EA defends business model and blames own customers

[Sennex 1,903]

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/469991/core-gamers-uncomfortable-with-change-says-peter-moore/

 

Core gamers uncomfortable with change, says Peter Moore
EA COO says players should be more willing to embrace different models

By Chris Scullion on Tuesday 1st Jul 2014 at 2:35 PM UTC



"Core" gamers are uncomfortable with change and don't like embracing new business models, according to EA's Peter Moore.

The publisher's COO told GamesIndustry that EA is excited about the future health of the industry, but conceded that some traditional gamers will take longer to convince that new innovations will be beneficial.

"I think we're going into almost a golden age of gaming, where it doesn't matter where you are, at any time, any place, any price point, any amount of time, there's a game available to you," Moore said.

"And our job as a company is to provide those game experiences. And then on our big franchises, tie them all together.

"I think the challenge sometimes is that the growth of gaming... there's a core that doesn't quite feel comfortable with that. Your readers, the industry in particular. I don't get frustrated, but I scratch my head at times and say, 'Look. These are different times.'

"And different times usually evoke different business models. Different consumers come in. They've got different expectations. And we can either ignore them or embrace them, and at EA, we've chosen to embrace them."

Moore cited the advent of MP3s as an example of the danger the games industry could face if it doesn't adapt its content delivery policies.

"We as an industry have to embrace change," he explained. "We can't be music. We cannot be music.

"Because music said, 'Screw you. You're going to buy a CD for $16.99, and we're going to put 14 songs on there, two of which you care about, but you're going to buy our CD.' Then Shawn Fanning writes a line of code or two, Napster happens, and the consumers take control.

"Creating music to sell is no longer a profitable concern. The business model has changed to concerts, corporate concerts, merchandise, things of that nature. Actually selling music is not a way of making money any more, except for a core group."

One of the most notable concerns some gamers have is with the free-to-play model being adapted by many publishers and developers. "I think the core audience that dislikes the fact that there are play-for-free games and microtransactions built into those... fine, I get that," Moore said.

"As you know, I read all the stuff, and it is the most intelligent commentary on the web as regards games. There's no doubt about that. But every now and again, and you've seen me do it, somebody will come in there and say something stupid that I think is beneath the site itself and beneath the industry."

"I don't think anybody has to like it," Moore said. "I think that's where it goes. It's like me: I get grumpy about some things, but if the river of progress is flowing and I'm trying to paddle my canoe in the opposite direction, then eventually I'm just going to lose out. From the perspective of what needs to happen in this industry, we need to embrace the fact that billions of people are playing games now."

Last year, Moore denied that EA lobbied for "gating functions" on used games, insisting that he in fact supports the pre-owned games industry.
 

[L_C_Scipio 395]

He does have a few valid points. People in general are resistant to change in most areas, not just their entertainment.

[Sennex 1,903]

He does have a few valid points. People in general are resistant to change in most areas, not just their entertainment.

I think people are resistant to change for change's sake. Or Change that turns out to be shitty and detrimental

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

Peter Moore is a fucking tosser. 

 

This should read; 'core gamers are uncomfortable paying full price for unfinished products'

 

He's banging on about going into the golden age of gaming when they have Battlefield HarDLCline on their books and a broken Battlefield game along with many other severely damaged IP's. 

 

Oh the ignorance!

 

Moron. 

[cyberninja2601 1,106]

personally I would love to see them go Free to play with micro transactions. Shitty games die a pretty quick death when that happens.  A majority of us pay $70 plus a season pass for the major releases. That's about $130. That could be quite a number of micro transactions depending on what they are. Then if the games sucks on day one, you don't have to spend a dime on it

[deterioration 443]

Thanks for sharing but this saddens me. They don’t want to follow the same path as music but align themselves on a parallel. I’m not opposed to change. I’m opposed to rape as a business model. A formula he admits is proven to be disastrous but their past changes have shown us they aren’t in the business of looking out for gamers best interests. That’s why people are opinionated and against any change.

 

Isn’t EA the first to have one user online codes and notorious for shutting servers down? With price drops, releasing incomplete games with pay to win/pay to continue playing DLC microtransactions, killing franchises that don’t make X and sell Y amount of copies and other sleazy tactics they’ve already made it clear we’re investing in things that have 0% value. It’s very much the same thing as a CD with 2 good songs on it! It’s clear to me they’re focusing on changing to make as much money as they can before cutting support and releasing another version of the same thing over again that isn’t worth the materials its printed on just to reboot the money making cycle.

 

 

 

I just had a mini side epiphany; EA are fucking carny grifters! My friend took the kid to a circus and they had these flashlight toy things that were $20. The kid wanted one, he said “no way I’m paying $20 for a $2 item" as he had already shelled out top dollar for some other oriental trading company toy. The show starts, a dude comes out, starts his monologue and asks the kids in the crowd who had their flashlight toys, to hold them up and wave them like animals. My friend said he looked down and around at all the kids that didn’t have them and they all looked defeated and some were crying, so he felt bad and bought the fucking thing for the kid. This is exactly what they are doing. This is their business model! You can’t enjoy the game 100% if you don’t have some or all of the DLC. Especially if your friends have it and you want to play with them. It’s a psychological mind fuck that forces you to make them rich. These are the changes they make. RESIST!

[Sennex 1,903]

 

I just had a mini side epiphany; EA are fucking carny grifters! My friend took the kid to a circus and they had these flashlight toy things that were $20. The kid wanted one, he said “no way I’m paying $20 for a $2 item" as he had already shelled out top dollar for some other oriental trading company toy. The show starts, a dude comes out, starts his monologue and asks the kids in the crowd who had their flashlight toys, to hold them up and wave them like animals. My friend said he looked down and around at all the kids that didn’t have them and they all looked defeated and some were crying, so he felt bad and bought the fucking thing for the kid. This is exactly what they are doing. This is their business model! You can’t enjoy the game 100% if you don’t have some or all of the DLC. Especially if your friends have it and you want to play with them. It’s a psychological mind fuck that forces you to make them rich. These are the changes they make. RESIST!

 

 

Yep

 

This is why I no longer care about CoD or BF titles, and for the most part ignore all gaming websites

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

personally I would love to see them go Free to play with micro transactions. Shitty games die a pretty quick death when that happens.  A majority of us pay $70 plus a season pass for the major releases. That's about $130. That could be quite a number of micro transactions depending on what they are. Then if the games sucks on day one, you don't have to spend a dime on it

Games like COD and BF have the luxury of charging full price for a game, a season pass which costs practically the same as the game and then have Microtransactions on top to boot. People fall for the whole package and more while the industry just laps up the grip they have on the dedicated gamer.

 

I think they need to strengthen consumer protection so gamers can get refunds will ease even long after purchase if they are charging for the product in the first instance. It would hopefully give devs and publishers a kick up the backside and force them to delay or release a game at a satisfactory state instead of relying on these get out of jail patches and fixes.

 

F2P is growing but there is still a grotty stigma attached to such games that they aren't good enough and because they don't pay; they are unwilling to invest in microtransactions for something they got for free. 

 

I don't mind paying £40 for a game as long as it works. I'd never get a season pass until I know what the DLC is and if it's worth it. I blew £80 on BF4 and thankfully got a refund on the Premium portion but I was screwed in getting money back for the initial game. 

 

I absolutely hate the season pass culture though in many games these days. Too many have them and most of the content is withheld and fucking deadful. I think it's proving fatal that people are fully committing themselves to a game until it's proven in quality and from a technical standpoint. I am going to stand back from AW before buying until I can gauge how it fares and then make a decision on whether I'd commit to the entire package but doing it from day one is risky and just plays into the publishers hands. 

[Dattebayo 446]

Bite my tiny d*ck, Moore.

[tronic44 3,642]

EA = Electronic Aids

[Docwagon 856]

People bitch about two things.  When things change and when they stay the same.

 

Video games are WAY THE FUCK BETTER than they were for the original NES, yet they cost pretty much the same.  A premium NES title was $50-$59, basically what one runs now.  How much content did you get in those "complete" games vs today's "incomplete" games?  You can get a lot of those games for free now on your phone, and when I was a kid you'd have shit your pants for free access to Tetris and the like.

 

If the market doesn't like the model, it'll die.  Easy enough.  For me, its like getting the game at a discount, though, and then if I enjoy it I can put more money in.  If I don't, I can exit with only sunk costs and move on to something else.  I bought all the DLC for Skyrim because it was awesome.  I bought none of the DLC for The Last of Us, because I don't care enough to spend the cash.  Neither game was unfinished, both were very enjoyable in their original state.  I could just get more for the one I liked.

[phil bottle 9,761]

^^The above pretty much sums up my point of view too. No-one's holding a gun to my head forcing me to buy games, except myself of course.

 

With regards EA, I'm pretty cynical about all companies to be honest, so I therefore don't tend to get disappointed easy. Profit is king and the ultimate arbiter, software companies are no different. EA just have poor PR. 

[J4MES OX4D 10,035]

I see EA were charging $4.99 for demos due to a 'system error'. Bullshit EA. Crafty bastards got cocky and the wrath ensued..

[L_C_Scipio 395]

That's nobody's fault except whoever was dumb enough to actually pay $5 for a demo.