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User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

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  • #31
    Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

    Originally posted by Raydeus View Post
    Awesome!!!!1 So now instead of being able to replay games with different characters/races/scenarios you unlock by playing you'll have to buy the game again for each one of them (full price! ) with a slightly different experience.

    I think we can indeed call this innovation and forward thinking!!!




    People calling it gouging and half-assing releases for the sake of selling DLCs are clearly insane people who probably worship the devil and kill kittens! Amirite?
    What the fuck are you talking about?

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    • #32
      Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

      I think Raydeus's post was another symptom of the DA2 and SC2 conversations getting confused. Nobody's saying subsequent DA games will be race-specific. Honestly though, I prefer being locked into a race if it means the difference between my character having a voice or not. The varying origin stories in DA:O were cool, but in the course of the main story they become pretty moot and I don't think they're a big loss.
      lagolakshmi on Guildwork :: Lago Aletheia on Lodestone

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      • #33
        Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

        Originally posted by Malacite View Post
        So what? When you buy used the money only goes to the store, not the company/studio that made the game. $5 extra for the online pass or DLC isn't that bad. Sucks for people who don't want to buy it brand new but it's hardly evil.
        It may not be evil, but EA is playing a very dangerous game - when you target the used market, you're also targeting yourself.

        Don't tell me you've never used an older game for store credit at a store to pre-order a new game or hardware, because just about everyone has. When this happens, you're guaranteed a copy of the game. If enough pre-orders happen, retailers know what games are hot to stock extra and may invest in additional retail copies if the pre-order numbers are high enough.

        This is where the publisher makes their money - retailers buying from them in big numbers.

        But if you start making a bunch of games that can't be resold or are hard to resell to "prevent piracy" or "encourage buying new" that means fewer people will trade in games because Gamestop or FYI or whoever you go to won't take those games or can't sell them for much. This means fewer pre-orders and, thus, retailers investing less money in buying games from publishers.

        Circle of life, man. Don't fuck with the consumer because fucking with them is fucking with the retailer - where will you get your money if retailers stop stocking your games?

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        • #34
          Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

          Fair enough, but you know that Gamestop also gives you maybe 25% max of the original value and then re-sells most of these games now at 5, 10% discount off the price of a new game at best.

          So you know what? Fuck them. Yes I've traded in games in the past, but I haven't done so in ages and while I do buy used games from time to time it's mostly things like old RPGs anyway. $5 to unlock the online stuff you would have gotten free for buying new is hardly the end of the world. The only fear is if EA ever decides to mess with the pricing points. Lately though their business model has been at least somewhat more respectable than Activision's.

          Again, Bad Company 2 gets like five free DLC packs and I think 1 or 2 paid DLC (including BF: Vietnam which is a full-blown stand alone game) vs fucking CoD and Halo charging $15 for 3 new maps. Kiss, my, ass. Don't even get me started on Capcom...
          sigpic


          "BLAH BLAH BLAH TIDAL WAVE!!!"

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          • #35
            Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

            I'm calling bull on the banning purely for criticising Bioware. The Warhammer Online forums are forever yelling at Bioware for fucking up the game yet bands are few and far between and laughably easy to bypass.
            Rahal Gerrant - Balmung - 188 DRK
            Reiko Takahashi
            - Balmung - 182 AST, 191 BLM, 182 SCH, 188 SMN
            Haters Gonna Hate



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            • #36
              Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

              Originally posted by Firewind View Post
              I'm calling bull on the banning purely for criticising Bioware.
              Doesn't matter.

              Whatever he said on the forums is irrelevant, the issue here was being completely unable to play the game he had already paid for due to his suspension/ban from them.

              And judging by the response he got on that thread it was indeed as EA intended it to be. Until they wised up and reverted it following the PR disaster.
              sigpic
              "In this world, the one who has the most fun is the winner!" C.B.
              Prishe's Knight 2004-Forever.

              その目だれの目。

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              • #37
                Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

                Originally posted by Raydeus View Post
                Until they wised up and reverted it following the PR disaster.
                What idiot couldn't have seen that coming though honestly.
                sigpic


                "BLAH BLAH BLAH TIDAL WAVE!!!"

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                • #38
                  Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

                  Judging by their stance before it happened I think it's a safe bet to say at least a few dozen EA employees didn't.
                  sigpic
                  "In this world, the one who has the most fun is the winner!" C.B.
                  Prishe's Knight 2004-Forever.

                  その目だれの目。

                  Comment


                  • #39
                    Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

                    Originally posted by Malacite View Post
                    So what? When you buy used the money only goes to the store, not the company/studio that made the game. $5 extra for the online pass or DLC isn't that bad. Sucks for people who don't want to buy it brand new but it's hardly evil.
                    Not to be pedantic but you do know that when you buy new, your money still only goes to the store right? As BBQKitten said earlier, the developers make money by the retailers buying copies as the publishers give them a cut of the money. All you are doing isgiving money to the outlet you bought it from whether it's a store, Steam (non-valve games obviously), Gamersgate, the publisher's website (though the devs might get a cut from that if it's in-house), XBL/PSN/Nintendo store etc.

                    If you buy direct from the developer though it's going to the devs though that statement is redundant.

                    But giving every individual £40-50 for each new game to the devs? That's just a bad business model.
                    Rahal Gerrant - Balmung - 188 DRK
                    Reiko Takahashi
                    - Balmung - 182 AST, 191 BLM, 182 SCH, 188 SMN
                    Haters Gonna Hate



                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

                      Originally posted by Malacite View Post
                      Fair enough, but you know that Gamestop also gives you maybe 25% max of the original value and then re-sells most of these games now at 5, 10% discount off the price of a new game at best.
                      I wasn't really specifically talking about Gamestop, their trade-in rates aren't static and vary from promotion to promotion. For the last three weeks they were doing 50% trade in credit now its like 10% extra for three games, 20% for five and 30% for seven. Add 10% with the rewards card.

                      Yes I've traded in games in the past, but I haven't done so in ages and while I do buy used games from time to time it's mostly things like old RPGs anyway
                      Then you have benefited from that option being available, haven't you? Old or slightly-new, its not terribly relevant, because both will potentially provide the retailer with the revenue to offset any potential losses on their end when they purchase new games from publisher.

                      You're happy that you saved money buying used
                      The retailer is happy because the likely won't be taking a loss on games they order.
                      The publisher and developer are happy because their game is selling to the retailer.

                      Do you see now the potential issue that comes into play when the publisher and developer take a hostile attitude toward you, the consumer, buying used?

                      If you can't save money, you're more reluctant to spend it or trade in games.
                      If you're more reluctant to spend or trade in, the retailer has no assurance the next big thing will sell.
                      If the retailer isn't buying, the publisher and developer is kinda fucked aren't they?

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                      • #41
                        Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

                        Well, it seems that the SecuRom thing is really Release Control, which is also made by Sony and an application that deletes itself after a certain date, as to prevent retail copies that break street date from being playable til the game comes.

                        Its a silly comcept, really, because people can fool computers to think its another day, but that's what it is, malware detectors seem to like to flag it as Securom, though.

                        However, the PR nightmare continues:

                        BioWare man caught reviewing Dragon Age 2- Destructoid

                        Yep, he was trying to fight the tidal wave of negative user review spam on metacritic.

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                        • #42
                          Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

                          I read some of those metacritic reviews, and I'm not sure what parallel universe version of DA:O they're referencing. I remember the combat being awful, the graphics being generally drab, and the character customization to be moot after you join the wardens, to say nothing of how buggy and/or broken many of the skills and items were. I can understand somewhat complaints about the story, but the characters were still great, the systems and presentation were a step up in my opinion, and I had a hell of a lot of fun with it.
                          lagolakshmi on Guildwork :: Lago Aletheia on Lodestone

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                          • #43
                            Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

                            It's like what happened between ME and ME2 or Matrix and Reloaded.

                            A lot of people liked the originals waaaaay more than the sequels (myself included) even if they were technically superior.
                            sigpic
                            "In this world, the one who has the most fun is the winner!" C.B.
                            Prishe's Knight 2004-Forever.

                            その目だれの目。

                            Comment


                            • #44
                              Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

                              Well, in today's world, you make a good game and you're expected to pop a sequel out a year later. This puts a lot of constraints on how creative you can be and how well you can follow through without original design plans.

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                              • #45
                                Re: User criticizes Bioware, EA bans his access to Dragon Age 2

                                Originally posted by DakAttack View Post
                                Well, in today's world, you make a good game and if you work for a bloated corporate mass like EA you're expected to pop a sequel out a year later. This puts a lot of constraints on how creative you can be and how well you can follow through without original design plans.
                                FTFY.

                                Because it doesn't apply to all developers or even some of the publishers they're under. Some companies still release games when they're good and ready.

                                What if Bioware was owned by or assimilated into Valve, though?

                                Do you think you'd be hearing about how cutting content for a quicker retail release and extra sales later is a good thing?

                                That combat needs to be streamlined and RPG elements trimmed down to remove "barriers of entry?"

                                Do you think the Bioware from the KOTOR days would create a game where choice was so neutered that party members never got offended by the choices of the player or left the party because of them?

                                I don't think we'd be hearing any of that shit from Bioware were they independent or with Valve. But under EA we're hearing this shit all the time now. Its all corporate bullshit from them now. They make RPGs for jocks now.

                                A month after you've finished DA2, I think you'd be giving a more realistic opinion about it. Reviews as you play tend to be colored deeply.

                                What I'm getting from what I hear is that its not that bad, but at the same time, its not that good. EA made Bioware try to make what worked for Mass Effect 2 work for Dragon Age 2. It seems to have had mixed results, which is why you don't develop games from the boardroom.

                                That might work for sports with incremental improvements from year to year, but not RPGs.

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