The last decade has been a crazy ride for Electronic Arts’ sports division (EA Sports). Over that time period we’ve watched excellence get taken away from us in the form of MVP Baseball and we’ve watched franchises like FIFA, NBA Live and the NHL series overtaken by the competition in terms of pure quality and sometimes by downright hilarity. EA Sports had quickly turned into the Death Star of gaming that was primarily known for its yearly roster update release and for its attempt at monopolizing the sports industry in one of the most misunderstood conspiracies to date (NFL License).
It was an odd time for a company that had always been synonymous with delivering the greatest sporting experiences on any home console. This change in demeanor and atmosphere in the industry could only raise the question: What happened?
Though some may act as though this question is difficult to answer and I’m sure there are a plethora of EA Sports’ haters out there just salivating at the mouth to jump all over this article – the answer is actually quite simple. EA Sports lost touch with the community of gamers that was purchasing and playing its product. That sounds like an excuse for the developer to steal from your pockets, but that couldn’t be any further from the truth.
Around 2006, EA Sports realized that it was losing its footing as the premiere sports anchor in the industry (despite strong sales, fans weren’t happy). Due to this, the company decided to make some changes that would end up creating one of the most improbable turnarounds that any industry has seen to date. Not only did these changes bring NBA Live, FIFA and NHL back to the glory days – or close to it – but these changes brought the developers back to the community in order to get a better understanding of what we are looking for as gamers.
Thankfully for EA, this was roughly around the same time as the next-generation of consoles being released. That meant it was the perfect opportunity for the company to throw caution to the wind and truly get its footing back into the ground and push forward with a community-oriented plan that has changed the company’s future for the better.
The community team is also active in engaging fans on facebook and twitter, and in a
lot of gaming blogs and forums. The community day events we do in the studio are
also a big part of making sure we’re on the right track during development. — Will Kinsler (Community Manager)
I’m sure some of you can even point out some of these changes yourself. One of the biggest moves that EA made was bringing in Microsoft’s Peter Moore to take over the EA Sports division of the company in order to help carry it closer to the top. Bringing in Moore has proven to be one of the smartest business decisions the company has made to date as the changes seen within the games released since that point in time is remarkably easy to see. Every game under the EA Sports umbrella now feels a bit more polished and finely tuned – sure they have their issues, but all games will have that in the end.
NBA Live 2006 vs NBA Live 2010
It has been obvious since day one that Moore has laid out a foundation of perfection for the employees at EA to strive for. It’s quite noticeable that Moore, himself, loves sports games in general and the love he has for sports enables him to truly comprehend and understand what gamers are looking for within their sports gaming experiences.
However, while this was the biggest cosmetic change EA Sports has made there was also another change that isn’t so much at the forefront but instead, behind the scenes. I’m talking about EA’s decision to create a Community division within its company and hire individuals who play its games to manage that division and reach out to the community in order to improve its titles. EA brought in memorable people from fan sites around the net and hired people who know exactly what the average Joe gamer wanted out of Madden, FIFA, NHL, Tiger Woods and the list goes on.
Interesting read.
“Pro Evolution Soccer was kicking FIFA’s ass all over the pitch”
PES has since been put in an armbar and pantsed.
Mmmh naah, EA sucks xD. My logic is: “Why would I ever buy an EA game when I know for a fact that the next year (or even less) there will be a better game overall?”. I’m better of just renting it.
It’s kind of like the DBZ games or the Tony Hawk’s series over the past years (By the way, I love DBZ. . . I just don’t buy every game that comes out).
Even more, did you hear about this “multiplayer online pass” thing?; that sucks really bad.
It’s just like those crappy DRM from Ubisoft. It means I can no longer bring my games to play online at my buddy’s house anymore. It also means people will be less likely to buy or sell these games used which in turn affects the new games market.
I don’t know. I have seen the improvements over the years, but it just feels like milking to me.
Yes you can. The online pass is locked to your account, not your console. When you bring the game over to your buddy’s house, just log into the PSN with your account. It’s not that difficult. You’ll have full online access.
@The Dean
Where do people come up with this stuff? Misinformation is the gamer’s worst enemy.
@Tokyo:
Where you refering to me?, lol: http://www.easports.com/onlinepass
I still don’t like the strategy. I would rather see a release every other year, with roster updates via software update and a fee 1 year after release (15 bucks or something). That way the games benefit from a longer development and we are encouraged to keep our games
@Dreamer_Lion
Yes, I was referring to you. Not about the online pass itself, but you saying it can’t work on multiple consoles if you bring a game to a friend’s house. That is false information that you’re spreading. See the same website here,
Do I need an unique Online Pass for every user on my console?
No. One Online Pass will give online access to multiple users logged into the console where the Online Pass was first activated (subject to the console manufacturer’s and EA online terms of service).
Also, the user that activated the Online Pass will be allowed to access online features on other consoles (of the same manufacturer) by logging into the same account credentials that they used when they enabled the Online Pass.
lol
Great read, never tried any EA sports game other than Fifa. But NHL as been slowly gaining interest as I have played NHL 2000 on pc.
Thankfully PES is getting a lil better now Konami really really needs to make some serious changes.
@Tokyo:
Then you should have referred to me in the first place. I don’t really care about being pointed out wrong (like Dean did [btw, I’m not wrong that often xD]).
@Dreamer_Lion
Er, I guess I didn’t directly refer to you because nobody else before you wrote a post that could be considered relevant to misinformation, or that I replied to the dean who corrected you, so it is assumed I was referring to you. I don’t really care that you were wrong either, or how often. It’s just that I wonder why you would even start saying what you said without any basis, especially when the website you directed me to said otherwise.
@Tokyo: Exactly.
Some people might even assume you were referring to The Dean (who is actually right), therefore causing more confusion.
Listen, just as you said: “Misinformation is the gamer’s worst enemy”. After Dean pointed me wrong I googled for the online pass and found that link.
Again, I assumed everyone else but me knew what the Dean said was true and so, I provided the link with the complete information about EA’s online pass in my response.
The problem is, pretty much every website I’ve seen with news about the online pass hasn’t linked to EA itself. I thought the details weren’t avaiable yet and started making assumptions (which proved to be a bad move, lol).
Oh well, this was a fun little argument =)
@Dreamer_Lion
Regardless, wherever you got your information when you first heard about the whole EA online pass thing(assuming it wasn’t from Playstation University), you should have immediately Googled the details before making random assumptions that could leave an impression on other people. Why would you start saying something that no one has any information on even if EA hadn’t explained it on their website yet?
Well, it’s not really an argument, and I don’t have any ill intentions. This is just how rumors get started.
@Tokyo:
That’s the thing, nowhere on the sites I’ve checked was the link to EA sports and the online pass. I just infered those things, seeing no more explanations were given.
I mean, why do I have to google this stuff in the first place?. I just spoke up my mind and If I was wrong, so what?. By your logic people that read my post should have google the details too, therefore leaving no room for rumours. . . . . .
@Dreamer_Lion
There is a saying, “Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but that doesn’t mean their opionion is right.” By “speaking your mind” and not looking at other resources before writing your post, you could lead people into doing the same thing. They may accept what you say is true, and then they’ll continue to regurgitate it, a la rumor.
As for your second paragraph, you say this as if leaving no room for rumors is a bad thing. You’re right, other people should Google as well, but the importance isn’t as great as long as it’s coming from a reputable source (PSU, EA), instead of word of mouth(yourself). Had you not written your post and left the explanation to EA, they would have cleared things up for you and everyone else, and you wouldn’t have had to question them.