One more reason to loathe EA

[duffmanth]

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2015/02/09/ea-we-need-to-talk-about-porsche,

I remember playing Gran Turismo games back in the day and always wondered why the Porsches were called "Ruf" and didn't have the Porsche logo on them. I read an article after the fact years ago and it mentioned EA had an exclusive deal to use Porsches in their games. This article finally brings the issue to the forefront, maybe we'll see some Porsches in GT and Forza soon?! Only EA would make a horsesh*t move like this...

[kupomogli]

It's not just EA. Microsoft also owns the rights to certain vehicle brands. I think Microsoft owns the Lamborghini license. Anyone who wants to have Lamborghini in their game has to pay Microsoft.

[Tanooki]

The sleaze goes both ways and why would anyone at all be surprised the most hated company in America EA would do that, let alone MS known for heaps of shady thefts, espionage, take overs and the rest too. They're both just as awful, just MS is a bit more covert about it so they don't top the list.

[ProjectCamaro]

I can't say I wouldn't do the same thing if I was them. This is nothing new with companies buying the rights to use the NASCAR brand, NFL licenses, etc... I don't see why we expect anything different from video game companies, it's just good business on their end.

[vintagegamecrazy]

I guess I can't hate EA for it but it does make the overall video game market a lot less inviting when they do stuff like this.

[ProjectCamaro]

but it does make the overall video game market a lot less inviting when they do stuff like this.

I'll agree with that, it's not in the gamer's best interest obviously. I am curious as to the amount of the contract they have with Porsche, it must be massive to make it worthwhile for Porsche.

[SparTonberry]

It's not just EA. Microsoft also owns the rights to certain vehicle brands. I think Microsoft owns the Lamborghini license. Anyone who wants to have Lamborghini in their game has to pay Microsoft.

Well, there goes any chance of seeing Lamborghini Challenge for SNES on Virtual Console.
To my knowledge the only time someone made a racing game THAT CAN BE PLAYED WITH An EFFING LIGHT GUN (Super Scope)! :D

[Niku-Sama]

wait, what?

you can play lambo challenge on snes with a super scope?

[Leo_A]

Blame the auto manufacturers.

[Gameguy]

I remember when racing games didn't mention specific vehicle brands, they just played well. I'd like to see some decent racing game made but featuring horrible/boring cars, like a Plymouth Reliant against a Ford Pinto or a Trabant.

[Edmond Dantes]

wait, what?

you can play lambo challenge on snes with a super scope?


Blame the auto manufacturers.

I love reading these two posts back-to-back ;)

....

What I don't love is people saying this stuff is excusable because business and money. Last I checked, drug dealing was business and involved money too, but I don't see people saying we "can't hate" or "shouldn't hate" that. Don't tell me that the only difference is legality.

[duffmanth]

Well, there goes any chance of seeing Lamborghini Challenge for SNES on Virtual Console.
To my knowledge the only time someone made a racing game THAT CAN BE PLAYED WITH An EFFING LIGHT GUN (Super Scope)! :D

I don't know if Microsoft actually owns the license to you use Lambos, cuz pretty much every racing game I've played has Lambos in it.

[duffmanth]

I'll agree with that, it's not in the gamer's best interest obviously. I am curious as to the amount of the contract they have with Porsche, it must be massive to make it worthwhile for Porsche.

That's the thing I'm trying to figure out? How is having your cars locked down to one game publisher (and essentially one series, NFS) of any benefit to the auto manufacturer? Porsche is missing so much coverage, publicity, and potential sales (if you can afford a Porsche lol?) by not having their cars in Gran Turismo, Forza, etc. It's just a backroom deal that was made between Porsche and EA that was done years ago and doesn't make any sense at point.

[duffmanth]

The sleaze goes both ways and why would anyone at all be surprised the most hated company in America EA would do that, let alone MS known for heaps of shady thefts, espionage, take overs and the rest too. They're both just as awful, just MS is a bit more covert about it so they don't top the list.

Doesn't surprise me EA would do something like this, I never thought Porsche would stoop so low.

[kai123]

I never noticed since I am not a Porche fan. It is still very strange to lock your self in with one company. They may not have read the contract they were signing very well.

[Zthun]

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2015/02/09/ea-we-need-to-talk-about-porsche,

I remember playing Gran Turismo games back in the day and always wondered why the Porsches were called "Ruf" and didn't have the Porsche logo on them. I read an article after the fact years ago and it mentioned EA had an exclusive deal to use Porsches in their games. This article finally brings the issue to the forefront, maybe we'll see some Porsches in GT and Forza soon?! Only EA would make a horsesh*t move like this...

Honestly, I don't understand the problem. This kind of deal is not exclusive to EA. Is it really that big a deal if a Porche is called a different name to avoid licensing issues?

[Leo_A]

I believe that Starsky & Hutch had light gun support on 7th generation game consoles (Albeit, for player #2 while player #1 drove the car). It sort of qualifies, although not strictly a racer.


Honestly, I don't understand the problem. This kind of deal is not exclusive to EA. Is it really that big a deal if a Porche is called a different name to avoid licensing issues?

Ruf isn't Porsche and I believe that they build their own bodies. So while the chassis and engine and perhaps a few other components are Porsche, it's still not a Porsche.


I love reading these two posts back-to-back ;)

....

What I don't love is people saying this stuff is excusable because business and money. Last I checked, drug dealing was business and involved money too, but I don't see people saying we "can't hate" or "shouldn't hate" that. Don't tell me that the only difference is legality.

The wink makes me wonder if you perhaps read something into my post that wasn't intended.

Just in case and to clarify my post, I'm saying put the blame where it most belongs. EA's doing what it deems best for its stakeholders, even if I don't like it (and don't really see how it's benefiting them these days when this deal is so underutilized). While they should be criticized for such a decision since it doesn't benefit the very people they're trying to sell to, it's Porsche where the benefits are particularly unclear. While perhaps earning more in licensing fees for them, something I wouldn't be surprised would end up otherwise if they were to end exclusivity and start dealing with multiple publishers including EA, the issue extends far beyond just the question of licensing revenue.

How is it doing the Porsche brand any favors by essentially being captive and not being well represented in such an important entertainment venue for automobile manufacturer's marketing efforts? They may be earning more where the tangible benefits of videogame licensing is concerned by making an exclusive deal with EA, but they're no doubt losing where the more difficult to quantify benefits are concerned.

Such benefits are why a corporation like Porsche spends many millions each year to fund a marketing department, so don't mistake their importance.

[kupomogli]

How about people stop being such hypocritical sheep about EA and nitpick over every little thing? Constantly dredging up things they've done over a decade ago, yet at the same time praising other AAA publishers like Activision, WB, Ubisoft, Square Enix, Capcom, Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, etc for all the bullshit they've been doing since the beginning of last gen and even longer.

[FieryReign]

If you don't like EA then don't support them and keep buying their shit. Somebody is putting millions of dollars in their pockets...

[Tanooki]

The last time I bought a new EA game was Dead Space and that was in clearance for PS3 like 6 years ago. Activision has been quite a stretch too and other than ZombiU which sucked, same with Ubisoft. :) I don't like giving money to companies that do shady stuff that butts up against what I like to do. I find the best way to handle things is that if a company goes bad in ones eyes, buy used or don't buy at all as they don't get a dime.

[Nebagram]

I remember when racing games didn't mention specific vehicle brands, they just played well. I'd like to see some decent racing game made but featuring horrible/boring cars, like a Plymouth Reliant against a Ford Pinto or a Trabant.

Definitely, as long as the game also includes Reliant Robins (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSaIv_5-Mho).

[retroguy]

I find the best way to handle things is that if a company goes bad in ones eyes, buy used or don't buy at all as they don't get a dime.

I buy all my games used anyway 'cause that's all I can afford to do. On topic, I try not to pay too much attention to developer shenanigans because I feel like you need to separate the work from the people doing it. A good game is still a good game regardless of who made it.

[Tanooki]

I am mixed on how I buy, it's a lot of used stuff but not all when I think it's going to really be worth the hours I put into it and it's something special, and special packages with a little extra if I'm into the series/game push it that way too due to reseller pondscum who snap that stuff up and charge double within hours/days.

I don't like to get into the shenanigans much either, but when something so bad is made public that it does impact my interests, then I put a company on a mental watch list and depending what they do going forward if the first shot wasn't so bad as it is, they end up on a no buy shit list.

[kupomogli]

I already dislike Nintendo for a lot of their bs but never because of their DLC because they didn't have DLC. When Nintendo finally started releasing DLC and seeing how much they could make from it, they've become just as bad as the worst companies. Fire Emblem Awakening has more DLC, even when bundled than the cost of the game at MSRP, day one DLC for Mario Golf that doubles the amount of content, and then there's the Amiibo's which are disc locked content tied to a figure.

I recently bought Fantasy Life because I saw it in the store, sounded really good, and it was published by Nintendo so there's a good chance the price is never dropping even though it's developed by Level 5. Played the game 30 hours and I'm loving the game, in the running for my favorite 3DS game. However if I knew what they did prior to purchasing the game, I would have never bought it and never found out how great the game was. The game released in Japan and then released again with some extra end game content on the cartridge. It just so happens that the end game content on the rerelease is being sold as DLC for those of us in the US. Big slap in the face to everyone who purchased it outside of Japan.

Oh noes, but EA is the only one who does douchey moves. Despite the limited amount of time that Nintendo has partaken in this douchebaggery, they've already surpassed most of what EA has done last gen.

[Leo_A]

How about people stop being such hypocritical sheep about EA and nitpick over every little thing? Constantly dredging up things they've done over a decade ago, yet at the same time praising other AAA publishers like Activision, WB, Ubisoft, Square Enix, Capcom, Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, etc for all the bullshit they've been doing since the beginning of last gen and even longer.

I must hang out at strange places, since other than WB (Warner Brothers I assume, the publisher of Midway Arcade Origins? Not a company I think of as a giant of the videogaming industry), I frequently see criticism for all these companies just as often as I do EA.

[Tanooki]

Nintendo deserves any hell they get because of their DLC as much as anyone else. I remember when they initially pitched it, they said that they would be doing a lot of free DLC to enhance existing games but they made a note that there would be some content that would be paid, games would be exposed for this in advance, and I think they talked about colorizing the N network logo one shade or another as well. Iwata made some comment if I recall saying they didn't like how DLC was being handled in taking so much from people to get the whole experience and not using it to enhance. Then they go and do it a few years later when they put out Fire Emblem (though they're not vital, it's just added fluff) and Mario Golf was the real tipping point cutting away chunks of the game to sell it $5 less at retail but charging much more than that in DLC fees later like real shit heel two faced liars. I had the game, then realized how much was gutted out and lost total interest overnight then sold it a bit later.

I don't trust them anymore with any game with an online element to it anymore. I'd buy that Fire Emblem game just because it's fluff, but Mario Golf you couldn't pay me to play unless it was already preloaded with their omissions in advance. I wonder if they'll sleaze into doing Game of the Year editions eventually? I'd be ok with that as I'd never buy a new game again from them until at least a year or two later so I could get the full experience if it arrives. I don't play online so it's not like I'd be losing out.

[kupomogli]

Warner Bros is new in the industry and has very quickly became one of the worst.

Batman Arkham City. One of their first releases and unless you purchased new, which I did, you don't get the Catwoman content. They're doing it again with Arkham Knight. Only if you order from Gamestop can you get the Red Hood pack and play through different story missions. I wouldn't be surprised if they made the Game of the Year Edition of Arkham City look as ugly as it did just so people would keep their original copy so they could swap the case. Arkham Origins on the PS3 and Wii U were pretty terrible ports, with the Wii U version being gimped harder with no online mode included.

Dying Light. Remove the "Be the Zombie" only mode from the game, exclusive only for those who preorder.

Everything else is pretty irritating for a company to do but mostly minor. These right here really stand out and for a publisher that's fairly new, they've already did much worse than EA in my opinion because of this.

-

Deep Silver is a pos too. The very worst imo, and I'll never forgive what they did to Ascalon and Sacred.

[Gentlegamer]

Is it an EA mobile racing game that makes you real money pay for gas?

[bb_hood]

EA made Kingdoms of Amalur for ps3. KoA is such a huge rip-off of Skyrim its not even funny.
I played through it because I scored it in a lot for like 3$ a few years back, otherwise I wouldnt have bought it anywhere close to retail.
It plays just like skyrim... EA should be ashamed of themselves. The character animations are horrible and the cutscenes are even worse.
That being said, the gameplay was alright and fairly enjoyable because it plays just like skyrim.

[Hep038]

I swear to god people sit at they PC's scanning the internet for stories on EA to start threads like this. I think you guys pop a little boner when you get a hit on a EA/GameStop/Microsoft story and run to the forums as fast as your little internet legs can take you to post something. Rob2600 was the king of diggin for dirt articles on companies he hated. Posting crap like that here is the reason this message board is dead. Congrats you guys won.

[Tanooki]

Wow aren't you a winner. Posts like that are why people leave boards.

[celerystalker]

This isn't exactly the hate train, but I was holding out hope for awhile that EA would put out some compilations on PS2 or PSP a few years ago when it seemed everyone was doing it. I'm sure there are some lapsed licenses, but it'd have been fun to see their array of Amiga ports to Genesis and the like collected, but they don't seem too proud of their history. Mutant League, Galahad, Battle Squadron, Buck Rogers, Risky Woods... might've been a fun disc. Also, I'd have loved a follow-up or remake of Immercenary. That game on 3DO was far ahead of its time. EA only seems to be proud of its sports legacy and licenses now. If they dipped into their history and did something like EA: the best of 1993 or what have you, I'd had snapped every one up. Capcom, Sega, Namco, Taito, Tecmo, Hudson, Konami, and even the Atari and Intellivision brands made a lot of money that way, so I'd just hoped they'd jump on the bandwagon, but no luck.

[Edmond Dantes]

There was a compilation on the PSP called EA Replay, which compiled a mix of Genesis and SNES games (including some ports like Wing Commander) though it apparently was problematic with some games, for example replacing the music in all three Road Rash games.

[celerystalker]

There was a compilation on the PSP called EA Replay, which compiled a mix of Genesis and SNES games (including some ports like Wing Commander) though it apparently was problematic with some games, for example replacing the music in all three Road Rash games.

Neat, that one slipped by me. I think I'll check it out.

[YoshiM]

Here's something that should be brought up in that "old games are better..." thread I resurrected: there wasn't so much drama about game companies back then.

Ya gotta wonder when the "behind the scenes" stuff took front-and-center over a game? I never thought ever that others and even I would avoid a game or strictly buy it used to kinda stick it to The Man on principal.

"One shouldn't buy a game from X company or you support (insert negative issue here)".....wow. Not quoting anyone here, just a general thought gleamed from the Net over time. Gaming has truly seemed to have lost its innocence.

[Tupin]

There definitely was, there just were very poor avenues for everyone to air their dirty laundry.

[Tanooki]

The dirty laundry and behind the scenes you can blame on the immature gaming media entirely. Before that you'd get a print interview here or there about a company on the whole or some years long gaming project and that was really it. It used to be just previews, reviews, news of upcoming things and events, and not much else aside from game tips and guides in books. When they ran out of crap to print in the online media everyone decided they had to find some way to scoop someone else and the big thing that stuck around was making lame rockstars out of every tool with a title working at a game company. I mean it got so bad even Sony started doing that stupid Tester TV show on their Playstation Network trying to glorify that horrible position in a company. So when you get all that stuff stirred up, then you find how much more vulture like the media has become in getting info and ruining people in this century it kind of just all blew up into what you have now. Slam pieces, smears, false build ups on crap projects, drama, personal attacks and the rest because it draws in readers and their mouthy comments in comment bins at the bottom of stories to draw in more hits. And more hits people make, more money they get to keep it up.


Oh and EA Replay is definitely problematic, and if you were in it for Wing Commander, avoid at all costs, it's emulated so badly you can't even target stuff properly flying around so you get shot to pieces while missing clear shots a blind man could make. I primarily bought it for that and was really let down.

[Gentlegamer]

Here's something that should be brought up in that "old games are better..." thread I resurrected: there wasn't so much drama about game companies back then.

Go back and read EGM and see the editors slam Nintendo every chance they could, while praising Sega, and later Sony, who could do no wrong.

[Tanooki]

Oh god don't remind me. It's a childhood thing, but even to day thinking back when I see that brought up I get pissed off they got paid to get away with it. It also reminds me of the stuff I picked up from a Philips rep where they had proof showing EGM was in love with their CDi system at first, but when they tried to blackmail Philips to give them a heap of free systems, accessories and games which they wouldn't, they slammed them every chance they could to hope drive them away. I can't say EGM had no effect, I'm sure there was done, as they were killed here and died miserably some years later in Europe. EGM was the worst, Exaggeration Gaming Monthly. They lied their asses off and made up garbage about companies they didn't favor. The primary was Nintendo and some of it was so bad it was truly laugh worthy, but they weren't the only ones they tried to bury in lies.

The thing is as bad as EGM was, the gaming media was so much smaller then so it wasn't as clearly obvious, especially if you didn't have all the information access we have now to know they were full of shit or they'd have been in trouble far earlier for it. Gamepro and Gamefan were decent counter balances to their lies and manipulation, even Gamepro for a time had a TV show which helped bury the EGM stupidity.

[BlastProcessing402]

I already had plenty of reasons to loathe EA. Good thing, because this is just a big "meh".

[The 1 2 P]

I've never had any real issues with EA. I mean, I didn't like them buying Bioware but that was just a simple business move and atleast Bioware continued on(though we can't say the same for Pandemic). I also don't play many EA games since I prefer Call of Duty to Battlefield. But they've made some good games over the last few years and they own the UFC license so they have the only UFC games I can play. I know some people have had issues with EA for years but it appears that EA is atleast attempting to change some of their corporate mandates in favor of more user-friendly practices, like when they got rid of season pases(the first company to do so if I remember correctly).

[CDiablo]

Im shocked people still are surprised by this stuff. All this BS has been going on for years. Everyone involved in game publishing outside of independent studios are guilty of this stuff.

[Tanooki]

Fair enough, the bigger they get the more predatory and sleazy to keep that edge so you're right.

I never really had an issue with EA for a fairly long time through the 80s/90s other than them giving halfassed ports of Genesis games to the SNES but I didn't mind a whole lot since I don't like sports games. What really did it in was when I was working at Midway, we had screwed them over with NHL HItz in 2002 getting all the NHL press buzz and huge sales across platforms beating them. They got PISSED. Midway had pulled in Black Box Games to make the game for the company and the sequel too, but EA didn't like losing to crappy Midway, so they went out of their way to wreck Hitz. They bought out the company outright, terminated their existing contracts, then despite telling the staff there one thing, shortly after they shut the whole place down, fired almost everyone, then the few they didn't they gave them the choice to move to another city in Canada to work for them in that office. When they pulled that Midway had to find another developer who ended up making a subpar product that didn't play as well and it killed the franchise pretty much at that point and a sequel later Hitz Pro(I think was the name) was the final nail in the coffin.

I hated them for wrecking something good my company worked on and so did I being on the ps2 and the xbox versions of the game in test at the time. To see that happen, Midway scramble to save the 2003 release and then to see how lousy it was did it. I had seen the stories online before (and after) that where EA had done that to other game developers gobbling up the best talent then firing the rest and selling off the goods to just keep the IPs disgusted me but I kind of let it go as I didn't see the direct impact and I liked their non-sports games.

[CDiablo]

That sucks but you dont get ahead in business by being the nice guy. Fast forward 10 years and they barely care enough about Hockey to make a proper game on the current gen. Fingers crossed for a competent NHL 16.

[Tanooki]

Oh I know that entirely, doesn't mean I have to like it or forgive it either. I'm uncertain I've bought an EA game since that point, at least new where they'd get paid. They serve no purpose to my entertainment needs anymore.