homepage Forums SimHQ Community Community Hall Electronic Arts Suffers $45 Million Loss

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121817-Electronic-Arts-Suffers-45-Million-Loss



All I have to say is if they keep treating their customers the way they have been doing, things are not going to improve.

EA's revenue drop isn't due to their relationship with its customers but due to the lackluster performance of SWTOR and competition from smartphone and tablet games. I don't know if you are aware but both console and PC game sales are down across the board due to the fact that more people are playing games on tablets and smartphones.

That's not surprising, but still, mobile gaming cannot be the only reason. Those who play mobile games
are not quite the same customers that play on PCs and Consoles. EA has been making some questionable
decisions regarding customer support and DRM that I believe will have consequences in the future.

Tablet games are the "wii fad" these days. I don't think they'll have much staying power although it's serious business for the moment.

EA's not bad, and most gamers don't care about DRM, despite some loud voices crying about it. They put out the best sports games, BF and others. They aren't going out of business, they just slightly altered their earning expectations from "$3.85-4 billion to $3.7-3.8 billion".

...and furthermore

"In other words, the news may not be great but it's not necessarily all that bad, either. EA also announced that its digital business is continuing to grow, with games and services for mobile (including handhelds) growing 18 percent year-over-year to roughly $100 million, and that its Origin platform now has more than 39 million registered users and distribution deals with 86 independent developers."

They're doing pretty darn well for themselves.

Tablet and smartphone games stink IMO. I have yet to play one that will hold my interest.

I beg to differ.
Solitaire.

saying tablets and tablet games are a fad is wishful thinking

tablets have been a concept 20 or 30 years in the making, the technology is only finally here. they're just going to get better and better and continue evolving.

IMO, tablets and smartphone gaming is here, and here to stay and only getting better and better every year. IE: EA's fifi13 is one of the best sport games ever on tablet. EA's Most Wanted racing game is the best ever on tablet, and I even like it more then the console/PC version. and EA is coming with Real Racing 3 which looks to set a new high bar in tablet racing games... and then theirs the strategy games like Battle Academy and CM Touch, each new release gets bigger and better.

but back on topic, IMO... EA and all the other major game companies do this too themselves by releasing too many games, and lowering the standards of most games minus their big brand titles... they need to concentrate more on releasing better games, then how many games...again imo.

They stink but the largest component of the consumer market (the casual gamer) is playing tablet/smartphone games like mad while dumping their PC's in the process. I think we sometimes forget just how niche of a group we are here on SimHQ.

Well, true. I mean a fad as far as traditional "gamers" being interested in them more than regular games.
I know more people that are hardcore with solitaire on their pc, laptop and tablet than are traditional gamers though. Maybe I should say the market will settle out and normal gaming will come back more in favor with that audience when they're less divided.

I'm in a position to help

I recently completed Mass Effect 2 snd will pick up Mass Effect 3 today.

I disagree. The lackluster performance of swtor is a direct cause of their treatment of customers. I know I wanted to play it but never did because they are ****s

How do you explain the massive drop off then in the number of SWTOR subscribers after a few weeks? Your personal experience may have been shared by others but it wasn't the majority. The majority of gamers WERE interested in SWTOR but left after a while because the game wasn't what they expected.

EA is only a publisher, they don't make anything. Developers already found new ways of distribution, funding and advertisement.

From a business perspective that makes no difference. EA is not a developer but they are the ones who invest millions of dollars to have the games made. But you are definitely right about developers finding independent means of funding their games.

EA's problem is their "corporate" arrogance. Both their PR and customer treatment is sub-par; not because they can't do any better, but they seem to believe they don't need to (some kind of "too big to fail" attitude). At the last Gamescom that I attended, EA didn't even bother talking to 90% of the media: only a select few had accesss to their booth in the business area/ appointments with their PR staff.

Ubisoft, on the other hand, is very good at PR, not arrogant at all, and as a journalist you get all the necessary material you need.

As a publisher, EA's product portfolio for the most part is quite good, but their marketing concept is so bad that they are actually losing money. If I dare to make a bet, I would say "Origin" is a huge part of the problem, as I'm sure it drives a lot of potential customers away or into piracy. I know some who pirate EA games merely on principle (which means they don't even play them...childish, but whatever floats their boat ).

Case in point will be the upcoming Sim City: I bet that the always online DRM will drive tons of potential customers. Furthermore, I bet it will be cracked (and rewritten to save your games locally instead of in EA's "cloud") shortly after release. Then of course EA will blame piracy for lost sales, and will look for an even more draconian DRM.

Good

cuz alot of people like myself included stopped paying out $60/year for roster updates per sport.

I don't think EA's in any danger of going under. FIFA 13 pulled down over 100 million bucks in the 3d quarter of FY 2012-13 and has total sales of over 240 mil on the year. And that's one sports game. Dead Space 3 is out in three days, and Crysis 3 is due out soon, and both are outselling the last iterations by 30-40%.

Gotta say, I think the EA hate is mostly a bandwagon thing and most gamers simply don't actually care. Or you run into haters that don't commit.
"Boycott!
...except for Madden...and NHL...and Tiger Woods...and Battlefield, gotta have my Battlefield."
LOL