4 ms·

Is it just me, or has EA gone completely off the rails? How does this happen? Do all organizations lose their ability to care about their customers at some po

by unoti 14y ago

Is it just me, or has EA gone completely off the rails? How does this happen? Do all organizations lose their ability to care about their customers at some point along their growth?

pokpokpok 14y ago
the key factor here is how a corporation works. by definition, they can't do anything besides pursue short term profits
- slapshot 14y ago
  This is an oft-repeated line that is entirely false. Ben & Jerry's ice cream spent decades turning down good business deals to stay true to their ideals. The Chicago Cubs notoriously refused to play night baseball games at home for decades after it became popular, and were even sued by shareholders to try to force them to install lights at Wrigley. The Court ruled that management of the Cubs could choose to ignore short-term profits from night baseball if it thought that the franchise was best served by keeping the traditional purity of the game.[1] (Of course, the Cubs ultimately relented, but maybe that's why they haven't won the World Series). Craiglist, to the extreme consternation of its investors, has prioritized a certain long-term vision of the service over lots of short-term profits. Even publicly-traded companies can choose to pursue long-term goals over short-term profit. Autodesk is rumored to be setting up a subsidiary that blends profit and non-profit motives, and plenty of companies have done other acts that are not in their short-term interests. [1] Shlensky v. Wrigley, 95 Ill. App. 2d 173 (1968).
  - marshray 14y ago
    > Ben & Jerry's ice cream spent decades turning down good business deals to stay true to their ideals If, instead of succeeding, Ben & Jerry's had joined the ranks of the many other failed food retailers wouldn't the corporate officers have faced the potential of shareholder lawsuits for having blatantly "turning down good business deals" along the way?
- kalisurfer 14y ago
  well they can pursue long term profits. I think trying to monetize every possible interaction although a strategy, is one that is voluntary not required for survival
- eridius 14y ago
  Tell that to Amazon.
- adventured 14y ago
  Actually no, that isn't the definition. You have it almost completely backwards in fact. The most successful companies focus on creating long term value. See: Berkshire Hathaway, Apple, Facebook, Costco, Procter & Gamble (raising dividends every year for 55 straight years, try that with short term thinking) and a very long list of other companies
thristian 14y ago
It seems to me this is just a kind of cultural mis-match. I mean, nobody would bat an eye if the New York Times ran a full-page ad for the Nissan Leaf, or if Mattel produced a Hot Wheels car designed to represent the Leaf. It seems like EA is thinking along similar lines.
- unoti 14y ago
  This kinda goes well beyond that, from what I gather. Here's a thread where someone counted all the cars in his city, and found 90% of them were Nissan Leafs. Someone on the thread is asking how to uninstall the mod, because even when not placing the item, all the cars coming from other cities are Nissan Leafs. This is far more prominent than if Mattel made a particular kind of Hot Wheels car. Also keep in mind that downloadable content has been the promised road forward for straightening up a lot of the mess that SimCity has been-- and so for this to be the first downloadable content is a bit of a slap in the face to already crestfallen customers. http://www.reddit.com/r/SimCity/comments/1bm74h/90_of_my_car_are_now_nissan_leaf/ http://www.reddit.com/r/SimCity/comments/1bm74h/90_of_my_car...
- InclinedPlane 14y ago
  I don't think those comparisons are apt. There is advertising and there is product placement and then there is overly intrusive advertising, and this seems to be overly intrusive.
  - prawn 14y ago
    That you have to go out of your way to install, apparently. Not that bad.
InclinedPlane 14y ago
Two things: One, I've heard it said that EA has a fairly weak corporate identity overall. They are pretty much a conglomerate of other companies and EA itself isn't known for anything interesting. Some people think this helps them get away with more shenanigans than they would if they had a stronger identity. Two, ironically a significant problem is that games are art. Just as with, say, music or television shows or what-have-you games are not commodities. Deciding to forgo playing a specific game and substituting playing another game is a similar prospect to listening to a different musician and very much different from choosing a different grocery store to shop at or fueling up with a different brand of gasoline. This makes it harder for competition in the marketplace to drive out bad anti-consumer behavior, as it might otherwise. In a sense each game publisher has a monopoly over the IP they release.

by unoti 14y ago

Is it just me, or has EA gone completely off the rails? How does this happen? Do all organizations lose their ability to care about their customers at some point along their growth?

pokpokpok 14y ago

the key factor here is how a corporation works. by definition, they can't do anything besides pursue short term profits

slapshot 14y ago
This is an oft-repeated line that is entirely false. Ben & Jerry's ice cream spent decades turning down good business deals to stay true to their ideals. The Chicago Cubs notoriously refused to play night baseball games at home for decades after it became popular, and were even sued by shareholders to try to force them to install lights at Wrigley. The Court ruled that management of the Cubs could choose to ignore short-term profits from night baseball if it thought that the franchise was best served by keeping the traditional purity of the game.[1] (Of course, the Cubs ultimately relented, but maybe that's why they haven't won the World Series). Craiglist, to the extreme consternation of its investors, has prioritized a certain long-term vision of the service over lots of short-term profits. Even publicly-traded companies can choose to pursue long-term goals over short-term profit. Autodesk is rumored to be setting up a subsidiary that blends profit and non-profit motives, and plenty of companies have done other acts that are not in their short-term interests. [1] Shlensky v. Wrigley, 95 Ill. App. 2d 173 (1968).
- marshray 14y ago
  > Ben & Jerry's ice cream spent decades turning down good business deals to stay true to their ideals If, instead of succeeding, Ben & Jerry's had joined the ranks of the many other failed food retailers wouldn't the corporate officers have faced the potential of shareholder lawsuits for having blatantly "turning down good business deals" along the way?
kalisurfer 14y ago
well they can pursue long term profits. I think trying to monetize every possible interaction although a strategy, is one that is voluntary not required for survival
eridius 14y ago
Tell that to Amazon.
adventured 14y ago
Actually no, that isn't the definition. You have it almost completely backwards in fact. The most successful companies focus on creating long term value. See: Berkshire Hathaway, Apple, Facebook, Costco, Procter & Gamble (raising dividends every year for 55 straight years, try that with short term thinking) and a very long list of other companies

thristian 14y ago

It seems to me this is just a kind of cultural mis-match. I mean, nobody would bat an eye if the New York Times ran a full-page ad for the Nissan Leaf, or if Mattel produced a Hot Wheels car designed to represent the Leaf. It seems like EA is thinking along similar lines.

unoti 14y ago
This kinda goes well beyond that, from what I gather. Here's a thread where someone counted all the cars in his city, and found 90% of them were Nissan Leafs. Someone on the thread is asking how to uninstall the mod, because even when not placing the item, all the cars coming from other cities are Nissan Leafs. This is far more prominent than if Mattel made a particular kind of Hot Wheels car. Also keep in mind that downloadable content has been the promised road forward for straightening up a lot of the mess that SimCity has been-- and so for this to be the first downloadable content is a bit of a slap in the face to already crestfallen customers. http://www.reddit.com/r/SimCity/comments/1bm74h/90_of_my_car_are_now_nissan_leaf/ http://www.reddit.com/r/SimCity/comments/1bm74h/90_of_my_car...
InclinedPlane 14y ago
I don't think those comparisons are apt. There is advertising and there is product placement and then there is overly intrusive advertising, and this seems to be overly intrusive.
- prawn 14y ago
  That you have to go out of your way to install, apparently. Not that bad.

InclinedPlane 14y ago

Two things: One, I've heard it said that EA has a fairly weak corporate identity overall. They are pretty much a conglomerate of other companies and EA itself isn't known for anything interesting. Some people think this helps them get away with more shenanigans than they would if they had a stronger identity. Two, ironically a significant problem is that games are art. Just as with, say, music or television shows or what-have-you games are not commodities. Deciding to forgo playing a specific game and substituting playing another game is a similar prospect to listening to a different musician and very much different from choosing a different grocery store to shop at or fueling up with a different brand of gasoline. This makes it harder for competition in the marketplace to drive out bad anti-consumer behavior, as it might otherwise. In a sense each game publisher has a monopoly over the IP they release.