It’s Time to Stop Hating on EA

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It’s Time to Stop Hating on EA

July 20, 2008 by Aram Kuredjian 

Some people just want to seem like rebels. Whether it’s a supposed boycott of a company, or merely hating a company for the sake of hating it (of course the excuse is usually because that said company is “evil”), some people just need to hate something to love… well, something else. The logic doesn’t make sense to me either, but it does to those who follow it.

EA is one of those companies. There are people out there that refuse to acknowledge EA as a good publisher. People that hate EA are like the people that hate Britney Spears. They honestly have no good reason to hate her, they just do, and the same thing goes for EA. But honestly, it’s time to put an end to all the hatred towards EA.

Personally speaking, I figured everyone would stop putting them down when they published both Rock Band and The Orange Box last year, two of the best games released in 2007. But that isn’t the case — people will forget that EA put them out and go back to what they know, “What, NCAA Football is coming out? And then another Madden game? EA sucks, they don’t innovate and they don’t put out good games!”

I think some gamers fail to realize that gaming is a business and doesn’t revolve around them. Much like the way the internet nearly broke when Microsoft and Square-Enix showed off Final Fantasy XIII, people forgot that this is a business. These gaming companies need to do what’s necessary to stay in business. Are PS3 owners losing anything? Nope. More gamers get to enjoy a good game. You’ll hear fans of an exclusive franchise squeal about how more and more people should play their favorite game, but give it a chance on another platform and they sing a different tune. But back to the point here, will Square-Enix be making more money? Absolutely.

The same thing goes for EA. All of the yearly sports updates and film-based games; the Harry Potter’s, the Batman’s, the Lord of the Rings’, and more, they all sell because people buy them. Why should EA stop putting out games like that? They sell, they make the company money and there are people out there willing to play those games. What’s the problem with it?

But it’s because of film tie-ins and sports games that people will forget that EA still puts out some of the best games every year. Last year, what did more gamers prefer? Another Tony Hawk game or EA’s .skate? Did gamers complain when they got the quantity meets quality Orange Box? What about Rock Band, the most comprehensive music game to date?

But even more recently and far more significantly was what EA showed off this year at E3. We all knew the insanely innovative Spore for the PC was on the way from them as well as The Sims 3–and yes, EA put out The Sims, and yes, EA will publish Spore. But it’s everything about them this year; Mirror’s Edge has the potential to be one of the most innovative first-person action games ever. Looking at Dead Space, yes, it’s a very mature looking game, but again, it’s aimed at the hardcore gamer looking for wicked thrills. Take a look at Valve’s Left 4 Dead, one of the most innovative team-based games announced in recent years, being published by EA.

Of course, we’re all aware that EA bought up BioWare, one of the best independent developers around. Many were afraid that this might cripple the vision and talent of the studio, but looking at the new Dragon Age: Origins, and the rest of EA’s line-up, you have to wonder why people would think like that.

I can guarantee you that many people will be sitting around, playing these games and having an absolute blast. But at the same time, they’re going to neglect that EA put these games out and they’re going to go back to what they know and bash the company, even after the release of such quality products as .skate, Boom Blox, Rock Band and The Orange Box, as well as one of the best E3 showings this year by any company in a long, long time.

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