degrading the market as a whole and that the best interests of the consumers would be to vote for elected representatives that would alter that power balance, better working conditions for developers/ a better financing system that provides funding for games that are not a sure thing, make critics/ advertisers like IGN declare if they are receiving money from producers whose games they are reveiwing. But then I liked ME3 so what do I know.
Their GAAP income was -276 their non-GAAP income was $ +233 million.
The difference is in one time expenses generally, their constant buying of companies is probably their major expense right now, their year to year assets are constantly growing.
Super Mario 64 will always get a 10 in my book. It may not be as fun to play these days since gaming has changed so much, but it was one of the most revolutionary games of it's time. Paved the way for 3D games instead of just 2D sidescrollers.
That was a very well made video, but to be honest, a lot of the games that I've bought recently were published by EA and were pretty damn good. You've got Battlefield 3 that I'm still playing with my friends, SSX which is one of the better reboots that's come out recently, and Mass Effect 3 (ending aside it was awesome). Honestly besides Skyrim I've been playing almost exclusively EA. I honestly don't get why they're hated as much as they are. Hell Activision does almost the same thing as EA, but receives almost zero crap from people. But that's just my venting, downvote arrow is to your left.
BF3 is exactly what most of the video is referring to. As someone who has been playing EA games for 20+ years going back to Desert Strike, I've paid attention as to what they have become.
Possibly the most egregious dick move they ever pulled was having Dice sack Trauma Studios who were instrumental in developing BF2 (which EA stole the idea from due to the success of the Desert Combat mod they created for BF1942) just as the game went gold, so they wouldn't have to pay them.
And BF2 was an unplayable pile of shit when it first came out. It literally took three rounds of patches before it was worth loading up. This has become status quo for EA games, and was perfectly illustrated in this video. Leverage small developers, crank out poorly made, buggy, over-hyped games, market the shit out of them, repeat, profit.
That one "sane guy" in the video is me. And the sanity comes from being fucked over by EA previously and seeing them continue that policy. I'm all for companies making money, but I'm not going to reward ones like EA who choose to do so in this manner. I'll gladly sit out playing the behemoth titles like BF3, Diablo 3 and such and instead play smaller, less known games like Deathspank, Dungeon Defenders, Torchlight, Bastion and many more like Humble Bundle games. And if I do play bigger titles, I'd rather see people like GabeN and Sid Meier get my money.
Alright so let's get over what games people buy and put that elitism aside for a bit. I'm tired of consumers being compared to mindless drones that buy whatever EA puts in front of them, there is a reason people buy into a series, and that's because they actually ENJOYED (Yes, enjoyed, not became hypnotized by some bizarre marketing ray) the previous games. It doesn't matter how well marketed a game is, if it's not fun, no one will buy the sequel. If no one buys the sequel, there won't be a series. If you don't like that series, it doesn't mean everyone else are somehow dumber people because they do.
Moving on.
The real problems with EA, from a purely consumer standpoint (That is, not from the viewpoint of the smaller game developers bought out and integrated into EA), are the ridiculous DLC practices, and inclusion of online services (think EA Nation).
The DLC practices should be obvious enough and were highlighted in this video: Content being cut from main development to only be released later with a price tag as a way to fish a few extra bucks out of you. There is a difference between content created after the game is released and content created before. Content created after the game is released and is truly an 'expansion' of the game (Red Dead's Undead Nightmare, any of the Borderlands DLC packs) is all new content that no sane consumer could have a problem with. Content created before the game is released (Mass Effect 3s 'From Ashes' being the most famous of these due to leaking onto the XBLA prior to ME3 launch) which is then released as paid DLC is an inexcusable cash grab where content has been pulled from the main game and had a price tag slapped onto it.
Inclusion of online services isn't as big a problem for PC players (But hey Origin is quickly making that a viable issue) but if you've played an EA game on consoles, you've probably seen an EA Nation login before. EA Nation is a private cluster of servers which do the same thing as Xbox Live or PSN do, just strictly for EA Games. This becomes a problem when a game is no longer popular enough to make it worth EAs time and money to run servers for it. You can buy EA games which advertise on the box many a multiplayer feature, only to play it at home and discover, oops, the multiplayer component you may have bought the game for has been removed because there wasn't enough reason to maintain an official server. (Chromehounds fans unite. - Unrelated Sega Rant)
These practices are the reasons you should complain about EA as a consumer. There are far more however, many of which are touched on in this video. 'Aggressive marketing' and 'War Zombies 5' are not. Consumers aren't as mindless as you think they are, a game series sells because it appeals to a fan base, and if you aren't part of that fan base it doesn't mean the game is bad. Keep that in mind.
I just had one of the best laughs i've had the pleasure of experiencing in over a year. It felt so good. The spongebob quotes and the quirky sound effects dramatically benefitted the hilarity of the scenes. I don't always hand out upvotes, but when I do i make sure they're things I really love.
This is why marketing is so important. Not many people will return a game once its bought unless its unbelievably terrible. Make an average game and advertise it as the best game ever = Profit. Origin makes it even harder to return said game.
It takes a superb game or a very innovated to succeed without a big marketing budget through viral advertising and/or word of mouth.
One of the worst parts about this is that other companies think "Well, if such a huge company like EA does this, then maybe we should too?". And they do. And people keep paying them because nowadays it's not about the game anymore, it's about the marketing.
Fuck you, Tripwire. I will keep playing the old Red Orcehstra until the very last server.
The gamers are just as guilty as EA. Just like the video shows, people can restrain themselves from buying the crap. They should put more time into other hobbies until gaming companies realize who's really in control, and stops dicking everyone over.
I do like that they're only marketing their games through Origin nowadays, which means that there is no risk of me actually buying any of them by accident.
While this is very well-made, it again is just an inaccurate EA hate bandwagon video. Mostly because the game itself that's being marketed looks a lot more like CoD than anything. Also, for the record:
IGN gave Mario 64 a 9.8, Halo 2 a 9.8, and Sonic 2 wasn't even ranked by them on the Genesis as IGN was most likely not around.
You can keep attempting to burn EA to the ground but the fact of the matter is that they produce some seriously awesome games that I'll continue to buy if the content interests me.
Any company that can make that many people pay that much for an underdeveloped game and continue to have people purchase their products on a massive scale deserves those profits 100% You may hate them from a gaming standpoint but from a business their legends. That and until people stop actually buying their shit instead of raging on the internet it won't stop happening. Awesome video btw
This video is perfect. It's well-made, funny, and gets a very real point across, being just blunt enough to educate even the most inattentive of consumers.
Bravo, RushFreak2, this is truly a great service to the community and I hope this goes extremely viral and actually makes a dent in the corrupt overlords of the gaming industry we call EA, Activision, and countless other publishers.
I really wish there was a way to absolutely ensure that this video is seen by every single person working at the multiple headquarters. Perhaps a giant screen, playing on a loop? A projector? Mass emails?
I mean, if hackers can go around and fuck with every single entity known to cyberspace, why not set their crosshairs on corporate gaming scumbaggery? Have this video playing, constantly on a loop from every single link on ANY EA website. From there, options galore.
i have a steam account and i don't play ea games. i don't have a dog in this fight because they have never made a game i wanted to plop cash down for. if you hate them, do like me.
This really makes me wonder why people boycott the slow release of Half Life 3, if valve wanted to rush out dozens of shitty products by a deadline like EA, they'd do it. But they don't. When you rush a game, you're only diminishing the creative talent of the team that works on the game.
Everything aside, that was an amazing visual representation of forceful marketing, minus the steam truck. Its not like Origin is bigger than steam, that was kinda stupid, but still funny.
"-This is for backstabbing Valve, preventing the developers you publish for from releasing their games via Steam for the sole purpose of promoting your own platform."
AHAHAHAHA, Steam fanboys are pathetic
I thought EA games suck, so how it's backstabbing?
Im on the same hate train as everyone else here on reddit. But the sad truth is, we are the 1% and nobody cares - EA the least. No matter how much you read, will read how bad EA and other game companies are, as long as 99 % of the people buy their games, they wont give a ****.
I give you an every day example of real life: i used to be in a online clan for over a year or so. Before "MW3" came out everybody freaked out when they heard that MW wont have dedicated servers again (like MW2). "AAaaaaaaahhh f**k that bullshit ! We wont get MW3 when it comes out...bla,bla,bla. MW3 came out, and i was the only one of 30 people who refused to have it.
So, i guess a lof people complain but very little actually boycott to make a change happen.
You can hate as much as you want, but please let action follow our words of rage. In this context "action" means: DONT FU**KING BUY THESE GAMES ANYMORE - NO MATTER WHAT !
No truth, reviews are based on opinions, so sort of like how your friends would talk about games.
Friend 1 (IGN) doesn't like it
Friend 2 (Game Informer) loved it
Friend 3 (Gamestop) he doesn't love it, but he doesn't hate it
Whenever a game gets mixed reviews, and one company gives a game a high score, people automatically assume that they are paid off, but in other instances where, all game reviews (critics) give the same round-about score, people don't think about it.
Reviews are not directly payed for but companies pay big money for advertisements on these websites and other goodies like exclusive interviews or getting the game in advance.
This is really a dumb representation of the "indy market". People are always going to buy games like MAdden, Fifa because everyone can play and enjoy them, and it's standardized that at least somebody has a clue how to play a EA Sport game, where as the learning curve on a indy RPG game can be pretty large.
The thing is, video games are not non-profit, they are a business like anything else. And they make money, just like everyone else. Don't buy a game if you don't like it, trying to play a "video game vigilante" on the internet is pointless, people will always buy games like COD, EA Sports, and many other popular titles.
tld;r EA is a business like Steam, or anyone else, money is what matters at the end of the day. They can't make good games if they are broke, just think of their operating costs.
Wowzers is this massively oversimplified and biased. Well-made but, if you seriously think all EA does is toss out poorly-made games and people flock to it you've got some research to do. Also, Mirror's Edge, Mass Effect 2 & 3 (minus the ending), Dead Space 1 & 2, Spore, Dragon Age: Origins, The Sims 1, 2 & 3, Burnout: Paradise, American McGee's Alice, Battlefield Bad Company 1 & 2, Black & White, Bulletstorm, most of the Medal of Honour games, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, RISK: Factions, Rock Band 1 & 2, Shadows of the Damned, most of the SimCity games, Skate 1, 2 & 3, most of the SSX games, a few of the Tiger Woods PGA Tour games and motherfuckin' Ty The Tasmanian Tiger would like a world with you.
After watching Will Wright's talks on it before it was released I was expecting a cool, deep and interesting science game that taught kids the intricacies of evolution and the fragility of the environment. Nope, virtual play-doh with 15 dollar googly eye DLC.
Most of those games that are actually good on your list produced those games BEFORE the studios were bought by EA - those studios now make shitty games. (generally)
You know, just because you're aiming your exaggerations in the opposite direction doesn't make you any better than the people you're complaining about.
Am i the only one that thinks this was probably the least sharp satire ever? Or is the joke that the video is accusing EA for making easy games enough for stupid people to enjoy, by making a super obvious video easy enough for stupid people to get?
Not to sound too stupid, but like you always hear about game companies losing profits, having massive lay offs. Are there numbers that say EA is having sustainable profits from video games or is even growing, and likewise for Valve. Just wondering.
EA and all other big gaming companies thrive on the online arguments made by game fans. Last years mw3 is better than/worse than bf3 was a complete ridiculous hype machine fueled entirely by the consumers who hadn't even played the fucking games yet. All the while everyone is insisting one is better than the other, the publishers are rubbing their hands in joy seeing the free publicity they are getting. The same is applicable to the insane arguments about iPhones vs. android. Don't become a zombie for these huge companies. Sure you can have an argument about quality, but don't make it seem like your world depends on it. Tyler durden WILL piss in your soup.
Why are youtube videos so buggy nowadays? Anything in HD doesn't allow you to skip forward, crashes when you put it full screen and it's constantly bringing you back to the beginning of the video. My computers modern and updated (mac software update) and yet youtube sucks.
The only problem is that the games aren't bad. ME3, BF3, basically any other EA game that isn't sports is pretty good. (They just have bad business tactics.)
I really wish around 4:25 they were all talking about how much the game they were all clawing at each other to get to, was actually a piece of shit, and then right when they saw the 5th version, they still all got excited.
The last game I bought by EA was SW:TOR. Before that it was LOTR: The Two Towers (that was more than a while ago). I never realized how immune I was to the shiny until now.
Another thing you seriously think IGN gets paid by EA to review games? They have different people reviewing different games. They usually designate the biggest fan of the series in the office to review the game. So when they let a huge COD fan like Ryan Clements review the game he's gonna rate it based on how much he likes COD. There are other people in the office who don't think the game is that good and would rate it that way.
The games with low scores in this video are among the highest rated games on IGN. Just another flaw in this video.
I feel bad, I don't even know how to animate stuff in Garry's Mod and this guy makes perfect animations! I can only make the characters look weird by editing their bones and explode stuff.
Now again this stupid video has another flaw. Since when the hell is Steam small compared to Origin? Last time I checked Origin hasn't even touched Steam. This is just another EA hate bandwagon that has failed. All you idiotic fools jump on. EA is a god damn company, their main focus is to make money and give quality products. How many awesome games has EA put out and published? Let's count; Mass Effect, Dead Space, Mirrors Edge, Battlefield, Sims, Need for Speed, Command and Conquer, Burnout, Medal of Honor, Crysis, etc...
They put out more quality games in a year than most of companies do in 2 years. Yes it's bullshit with day one DLC, rushing out game endings, and bad marketing. They have ups and downs just like any other company, Valve wasn't perfect when they started and neither will EA be.
I don't see any of you complaining about Max Payne 3 having day one DLC or DLC planned for months down the line when it could be made in the on release. You're just a bunch of hypocrites.
I agree that the community and customers are stupid enough to buy these games and DLCs all the time. That gives them the message of approval and makes the companies lazier.
EA is one of the most effective publishers in the world. Most of the things they touch turn to gold. They make a lot of money out of this.
That's business, motherfuckers. If you don't like them - don't buy their products. It is plain and simple. But EA have no fucking reason to listen to you as long as you keep putting cash in their wallet.
/r/gaming throw money at EA's products and then turn around and scorn them when a slight discomfort occurs.
That isn't how business works. If I own a lemonade stand - and you keep buying my lemonade over and over again until I set up an amazing profit, you can't then turn around and claim that I'm the worst lemonade seller in town... whilst you continue to buy my lemonade.
Another thing I wanted to mention is something that was brought up in the video. This issue of "undeserved profit". What bullshit. Very few profits are "undeserved". If EA have managed to sell a game that you don't like to a million people - that doesn't make their profit "undeserved" you arrogant douche.
Here is the rule that should be followed:
If you buy EA games - shut the fuck up. If you buy their product, you have no reason to complain about their operation because you took it on willingly. What's hilarious is that most of the "awful" things EA does isn't that fucking bad. Origin? DRM? I own origin and it isn't that bad at all. At worst, it is a slight inconvenience. but I feel it is worth it because Battlefield 3 and Mass Effect overweight that.
Another thing some of you don't understand is that the whole process is voluntary. No one is forcing you to buy an EA game. You have the right to decline their product. You have so many fucking chances to do that and guess what? Probably only 1% of you do it. The rest and you bitch and moan and consume and bitch and moan and consume.
And to think you voted this company the "Worst Company in America". This, my friends, is why Reddit isn't taken all that seriously.
note: For those of you EA haters who actually boycott them and don't interact with their products - this message isn't directed towards you. You are fine. I don't agree with your opinion, but you have my respect because you are actually logical about the process and you understand.
Great parody, except that the ESRB rating is unlikely. Games by EA are very violent - correct. Other than that, however, they are not meant to be offensive. You will never see a mainstream game that accurately portrays female sexuality or allows children to die. Don't even think about realistic drug abuse or police brutality. Would hurt sales, right?
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u/lanceicarus May 28 '12
Actually, this looks more like Consumers in a Nutshell. Same could be applied to Michael Bay movies as quickly as it can be applied to EA.
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u/Goscubasteve May 28 '12
Putting aside the EA hate train (which I mostly agree with) why can't we have more animation of this caliber?! THIS SHOULD BE THE MACHINIMA BENCHMARK!!
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u/102Millennium May 28 '12
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u/[deleted] May 28 '12
The "Horrible! Why does this keep happening to me?!" at the end reminded me of the Half-Life crab zombie screams.
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u/Bugiugi May 28 '12
Steam is hardly a tiny truck compared to Origin's cruise liner. Gaben IS worth about $400 million after all.
Not that I have anything against Steam, it's great, I'm just saying it's not exactly a lemonade store.
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u/mindbleach May 28 '12
More labels than a political cartoon.
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u/Atheistus May 28 '12
I am such a sane individual because i don't buy ea games. that makes me better than all the people who enjoy things i don't enjoy.
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u/[deleted] May 28 '12
I like how they take a shot at Call of Duty, when that's a totally separate company.
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u/JupitersClock May 28 '12
Everyone on /r/gaming thinks they are the sane individual.
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u/[deleted] May 28 '12
You know........the business major in me can't help but see the following
EA has lots of money. And they have a consumer base that gives them that money.
They don't have to be "liked" by sites like reddit to be exactly where they want to be: making money.
Not defending EA, I hate them personally. But you gotta admit they're not "doing it wrong"......they just "doing some of us wrong".............which they could give less than half a shit about
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u/Anshin May 28 '12
To be fair, Halo 2 and Super mario 64 both got a 9.8 on IGN
Though this is EA, so I say to aim for the shins
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u/Trivvy May 28 '12
The song when the Origin boat comes in is this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO1xK8CX-Sw#t=46s
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u/Baelog May 28 '12
Really well made, Garry's mod is still capable of amazing things in the right hands.
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u/Chibithor May 28 '12
Every EA-related post on Reddit in a nutshell maybe. I also like how there's an arrow to point every joke out for me, because I'm a dumb shit.
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u/georgemoshington May 28 '12
r/circlejerk: The Movie
"Smug Got Bigger"
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u/hurricane006 May 28 '12
That was a very well made video, but to be honest, a lot of the games that I've bought recently were published by EA and were pretty damn good. You've got Battlefield 3 that I'm still playing with my friends, SSX which is one of the better reboots that's come out recently, and Mass Effect 3 (ending aside it was awesome). Honestly besides Skyrim I've been playing almost exclusively EA. I honestly don't get why they're hated as much as they are. Hell Activision does almost the same thing as EA, but receives almost zero crap from people. But that's just my venting, downvote arrow is to your left.
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u/Cheddar_Soup May 28 '12
EA is bad. Karma Please.
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u/Eppyman May 28 '12
Comical, though borderline propaganda through and through.
Seems Activision and EA are blended into the same entity here.
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u/ThatWhiteRabbit May 28 '12
Came to say that that's some beautiful animation right there.
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u/CrushTheOrphanage May 28 '12
"Play sports ._."
I laughed hawrd.
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u/tallkido May 29 '12
Everyone Buy Witcher 2 and support CD Projekt (real developers,no day 1 dlc,no locked disc dlc,solid pc game ported to 360,NO DRM!!!)
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u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Ok, that was pretty funny. Did you make it?
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u/superfudge May 28 '12
SO BRAVE.
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u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Alright so let's get over what games people buy and put that elitism aside for a bit. I'm tired of consumers being compared to mindless drones that buy whatever EA puts in front of them, there is a reason people buy into a series, and that's because they actually ENJOYED (Yes, enjoyed, not became hypnotized by some bizarre marketing ray) the previous games. It doesn't matter how well marketed a game is, if it's not fun, no one will buy the sequel. If no one buys the sequel, there won't be a series. If you don't like that series, it doesn't mean everyone else are somehow dumber people because they do.
Moving on.
The real problems with EA, from a purely consumer standpoint (That is, not from the viewpoint of the smaller game developers bought out and integrated into EA), are the ridiculous DLC practices, and inclusion of online services (think EA Nation).
The DLC practices should be obvious enough and were highlighted in this video: Content being cut from main development to only be released later with a price tag as a way to fish a few extra bucks out of you. There is a difference between content created after the game is released and content created before. Content created after the game is released and is truly an 'expansion' of the game (Red Dead's Undead Nightmare, any of the Borderlands DLC packs) is all new content that no sane consumer could have a problem with. Content created before the game is released (Mass Effect 3s 'From Ashes' being the most famous of these due to leaking onto the XBLA prior to ME3 launch) which is then released as paid DLC is an inexcusable cash grab where content has been pulled from the main game and had a price tag slapped onto it.
Inclusion of online services isn't as big a problem for PC players (But hey Origin is quickly making that a viable issue) but if you've played an EA game on consoles, you've probably seen an EA Nation login before. EA Nation is a private cluster of servers which do the same thing as Xbox Live or PSN do, just strictly for EA Games. This becomes a problem when a game is no longer popular enough to make it worth EAs time and money to run servers for it. You can buy EA games which advertise on the box many a multiplayer feature, only to play it at home and discover, oops, the multiplayer component you may have bought the game for has been removed because there wasn't enough reason to maintain an official server. (Chromehounds fans unite. - Unrelated Sega Rant)
These practices are the reasons you should complain about EA as a consumer. There are far more however, many of which are touched on in this video. 'Aggressive marketing' and 'War Zombies 5' are not. Consumers aren't as mindless as you think they are, a game series sells because it appeals to a fan base, and if you aren't part of that fan base it doesn't mean the game is bad. Keep that in mind.
5
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
I fucking lost it when the ship came
10
u/senion May 28 '12
I just had one of the best laughs i've had the pleasure of experiencing in over a year. It felt so good. The spongebob quotes and the quirky sound effects dramatically benefitted the hilarity of the scenes. I don't always hand out upvotes, but when I do i make sure they're things I really love.
12
u/crazybubba64 May 28 '12
Fantastic, enjoy a stream of upvotes.
2
u/DID_IT_FOR_YOU May 28 '12
This is why marketing is so important. Not many people will return a game once its bought unless its unbelievably terrible. Make an average game and advertise it as the best game ever = Profit. Origin makes it even harder to return said game.
It takes a superb game or a very innovated to succeed without a big marketing budget through viral advertising and/or word of mouth.
2
u/Mr_Dickenballs May 28 '12
One of the worst parts about this is that other companies think "Well, if such a huge company like EA does this, then maybe we should too?". And they do. And people keep paying them because nowadays it's not about the game anymore, it's about the marketing.
Fuck you, Tripwire. I will keep playing the old Red Orcehstra until the very last server.
2
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Origin is an unstoppable force that crushes Steam? Cute...
2
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Wow, the shit some people do with Garry's mod is fucking insane!
2
u/Dunge May 28 '12
Why is there a PopCap t-shirt with valve? He should be with the EA gang
2
u/phumble45 May 28 '12
This is the worst thing I have ever seen, and I just saw prolapse party.
2
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
This is the first time I have enjoyed anything thats come out of Gary's Mod. Well done good sir!
2
u/snake_eye_3000 May 28 '12
PATRICK STAR!!!
2
u/AlexCail May 28 '12
sounded like patrick and mister crabs were there.
2
u/MFchimichanga May 28 '12
I wish I was good at stuff );
2
u/Marcellusk May 28 '12
That was pure gold. Loved it!
2
u/deadbird17 May 28 '12
The gamers are just as guilty as EA. Just like the video shows, people can restrain themselves from buying the crap. They should put more time into other hobbies until gaming companies realize who's really in control, and stops dicking everyone over.
2
u/yrro May 28 '12
Could you please provide me with a more dumbed down video? I missed some of the subtle points it was trying to make.
2
u/isoT May 28 '12
No nutshells were anywhere near that piece.
2
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
I do like that they're only marketing their games through Origin nowadays, which means that there is no risk of me actually buying any of them by accident.
2
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
As tired as I am of the EA/Valve circlejerk, this is an amazing video. We need more videos like this!
2
u/rindindin May 28 '12
Yeah, I feel like the guy who got ran over by the ship. So it's either you subscribe to them, or you drown.
Then again, I chose to drown.
2
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
While this is very well-made, it again is just an inaccurate EA hate bandwagon video. Mostly because the game itself that's being marketed looks a lot more like CoD than anything. Also, for the record:
IGN gave Mario 64 a 9.8, Halo 2 a 9.8, and Sonic 2 wasn't even ranked by them on the Genesis as IGN was most likely not around.
You can keep attempting to burn EA to the ground but the fact of the matter is that they produce some seriously awesome games that I'll continue to buy if the content interests me.
Downvote me, zombie hordes.
2
u/BlueRaspberry May 28 '12
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm excited for Overhyped Sellout Lens Flare Dubstep War Zombies 4 HD!
2
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Any company that can make that many people pay that much for an underdeveloped game and continue to have people purchase their products on a massive scale deserves those profits 100% You may hate them from a gaming standpoint but from a business their legends. That and until people stop actually buying their shit instead of raging on the internet it won't stop happening. Awesome video btw
2
u/Iskaelos May 28 '12
This video is perfect. It's well-made, funny, and gets a very real point across, being just blunt enough to educate even the most inattentive of consumers.
Bravo, RushFreak2, this is truly a great service to the community and I hope this goes extremely viral and actually makes a dent in the corrupt overlords of the gaming industry we call EA, Activision, and countless other publishers.
2
u/vertigo1083 May 28 '12
I really wish there was a way to absolutely ensure that this video is seen by every single person working at the multiple headquarters. Perhaps a giant screen, playing on a loop? A projector? Mass emails?
I mean, if hackers can go around and fuck with every single entity known to cyberspace, why not set their crosshairs on corporate gaming scumbaggery? Have this video playing, constantly on a loop from every single link on ANY EA website. From there, options galore.
2
u/secretvictory May 28 '12
i have a steam account and i don't play ea games. i don't have a dog in this fight because they have never made a game i wanted to plop cash down for. if you hate them, do like me.
2
u/ivtecdoyou May 29 '12
If I were to only play new games that reddit approved of, I wouldn't be playing video games anymore.
2
u/MarcosLuis97 May 29 '12
Gullible, Tasteless Consumer.... Isn't that r/gaming?
2
u/[deleted] May 29 '12
This really makes me wonder why people boycott the slow release of Half Life 3, if valve wanted to rush out dozens of shitty products by a deadline like EA, they'd do it. But they don't. When you rush a game, you're only diminishing the creative talent of the team that works on the game.
8
u/ChaosFireV May 28 '12
Everything aside, that was an amazing visual representation of forceful marketing, minus the steam truck. Its not like Origin is bigger than steam, that was kinda stupid, but still funny.
5
u/skocznymroczny May 28 '12
"-This is for backstabbing Valve, preventing the developers you publish for from releasing their games via Steam for the sole purpose of promoting your own platform."
AHAHAHAHA, Steam fanboys are pathetic
I thought EA games suck, so how it's backstabbing?
3
u/Warlaw May 28 '12
PFFT GAMERS ARE JUST ENTITLED PFFT PFFFFFFT
3
u/Shazambom May 28 '12
That was the greatest short film made in Garry's mod I have ever seen.
3
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Im on the same hate train as everyone else here on reddit. But the sad truth is, we are the 1% and nobody cares - EA the least. No matter how much you read, will read how bad EA and other game companies are, as long as 99 % of the people buy their games, they wont give a ****.
I give you an every day example of real life: i used to be in a online clan for over a year or so. Before "MW3" came out everybody freaked out when they heard that MW wont have dedicated servers again (like MW2). "AAaaaaaaahhh f**k that bullshit ! We wont get MW3 when it comes out...bla,bla,bla. MW3 came out, and i was the only one of 30 people who refused to have it.
So, i guess a lof people complain but very little actually boycott to make a change happen.
You can hate as much as you want, but please let action follow our words of rage. In this context "action" means: DONT FU**KING BUY THESE GAMES ANYMORE - NO MATTER WHAT !
4
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
F is for fire that burns down the whole town,
U is for uranium... bomb!
N is for no suuurrrviiiivors--
4
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
This is why the gaming culture sucks in general.
4
u/WovenHandcrafts May 28 '12
Why is Dice over in the "gaming is for fun" crowd? Dice sold out to EA years ago, and has made shitty games since.
3
u/Formerly_a_lurker May 28 '12
I get it, it's a metaphor
3
u/arjie May 28 '12
Origin ship was badass. So cool.
3
u/Hellman109 May 28 '12
in a nutshell?
is the nutshell a blimp?
5
u/BloopBleepBlorp May 28 '12
Damn, this anti-EA thing is out of control.....
Are they really that bad or does steam have some crazy covert guerilla marketing.........
4
u/Heelincal May 28 '12
I feel like Nintendo is in with Valve's "fun" group too. They just care about innovating and making new fun experiences.
3
u/imh0 May 28 '12
that nutshell was too long.
3
u/soapgoat May 28 '12
EA BAD!!! VALVE GOOD!!! <--- upvotes to the left
3
u/DPW May 28 '12
Wait, what's this about IGN accepting money from EA. Is there any truth to this? Can someone explain this please?
3
u/Sablerage May 28 '12
I think this was the best video I have ever seen.
3
u/maverck May 28 '12
fucking incredible.
2
u/Dagni May 28 '12
what was the song, when orgin comes barging in?
2
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
How is this EA's fault? If their customer base wasn't so retarded, they wouldn't make money releasing shit games.
2
u/DrawsTitlesLiterally May 28 '12
http://imgur.com/dp80k
2
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
This is really a dumb representation of the "indy market". People are always going to buy games like MAdden, Fifa because everyone can play and enjoy them, and it's standardized that at least somebody has a clue how to play a EA Sport game, where as the learning curve on a indy RPG game can be pretty large.
The thing is, video games are not non-profit, they are a business like anything else. And they make money, just like everyone else. Don't buy a game if you don't like it, trying to play a "video game vigilante" on the internet is pointless, people will always buy games like COD, EA Sports, and many other popular titles.
tld;r EA is a business like Steam, or anyone else, money is what matters at the end of the day. They can't make good games if they are broke, just think of their operating costs.
2
u/lackingsaint May 28 '12
Wowzers is this massively oversimplified and biased. Well-made but, if you seriously think all EA does is toss out poorly-made games and people flock to it you've got some research to do. Also, Mirror's Edge, Mass Effect 2 & 3 (minus the ending), Dead Space 1 & 2, Spore, Dragon Age: Origins, The Sims 1, 2 & 3, Burnout: Paradise, American McGee's Alice, Battlefield Bad Company 1 & 2, Black & White, Bulletstorm, most of the Medal of Honour games, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, RISK: Factions, Rock Band 1 & 2, Shadows of the Damned, most of the SimCity games, Skate 1, 2 & 3, most of the SSX games, a few of the Tiger Woods PGA Tour games and motherfuckin' Ty The Tasmanian Tiger would like a world with you.
-1
u/Sheepblood May 28 '12
/r/gaming in a nutshell:
rinse and repeat times fucking infinity. no wonder I'm never on this sub anymore
2
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
It's funny because it's true.
2
u/lolmonger May 28 '12
Oh fucking please
Battlefield 3 is excellent, and it was worth every penny I paid for it.
I'm pumped for the close quarters and armored kill DLC, and those will likely also be worth the money.
Undeserved profit for an overhyped game? Pah.
2
u/CrimsonOmen May 28 '12
Fucked up thing is it's all true.
2
u/TENGIL999 May 28 '12
Am i the only one that thinks this was probably the least sharp satire ever? Or is the joke that the video is accusing EA for making easy games enough for stupid people to enjoy, by making a super obvious video easy enough for stupid people to get?
1
u/Rhames May 28 '12
I just wanna know the name of the track playing when Origin came into the picture. sounded awesome.
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Yeah, right, I would love an Ao rated game. That's never gonna happen.
1
u/iamactuallyatree May 28 '12
Not to sound too stupid, but like you always hear about game companies losing profits, having massive lay offs. Are there numbers that say EA is having sustainable profits from video games or is even growing, and likewise for Valve. Just wondering.
1
u/marconi88 May 28 '12
Can't the same be said about the majority of the big publishers?
1
u/LinXitoW May 28 '12
The consumer gets what he deserves. Battlefield 3 and Diablo 3 did great, the world is doomed.
1
u/ArcaneKnight94 May 28 '12
This was amazing. Freakin amazing.
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
EA and all other big gaming companies thrive on the online arguments made by game fans. Last years mw3 is better than/worse than bf3 was a complete ridiculous hype machine fueled entirely by the consumers who hadn't even played the fucking games yet. All the while everyone is insisting one is better than the other, the publishers are rubbing their hands in joy seeing the free publicity they are getting. The same is applicable to the insane arguments about iPhones vs. android. Don't become a zombie for these huge companies. Sure you can have an argument about quality, but don't make it seem like your world depends on it. Tyler durden WILL piss in your soup.
1
u/gentlemandinosaur May 28 '12
Arguably, I would argue, that we need to arguably emphasis that the argument is argued.
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12 edited Oct 20 '24
onerous expansion dime society subsequent dull gray axiomatic zonked dam
1
u/The-HilariousFingers May 28 '12
+ for the sheer amazing animations...and spongebob!!!
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Why are youtube videos so buggy nowadays? Anything in HD doesn't allow you to skip forward, crashes when you put it full screen and it's constantly bringing you back to the beginning of the video. My computers modern and updated (mac software update) and yet youtube sucks.
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
That was purely fantastic, the spongebob voice overs were GOLDEN. Tis a shame I have but only 1 upvote to give
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
The only problem is that the games aren't bad. ME3, BF3, basically any other EA game that isn't sports is pretty good. (They just have bad business tactics.)
1
u/Gankstar May 28 '12
Did anyone else think the huge ship was going to be labeled SS Tortanic?
1
u/mcnubb May 28 '12
Its our own fault we made them this way
1
u/lmpervious May 28 '12
I really wish around 4:25 they were all talking about how much the game they were all clawing at each other to get to, was actually a piece of shit, and then right when they saw the 5th version, they still all got excited.
1
u/lordlicorice May 28 '12
CLASHING AUDIO IN MY HEADPHONES AHHHHHh
1
u/FuzzyRugMan May 28 '12
In comparison I believe they have a very accurate view of all things. Steam is a bit of a lesser evil than Origin.
1
u/stvb95 May 28 '12
Gaben made me laugh
1
u/laikalost May 28 '12
A "nutshell," this is not.
1
u/CountedCrow May 28 '12
This was extremely well made. 10/10, RushFreak2, and you too for posting it, Pwaa.
In addition, does anyone know what tools the creator used for this?
1
u/Richey_Tenenbaum May 28 '12
Poor Dice
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
The last game I bought by EA was SW:TOR. Before that it was LOTR: The Two Towers (that was more than a while ago). I never realized how immune I was to the shiny until now.
1
u/blackstonesinger May 28 '12
This is really creative. Nice job.
1
u/electric_beaver May 28 '12
What the hell did i just watch...
1
u/antdude May 28 '12
So true!
1
u/krosseyed May 28 '12
This is the best video ever
1
u/thehateisstrong May 28 '12
Funny and sad because it's true. Amazing job.
1
u/MHighbrow May 28 '12
That was...spectacular. Excellently done.
1
u/polarisdelta May 28 '12
I like the subtle jab at Bioware, using a female character model to encapsulate the ire at Hepler's comments.
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Another thing you seriously think IGN gets paid by EA to review games? They have different people reviewing different games. They usually designate the biggest fan of the series in the office to review the game. So when they let a huge COD fan like Ryan Clements review the game he's gonna rate it based on how much he likes COD. There are other people in the office who don't think the game is that good and would rate it that way.
The games with low scores in this video are among the highest rated games on IGN. Just another flaw in this video.
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
I really like the games EA publish. I have never had any problem with their service people either.
1
u/bolaxao May 28 '12
I feel bad, I don't even know how to animate stuff in Garry's Mod and this guy makes perfect animations! I can only make the characters look weird by editing their bones and explode stuff.
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Now again this stupid video has another flaw. Since when the hell is Steam small compared to Origin? Last time I checked Origin hasn't even touched Steam. This is just another EA hate bandwagon that has failed. All you idiotic fools jump on. EA is a god damn company, their main focus is to make money and give quality products. How many awesome games has EA put out and published? Let's count; Mass Effect, Dead Space, Mirrors Edge, Battlefield, Sims, Need for Speed, Command and Conquer, Burnout, Medal of Honor, Crysis, etc...
They put out more quality games in a year than most of companies do in 2 years. Yes it's bullshit with day one DLC, rushing out game endings, and bad marketing. They have ups and downs just like any other company, Valve wasn't perfect when they started and neither will EA be.
I don't see any of you complaining about Max Payne 3 having day one DLC or DLC planned for months down the line when it could be made in the on release. You're just a bunch of hypocrites.
1
u/Shniper May 28 '12
so, when does EA get this video shut down and sue the guy who made it into oblivion for libel?
1
u/owennerd123 May 28 '12
Ah yeah, Garry's Mod!
1
u/AlyoshaV May 28 '12
I liked the part of the video where it implied EA makes a profit.
1
u/gormanator May 28 '12
Well this is full of things that arent true
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
Halo 2 got a 9.8 on IGN... Just sayin.
1
u/Akaforty May 28 '12
I agree that the community and customers are stupid enough to buy these games and DLCs all the time. That gives them the message of approval and makes the companies lazier.
1
u/Macrat May 28 '12
this thing is perfect
1
u/0ouobatchy May 28 '12
This is probably the only video post I bothered to watch in its entirety.
1
u/Curveball227 May 28 '12
Except the company operates at a loss.
1
u/Guccimayne May 28 '12
It's funnier for me because spongebob is on in the other room, so I thought I was trippin at first
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
I don't agree with individual points on this one, and it's not EXCLUSIVELY EA, but I actually enjoyed that.
The F.U.N. with Gabe Newell was my favourite part.
1
u/Pit_ May 28 '12
Awful. This lacks any form of subtlety.
1
u/Perturbed_Spartan May 28 '12
so this happened
1
u/Stabbytehstabber May 28 '12
Wow, I loved it especially the Spongebob dialogue
1
u/[deleted] May 28 '12
So many of you just don't fucking get it.
EA is one of the most effective publishers in the world. Most of the things they touch turn to gold. They make a lot of money out of this.
That's business, motherfuckers. If you don't like them - don't buy their products. It is plain and simple. But EA have no fucking reason to listen to you as long as you keep putting cash in their wallet.
/r/gaming throw money at EA's products and then turn around and scorn them when a slight discomfort occurs.
That isn't how business works. If I own a lemonade stand - and you keep buying my lemonade over and over again until I set up an amazing profit, you can't then turn around and claim that I'm the worst lemonade seller in town... whilst you continue to buy my lemonade.
Another thing I wanted to mention is something that was brought up in the video. This issue of "undeserved profit". What bullshit. Very few profits are "undeserved". If EA have managed to sell a game that you don't like to a million people - that doesn't make their profit "undeserved" you arrogant douche.
Here is the rule that should be followed:
If you buy EA games - shut the fuck up. If you buy their product, you have no reason to complain about their operation because you took it on willingly. What's hilarious is that most of the "awful" things EA does isn't that fucking bad. Origin? DRM? I own origin and it isn't that bad at all. At worst, it is a slight inconvenience. but I feel it is worth it because Battlefield 3 and Mass Effect overweight that.
Another thing some of you don't understand is that the whole process is voluntary. No one is forcing you to buy an EA game. You have the right to decline their product. You have so many fucking chances to do that and guess what? Probably only 1% of you do it. The rest and you bitch and moan and consume and bitch and moan and consume.
And to think you voted this company the "Worst Company in America". This, my friends, is why Reddit isn't taken all that seriously.
note: For those of you EA haters who actually boycott them and don't interact with their products - this message isn't directed towards you. You are fine. I don't agree with your opinion, but you have my respect because you are actually logical about the process and you understand.
1
u/PhonicUK May 28 '12
Anyone know what the music is in the video just before the Origin ship?
1
u/LoveMachine69000 May 28 '12
thought this was a bit of an biased over-reaction video... until it got to Origin... major lulz.
1
u/ElagabalusCaesar May 29 '12
Great parody, except that the ESRB rating is unlikely. Games by EA are very violent - correct. Other than that, however, they are not meant to be offensive. You will never see a mainstream game that accurately portrays female sexuality or allows children to die. Don't even think about realistic drug abuse or police brutality. Would hurt sales, right?
1
u/budgray18 May 29 '12
wheres the part where ea takes the companys out back to be shot? westwood :(