IGN asks, 'Why do people hate EA?'

[Sunshine021]

Why Do People 'Hate' EA?
Seriously? What is that all about? We asked EA.

Why do people hate EA? When I say 'people,' I mean 'some people,' some of the time -- a minority. And when I say 'hate' I mean mostly the writing of mean things on the internet.

This brand, this company, this group of people, creates some of the best and biggest games in the world with an average Metacritic rating that’s high and rising. It is profitable, but not outrageously so, and is under-valued by the stock market. So how has it managed to create enough ill-will to be voted the worst company in America? And even if it wasnt, even if we put that down to a temporary 'Mass Effect ending' negative blip that everyone has already forgotten about, there’s no doubt that ‘EA Hate’ is a thing.

I wanted to talk about this with Peter Moore, EA’s COO and he was big enough to tackle the uncomfortable question head on. It’s obvious that the whole issue bugs the hell out of him, and other people who work at EA and who care about EA as an entity. “It's painful when you read that commentary. The vitriol is hard on the teams. They read this stuff, their neighbors ask them about it. You probably saw the video, EA in a Nutshell. It portrays us as a money-grubbing monolith, gouging. And you just want to say... really...we are The Man? Unfortunately, I've always learned that the tallest trees catch the most wind.”

Of course, there’s no doubt that EA does silly things and makes dumb mistakes, as do all large companies. The point of this question isn’t really to exonerate EA for every foolish or greedy thing it’s ever done, but to investigate the depth of emotion that the company attracts -- to try to understand why.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/14/why-do-people-hate-ea?utm_campaign=ign+main+twitter&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

You can read more at the link.

Personally, I think it's a valid question to ask. I try not to get too overly involved in the company that makes the things I like (unless they animal test, then my money's definitely going elsewhere), so I don't get pissed off when said company does something that annoys me. It's still an annoyance... but I don't get so mad about it that I plan on boycotting them about it. There have been instances where The Sims 3's definitely annoyed me, but yet I continue to play. But there have also been instances where non-EA games have annoyed me to bits, and yet I still come back to play, because I love the GAME, and don't give a crap about the company. That's just me, though.

Annoyance toward a game (or anything) is definitely justifiable. I can see where people are going with that. But yet I don't understand the point in continuously following the company who makes these games, just waiting for the moment that they screw up so someone can complain about it. I mean, what's the point?

EA are dumb. EA are money hungry. I know this. And you know this, too. But then, so is every big American company, so I've just learned to accept it, buy the game (yes, I buy my games, these days), play the game, and move on with my life. If you're that fed up with the way the company works, then... just don't associate with them, anymore. Easy. No one is putting a gun to your head and making you buy The Sims, or making you see how badly one company may be screwing up.

I know some of you are going to disagree, and that's fine, but don't disagree just because you have an irrational hate for a gaming company. Try not to post the usual 'I miss Maxis and EA sucks' sort of stuff, please, actually add something to your post whether you disagree or not. Not trying to play board police, here, just asking nicely that this topic doesn't dissolve into the same age-old argument that it usually turns into, around here.

EDIT: And just for the record, I am NOT an EA apologist. I'm just trying to be a bit realistic, I guess.

[ViviSims2]

Katy Perry.

Nuff said.

[Artimis]

Kate perry and all the problems I have had with sims 3. They have really made some of the none sims games which I love rubbish like the sequel to dragon age origins which is dragon age 2 which was an ok game but not as awesome as origins :cry:.

[BartholomewMaximillion]

Bugs.
The game is bugged, the site is bugged, origin is bugged.

[Sunshine021]

Katy Perry is why EA sucks? Really? :|

[Artimis]

No they suck for making good seris like sims, dragon age and mass effect and turning them into not so good game seris!!

[vhanster]

I don't actually hate EA, per se.

But I do NOT like the way they try to force online/social network into my games via origin, launcher, simPort, etc. It is causing lags in my game process, and it's causing lags in my internet.

My Sims 3 game is constantly giving this "YOU ARE NOT LOGGED IN" warning pop-up whenever I want to play, despite having checked the "stop asking this" button. :wtf:

[~MadameButterfly~]

From what I have seen around the internet: half-done buggy games, taking the lazy way out whenever possible, hit and miss customer service, and driving games into directions that the gamers didn't ask for/want. They tend to fall short of greatness more often than not.

They generate hate, which is a strong emotion, because gamers are financially and emotionally invested in their products.

I am really hoping that Supernatural will exceed expectations, and that it won't fall into one of their usual patterns of business operation.

[clay4kelly]

Didn't the video they're responding to, "EA in a nutshell", sum up fairly well why people hate EA? I pulled some stuff from it as to why many people hate EA:

-Buying out some of the best game companies and turning them to mediocrity.
-Deliberately holding back game content for the sole purpose of making customers pay more for it later as DLC.
-Increasing the funding of media review organizations to get better reviews
-Monopolizing the entire gaming industry and crushing all that oppose
-Overworking employees with no benefeits
-Releasing the same things every year, an increasingly large number being the only difference.
-Forcing customers to stay online to play certain games
-Backstabbing Valve, preventing the developers from releasing their games via Steam for the sole purpose of promoting their own platform.
-Overhyping games and not delivering the content promised.
-Supporting the S.O.P.A.

This isn't my opinion/argument. Just adding to discussion.

[Simsdestroyer]

I don't like Electronic Arts because they've messed up the Sims series. The game is barely playable, the slightest thing can cause the programming to go wonky. Story Progression makes absolutely no sense. And that was the selling point of the game, and it doesn't work how it was supposed too. As a matter of fact nothing they make that is supposed to do something specific, never does what it's supposed too. Shitty customer service, they purposely sell there consumers defective products. I could go on and on, They deserve the flack they're getting, and I hope it changes there business practices.

[lisfyre]

I don't hate EA, that would be silly since our family's been buying EA games since forever. My husband has every Madden NFL game from the day they launched the first one. I've got my original SimCity from 1989 with it's add ons and beyond. So, needless to say, we're long time EA customers. Those aren't the only EA games in the house but they're the bulk of them, along with The Sims 2 and The Sims 3. Having said that, I'll just focus on The Sims series here.

Hubby and I are late simmers - meaning, we started playing The Sims 2 in 2007 which is basically the tail end of that series and when Sims 3 came out, we had the game on launch day and been buying every EP with the exception of Generations on launch day. As with Sims 2, we pick and choose what EP's we want with our games. For Sims 2, the only 2 EP's I didn't get were University and Pets because I didn't think they would be value added to my game... that's just my opinion. I don't buy things to have the whole set just to be able to say I have everything in the series. Same goes for Sims 3. I have all EP's up to Generations, no SP's. I didn't get PETS and SHT because both EP's didn't appeal to me.

With EA launching SHT and introducing "online" capability in it's very limited scope, I started to complain a lot because The Sims is my sandbox game where NO ONE is allowed to share my sandbox game. Call me selfish. I have some friends who play this SANDBOX game, including my husband (who introduced me to a game I said I would never play) and we don't want to share anything of our games not even with each other - in game or in any social media. Call it some guilty evil pleasure we like to keep secret. Bottom line for The Sims 3, we don't want an online game. We don't want to share our sims. It's our world and we rule.

Having said that, we're huge MMORPG gamers and yes we've played EA's MMO's - Dark Age of Camelot, Warhammer Online and Star Wars The Old Republic, along with almost every large MMO that's been published. I never played The Sims Online only because that was back in my SimCity days where I swore I would never ever play a game like The Sims nevermind The Sims Online because I really didn't want a game that was essentially a glorified chat room. So, bottom line - if/when EA finally decides to resurrect/reboot The Sims Online - The Next Generation, this is one gamer that won't be signing up.


My Sims 3 game is constantly giving this "YOU ARE NOT LOGGED IN" warning pop-up whenever I want to play, despite having checked the "stop asking this" button. :wtf:

I have the same problem and it seriously annoys me. I wish there was a way to REALLY turn the blasted thing off because I'm never going to log in.

[bluegenjutsu]

It doesn't bug me with the Log in thing. Have you tried turning it off by running as Admin first and then close the game and restart it and it should stay off.

[lisfyre]

It doesn't bug me with the Log in thing. Have you tried turning it off by running as Admin first and then close the game and restart it and it should stay off.

YUP!! I was hoping that by running the game as Admin after I turned it off the first time would stop it. Kinda like that Enable Data Sharing thing when it first came out - running the game in Admin and turning it off kept it off completely after the first time. Sadly, this is not the case for me.

[zigersimmer]

I am NOT an EA apologist.
Then stop apologizing for EA.

[lorinsv60]

The IGN writer needs to look no further than EA's so-called customer service and treatment of their customers, which SUCKS. (ETA: I originally planned to buy TS3 after I finished my Apocalypse, but) EA lost all of my loyalty stars when they totally abandoned their TS2 customers, ie the TS2 website conveniently got borked for months just as TS3 was coming out (and ignored us when we tried to ask them) and they never bothered to fix the Exchange, which on principle alone alienated some (me) to the point of boycotting 3. I'm still happy and feel a sense of personal satisfaction with that decision and honestly don't feel like I've missed out on a single thing for it. :beer:

[DuskTrooper]

Let’s be clear. EA is a corporation and its primary concern is making money.

So pissing off their customers - the people which purchase their games - Is the best way to make money?

[Baiaana]

I hate when someone ask " why people hate " something ^^

[Elphiron]

I'd say a lot of it is a 'herd instinct'. Someone hates something, and lots of people get on the bandwagon without knowing why their hating things.

However, EA need to pull their socks up. There are glaring gaps in the sims 3 that need to be filled. NEED to be filled. Relationships, odd animations, etc etc.
Saying 'EA sucks' because of glitches is utterly ridiculous, it's a huge game with hundreds of little variables all scurrying around, interacting with each other, glitches are to be expected. Just take a look at Skyrim to see what I mean.

The problem is that they scrimped on some areas to expand on others which will always leave certain parties feeling let down. When that happens in game after game they build up a 'hate-base'. Plus people don't want to look at the thought that if Maxis hadn't been bought out, there is a strong possibility in this current economic climate, that the sims franchise would not be continuing at all. EA has been thoroughly demonised of late, the question is, what are you going to do, EA? Cater for you fans, or continue to cut corners for cheep profits?

[zigersimmer]

Sorry, Elphiron, but the people have spoken. EA really does suck.

[Elphiron]

Well, the people are strange! I don't know much about giant corporations in America, but I am almost 100% certain that there are bigger, more corrupt empires of evil than EA.

[zigersimmer]

Well, the people are strange! I don't know much about giant corporations in America, but I am almost 100% certain that there are bigger, more corrupt empires of evil than EA.

Suck is not the same as evil.

[Elphiron]

That is very true. I stand corrected. ;)

[Nvenya]

Didn't the video they're responding to, "EA in a nutshell", sum up fairly well why people hate EA? I pulled some stuff from it as to why many people hate EA:

-Buying out some of the best game companies and turning them to mediocrity.
-Deliberately holding back game content for the sole purpose of making customers pay more for it later as DLC.
-Increasing the funding of media review organizations to get better reviews
-Monopolizing the entire gaming industry and crushing all that oppose
-Overworking employees with no benefeits
-Releasing the same things every year, an increasingly large number being the only difference.
-Forcing customers to stay online to play certain games
-Backstabbing Valve, preventing the developers from releasing their games via Steam for the sole purpose of promoting their own platform.
-Overhyping games and not delivering the content promised.
-Supporting the S.O.P.A.

This isn't my opinion/argument. Just adding to discussion.

This. I don't hate EA, I just dislike what they do to the games that I love.

They need to change their policies on game development. The developers do not have enough time to make a decent game. So many games have been ruined after EA acquired companies.

I read it on a forum somewhere but this person was right. EA are anti-alchemists turning gold to lead.

[ButchSims]

It brings up an interesting point, though. If EA sucks so much, why do people (myself included) still buy their games? I agree with some of the points mentioned, EA has terrible customer service, the support of SOPA etc. But I also think some of what is being said is overly judgemental. For example, let's take a look at Dragon Age 2. I know a lot of people say it wasn't as good as the first. But really, the first game was so awesome, that it would have been hard for any company to follow it. Where it really shined was it's story. The possibility of the world being over run by an Evil force, while a small band of people is the only thing that can stop them is a tried and true plot line, hard to go wrong with that. Then the second one came out. Where I think it suffered, story wise, is in how self-contained it felt. A single city being sacked just can't have the same emotional punch. But I always viewed the game as the second book in a trilogy. And as any author/movie director will tell you, second books are the hardest. You have to build on what came before, set up what's coming next, and somehow squeeze in your own story in there somewheres. Was it as good as the first? no. Did I have fun playing it? yes.

sorry if this doesn't make as much sense as I hope it does, but I just woke up and the coffee hasn't kicked in yet.

[Artimis]

EA make probucts that people want to duy not nessicarly good but okay. All they want is the money.

[Artimis]

I do'nt hate Ea I just wish they could stop wrecking games which are good.

[Nvenya]

It brings up an interesting point, though. If EA sucks so much, why do people (myself included) still buy their games? I agree with some of the points mentioned, EA has terrible customer service, the support of SOPA etc. But I also think some of what is being said is overly judgemental. For example, let's take a look at Dragon Age 2. I know a lot of people say it wasn't as good as the first. But really, the first game was so awesome, that it would have been hard for any company to follow it. Where it really shined was it's story. The possibility of the world being over run by an Evil force, while a small band of people is the only thing that can stop them is a tried and true plot line, hard to go wrong with that. Then the second one came out. Where I think it suffered, story wise, is in how self-contained it felt. A single city being sacked just can't have the same emotional punch. But I always viewed the game as the second book in a trilogy. And as any author/movie director will tell you, second books are the hardest. You have to build on what came before, set up what's coming next, and somehow squeeze in your own story in there somewheres. Was it as good as the first? no. Did I have fun playing it? yes.

sorry if this doesn't make as much sense as I hope it does, but I just woke up and the coffee hasn't kicked in yet.

Bioware didn't really have a problem with sequels before. Look at Baldur's Gate 2. Now let's look at development for Dragon Age. Dragon Age Origins took about 8 years and Dragon Age 2 was only 2 years in development. That's big.

[Artimis]

Dragon age origins was awesome and dragon age was ok. What annoys me that ea is not making anything for dragon age 2 and instead making dragon age 3 in the same time frame that they made dragon age 2 in. They canceled an expasion pack for dragon age 2 which sounded like an ok expasion pack and ea have not told us what happens to hawke and leaving her/him dead in dust somewhere.

[haricots]

EA sucks. Many other companies sucks. It's all about perception. Get over with it. Now go simming!

[Nvenya]

EA sucks. Many other companies sucks. It's all about perception. Get over with it. Now go simming!

Kind of hard to get over EA sucking when that has a negative impact on my sim experience. I quit Sims 3 after Generations, though I am reconsidering installing it on my computer again if the Supernatural expansion turns out well.

[ButchSims]

Bioware didn't really have a problem with sequels before. Look at Baldur's Gate 2. Now let's look at development for Dragon Age. Dragon Age Origins took about 8 years and Dragon Age 2 was only 2 years in development. That's big. I will agree with you on the point of development time. But remember, when the first Dragon Age game was released, Bioware had some concerns over whether it would be accepted by players, as the old-school design of the player UI seemed a bit outdated. 8 years is a long time when it applies to what's hot and what's not in Video games.

[Artimis]

Now go simming!

I wish I could with sims 2 crashed and the disc trapped in the disc drive I can't play that. Sims 1 is not installed on any computer in my house. Sims 3 would'nt install and I need to buy a new copy sims 3 to play any sims 3 games at all and also I want to buy skyrim so this is going to be expensive as my parenets would'nt buy these games for my birthday.

[Srikandi]

I wish I could with sims 2 crashed and the disc trapped in the disc drive I can't play that. Sims 1 is not installed on any computer in my house. Sims 3 would'nt install and I need to buy a new copy sims 3 to play any sims 3 games at all and also I want to buy skyrim so this is going to be expensive as my parenets would'nt buy these games for my birthday.

... Some pretty elementary computer repair could solve your problems, it sounds like :O

There are ways to open a stuck CD tray, and if Sims 3 "won't install" that should be a fixable problem too. (Buying a new copy certainly won't help, unless the disk is physically damaged... even in that case, if you have the CD Key you may be able to register it on Origin and get the download version.) Try the Help Q+A forums in the help menu :)

[varpunen]

Why Do People 'Hate' EA?
Seriously? What is that all about? We asked EA.

And even if it wasnt, even if we put that down to a temporary 'Mass Effect ending' negative blip that everyone has already forgotten about, there’s no doubt that ‘EA Hate’ is a thing.

Has already forgotten about? Oh, please... any true ME fan such as myself knows that it is very, very, very far from being forgotten.:faceslap::wtf:

[Ghost sdoj]

EA make probucts that people want to duy not nessicarly good but okay. All they want is the money.
Of course they want to get the money. They are a business. If they don't get the money they will stop existing. They need to keep an eye on the bottom line, and shove things out quickly enough to get enough people buying them to make enough of a profit to satisfy their shareholders.

It would really help if they could give their developers more time to work on things, but honestly, how much of that is -our- fault? If they announce a 2 month delay in the release of a new EP, would we all support the decision, or would we get upset? (To help you be honest about that, check the threads about the delay in releasing Sims 3...)

(And no, I'm not a big fan of EA, either. I've just been watching re-runs of Deep Space Nine, and wondering if EA has any Ferengi in charge. lol )

[Bij0ux]

(only my opinion, don't get your panties in a bunch over it please :P) The only legit reason for "why do people keep buying their games?" is one word: hope. Hope it gets better. Hope they finally understand their customers and respect them for once. Although I think the saying "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me" is perfect for this situation.
YES, EA is a company, YES, it is totally acceptable for them to want money... but the problem is that it is the ONLY reason they create games. As someone that consider video games an art medium, I think games should come from passion and not for making cash only. If they were only a publishing company, maybe the reasons of why people hate them would be different but they still develop games and affect the development of another's company product.
Also the fact that they continually lie to their customers and literally treat them like invaluable sheep, only their wallets count. Isn't that a conceivable way to treat a customer in other mediums? No? Then why should it be in the gaming industry? Aren't there laws against false advertising..? (oh boy, I know EA are good at backing up their ass on those tho)
I don't know if I've understand the way you intended your post (OP) but why distinguish EA (or any gaming company) from other corporations in our modern society? You wouldn't want to buy a broken washing machine, would you? And how upset would that make you if you could not return your unsatisfying broken product to the company?
EA should not get away with their behavior and I'm glad people are loud about it, maybe at some point they will reevaluate their business methods and etiquette but so far they seem to be blind and believe their own lies.
Oh and I forgot: I personally think IGN is corrupted, their opinions have no value to me.
Edit #2: An example of a company that values their customer more than anything else is Arena.net Now that's a gaming developer I trust entirely and they deserve it. They are open and listen. Just think of the AMA they did on Reddit last week.. I've never seen a a gaming company so in touch with their fans and willing to be honest with them. They can have my money, all of it.

[Artimis]

... Some pretty elementary computer repair could solve your problems, it sounds like :O

There are ways to open a stuck CD tray, and if Sims 3 "won't install" that should be a fixable problem too. (Buying a new copy certainly won't help, unless the disk is physically damaged... even in that case, if you have the CD Key you may be able to register it on Origin and get the download version.) Try the Help Q+A forums in the help menu :)

Thanks, I will try that at some point :)

[Artimis]

Has already forgotten about? Oh, please... any true ME fan such as myself knows that it is very, very, very far from being forgotten.:faceslap::wtf:

Although I have never played mass effect 3 I have seen the ending and I have to agree that the end was god awful.

[Sunshine021]

Then stop apologizing for EA.

Thanks for adding to the discussion by ignoring every single thing I posted and picking apart that one particular sentence. If you would have bothered to actually READ my post, you'd have saw that I wasn't apologizing for EA, but being rational. Something a lot of people around here aren't capable of being when it comes to this subject (rude as hell for me to say that, but it is true). But you have an irrational hate for EA, anyway, by what I can tell from your posts, so there's probably no talking to you about this subject, anyway. Be as stubborn as you want.


-Supporting the S.O.P.A.

....Well, that sucks. I guess they don't know that by supporting that, that would probably kill all third party mods and essentially destroy the Sims franchise? Luckily for us, a bill like that will probably never be passed, anyway.

[hungryhippo]

I'll respond to this with questions of my own:

Where is slow dancing?
Why can't toddlers talk or play with one another?
Why are children and teen interactions so limited and/or poorly thought out?
Why do I have to play the game with so many mods just to fix or add to things you refused or, excuse me, forgot to put in.
Why are the patches always so buggy?
Why is store content being shoved into my face whenever I'm in CAS? Why are you asking me to log in?
Why couldn't you just REMAKE Superstar instead of this Showtime Katy Perry trash? Where is restaurant functionality?
Why did you try to make The Sims 3 into some mmo quest type game? If I wanna play an mmo I'll play an mmo.
Why does the Launcher cause me so many problems? Why does .sims3packs cause me so many problems?
The expansion packs don't harmonize with one another like how they did in Sims 1 and 2, why? Pet's can't go to travel worlds, Showtime doesn't work with celebrity points and the singing career isn't even linked to Showtime profession
Why do I need a mod just to make World Adventures seem like an actual (albeit a very poor one) vacation?
Why do the expansions feel more and more like there's less and less work and care being put into them? Showtime is the biggest offender of lazy work, I can't even call it an expansion pack
Why do you have a Store and sell stuff packs? I buy things from the Store, then buy a stuff pack only to find recolored items or hair from the Store in the pack. Why?
Why do you not listen to your consumers?

I love The Sims, I loved it the moment I started playing it in 2000, but EA is making it SO HARD to enjoy simming, and that's why I hate them.

[Sgloomi]

The thing that hasn't been brought up is that it's not just mindless HATE - except for those LOLspeaking idiots who barely have some intimation it's what real people are supposed to do on that typey-thing with keys. It's more like love/hate.

An edgier analogy would be the relationship between a smackhead and his Man, but I prefer to think of EA - Sims 3 in particular - in slightly cuter terms: It's like the most adorable puppy in the world has just taken a massive dump in the middle of your favourite carpet. You still love it to bits on one level, but on another you just can't ignore the sheer amount of crap.

Obviously, that puppy has to be trained. Obviously, that puppy must have its nose rubbed in it. There's a world of difference between that, though, and just saying 'EA SUX LOL HLP MEE PLZ LOL' and simply shooting it in the head.

[shaaaii]

EA frusturate the hell out of me. But I'm definitely a loyal player.
For the past year now, I've been getting the error code 12 in my game, deeming it impossible to play. I've spoken to many of their workers/helpers whatever they are on that chat thing, which have been no help at all. But, stupidly of me, I still bought Pets, hoping that one day my issue would be solved and I'd have the games ready for when it was. (I would've gotten Showtime too, but it looks like a load of sh*t)
Probably very stupid of me, yes. But I do love TS3, I just wish I was actually able to play the damn thing again!

[DigitalSympathies]

EA frusturate the hell out of me. But I'm definitely a loyal player.
For the past year now, I've been getting the error code 12 in my game, deeming it impossible to play. I've spoken to many of their workers/helpers whatever they are on that chat thing, which have been no help at all. But, stupidly of me, I still bought Pets, hoping that one day my issue would be solved and I'd have the games ready for when it was. (I would've gotten Showtime too, but it looks like a load of sh*t)
Probably very stupid of me, yes. But I do love TS3, I just wish I was actually able to play the damn thing again!

Error Code 12 can be resolved by using "save as," instead of "save."

[maybesomethingdunno]

I hate when someone ask " why people hate " something ^^

*Tries to resist the urge to ask Baiaana why he hates when people ask why people hate something* :p

I liked Maxis more than EA. I felt like they cared more about the fans.

[shaaaii]

Error Code 12 can be resolved by using "save as," instead of "save."
Yeah I've heard that one, it works for some people and then not for others, me being one of those people unfortunately.

[Sgloomi]

Error 12's tend to be the result of playing a big and complex memory-hogging game on a computer that, simply, doesn't have enough poke.

This was brought home to me after upgrading to a new iMac from my seven-year-old one, whereupon many problems of that nature stopped. Though I'm sure they'll recur as new EP's are added and the game gets even bigger.

Simple fact is, a Sims 3 install with a bunch of EP's - especially Pets, which added a MASSIVE processor load - requires a drastically better machine than when the first Sims 3 came out. And that's the source of a lot of problems people constantly report.

Blame EA, yes, for bloating the game so your machine isn't powerful enough to play it - but that's not something they can 'fix' to make your machine magically be able to play it.

[ButchSims]

Periodically deleting those pesky cache files can help get rid of error 12. and get rid of some of those memories, while you are at it

[shaaaii]

Error 12's tend to be the result of playing a big and complex memory-hogging game on a computer that, simply, doesn't have enough poke.

This was brought home to me after upgrading to a new iMac from my seven-year-old one, whereupon many problems of that nature stopped. Though I'm sure they'll recur as new EP's are added and the game gets even bigger.

Simple fact is, a Sims 3 install with a bunch of EP's - especially Pets, which added a MASSIVE processor load - requires a drastically better machine than when the first Sims 3 came out. And that's the source of a lot of problems people constantly report.

Blame EA, yes, for bloating the game so your machine isn't powerful enough to play it - but that's not something they can 'fix' to make your machine magically be able to play it.
So do you think it would be wise to get a new computer? I was going to anyway, but didn't want to do it for no reason, and just have the same thing happen again incase it was the disc? I only started getting the error code 12 problem since LN. I have a Compaq presario CQ42 notebook pc.

[Wyctorya]

Everytime I enter these discussions I see some people asking "Why do you keep buying their games then?"
Simply put, because there's nothing else. The Sims franchise is a glaring example: there is no other game like it. If I want to play a huge digital dollhousy sandbox game, I'm pretty much stuck with The Sims. But the same thing goes for many other games.
And this is also connected to the issue of "EA HATE". If you want to play certain types of games, you are basically forced to buy the monopolized huge enterprise ones. Then the monopol doesn't give two flying fvcks about you, because what for? you're going to buy their games anyway. That way, they get away with just about anything. So then people hate them, because they abuse their position and branch out to consume nearly every independent producer, therefore gaining even more position which they can abuse. Endless cycle. Finally, people feel cheated and manipulated out of their money - JUST because they want to buy some game types they enjoy.

I'm going to use my favorite game as a shiny example - Portal (which is of completely different genre). I was, of course, terrified they'd mess up the sequel. But the sequel stood up to everything I wanted and more. Game was polished, never experienced any bug with it. They even did commentary modes and extras. DLC was like a micro-sequel and I didn't feel they withheld it from me just so they could sell it - also because it was free to download. COMPLETELY FREE. Try that on for size, EA.
But seriously, look at how little you have to do. Common courtesy. And people will, at the very least, tolerate you. But abuse your humongous empire and of course people are going to hate. Then you act all surprised and try some emotional blackmail ("our poor hardworking teams take all the impact! OH PLS GUYZ BE NICE"). Nu-uh.

[WayBack]

If EA sucks so much, why do people (myself included) still buy their games?

I stopped buying their games a year ago. I got tired of endless patching, and downloading mods just to be able to play a game that crashed after an hour anyway. So, the people who still buy this game are probably less demanding or more patient than me.

I don't hate EA. Hate requires a deep emotion, and my feelings for EA are just, as a Sims 2 vampire would say, "Bleh".

[Laisanae]

EA took my favourite game and raped it. That's why.

[Artimis]

EA the worst company in ameraica (offical)

[lucagrabacr]

This whole "Hating EA" stuff is contagious imo. For example, in one of EA's Free4Play MMO racing game which I also played, Need For Speed World. Some people start complaining in the forums about how NFS World is a "Pay-to-win" game, and after reading those posts, people who never think about the game that way, start thinking like that too.

I'll try to stay neutral here. EA is greedy, yes. But it's their games, so they kinda can do anything they want with them.

Though I gotta agree that most of their customer services sucks.

[itsamariokart]

The buggy programming. They make great games but the programming can mess it all up.

I also don't like the whole online/social network/ZOMG YOU MUST LOG IN!!! nonsense.

[zigersimmer]

Thanks for adding to the discussion by ignoring every single thing I posted and picking apart that one particular sentence. If you would have bothered to actually READ my post, you'd have saw that I wasn't apologizing for EA, but being rational. Something a lot of people around here aren't capable of being when it comes to this subject (rude as hell for me to say that, but it is true). But you have an irrational hate for EA, anyway, by what I can tell from your posts, so there's probably no talking to you about this subject, anyway. Be as stubborn as you want.



....Well, that sucks. I guess they don't know that by supporting that, that would probably kill all third party mods and essentially destroy the Sims franchise? Luckily for us, a bill like that will probably never be passed, anyway.

I did read your OP. You are an EA apologist. Thinly veiling the apology with crap about 'let's be reasonable' is a transparent attempt to appear otherwise. You're an EA apologist, plain and simple.

[AngelicScot]

Why Do People 'Hate' EA?
Seriously? What is that all about? We asked EA.

Why do people hate EA? When I say 'people,' I mean 'some people,' some of the time -- a minority. And when I say 'hate' I mean mostly the writing of mean things on the internet.

This brand, this company, this group of people, creates some of the best and biggest games in the world with an average Metacritic rating that’s high and rising. It is profitable, but not outrageously so, and is under-valued by the stock market. So how has it managed to create enough ill-will to be voted the worst company in America? And even if it wasnt, even if we put that down to a temporary 'Mass Effect ending' negative blip that everyone has already forgotten about, there’s no doubt that ‘EA Hate’ is a thing.

I wanted to talk about this with Peter Moore, EA’s COO and he was big enough to tackle the uncomfortable question head on. It’s obvious that the whole issue bugs the hell out of him, and other people who work at EA and who care about EA as an entity. “It's painful when you read that commentary. The vitriol is hard on the teams. They read this stuff, their neighbors ask them about it. You probably saw the video, EA in a Nutshell. It portrays us as a money-grubbing monolith, gouging. And you just want to say... really...we are The Man? Unfortunately, I've always learned that the tallest trees catch the most wind.”

Of course, there’s no doubt that EA does silly things and makes dumb mistakes, as do all large companies. The point of this question isn’t really to exonerate EA for every foolish or greedy thing it’s ever done, but to investigate the depth of emotion that the company attracts -- to try to understand why.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/14/why-do-people-hate-ea?utm_campaign=ign+main+twitter&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

You can read more at the link.

Personally, I think it's a valid question to ask. I try not to get too overly involved in the company that makes the things I like (unless they animal test, then my money's definitely going elsewhere), so I don't get pissed off when said company does something that annoys me. It's still an annoyance... but I don't get so mad about it that I plan on boycotting them about it. There have been instances where The Sims 3's definitely annoyed me, but yet I continue to play. But there have also been instances where non-EA games have annoyed me to bits, and yet I still come back to play, because I love the GAME, and don't give a crap about the company. That's just me, though.

Annoyance toward a game (or anything) is definitely justifiable. I can see where people are going with that. But yet I don't understand the point in continuously following the company who makes these games, just waiting for the moment that they screw up so someone can complain about it. I mean, what's the point?

EA are dumb. EA are money hungry. I know this. And you know this, too. But then, so is every big American company, so I've just learned to accept it, buy the game (yes, I buy my games, these days), play the game, and move on with my life. If you're that fed up with the way the company works, then... just don't associate with them, anymore. Easy. No one is putting a gun to your head and making you buy The Sims, or making you see how badly one company may be screwing up.

I know some of you are going to disagree, and that's fine, but don't disagree just because you have an irrational hate for a gaming company. Try not to post the usual 'I miss Maxis and EA sucks' sort of stuff, please, actually add something to your post whether you disagree or not. Not trying to play board police, here, just asking nicely that this topic doesn't dissolve into the same age-old argument that it usually turns into, around here.

EDIT: And just for the record, I am NOT an EA apologist. I'm just trying to be a bit realistic, I guess.

In my opinion, if you read between the lines of the so-called "hater" posts, it's less that they hate EA than they hate what directions EA has taken this particular franchise. People here can and will debate that statement, and that's their right. But I can't waste time "hating" a company, I've got more personal issues to live with. I will say that I DO NOT like where the current Sims team has taken this series nor the fact that EA won't give them the budget to make a quality product, because that's what it basically comes down to.

[lisfyre]

I don't hate EA. Hate requires a deep emotion, and my feelings for EA are just, as a Sims 2 vampire would say, "Bleh".

Yup.... hate is just too much work.. all that energy being channeled into something that is pointless. Better to just walk away, let it go and channel the energy into something productive.

I fail to understand how EA can make a game, sell it and have the community that plays their game heavily modify it so that it works properly. I don't play a lot of standalone sandbox games but I don't think all those other games are as heavily modded as The Sims series. I don't think SimCity is this heavily modded.

[Mootilda]

You must have missed all of the SimCity mods at simtropolis and sc4devotion and a couple of other sites. SimCity has been heavily modded, which is why there is still an active community after so many years. They even managed to fix the broken pathfinding which was making the game unplayable.

[PuffyAmi]

Because they don't care about modders, as the change with Pets and some patches has shown when they screwed up lot of mods. Because they didn't make sims one of those games that works well with mods. Because modding sims 3 is way too much effort, effort that they could have made easier such as releasing tools and otherwise supporting the modding community.
Why can't EA support something that makes sims better ...

[Tempscire]

Why can't EA support something that makes sims better ...
Either it's because they're a mild form of evil... or because it's a legally sticky grey area to essentially invite unpaid third parties to do work on a highly profitable line of intellectual property (all rights reserved) that they'd rather not deal with, never mind the problem of potentially taking legal responsibility for said third party modifications, never mind the logistics of having that much more programming to reconcile with their own.

[Miuki]

Is that a rhetorical question?
Pointless apologetic article really...and quite hipocrite as well, I believe they know pretty well why people are pissed off with their business practices, they just don't care about that.
As for me, I don't hate this company, I just think that their upper managers are a bunch of asshats, not suitable to run a gaming company. I wouldn't even remember about EA's existance if they didn't monopolise and then ruin my beloved sim series, same with Bullfrog studio.

[lisfyre]

You must have missed all of the SimCity mods at simtropolis and sc4devotion and a couple of other sites. SimCity has been heavily modded, which is why there is still an active community after so many years. They even managed to fix the broken pathfinding which was making the game unplayable.

You're right, I definitely missed all of those. Actually, I didn't even know there were sites for SimCity that has all the goodies like The Sims franchise. Oh well... all these years and I've been playing that game vanilla. Not about to start with the existing SimCity4 on that then... will wait until the new SimCity 5 is released then I'll go and start searching for sites. Thanks for the heads up Mootilda!! :)

Because they don't care about modders, as the change with Pets and some patches has shown when they screwed up lot of mods. Because they didn't make sims one of those games that works well with mods. Because modding sims 3 is way too much effort, effort that they could have made easier such as releasing tools and otherwise supporting the modding community.
Why can't EA support something that makes sims better ...

Because the game is supposed to WORK right out of the gate and technically, no one should be modding a game if it works properly. It's not that they don't care about modders, they just don't think there should be a reason to modify the game.

[IzzyBess]

Let’s be clear. EA is a corporation and its primary concern is making money.

Primary concern used to be supplying people with what they need. Time's changed I guess.

I hate them because of making patches that usually break more than repair. For lots of bugs and not caring about what players want to have in their game - like Katy Perry stuff - who on earth would want that instead of in eg more usual furniture/building things themed in some age or even something like high end loft stuff? Medieval castle stuff, Kitchen&dining stuff, anything really but weird things that maybe 5% of player is gonna use. And of course forcing online features.

[ViolettaVie]

Because the game is supposed to WORK right out of the gate and technically, no one should be modding a game if it works properly. It's not that they don't care about modders, they just don't think there should be a reason to modify the game.
Bethesda released modding tools that they used to develop Skyrim to their fanbase. They thought it was a great idea for people to take their FINISHED product and do with it what they pleased. Because they know you cannot tell someone that to have fun with a game they are required to play it the way the games developers invisioned it.

I just think EA is too greedy. To increase customer loyalty, all EA has to do is threat its customers like they matter. EA has no pride. It doesn't care that it produces crap. The sad thing is EA expects you and me and everyone else to pay a lot for their crap. What we get is a half finished, video card melting, diaster of a product. When we are scrambling to fix load issues, crashing problem, game breaking inconsistencies, their customer service cannot truly help. What is required to fix these issues is EA allowing its Sims 3 dev team the time and resources to do their jobs right. But EA doesn't care about the development aspect. They just concern themselves with cash flow.

And somehow EA is befuddled that people hate them? Dislike them? Can't stand their business practices? I'm sure it's such a tough nut to crack, this conundrum.

[kewpie]

I'm surprised that several people have made the argument that there are many other corporations far worse than EA, so why call them evil? Most people consider murderers evil. No one says "Oh he just killed one person. Meanwhile Stalin killed almost a million people so why aren't we talking about him?" Or if someone deliberately ran a Ponsey scheme and made many upper middle class people desperately poor at a time when they needed their savings most -- well, that's evil, right? Nobody says "Well, they didn't murder a million people like Stalin, so why are we talking about Bernie Madoff instead of him right now?"

Unless you are talking about the big H, Stalin or Pol Pot himself, there will ALWAYS be someone more evil than who you are talking about. Just because the big three evil guys existed doesn't negate what every other evil act out there is. We talk about EA being evil because they do specific things out there that directly affect the gaming community and when you are on a gaming forum or at a gaming convention - of COURSE they are going to be talking about the big evil gaming community instead of the thugs of Blackwater out killing innocent Iraqi citizens or JP Morgan Chase stealing 7 billion dollars and betting it all away.


Just because there are corporations MORE evil out there doesn't take away from any of their own evilness. And we shouldn't feel ashamed we are talking about EA's evilness instead of other worse evils out there.

[DaBoogadie]

I'm a fan of EA, I always have been and I don't see that changing. But, I see very little difference between EA (or any successful corp.) and that **guy selling crack to your little sister. On that level, a little hate can't hurt.
So, the Question is: Is it the drug or is it the dealer that is so hated. I, for one, think that there a lot of folks that could benefit from some virtual rehab.

**Just to be clear, I am not a fan of selling crack.

[ViolettaVie]

Aside from what I said earlier, I have to put it out there that I think hating EA is a bit much. I hate terrorist and murderers and pedophiles but I don't hate EA. I strongly disagree with their business practices and wish that they would change. The difference between EA and evil people who cause harm is that EA is a corporation and we pay them for their SHT. We don't pay murderers or pedophiles or terrorist to wreck havoc. There is a difference there. If you don't like what EA has done with the Sims franchise you have the option to not purchase their SHT, and to spread your discontent in hopes people won't purchase their SHT. The only reason why EA gets away with this SHT is that people who aren't happy with EA still supports them. If EA continues to profit then I doubt they would feel the need to change. They are happy with how things are, despite what PR BS they are trying to spin.

[lisfyre]

Well said ViolettaVie!!! :D I didn't buy PETS and I certainly didn't buy and won't buy SHT!!! :rofl:

[kewpie]

ViolettaVie - This gets into an area well outside what EA does or doesn't do. Some people reserve hatred for mass murderers and Satan Himself. Others will hate the guy who blows his nose in public instead of going to a restroom. It's not our right to impose what people are and are not allowed to say they hate. I hate people who think it's funny to scratch their nails on a chalkboard. I don't put them anywhere near the camp of murderers, pedophiles or even EA corporate goons. But they get on my nerves and while they are doing the nail thing -- I hate them. Judge me as you will.

I hate EA. I have that right. It's not up to you or anyone else to decide how I am allowed to distribute hatred.

[Issie]

I don't hate them but I do dislike what they have done with the series. I've bought the Sims series since the Sims 1/Sims 2 with all expansions. Even thought WA was not my cup of tea I bought it, as well as AMB and Generations hoping I could get back into it and play. Truth be told it isn't that bad but with all the buginess/patches etc the game isn't stable enough and not well worth the money in my opinion.

I've decided since Generations I wont be forking out another cent for Sims 3 games until I see improvement. I'm sure with enough people doing this it will matter in the long run (yes, every person does make a difference!).

[ViolettaVie]

ViolettaVie - This gets into an area well outside what EA does or doesn't do. Some people reserve hatred for mass murderers and Satan Himself. Others will hate the guy who blows his nose in public instead of going to a restroom. It's not our right to impose what people are and are not allowed to say they hate. I hate people who think it's funny to scratch their nails on a chalkboard. I don't put them anywhere near the camp of murderers, pedophiles or even EA corporate goons. But they get on my nerves and while they are doing the nail thing -- I hate them. Judge me as you will.

I hate EA. I have that right. It's not up to you or anyone else to decide how I am allowed to distribute hatred.
I'm sorry if you feel that I was judging you. I wasn't or anyone else who chooses to feel the way you do. I was just expressing my feelings, which aren't so different from yours. I just see hate as a strong word and try not to use it for things I don't perceive as evil.

[eskie227]

I'm sorry if you feel that I was judging you. I wasn't or anyone else who chooses to feel the way you do. I was just expressing my feelings, which aren't so different from yours. I just see hate as a strong word and try not to use it for things I don't perceive as evil.

I understand that we all use language differently, and I can respect your reserving the word hate for something truly evil. I might hate Brussels sprouts, but I don't think they're evil. I might hate EA's business practices, but I don't view EA's CEO as being Pol Pot.

OT, as to why people hate EA, pick just about any thread in this community and read the issues folks have about EA decisions regarding the Sims. Add to that the discontent among other folks who are big fans of other games EA releases (really, it's not just only about the Sims), and you'll find a whole lot of dissatisfied customers out there. Maybe if EA directed more of their marketing funds allocation to customer support, their customers might have a different opinion. But in reality, EA is a giant marketing company devoted to selling video games. It is not a gaming company that markets lots of games.

[Sgloomi]

If we're talking language, I personally have no problem with people 'hating' - cos in itself it just conveys a depth of feeling and is value-neutral other than that.

What I have a problem with is people who thoughtlessly use the word 'rape' as a synonym for ruining something, or 'retarded' for something being stupid. The only positive in that sort of usage is that it makes it quicker to peg that person as someone who's opinions are utterly worthless, and thus saves time.

(Come to think of it, I don't think anyone's actually used 'retarded' in this thread, other than me saying it in quotes. But you know what I mean.)

[writerchick]

I have the same problem and it seriously annoys me. I wish there was a way to REALLY turn the blasted thing off because I'm never going to log in.

No, you don't. I've managed to turn off notifications (don't ask me how) and now I can't load into my game items I paid for from the store! I can purchase the tiem no problem, but the items won't load into my game. I'll get a message that I need to log in, and will offer my username and password... and nothing happens. So no loading paid for items into my game.

EA sucks...

[Artimis]

EA sims stores suck as paying for cc sucks.

[Lord Vetinari]

EA has one huge problem: they buy franchises that belong to a genre they they don't care about, turn them into stuff whose only aim is to appeal the newcomers often in total spite of those who liked the original titles and fire artists and game designers that do not agree with the new course, then when it all goes wrong after a couple of games, because newcomers don't give a crap about it and old fans hate what the series become, they shut down the franchise, the acquired company or both.
It's not a Mass Effect or Dragon Age thing, this stuff dates back to the 90s. Who remembers Origins (the company, not the game) and Ultima?

Also "what's wrong with EA? Let's ask EA, surely we'll receive an honest opinion."
LOL.

[Artimis]

They also brought bullfrog who made the dungeon keeper games, Ea sucks!

[PuffyAmi]

Because the game is supposed to WORK right out of the gate and technically, no one should be modding a game if it works properly. It's not that they don't care about modders, they just don't think there should be a reason to modify the game.

EA doesn't support modding at all while creators of skyrim for example do. They released a game that works properly and afterwards they began to release mods and they had also given modding tools for that community.
So my statement still stands, why doesn't EA want to support modding the sims while many other companies do support modding their games.

[morphius1]

I do not understand you people.
You disagree with EA, but still buy their product, giving them the money that you complain about having to spend.
I don't get it.
It's like buying some food from somewhere you hate shopping.
You hate what EA did to the sims. Then stop playing the game.
I know that most of you will disagree with me. I do not care.
If you don't like it don't buy it. Very simple.
EA made the sims better in my opinion.

[DuskTrooper]

You disagree with EA, but still buy their product

That's because EA is the only developer that even makes a decent Life Simulator game.

[lil bag2]

Everybody's pretty much said how I feel about EA. The dislike stems generally from them being overly greedy and with little to no regard for their customers' satisfaction. That's why I don't give them any more money than I need to. I don't shop at the sims store, I don't buy stuff packs (the Katy Perry stuff pack made me truly realize how badly they were whoring out the sims), I don't buy sim points. My money is only spent on expansions packs.

I recently decided to give the sims 3 another chance and only two days after I did, I realized why I went back to the sims 2 in the first place. It shouldn't take a billion mods and other forms of custom content made by the fans to fix things that EA could have fixed themselves (Big shout out to the core mod creators, you guys are awesome) like Story Progression. If I had it turned off then why did my sim kid's best friend go from child to Young Adult in almost no time flat, without me EVER playing on that child's family? And God forbid you have problem that can only be fixed by talking to an EA employee. I know from experience how taxing that can be -___-

The only reason I haven't uninstalled the sims 3 from my computer is because all the mods I've bombarded it with have made gameplay more like the sims 2 (which I still play) Plus the create-a-sim features and open environment are awesome, I'll give EA that.

[SuicidiaParasidia]

Unfortunately, I've always learned that the tallest trees catch the most wind.

yep, because i am totally jelly and wish i could sucker people out of their money for minimal effort at maximum profit while treating my employees like poo.

to put it in the most annoying way possible, this is my attitude toward EA:

you lost that lovin' feeling~
woah, that lovin' feeling~
you lost that lovin' feeling, now its gone, gone, gone
wo-o-oah~

and with the addition of social BS shenanigans, i feel like theyre trying to hijack my once beautifully single-player game and trying to turn it into yet another fad communications network. drop it, EA, please, and step away.

additionally, a lot of it feels like a shameless cash grab. the fact that they reserve content for people who buy it off the site separately from the game is the biggest giveaway. its like selling you two slices of bread with one ingredient between them and calling that the "sandwich", then setting up a separate area with which to buy condiments, lettuce, tomato, meats, cheeses, etc.
...and then being shocked when people point out that the "sandwich" is BS and they didnt get their moneys' worth.
this analogy is also ignoring that the stuff you DO pay for comes with more bugs than an amusement park and has a crappy play span. (ive had save games corrupt in under 3 days, before, and this is with the absence of CC entirely.)

i dont think ANYONE believes that they are forced to buy any sims games, ever. however, its one thing to say "if you dont like it, leave it" and something else entirely to say "oh well, so theyre distorting your fondest childhood memories, thats YOUR problem".
a person has a choice whether or not to swim in a pool, but if the pool is full of shit and piss but the weather is boiling, why is it be so unreasonable to ask that the pool be cleaned?

[lil bag2]

a person has a choice whether or not to swim in a pool, but if the pool is full of shit and piss but the weather is boiling, why is it be so unreasonable to ask that the pool be cleaned?

^ Quote of the century

[PuffyAmi]

I do not understand you people.
You disagree with EA, but still buy their product, giving them the money that you complain about having to spend.
I don't get it.
It's like buying some food from somewhere you hate shopping.
You hate what EA did to the sims. Then stop playing the game.
I know that most of you will disagree with me. I do not care.
If you don't like it don't buy it. Very simple.
EA made the sims better in my opinion.

That's because EA is the only developer that even makes a decent Life Simulator game.

Absolutely. We got no much choices when it comes to life simulator games. That's why we "hate" EA but still keep buying from them. If one day there is another, much better choice, maybe then we'll actually not buy their stuff.

[Laisanae]

...You disagree with EA, but still buy their product...

Umm.

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/373017_316503651746317_275527295_n.jpg

[9b8ll]

You know what pisses me of more than EA? Is the article itself! IGN are very hypocritical and biased when it comes to Games but that's another topic. ;)

It's not that I "hate" EA so much it's just that their whole way treating customers and fans like idiots and peons make me to dislike them very much. I want them to do better, but all they care about is profit. Customer support is far the worse that I've ever seen in my life. Releasing and rushing games that come mostly come out mediocre. As to why some people say you still buy EA's Games well the Sims series and Simcity is the only Game that I only buy, that's it. Now with EA adding unnecessary always log-in online and forcing social features to play EA's games like the new Simcity for example is definitely off my radar. It should be optional,no excuses. Untill EA/axis get rid the mandatory online features then it's a no go! I really Hope Sims 4 won't be like this or else it will be treated like spore. :(

[Issie]

Modding the game in order to have extra content is entirely different to having to mod it to make it "work". We aren't talking about a small glitches here. There are serious playability problems within the game that they need to address (patches/saves etc).

[Kathwynn]

So pissing off their customers - the people which purchase their games - Is the best way to make money?

Well it has been working for Ea for years... You could call it a win financially.. At least for Ea. :rolleyes:

[morphius1]

We aren't talking about a small glitches here. There are serious playability problems within the game that they need to address (patches/saves etc).

I must be the lucky one. As many times as I have read simular posts I have yet to experience these bugs/glitches. *knocks on wood*

[eskie227]

I must be the lucky one. As many times as I have read simular posts I have yet to experience these bugs/glitches. *knocks on wood*

You are lucky, then. Consider yourself blessed.

[Issie]

You are lucky, then. Consider yourself blessed.

Indeed. Do you play just one family? I've heard that playing one family you can actually get to several generations with almost no problems.

[eskie227]

I usually stick with one family in TS3. Sometimes I'll hop around within a generation (I have all but the legacy heir move out at YA) to see what they're up to, but rarely to an unrelated family. I can get through several generations, but after 6 or 7, I really rely on stuff from Twallan like SP to keep the town alive. Once my save file gets to be around 300 MB, I invariably start getting lags and funny freezes and occasional CTDs. I do use a lot of cc, as well as mods, so I guess there comes a point where too much stuff is in play for the game to handle the overhead. That's running Win 7 64 bit, with 12 GB RAM. On my old Duocore with vista 32 and 4 GB RAM, I couldn't even run Twallan's SP without experiencing too much lag.

As to running with no mods, which I've done, I've actually had more problems with TS3 vanilla than with mods. I am pretty much a convert to needing things like Twallan's ErrorTrap and MC (at the least) to keeping things like lagging and game corruption to a minimum. Taking nothing away from Twallan's talent, there's really no excuse to have to rely on third party mods, and user edited EA world maps to avoid routing errors, character, and object corruption. EA cannot claim to lack the resources to assure that they're own maps, SP, and objects work correctly. What I find most egregious is how EA patches never address the big bugs in gameplay, always some odd, who really cares types of errors (I'll ignore the 3 rapid patches they needed to fix the whole Simport/custom content fiasco, when they they swore they carefully beta tested pre-release to assure it wouldn't be a problem).

[Sunshine021]

I must be the lucky one. As many times as I have read simular posts I have yet to experience these bugs/glitches. *knocks on wood*

No, me neither. Any glitches I've had came from outdated mods, and when I figured out which ones they were, I removed them and my game began working properly again... I don't think it's so much a matter of being lucky than it is just knowing WHAT the problem is and knowing how to fix it.

[Miuki]

Sunshine021 I don't think it's so much a matter of being lucky than it is just knowing WHAT the problem is and knowing how to fix it. So, basically you imply that those, who have problems with the game just don't know how to use cc and mods? Really? :faceslap:

To people who yet have to encounter a single glitch with sims 3 - I'm really happy for you, hope you'll never know what's it like to lose a 10 generation game due to neighbourhood corruption with vanilla fully updated game with no mods or cc.

[JasonD88]

Has already forgotten about? Oh, please... any true ME fan such as myself knows that it is very, very, very far from being forgotten.:faceslap::wtf:

I havent forgotten either, every mass effect fan is just quiet as we've been given a reply and until the content is revealed, im waiting patiently for it to come out and experience if i like it. For a game people feel passionate about, im glad it made the news throughout the world and EA had no choice but to give Bioware the money they needed to get out of the bad press.

Back to sims 3, ive gotten the EP's up to Pets and stopped as im waiting one EP behind the new one so when i play the newest, it will be patched as im always downloading fixes to lags etc etc

[morphius1]

Indeed. Do you play just one family? I've heard that playing one family you can actually get to several generations with almost no problems.

I actually play all the families. I use Twallan's Master Controller/Make Active and play one family for about an hour and then switch to another family. 150 families in all.

[Issie]

I actually play all the families. I use Twallan's Master Controller/Make Active and play one family for about an hour and then switch to another family. 150 families in all.

So you've been playing 150 families in the same neighbourhood for 3 years after adding expansions/patches etc and your game is still running?

Wow, that is quite a feat, I'm impressed.

[aeval99]

My biggest complaint about EA is their utter lack of QA (quality assurance). They do not seem to beta test anything to any reasonable degree. I don't mind beta testing for a company without being paid, it's actually kinda fun. But I really dislike paying a company to beta test their product!

Normally, I would just take my business elsewhere, but there is no elsewhere in this case. If you want to play a life-simulator, you can play the Sims or you can play nothing. :(

I think that EA is just an example of how our whole society has become. Gaming companies used to be small, artistically focused communities, very much like your corner grocer who knew your name, your children's names and what cut of beef you preferred.

Little by little those small businesses with the personal touches were bought out by larger stores, who were bought out by chain stores, who were bought out by big nameless corporations who don't give a toss about anything but the bottom line. Now we are stuck with mega-companies like EA and Blizzard (60 bucks for a game and I can't play single-player unless I'm online and their servers are up, and an additional $6.50 for an authenticator so that my account won't be hacked).

So what can you do? Outside of depriving yourself of new games, not much. Support independent games when you can, and likewise, skip Walmart and check out some of your local stores. You might be surprised by how many businesses are in your city or town that you've never noticed before.

[kattenijin]

Well it has been working for EA for years... You could call it a win financially.. At least for EA. :rolleyes:

Kind of OT but: in another thread (I thought here, but I can't find it, so I guess at another site.) I had done some research and discovered that on average EA looses $4 per share a year. Somehow the banking industry still considers them a good enough risk to continually add additional loans so EA can pay their bills. Its reaching the point where EA will be paying more to pay off bank loans than anything else. ("We need a loan so we can make a payment on our loan!") Maybe if they produced quality products, there would be more people who would actually be willing to buy them rather than pirate, and EA could pay off the loans and actually make a real profit.

[Mootilda]

I had done some research and discovered [...] Its reaching the point where EA will be paying more to pay off bank loans than anything else.Sounds like really bad research to me. Perhaps you'd better provide some references for these bizarre allegations.

[Quatchi]

Kind of OT but: in another thread (I thought here, but I can't find it, so I guess at another site.) I had done some research and discovered that on average EA looses $4 per share a year. Somehow the banking industry still considers them a good enough risk to continually add additional loans so EA can pay their bills. Its reaching the point where EA will be paying more to pay off bank loans than anything else. ("We need a loan so we can make a payment on our loan!")

This is not right.

EA made a tiny profit last year for the first time in 4 years. They made 23 cents a share, or $76million for the year.
EA has about $500 million in debt but they have $1.8 billion in cash. So they don't actually have to have debt, but companies think its good to have cash on hand, and interest rates are so incredibly low, that debt doesn't cost that much to carry.

From EA's last yearly/quarterly report of earnings
http://investor.ea.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=671113

It shows they paid about $17million in interest last year or about 3% interest.
They had about $4.1 billion in expenses. Things that actually cost them lost of money in order were:
"cost of goods" ie manufactuaring games, sending them to stores, and running servers. $1.6Billion
"research and deveopment" ie making games $1.2 Billion
"marketing" ie selling games $800 million
"administration" ie hiring, running offices, etc $400 million

cost of intrest on thier debt was so low that it was even below such wierd accounting things as "amortization of intangibles". Its really not a problem for them and definitely not thier biggest expense.

[kewpie]

OMG if only I bought the hair with the straw hat for 100 simpoints. That would have changed everything for them last year.

[Finaleia]

I agree with most points made in this thread thus far... EA sucks for a lot of different reasons.

One of my BIGGEST pet peeves with The Sims franchise is the stupid Store. Seriously? For a person who makes sure to have every game, it makes me so mad that some content (premium content is a good example) has to be bought separately at an overpriced virtual store instead! And then it enrages me even more when they release the garbage like Katy Perry Sweet Treats or SPs that have MAYBE 50 objects at the most! Charging 18 bucks (I think, close to it) for that casino lot? Grrrrr.....

Not to mention the horrible programming! Some of the programmers on their staff really need some training.

Anyway. I really don't think this is a bandwagon... EA has a lot of work to do in order to really garner a positive opinion from loyal fans of their franchises.

[Mootilda]

I'm not sure that I "hate" EA, but I'm very disappointed in the new SimCity reboot and in the direction that they are taking the Sims series.

One of my biggest concerns is their insistence that the new SimCity can only be played online, and only through Origin. The EULA for Origin has made it clear that they intend to spy on your computer. They aren't even willing to restrict their spying to EA games, but have been shown to look for evidence of your sexual preference and medical conditions.

To me, this is completely unacceptable behavior.

[morphius1]

So you've been playing 150 families in the same neighbourhood for 3 years after adding expansions/patches etc and your game is still running?

Wow, that is quite a feat, I'm impressed.

Actually, I haven't played all 150 yet. Getting there, tho.

[Issie]

I'm not sure that I "hate" EA, but I'm very disappointed in the new SimCity reboot and in the direction that they are taking the Sims series.

One of my biggest concerns is their insistence that the new SimCity can only be played online, and only through Origin. The EULA for Origin has made it clear that they intend to spy on your computer. They aren't even willing to restrict their spying to EA games, but have been shown to look for evidence of your sexual preference and medical conditions.

To me, this is completely unacceptable behavior.

It looks like almost all games will eventually be online only and I honestly don't know how I feel about this. I know that I will not be buying any of these games even it is something I love. I shouldn't be forced to play any single player games online.

[Artimis]

I do'nt want my sims online!! Origin are awful, bad company, bad company go to hell origin!!

[morphius1]

I do'nt want my sims online!!

I do. I think it would be nice.

[wolfsbayne]

I dont know how I feel about online only play - in some respects I think it's quite good depending on if your internet connection can handle it ok and I guess less stuff needs to get saved to your computer which is better BUT when I buy something I like to physically have it and what about mods and other aspects? At the moment my disc drive isn't working properly so online would be good for that instance, im using twallens mod to get around the issue (means I can't play sims 2 though which I really want to at the moment).

I get the feeling though that their online means social network style, beg neighbours to help you do things (aka zynga style), having to purchase more real life stuff to get ahead in the game, etc. Which has worked well for zynga until now, people are falling out of love with that kind of play style very quickly and it would be a huge mistake if EA were to use it as a foundation model for their future games.

[eskie227]

If I wanted to play an online game I would play Second Life or IMVU. You can already play a version of the Sims online now, Sims Social. I don't play any of them. Should TS4 turn into a Sims Social type game, I won't be buying in. Even if I could play it locally, requiring only an internet connection for logging in, I will be extremely disappointed. I have an excellent connection, but connections fail. EAs servers can certainly fail. I really don't like to be dependent on such an arrangement for this, or any other, game. For those who want it, are any of you playing Sims Social? Do you enjoy it?

[Mootilda]

Once you're forced online and forced to affect other user's games, then mods become "cheating" and are often frowned upon. Maxis says that they are aware that users want to mod their games, but it won't be shipped with the original SimCity and they still don't really know how to do it.

One of the worst things about being forced online is that the game will be unavailable when EA decides to shut down the servers.

[Simcity123c]

EA is just full of workers in the office sitting there drinking coffee and not developing properly... I hate EA aswell, The most thing I hate is that they shut down my addictive games. Such as TSO (The sims online), Restaurant City. They failed Simcity Societies. I dont really play Sims 3 or 2 anymore, I quite like Sims 1. Sims 1 was the only game making me laugh and smile. Sims 2 and 3 just made me say "boring...".
I so go with Maxis.

[Sunshine021]

Sunshine021 So, basically you imply that those, who have problems with the game just don't know how to use cc and mods? Really? :faceslap:

You're assuming that's all I meant...

[Mootilda]

EA is just full of workers in the office sitting there drinking coffee and not developing properly... I just can't agree with this. In fact, many people complain that EA workers are overworked and underpaid. If I had to choose between these two complaints, I suspect that "overworked" is closer to the truth.

I believe that EA's primary problem is that they just don't have good game designers. Will Wright had some of their best ideas and he's gone now. The designers who are left don't understand the game and want to turn it into a game that they can understand, which makes it less like the Sims and more like an RPG.

The workers are also hindered by the managers, who have decided that piracy, second-hard sales, and discounted sales by site like Stream are ruining their business. The higher-ups have decreed that all game will in the future be online only and they would prefer all games to require Origin, thus giving EA complete control over your game. They are willing to dump single-player games unless they can be forced online. They are also willing to dump their older games and try to force people into playing the newest series.

[lisfyre]

I do'nt want my sims online!! Origin are awful, bad company, bad company go to hell origin!!

I so go with Maxis.

I don't understand the distinction guys - EA owns both Origin and Maxis. Same higher ups that give them directives and cut their paycheque. They're ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY..... :blink: You can blame EA and dis Origin and love Maxis but they're all the same entity these days. And no, don't argue that well, they're different people.. yes they are but they still get orders from on high... meaning EA brass so.. again, what's the difference?

[Issie]

I think when it comes to Maxis people like what they did with it before they were bought out by EA.

[Mootilda]

I think when it comes to Maxis people like what they did with it before they were bought out by EA.But Maxis didn't do anything with the Sims before they were bought out by EA. They said it was a "girly game" and "girls don't play games", so they were completely unwilling to put any money or energy into it at all. EA saw the potential and was willing to invest.

I believe that I already posted a link to the history in another post in this thread.

[Kestie Freehawk]

EA took my favourite game and raped it. That's why.

Every time I had a favorite one.

Every one else that agrees add a post ;) nuff said.

[Six_by_Nine]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-LE0ycgkBQ
I'm just gonna leave this here...

I'd like The Sims 3 a lot more if EA weren't so greedy and actually gave a flying feather about their consumers.

EDIT: If you don't wanna watch the video, lemme just copypasta the video description.
-This is for buying out some of the best game companies and turning them to mediocrity.
-This is for having some of the worst customer service in the gaming industry.
-This is for deliberately holding back game content for the sole purpose of making customers pay more for it later as DLC.
-This is for strictly enforcing copyrights on content that you did not even create.
-This is for taking the Need for Speed franchise and completely ruining it.
-This is for supporting the S.O.P.A.
-This is for overworking some of your employees with no benefeits, demolishing any creative talent they have.
-This is for making terms of use that allow you to backstab your customers any time you see fit.
-This is for releasing the same things every year, an increasingly large number being the only difference.
-This is for forcing your customers to stay online to even play several games you publish at all.
-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.
-This is for overhyping your games and not delivering the content you promised.
-This is for increasing the funding of media review organizations to get better reviews of your games.
-This is for monopolizing the entire gaming industry and crushing all that oppose you.