Dakota Strider wrote...
EA acquired Bioware to make more money. If Bioware's production was not important to EA's bottom line, why would they even purchase it in the first place? Sure, EA makes money from different income streams. Its called diversification, and it is smart for everyone to do, not just corporations. But, now that one source of their income has become tarnished, I have a feeling that their other revenue streams will come under much closer scrutiny in the future.
Change has to start somewhere. Like the old riddle asks, "How do you eat an ElAphant?" The answer: "One bite at a time."
Not that I am seeking the destruction of EA or Bioware. On the contrary, I hope this experience will make them better companies that learn to serve the needs of their customers better, and not just treat us as mindless peons whose only purpose is to buy their products.
It works both ways. Diversification also functions under the expectation not every revenue stream (like Bioware, if people really stick to their guns and boycott their games - which I still find very suspect because who knows, what if their next game rocks out? Watch the fans go flocking back, if the next game avoids the pitfalls of the current one) will be profitable, and that other sources of revenue will offset the feeble one until they unload it. On a much smaller scale, it reminds me of when MTV games/Viacom unloaded Harmonix after the weight of all those musice licenses started to make the unit less economically feasible. But I digress (though maybe EA will sell Bioware someday! Pray for that).
There's no wrong in bringing EA or Bioware's antics to the BBB, just like there is no wrong in people voicing their opinions here or else where. The company only has itself to blame for that. But when companies reach the size and scope of EA, it is clear that corporations do not answer to its customers. To them, shareholders are the top priority and as long as their balance sheets continue to grow, satisfying a bunch of ME fans won't be on the top of their to-do list.
Yes you do eat an elephant one slice at a time. But there are a lot of slices and while I'm sure at least someone of influence there is aware of the negative feedback on the company - I still don't have faith they will make any material changes to how they QC their games, consider favorable endings or bug check their products any better in the future. I've really never been extremely impressed with EA on many fronts and I just don't see how this incident will change their corporate culture. It is clear to me by now that they see customers as faceless ATM machines willing to buy whatever high profile title and whatever stupid DLC they throw at us. I never liked how they put out those stupid online passes. Yes all this makes sense from a business angle but it also makes customers feel like they are getting nickle and dimed. Gone are the days when you'd buy a game and that's it. EA has been one of the leaders of that whole "pay more" movement and given their recent track record I have an extremely hard time believing that any of the recent ME debacles will encourage them to change their ways and start caring about the consumer again.
If anything at least Bioware is trying, even if their subsequent efforts are not exactly as good as what we all hoped for.
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