EA Refuses to Refund User for SimCity, Threatens Account Ban

GC: "SimCity is having issues right now and majority of people are unable to play the game."

[animegamingnerd]

M$, sony, and nintendo fanboys each of you may hate two of the big 3 console manufacturers but we can all agree EA is 10000000000000000 times worse

[Root]

I think Activision is, in my opinion, still worse then EA....just Activision are so known for what they do now and keep a low profile that we don't bother with them anymore.

I could play an EA game but not an Activision one.

[PopRocks359]

What's Activision guilty of exactly? Milking? Their customer service was generally helpful to me when I was still playing Guitar Hero games.

EA is a bigger scumbag company to me. They've had as many shady business practices as Activision, if not more. Their lousy treatment of Bioware doesn't help that.

[shackdaddy]

I would agree to that a year ago, but Activision isnt really that bad anymore. I mean, they still milk their CoD games but that's really just about the only thing they do.

Ea on the other hand has gotten waaaaaay worse.

[Root]

Yeah but guys they quality of most of their games....sorry, nearly all of their games are below average. Least with EA you can still get the odd good one, like for example, Mirrors Edge.

I'm not defending EA, they are trash but I'm just saying you could still get a better experience playing the odd game from them then from Activision which are either below average games or COD while it's the same game over and over.

[Cupid_Viper_3]

F*cking take them to court!!!!

I've just about had it with them.

I have a few new slogans for them matter of fact:

1.MicroTransactions..It's in the game(troll face)
2 EA Sports..BIG crooks.
3 EA: NO DICE...
4 Microtransactions...Pa dap pap pap pahh because you're lovin' it!
5. Microtransactions R'US
6. and My personal Favorite: Battefield: BAD COMPANY <<<<<< See what I did there?

[SilentNegotiator]

"Yeah but guys they quality of most of their games....sorry, nearly all of their games are below average"

OH MY GOODNESS That's a thousand times worse than EA's games not working!!!
/s

You not liking their games isn't worse than the BS anti-consumer crap that EA has done.

[Dee_91]

Console games are just the tip of the ice bird. The sims 3 on pc is still a complete mess after this many years,The new EP doesnt even work for most people.So many modders in the community have to fix problems EA should be fixing.
Sad but I still buy their games.. One day I will be so fed up and abandon them like I did with their sports games

[Gamer1982]

Activision are the devil they ban your WoW account for buying gold if somebody tells them you bought it just while they "investigate it" they unban it when they find you havn't been buying gold. No time refunded for the inconvenience or anything. They have the cheek to charge you a monthly fee then BAN you from your account while they investigate it.. No initial proof just while they check it out which can take upto a week. You get ZERO compensation other than a "your account is unbanned with found nothing wrong" email.

Activision stealing money for years..

Oh and lets not forget increasing the price of COD by an extra $10/£10 compared to other games right?? Because its SUCH a better game.. *insert sarcasm*

[farhad2k8]

I'm sorry Root, but CoD STILL doesn't ask for an online pass. As bad as the franchise may be, it doesn't ask you to buy a stupid ass online pass.
Activision may be horrible, but EA are 10x worse.

[FlameBaitGod]

Activision = milking and being super cheap. Copy pasting textures to newer cod games. Have the #1 FPS, selling over 9 mil copies YET!, they cant give us dedicated servers and a glitch free games.

[Yukicore]

I don't like Activision for that too, but it's the peoples fault, not theirs. As long as people keep buying, they keep making. And so they also can ask more money for their services, and people still buy.

I honestly don't know how this Call of Duty crap has lasted so long and still is going. And it probably won't end anytime soon. :P

[2pacalypsenow]

There's no such thing as a glitch free multiplayer game.
And Valve ban people for disputing charges too

[Rainstorm81]

@2pac

Sony will ban your account if you dispute digital charges as well , they WILL refund you but your account will be banned....pretty much the same situation

But EA is the big bad wolf of the industry right now.....not that I condone what is happening with SimCity right now but this is exactly why I didn't get the game...this dumbass DRM was announced before release and with my unreliable Comcast Internet I can't rely on constant connection to play a single player game.

A SimCity was one of my anticipated games this year....oh well, looks like I made the right choice

[rainslacker]

Same here rainStorm. I was eagerly awaiting this game when it was announced, as SimCity is by far one of my favorite game series. Each one I've spent countless hours on with the original game and the subsequent expansion packs. Then they say it will be always on-line and my interest went to zero in a second.

Having played this series since the first it was a real disappointment, particularly since the "reasons" they listed for it having to be always online are things I generally mostly hate anyways. I have no problem with authenticating DRM schemes so long as it's invisible, but requiring to connect to play just doesn't work for me.

[dennett316]

Exactly. Say what you will about Activision, but they screw the consumer WAY less than EA.

Less online passes.
Less micro transactions (so far anyway).
Fewer server shutdowns that disable online play.

They seem to take it in turns when it comes to most hated company though, so we'll see what shit Activision pulls next to give EA a break.

[tommygunzII]

Activision only fell off of the map because they can't make games. They got lucky with CoD and WoW but I dont see them as a major threat in the future.

I am surprised EA hasn't fallen flat on its face yet though.

[Omni-Tool]

They do have Bungie's Destiny going live or should be going live around the time PS4 launches. I'm sure something is bound to happen when something major likes this goes live.

[Root]

Why did they even make SimCity online only anyway. I would of bought it if it wasn't always online

Hell they should bring it to consoles, I'm sure they could find a way to do it.

EDIT

Wow, reading through that forum there is a lot of EA White Knights....

Came across this though about stuff which has been cut from past Sim City games

"laying pipes
power lines
SUBWAYS!!!
terraforming your plot
the lack of options. 8 regions? Only a few of them are 16 slots? Laaaaame
no agriculture
the multiplayer meta game is a joke"

Really...they cut all that stuff out.....why

Why do something which takes a step back for the franchise.

[Smurf1]

It's amazing how many people would defend EA. If you paid £40 for a game, it has to work day 1.

[PooEgg]

It is true for every gamer that is fed up with EA they have another who will defend them.

If you say EA is greedy, they will make you feel cheap.

If you say EA's games are broken, and most of them are, they will point you towards mods, or claim that it isn't really a big deal, so you should STFU and stop acting entitled.

It is brainwashing at its finest.

[HammadTheBeast]

And cities are small as hell to "promote specialization". Sim City wasn't meant to be like this.

[f789790]

I bet that stuff will be DLC. You know, because the devs didn't have time. *sarcasm*

Stupid casual gamers will pay up for this shit. It's not going to end.

[Dee_91]

haha exactly what I was gonna say, They cut so much stuff out of The Sims 3 that was in Sims 2 to only add it later in EP's or SP's,..

[capnjoe217]

Screw that. Simcity 2000, 6 bucks at gog.com

[Hassassin]

Sounds really tempting to buy it again... I can't seem to find my old CD's

[WeAreLegion]

Well, I'm going to get some hate for this...

...but I own and play Surviving High School on my phone. (Android) It's an EA game. I purchased the "remove ads" feature. The ads are still there. I also purchased season three...and it refuses to download. I should have waited. Other people started reporting the same issue. EA hasn't responded to anyone for over a year about the game, yet the team continues to make content. EFF. THEM.

[porkChop]

Get in touch with the Google Play customer service. EA has sold you 2 products that do not work as advertised, the Google Play staff will likely be able to help you.

[WeAreLegion]

Awesome. :) Thank you!

(This is why I love Google.)

[Robotronfiend]

Yeah def contact Google Play. Also, the same goes for buying content off amazon.com's app store. If the developer won't respond, they will. I had an issue with a virtual currency purchase and amazon stepped in and fixed it (almost like an arbitrator). The app market owners know if you aren't happy with a sale, you won't buy as much in the future.

[mynameisEvil]

By the way, don't love Google either. Google is a company that is trying to monopolize everything at a cheap cost, thereby giving you a crap service. And, of course, nobody would have the money to go up against Google, anyway.

Google screwed over YouTube. And they hand over your search information, sent-received email to the US government. They are a huge corporation. And there's not a single good corporation out there. It's about the money. Don't you forget that. It'll make it easier to accept it when you get screwed later. :)

[vega275]

A part of me wants to feel sorry for all these people going thru the problems with this game. but another part feels like these people should have known better then to get in bed with EA expecting not to get burned.

after reading many of the post from the forum. many of the people should have done research on the game before they purchased it. they would have known stuff was cut from the game and would be re-sold as DLC later. if people didn't learn this from ME3.

this was one of the main reasons why i wouldn't buy this game. EA has proven time and time again that they are the worst. i hope this is a lesson learned

[gamernova]

And I was literally on the verge of getting this game; good thing I didn't. Tomb Raider for the win :P If EA did not own FIFA I would literally do no business with them.

[koh]

The part that hurts the most is that I REALLY want to play this. I've always loved the SimCity games, but I can't support these types of greedy decisions. I wish at least I could buy it used, but that's obviously not an option.

[stuna1]

And so it begins! This is why no game company should be allowed to become as big as EA! Because when they do, the seem to all get a sense of entitlement and believe that the rules that apply to others don't apply to them.

[vallencer]

What rules? There are no rules about giving a refund back to a customer who KNOWINGLY bought an online only game. It's called terms and service and commonsense. Should the servers be up and running? Yes. But they aren't completely up and it sucks but it's not a refundable cause. I'm glad they're not doing that. I thought it was stupid they gave refunds back out for mass effect 3. You can't just start going refunds back out to every person because they're whiny. It doesn't work that way.

[stuna1]

So your saying you get what you pay for!? Even if the online is practically unplayable?? That pretty much defeats the purpose of buying the game.

So anyone can release a online only game, and people have to wait until they say it's playable? SMH.

[T2]

You have no business sense ... I dare you to open any business then launch into your meaningless tirade every time someone asks for a refund. Would you buy a car with the promise it will work later? The customer is right because they are your revenues ... Wake up

[porkChop]

What? They offer you a refund and then refuse to give it to you? You have every legal right to dispute this. How the fuck do they think they can ban you for that? Wow, EA is getting worse by the day. It'll be interesting to see how they fair next gen when everyone starts at 0.

Edit: Really, disagrees for that? I guess some people enjoy being ripped off.

[koh]

I didn't disagree, but it's probably because you said everyone will start at 0 next gen. The big companies will still be big, the little ones still little. I'm not saying that couldn't eventually be changed by only supporting the companies that deserve it, but having new consoles isn't going to magically fix anything.

[porkChop]

Yeah they'll still be big companies, but that's not what I meant. I was referring to the fact that there will be a small fanbase at first. So they'll be starting from scratch and build up a fanbase as the consoles sell. 1 wrong move early on in a new gen could have long lasting effects.

For example, EA has said they'll have microtransactions in the majority of their titles going forward. Most core gamers do not like or support microtransactions unless it's an MMO, and core gamers are the ones that pick up new consoles within the first 2 or 3 years. If they start next gen as the only company abusing microtransactions that could really screw them up.

[R_aVe_N]

The same thing happened with Diablo 3 (they didnt refund money either)

[kagon01]

I don't feel sorry for "gamers" that don't do their homework, they're just as guilty as the publisher, period...

[Imalwaysright]

If they assured him the he would get a refund why would he do any research? Cant believe that some "people" in this world defend underhanded business practices.

[Coltrane_C]

So I guess there was information out there prior to the game release stating that on launch day you will not be able to play the game because the server will die.

Dumbass

[mynameisEvil]

Perhaps not, but it WAS kind of common sense. Before people start throw a fit, I'm not saying the consumer is as guilty as the publisher, but rather that the consumer is at least partially to blame for a situation such as this. Because they factually are, that's indisputable.

The 'Sim' franchise as owned by EA is, probably the largest franchise in gaming (with 'The Sims' as a series being the fifth most successful, or fourth if you disregard the Nintendo-developed games starting with the name 'Wii' such as WiiSports, WiiPlay, etc.) If it isn't THE biggest one, it's certainly one of the top three. The 'SimCity' series has sales of upwards of 18 million copies and is one of the most popular PC franchises in existence. With that knowledge existing and easy to find, there's no reason why people couldn't put together 'Huge series' + 'Tons of advertisement' + Always-on DRM = screwed over servers. I could've told you this would happen before the game came out and I wasn't wrong.

And another thing, people should really reevaluate how they like being treated by companies. THey bitch and complain about games with always-on DRM, then go and buy them. Go look at Diablo III. Look at SimCity. It's ridiculous. People need to have some integrity and some common sense if they want things to get better for them.

Fin.

[rainslacker]

The thing is though, that a majority of those 18 million aren't people who research games, or have the "common sense" to know that this was going to be an issue. As soon as it was announced I knew it was, but SimCity is huge, as you say. The majority of customers buying this game just don't understand the technicalities of something like this, and since every SimCity game to date has been mostly playable on release, there is no reason for them to assume that this one wouldn't be. I would even wager that a lot of people buying this game didn't even know about the always online DRM.

These consumers aren't stupid, just not as informed as those of us on here. It's sad that they have to get a harsh lesson because of this, and it hurts the industry overall because now some of those people will be more weary of purchasing in the future, particularly in this same series(or other Sim series game), and it could affect other companies as well.

I don't like all these reversing the blame comments on here. Gaming forums are one of the few places where I see an over-abundance of acceptance over unacceptable practices. Any other company outside gaming that had such shoddy products and bad customer service would likely be out of business by now, and the only ones that seem to be able to get away with it are the phone/cable companies, and game publishers.

I think so far what we've seen is the tip of the iceberg. It's likely mostly the "informed" gamer that we see ranting now, but have no doubt that EA's customer/technical support is being bombarded by people that are just the average user. They have real problems with the game, no one can deny that, and when they seek out a way to resolve them in an appropriate manner, they are threatened...that to me is just unacceptable.

[worldwidegaming]

Say NO to EA! There should be a shirt somewhere in there...

[shivvy24]

insomniac already broke their partnership with EA on Outernauts , they probably will break off completely after FUSE

[HonestDragon]

Well, that's the kind of service you get from a company that was voted Worst Company in America before. Yet, EA continues to try to convince everyone that they give out quality products and services. If people are having trouble with your game, don't threaten them with account banishment just because they want a refund. Actually help them EA! It's not that difficult to do.

[Hufandpuf]

#1 The customer shouldn't have bought the damn game. If they thought they would have a problem with DRM then they should've not even gave EA the money, and I bet the Term and Conditions on the game protect EA from being sued for this.

[just-joe]

I'm sure there are grounds for a lawsuit here, somewhere.

[broli4000]

I can't really believe that they won't give a refund for this. Its not like a customer came back and said they didn't like the game or that it was weeks later and they logged several hours into the game. This is a clear issue of the game being broken upon purchase, and still being broken which results in a defective product upon launch. A defective product should be able to be returned for a full refund or at least exchanged for another game on their service.

[Kiddcarter]

I ran into this same issue with ea except my game was bf3, i bought the game (luckily on sale) and couldn't play multiplayer, kept getting a "error from ea online" message, i went back and forth with them for almost a month about it, and all customer service told me to do was reset my password over and over, after not being given a refund, i just deleted my origins account and moved on. Bf3 was the first and last pc ea game i ever buy

[deanobi]

I managed to get a refund for BF3 for the same problems, mine was actually done for me out of the blue when I emailed EA/Origin customer service.

Its a bit inconsistent on their behalf if this is true.

[WitWolfy]

Guess I'll have to pirate this EA game too, if they plan on treating their customers like this!

[Brownghost]

How about don't pirate. I know you want to play the game but you're just going to support the need for DRM.

[Scenarist]

i have 2 extra simcity keys

if I gave them away who would want them ;)

#deadass
(was going to sell them)

[SDF Repellent]

Man, thank god I didn't buy Sim City yesterday. I was deciding if I should pick up the game or not with my Tomb Raider purchase but thank god I didn't. First it was Madden and the exclusive deal that prevent a superior product to compete in the market, then, I believed they were the ones that started this online pass for multiplayer BS on consoles if you buy your game used, now this is just terrible as far as ethic goes for a company. I will never buy a EA game brand new again after this latest debacle.

[Muigi]

One day somebody is gonna sue the shit outta ea.

[deanobi]

EA gave me a refund when I bought BF3 off Origin and I was having problems. I thought their customer service was excellent with me.

The games price is crazy though, hope next-gen games aren't that expensive, especially for a digital download.

[Saryk]

Vote with your wallet guys. It is the only thing that talks the talk and walks the walk!

[cleverusername]

It's in the game!!

[mynameisEvil]

Actually, no, they pulled it out of the game and will sell it to you later.

[pompombrum]

They do this yet hold their hands up innocently when getting voted worst company in America, what a joke of a company.

[Th3 Chr0nic]

Grow up ppl this isnt something new. all games have isssues. they will patch it and it will work. why is everyone acting like this has never happened before. if you dont have the patience to wait for fix then you shouldnt be buying games day 1. im not defending EA cause this bs happens all the time and unless this is your first vidya game ever you would know that.

if they gave refunds then a week later when the game is fixed half those ppl will just buy it again cause they are idiots that just want to be assholes and have a reason to bitch

[jmc8888]

ROFL. The sad thing is the problem isn't JUST the main issue.

EA's servers are notoriously switched off quickly. Hell I've seen a game that came out in february, whose servers were turned off in....APRIL! Granted it was an iOS phone game, but still. Plenty of their games get jobbed after a 9-18 months. So if you need to connect to their 'servers' to play the game.....

Not to mention just think in an era of multi TB hard drives, why do the remove the option to save your game? Why? It's not like that 2 MB's is going to be missed here or there.

This isn't a bad coding decision, it's a DESIGN decision.

They KNEW about the problems.

They got TONS OF FEEDBACK.

and.....

IGNORED IT.

I am grown up, grown up enough to have played in an era when games were playable upon launch because they couldn't be updated. Grown up enough to learn how to use DOS at 4 before GUI's were even invented.

These 'issues' aren't issues, they are DECISIONS. There's a big difference from BUGS and bad decisions.

Thus no, this won't be fixed. Oh I'm sure people will be able to access the game eventually.

But think about it, why should anyone have a single line coded that forces people to queue to play a single player game? This is a DESIGN decision. One they apparently knew about since they coded such things in.

That it was deemed acceptable.

Think about what you are saying though, you think it should be practice to NOT buy something day 1. That is insane. Companies are supposed to not sell a product until it works.

Now some bugs happen, but releasing buggy messes is unacceptable, but this goes beyond a buggy mess as the issue is with the horrible, unneeded, bs DESIGN decisions they made that only screws over the customer.

Bugs and design errors are TWO SEPARATE THINGS. EA is guilty of BOTH on this release, but by far, the worst offenders were the design decisions.

Always online for a single player game that you can't save yourself, taking away a huge portion of the fun its predecessors in the series enjoyed.

[Hitman0769]

Oh EA should be fun to deal with next-gen.... pause...

[maelstromb]

That dude should just go and rip the game off from some torrent. Seems sad that one would have to resort to such measures for a game that one PAID FOR, but if that allows him the ability to actually play his now $60 paperweight of a game, I would condone it.

BUT yes, ultimately you should vote with your wallets and show EA that we're sick of the deceit, quick money-making schemes and their blatant bully tactics, like in this case.

[Kidmyst]

The new Sim City looked fun and I havn't played on in years but for several months I coulnd't play the single player of Battlefield 3 because it crashed when launching. multiplayer worked perfectly. Frustrating paying $60.00 for a game you can't fully play. I feel this guys pain!

[Knux]

With an ever increasing negative view due to crap like this, I wouldn't be surprised if EA goes down the toilet in the future.

[Soldierone]

I lost all interest in this game when they said it has DRM like this. It will be an issue now, and it will be an issue a few months from now when the popularity is gone and they take servers down. DRM for legit users is absolutely stupid in every way.

That and note to self, keep not buying anything from Origin.

[MadLad]

EA has been spiraling down that drain rather fast these last few years.

[skottey]

I was burning the midnight oil last night, playing the game when in the left hand corner of the screen it said the server was down. So from that point on it was no longer saving my game as I progressed my city. I was unable to claim another city in my region or go to the other city in the region I was simultaneously working on. I stayed up until 5AM hoping the server would come back up so I could save but it never did. Of course I wasn't happy but the game has only been out for two days so problems are not unusual. This happens all the time when games are release. Fallout New Vegas had problems they quickly fixed. Dead Island had problems. Many games had problems that they usually fix in what I consider a reasonable amount of time.

Many of you (if not most) will disagree with what I am saying but I believe it is way too soon to ask for a refund. The chat back and forth was ridiculous Saying he would be banned only means that if he is in the process of fighting for the refund, which he will ultimately get, he isn't going to be allowed to play a game he has no longer paid for. It doesn't mean "speak up and you are banned" in a spiteful way. This customer needs to relax and give them a few days to work out the kinks.

I am going to give them at least a week or two to fix the problems before I even think about asking for a refund. We all know they are going to fix it. They aren't just going to leave a brand new game broken.

My only real concern is the cloud saving method. They should allow local saves. At the very least they should have the saved game cached on your local system so in the event of an outage (like middle of last night) we can still progress in our cities, visit our other cities, claim cities, etc. without losing everything we have done if we close out while the server was down. I was unable to claim another city or visit another city I was working on simultaneously. What is going to happen in ten or twenty years? Are the servers still going to be up? Can I pull the game off my shelf, dust it off, and play like I do with some old games now? Or will the servers be down and I will be unable to play a game I paid $55 for a hard copy of at Target?

I am sure they are going to offer tons of DLC with more regions, since they seriously skimped out on the number of available regions. They should have a DLC that allows you to edit your own regions with some basic requirements. They should allow fans of the game to publish their regions for others to use. I really enjoyed the Rush Hour expansion in the last game where I was able to create my own Interstate network through the region. I don't really like having the preset Interstate system linking the region. I would also like the option to add more off-ramps to my cities. Any real metro has Interstates and major highways throughout the city limits. They need this sort of add-on. The game overall is a step in the right direction but it almost feels incomplete without these elements. I really enjoy the fact that you can do curved, rounded, squared, etc. roads that look like they connect up realistically.

Somebody said they miss the piping and power lines. Are you kidding? Most of us hated that part of the game. How boring. The fact that they automatically run with the road system is certainly the way to go.

Anyway, enough said. It is time to relax and give them a chance to fix the server issues and iron out the kinks. Let's cut them some slack. Go ahead folks, start the disagrees.

[Soldierone]

The disagree wasn't me as you have valid points.

However I think if it wasn't broken due to greedy DRM then I'd be fine. I mean if the core game was playable, you just couldn't upload the save or go to another region then fine. However you couldn't save at all, and the game sounds literally broken. If you were to close it, you probably couldn't get back in right? If the computer were to freeze or randomly shut down your program, hours of game time would be dumped. This isn't simply the game just being broken and needing a patch, its DRM being crap.

Why? Because EA thinks this will stop piracy, and it won't. People will just code in something for the game to check into a fake server. And those people will be able to play the game 20 years from now, while your game will be nothing more than a paperweight.

[jmc8888]

The guy couldn't save and stayed up to 5AM because of the DESIGN decisions that EA KNEW would screw up the game were implemented anyways.

Last I checked on metacritic a couple of hours ago 1812 people had rated the game online and it had a 1.8 rating.

I find it extremely funny yet sad people don't understand that this isn't a game rushed out (bad enough), that this game was designed to act this way.

That you NEEDED to needlessly have a connection for a single player game.

That you NEEDED to save your saves online and not your hard drive.

That if this happened either you were screwed, or your time didn't matter. I mean this guy stayed up because EA's execs are buttholes. Hope he enjoyed being tired the next day needlessly. I wonder how many people were late to school or work because of this crap.

That you NEEDED to have an online economic system instead of like all other games that have had an economy, have it coded in game normally.

That they took this and many other things from being perfectly normal, doable, and could have been made cheaper, but decided to spend MOAR money and screw up the game by adding this stuff in.

Gaining the user nothing and introducing nothing but aggravation.

The user above you was making comparisons to legitimate bugs, that happened with online games, and is comparing them to bugs PURPOSEFULLY introduced to a single player game, where it shouldn't of had an impact.

It's like saying yeah, I'm glad my car blew up, Ford didn't need to put 20 lbs of thermite and strike ready matches inside the body of my car, but man I just don't know how they could have gotten the car to run without them.

I mean what EA did was literally as useless as tits on a boar or a butthole on ones elbow. Useless and unnecessary, and yet people still can't grasp how bad EA screwed up because they think it's legitimate games come out like this, and try to compare them to other games which are completely different situations.

An online game that has problems is bad enough, an offline game that forces online unnecessarily for no reason that has problems is unforgivable.

[AntBoogy90]

TL;DR

[Rupee]

"This customer needs to relax and give them a few days to work out the kinks." The customer has no obligation to relax. In fact that rep, who is at that moment "EA", needed to clarify what he meant by his account will be banned. He shouldn't have left it in such an open-ended manner that could be misinterpreted as threatening or bullying. Instead he did and it was and now there's a viral image of a chat conversation showing that EA doesn't give a sh*t.

[skottey]

I am happy to report that I launched the game today and everything I thought was lost when the server was down is there. It does save locally cached.

[jiggyteddy]

I was unsatisfied with my cheeseburger from McDonald's, but they wouldn't refund me.

[Hassassin]

They usually give you another

[annus]

Terrible analogy. For one, software doesn't age like a physical object does. McDonalds here in Australia will ALWAYS give refunds/replacements/vouchers for a terrible meal, I'd assume it's the same in most countries.

[T2]

Yes mcdonalds always makes the customer right ... Or sick lol but their customer service is tops ... Terrible analogy.

[ajax17]

E.A. always classy :/

[Garethvk]

This really upsets me. From a review side, they are not in our good graces as they love to take all the magazine, radio, and website coverage we will give them and then after the game comes out, they often do not send review material and cite limited copies. So essentially we are supposed to provide free ads in the hope you might send us a game to review which based on recent titles will have issues?

Its a shame as there are some really good people there and they used to be so good to work with. I am not that motivated now though.

[mep69]

Wow this pissed me off reading it. Similar thing happened to me in a kfc where they didnt put a fillet burger in the bag i order, so i phoned them up and they offered me 10% off my next meal so i said i'd rather just have the refund on the fillet burger and they agreed. Go in a few days later for my refund and the guy goes away for a while then walks up to me with a fillet burger.
So i said no i want a refund.
He then goes back behind the counter disappearing for a while and finally returns to the till with the response
sorry mate we can't do that
why ?
we..we just can't do that
surely on that till of yours there is a button saying 'refund'
no mate we just can't do that

Hearing that continuously is really frustrating and in the end started raising my voice because their staff decided to stand around me with i found threating
so i ask to speak to his manager and it turned out it was him who was the manager.

lefted the shop angry and kicked their door open and accidently smashed it, stupid corprate scumy companies piss me off. I'm sure their window costed less than a fillet burger

[Rupee]

It's like they're not even trying anymore...

[Th3 Chr0nic]

looks like this article is another rumor blown out of proportion by the EA hate mongers. as usual the amazing professional gaming "journalists" doing more harm than good

[jmc8888]

Blown out of proportion?

I would say you're tone deaf and make Mozart seem like a clear listener.

Seriously man, do you not understand that the whole online component was an unnecessary shackle that added nothing to the game an only introduced a ticking time bomb of a problem to a game that didn't need it?

It's like saying condoms break, so who cares if the company poked a hole in it before packaging it.

It's like saying who cares if employees don't wash their hands in the food service industry, they could have gotten sick from the meat itself.

I agree journalists at large are morons, but you're taking the wrong side of this problem.

EA needlessly screwed over their customers, and thousands upon thousands of people have been complaining on forums and during beta testing for months. Yet they did NOTHING.

They DESIGNED this game to potentially act like this, and it didn't matter to them.

[Th3 Chr0nic]

they will fix it, have an ounce of patience it isnt the end of the world. nearly every game has issues when launched.

plus what im saying is blow out of proportion is the whole "ask for a refund and we will ban you" that was true and it was one guy phishing for them to use the wrong words so he could use it in an article to get hits and cause a stir and thats exactly what happened.

[forum67]

We steal game - pirate
They steal money - acceptable

Long live Jack Sparrow ! BURN THE SHIP !

[Kran]

Somebody needs to take them to court, go to the government, strike outside their HQ

This is actually going too far.

[Th3 Chr0nic]

yea go to the goverment and tell then whaaa whaa i couldnt play my game for a few days till they fixed it whaaaaa

[Kran]

Cute. You actually think EA are fixing it.

xD

[yoyolo]

An idea to avoid this kind of stuff is to wait, do not preorder, and wait for reviews, and any problem games might at launch to be fixed.

[konohashin]

With all the ridiculous peditions like

"Lets build a death star"

Why did noone come up with:

"Let's seize EA's building, computers, technology, IP's etc... and sell those to reduce government debts?"

[lassenwolf]

Ea is the worst company ever. They are the ones that started the online pass, they close their server every year and their games suck. I stay away from ea as much as possible. What game do they make that are good? none.So over their sports games and haven't bought one in years . battle field 3 sucked so whats left , anohen sim game and they all suck now

[jakmckratos]

This is ridciulous. EA is really sucking hard. Between this, micro transactions and a lot of other things(well really I just don't like any of their games) they are going down the poop chute rather quickly. I'll think twice before I get any EA games anymore

[PirateThom]

I am almost more disgusted that there's people who are in here, defending EA.

A lot of other websites got a lot of people signed up for new registrations, sites like Neogaf, from people going into Sim City threads and defending the game, a lot of the IPs originating in China.

As far as I am concerned, defending EA means you hate gaming. I've put them on the list with Capcom and Activision. I just don't buy their games any more. No second hand I just will miss out on games and vote with my wallet.

EA started this gen off so well and have ended as one of the worst publishers.

[overrated44]

I've noticed this all over today as well, who in their right mind condemns a consumer for receiving a product that is unusable while giving praise to a company that is absolutely refusing to help out it's consumers. Seems absolutely insane to me.

[overrated44]

If you go check the forum thread apparently after the screen cap made it's way around the internet EA eventually did refund the guy. Which says to me that they weren't going to do shit about it until gaming news outlets started talking about it. Keep it classy EA.

[TBONEJF]

ANOTHER REASON NEVER TOO BUY EA GAMES. just protest by NOT BUYING their games INCLUDING NFL MADDEN & NBA LIVE.