Summertime.

 Contrary to what the blog suggests, I do have a summertime life that is quite different from how I live in the winter. Living in Alaska, it's a cycle of polarity. You're either outside soaking in as much as possible, or you're inside hiding from the cold and entertaining yourself with anything electronic. At least that's how is is for the majority of the people I know, because unless snowboarding gets brought up, there's really no reason for a human being to subject themselves to -30 and worse on a daily basis.

 So that means I don't play games nearly as much as I used to, and with the exception of firing up a freeware copy of Privateer, there hasn't been much gaming going on here. A $20 used purchase of Farcry 2 was so disappointing that it's a wonder I even bother trying to get back into the swing of things. All that will change later when I pick up 3D Dot Game Heroes, because I have little doubt that there will be entertainment value in that title.

 Many articles have sprung up in my mind, but sadly, I have to resort to an opinion piece on the direction EA has decided to go with their Ten Dollar business model. It's been mentioned before in the blog, but never head-on, and my recent decision to blacklist EA products from anything I may buy in the future makes me feel as if I need to justify my decision in length.

 The Ten Dollar model that EA rolled out in the past few months is a response to used game sales, or at least that's the way it feels. There are rising costs all across the board when it comes to gaming, but that's not really any gamer's fault, so I'm hesitant to say that EA has any reason whatsoever to be pushing this revenue plan for any other reason. When a game is published, such as the latest Madden title, it's purchased at full price by...we'll go with a million people $60 has been pushed out the door, but a hundred thousand people aren't happy with their purchase or have had their fill, so they send it back to Gamestop and get some store credit for it. Gamestop turns and sells that game back to players for $45 a pop, so $4.5 million is on the table that EA gets no part of. EA wants to make some sort of profit on that turnover, especially when those people will be using servers to play online or benefiting from roster updates. They also understand that there is zero value in their game after a year goes by, and a trip to Gamestop will show you a Madden lineup full of $7 or less titles.

 Also, say that you owned Madden 11 and your friend wanted to "share" the copy with you, using her/her own profile to take on other players without sullying your record. In fact, this is quite common with roommates and college students. Money is tight, and there's no reason to have two copies of something that already includes local multiplayer. Well, EA wants each person in those situations to purchase a $10 pass that will allow them to use the online components, too. Basically, it's a one time MMO character fee.

 There are benefits to this, but I'm not sure if EA and I are on the same page when I say that. If a person is to pay the extra $10 fee to get into this online "club", then it damn sure better be a club. It would be akin to joining a fantasy baseball team and paying the entry fee to reward the winner and buy the physical goods needed to run it. So if EA is asking me to pay $10 to join this club, then I expect a world of extra content outside of the basics. Everything that has ever been in a Madden game should be available from the very get go. Rosters should be up to date as soon as opening kickoff at no cost to the consumer. Online play should be a function.

 Outside of that, the extra costs should involve detailed league creators and maintenance tools and uncharged extra content such as special teams, players, and rosters. The kind of things that you would dump an extra $10 on in the way of bonus DLC should be included in the pass. It would be like getting a VIP pass to an amusement park. You pay a little more, but you get a lot of little extra bonuses that make it worth your time. For a Madden 11 fan, this might make that title worth it and valuable to them until Madden 13 comes out. The pass should also include guest privileges that you can include in the pass, instantly covering your roommates, friends, or fans who would never buy the game. It would help EA, because that would give incentive for newcomers to try out the game with a world of new content that they would receive when they buy into the EA pass.

 So it could very well be a benefit. But it won't be.

 EA is supposed to be a company of artists, hence the name, Electronic Arts. If you only have so much money to work with, then put the money you have to the best and most artistic uses possible. There is zero justification for a $10 extra charge on top of the full sticker price that never seems to drop year to year for the same old Madden bag of crap. You're paying $70 a year for what 2K Games has proven is only worth $20-30. Suckering more money out of people because you can't think of better ways to flush your Madden budget undermines the development skill you're supposed to have. You're not doing your job. You're not creatin a game, you're creating a self-described black hole for cash.

 It doesn't stop at Madden, either. Mass Effect 2 came out with an extra packed into the game only available to people who originally bought the game, or else they would be subjected to spending the extra $10 to acquire said content. Granted, the content wasn't an integral part of the game and could be subject to the "pre-order bonus" that retailers love so much. I'm a firm believer that a game should be complete on release. Even if you're going to throw down on some DLC, I think that it should not be integral to the experience. In EA's case, they are treading that line. The Cerberus Network was on the disk. It should have been part of the product.

 So EA now joins Activision and Ubisoft as developers I will not buy from due to bad business decisions. They are trying to change the definition of what a game is into something that I just can't appreciate. It's like knowing a mechanic that will not see you as a well of money and as a genuine customer. These are not those type of businesses. They are the ones that see you as a paycheck and nothing more. Sony is also on this list due to their ineptness in handling their consumer base. They had ample opportunity to build that relationship, and they spat on the customers every chance they got. Digg It Stumble it ! Reddit