EA Sports boss Peter Moore has addressed the "core issues" preventing franchise entries such as Madden and Tiger Woods PGA Tour appearing on PC this year.
Last week Moore reaffirmed that neither Madden, NCAA Football, NASCAR, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR nor NBA LIVE will be released on PC in 2008 (FIFA and NHL however will).
Naturally the PC gaming audience is in uproar, especially since last year the platform had to settle for dodgy PS2 ports of FIFA.
"I've been reading the constant flow of comments regarding our position this year on sports games on the PC," said Peter in his blog post, "and at the risk of once again opening the floodgates of people comparing me to the devil incarnate, I will try to address what I see as the core issues that continue to be up for (very spirited) debate.
"The PC as a platform for authentic, fully-licensed, simulation sports games has declined radically in the past three years as the next generation consoles, with their high definition graphics and 5.1 sound capabilities have attracted millions of consumers to eschew the 'lean in' PC sports gaming experience for the 'lean back' full room console experience."
Moore goes on to blame digital download trends on PC and you guessed it, piracy as reasons for the EA Sports PC absence this year.
"Piracy is an issue," says Pete's post. "Sorry, I know many of you disagree with me on this, but the numbers don't lie. Companies spend millions developing content, and deserve to see a return on investment for their risk. The employees developing the game design, writing code and creating art deserve to get paid for their work. Period.
"Businesses have to make hard trade offs for where to invest for the best return, thus creating capital to make even more games," he continued.
"I know this concept touches a nerve with some of you, but our industry is founded on publishers that have driven for financially-successful games and then re-invested the proceeds in development of even more content for gamers to enjoy. It's a simple financial premise, and an obligation for publically-traded companies who answer to their shareholders.
"We are not making games in garages or bedrooms any more."
Going from Peter's words, and EA's other PC experiment Battlefield Heroes, we fully expect to see a free to download, advertising-fuelled FIFA on PC next year. At least it won't be a PS2 port, eh?
"We don't care what PC gamers want. Our shareholders want quick easy income and we care more about adding to our huge pile of coffers than we do about any potential customers." Way to totally alienate your audience. I see a market for Konami and 2K Sports. Get in there!
And he complains that he gets compared to the Devil? Nah, at least the Devil cares enough to try and ATTRACT people to his cause.
I seriously don't see what the fuss is. These guys are out to make a profit like any business and obviously they feel they can't make a worthwhile profit by releasing PC versions of it's full sports range of games. Like he stated, sports games tend to be bought by the casual's in the masses and the casual's play their games on consoles. That's where the profits are at so that's where EA will be at, simple as.
I sorta understand what the guy's saying but can understand how PC Gamers are feeling left out (oh, reminds me the next issue's out today )
Over the last 5/6 years I've bought assorted versions of FIFA and Pro Evo on the PC and (mostly) loved them all. Only recently have I purchased a 360 and have been playing Pro Evo on it. My opinion is that it is far more enjoyable playing these games in the living room, spralled out on the sofa rather, with or without mates, than being sat at my desk in a monitor. I'm sure that a lot of people who have done the same agree and in general, this represents a far greater audience than the PC market. EA, as much bent of world domination as they are, like any sensible business recognises this fact and are targetting their product accordingly.
So we mock EA for releasing similar titles every year and now we deride them for NOT releasing said titles?
I'm fairly sure that many people, including those who write for a well known PC magazine, have suggested that maybe EA should release fewer, better games.
It's true, they shouldn't release the same game every year, but I've no problem with them releasing yearly games if there's actually a noticeable difference beyond player names.
And there's no reason not to release them on the PC as well. It's not like it's going to delay their income all that much to port the 360 version across. It's not like anybody really bothers with enabling mouse features anyway.
Hey Peter, as far as I am concerned, you don’t need to release them on the Console either, including FIFA !!
Maybe, you should also have an obligation of quality to your paying customers of something worth the money they shell out as well, instead of your obligation to your shareholders, it’s the players that pay your wages, not the shareholders!!
Large Corporate more interested in units sold than the satisfaction of the customer. The Food seems appealing, quick and value for money, the reality is that you wonder if you should have waited and got something more substantial and healthy.
Generally, it leaves you feeling unfulfilled and hungry within a few hours !!
FIFA = Filet o Fish, some love it, others wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole !!
It isn't right that for nearly 20 years people have been buying these games on the PC (helping EA grow into the rich, indifferent corporation it is today) and they just turn their back on these customers and leave them out. EA and Microsoft are ruining the gaming industry.
The problem of piracy on PC is a good point but successful methods of almost eliminating piracy have been demonstrated. Listen carefully publishers: STEAM! STEAM! STEAM!
I hated it at first but it has become quite a good service now and who in this day and age plays games and does not have internet access?
Please use Steam or create your own system now and end piracy before there are no PC games left.
Piracy will kill pc gaming if it isnt stopped soon, companies wont build where there is no profit to be made.
...And the piracy issue won't be helped if it's easier and more convenient to install a cracked copy for free. I wonder how many people have seen the stuff about the DRM on Bioshock, Mass Effect and Alone in the Dark, thought 'sod this' and sought out a warez version?
This is just an excuse for EA to limit installations, utilise Securom DRM and generally kill off the second-hand market whilst effectively renting PC games out and rendering people unable to resell or lend their games to anyone else.
If piracy killed of games markets then it would have been dead in the water back in 1987 when we were at school distributing C90 tapes of Spectrum games willy nilly.
The 'piracy is killing games' mantra is trotted out by companies like EA who want to secure their hold on the market further in the same way that the 'Terrorists want to kill our way of life' is trotted out by a government wanting to restrict our freedoms further.
Constantly repeating something doesn't make it any more true. It won't kill the games industry, and I'd really like to see some figures quoted on this, together with the basis for their calculations.
I'm sorry but the whole piracy because of DRM argument is specious at best, you can see the consequences of piracy and yet still argue that you're disadvantaged by a company attempting to secure it's property against thieves.
You don't go stealing CD's or whatever just because there's CCTV or security tags? The principle is the same.
You make something and somebody takes it without paying; that's theft pure and simple.
However I do appreciate the desire to lend a game to someone or be able to sell/trade it after you've completed it.
The problem we're going to see more of is companies that take the hit from piracy are going to pull back and move on to a different platform, the only people that lose ultimately will be us PC gamers.
EA and their ilk will continue to make money with or without us.
EA leaving the PC "arena" sets a worrying precedent that may cause other devs to follow.
Hopefully though some forward thinking people will fill the hole they create.
I just can't see it quite yet until they get their business model sorted first.
Over the last 5/6 years I've bought assorted versions of FIFA and Pro Evo on the PC and (mostly) loved them all. Only recently have I purchased a 360 and have been playing Pro Evo on it. My opinion is that it is far more enjoyable playing these games in the living room, spralled out on the sofa rather, with or without mates, than being sat at my desk in a monitor.
Xbox 360 Pad + My PC with Pro Evo = me playing on my bed!
Well, whether you agree with him or not, you have to give him kudos for coming out and saying it, in no uncertain terms.
At least he hasn't done a Sony (and yes, I own a PS3) and made some excuse up (DualShock being 'last gen' and backwards compatibility being removed to focus on PS3 games).
I'm sorry but the whole piracy because of DRM argument is specious at best, you can see the consequences of piracy and yet still argue that you're disadvantaged by a company attempting to secure it's property against thieves.
My argument is that they're going about it the wrong way. We've got to the point where there are actual advantages to the consumer in going out and finding a cracked copy:
1 - it's free 2 - you can do what you like with it in terms of installing, reinstalling, playing on a laptop whilst travelling (which I can't do with my £4.99 copy of NWN thanks to the fact that Bioware want me to ask their permission every time I want to play it)
It used to be that getting a boxed version would give you a proper manual, maps, novellas etc. and so there was a salient advantage to having the shop-bought version. Nowadays we get the same as a cracked version (on-disk PDF manuals etc.) but with added limitations at a higher cost.
You don't go stealing CD's or whatever just because there's CCTV or security tags? The principle is the same.
Not quite. Security tags and CCTV will alert someone to the fact that you've done Something Bad, and the consequences can be pretty immediate, involving security guards, things going BLEEP! and general trouble with the Law.
It also depletes the physical stocks of CDs/DVDs/Games in HMV or wherever.
Copying something, whether it's a CD, game or whatever, can be done in the privacy of one's own home, and doesn't remove anything physical that someone else(HMV, your neighbour etc.) has paid for.
...So it's not quite the same thing at all.
Also, not everyone who has obtained a pirated version of a game would necessarily have bought the game in the first place.
Piracy still ain't right, but I can see how companies being bottomy about DRM may well prove to be counterproductive.
However I do appreciate the desire to lend a game to someone or be able to sell/trade it after you've completed it.
Well, quite! Hence my opinion that if someone's offered a choice between a shop-bought version with limited activations which is tied to their PC and solely consists of a DVD in a box costing £30-odd, compared with a free DVD with no box but unlimited installs, no phoning home and the ability to lend it/take it round a mate's house there's no real competition.
The problem we're going to see more of is companies that take the hit from piracy are going to pull back and move on to a different platform, the only people that lose ultimately will be us PC gamers.
EA and their ilk will continue to make money with or without us.
EA leaving the PC "arena" sets a worrying precedent that may cause other devs to follow.
Hopefully though some forward thinking people will fill the hole they create.
I just can't see it quite yet until they get their business model sorted first.
Well, this is the thing: the shop-bought legit products are arguably worse than the cracked ones! What do they expect to happen?!
Thius whole issue is getting rather surreal if you ask me...
The anti-piracy side of limited installs/activations and registrations doesn't make any sense, since Mass Effect, Bioshock etc have all been cracked. The only remaining explanation that makes any sense is that companies would like to see the end of the second-hand market and people lending games to each other.
This is based on a marketing principle: competition also comes from alternative sources of a product or service. In this case the second-hand market and inter-user lending are alternatives for people who would, they suppose, otherwise be buying their games.
Obviously no company in their right mind would cite this as a motive, so piracy/home copying is a convenient other reason.
If you want to see the end of buying/selling second-hand games and lending them to friends, then by all means continue to support these DRM schemes, howver if they really want to prevent piracy maybe they should make it worthwhile to buy the legit products over the cracked versions.
...And the piracy issue won't be helped if it's easier and more convenient to install a cracked copy for free. I wonder how many people have seen the stuff about the DRM on Bioshock, Mass Effect and Alone in the Dark, thought 'sod this' and sought out a warez version?
This is just an excuse for EA to limit installations, utilise Securom DRM and generally kill off the second-hand market whilst effectively renting PC games out and rendering people unable to resell or lend their games to anyone else.
If piracy killed of games markets then it would have been dead in the water back in 1987 when we were at school distributing C90 tapes of Spectrum games willy nilly.
The 'piracy is killing games' mantra is trotted out by companies like EA who want to secure their hold on the market further in the same way that the 'Terrorists want to kill our way of life' is trotted out by a government wanting to restrict our freedoms further.
Constantly repeating something doesn't make it any more true. It won't kill the games industry, and I'd really like to see some figures quoted on this, together with the basis for their calculations.
Sure, it'll make a dent, but it won't kill it.
I believe this too... This debate has been going on for years, and although EA's profits might have fallen, it doesn't seem to have stopped other developers/publishers from doing very well for themselves because of their marketing strategy and business model. Take Stardock's approach for example (and yes I know many people use them as a counter argument, but it's a valid one); Their pricing and protection system is far better than anything EA offers and they are boasting huge PC title sales with games like 'Sins of a Solar Empire'.
I understand why EA gets p**sed at the piracy industry, because they release so many games... Statistically they are bound to be hit hardest by loss of sales. But then most of what they sell is profitmongering cack. And for the occasional decent title they publish, they overprice it and punish the end user with restrictions.
Also, not everyone who has obtained a pirated version of a game would necessarily have bought the game in the first place.
This is such a good point, and one that's often completely overlooked by analysts. I don't dispute it's wrong, or unacceptable to pirate software, but it does make me a little sick in the stomach to see companies like EA scaremongering the PC gaming industry with death threats because they aren't satisfied with the money they are making...
Quoting Gamesindustry.biz for EA: "...Net revenue for Q2 2008 is expected to be between USD 465 and 570 million. Net revenue for fiscal year 2008 is expected to be between USD 3.2 and 3.5 billion, up USD 100 million from EA's previous guidance." ...That's still a lot of money they are making in the industry as a whole. I have no pity for them! And having just bought Mass Effect and Hellgate: London this week, it bothers me that it isn't another, more appreciative, company getting my money.
Maybe the death of EA's PC games industry is a good thing... Let someone else fill the hole and do a better job. I doubt EA will really pull out of the PC game industry though, because deep down in the shrivelled black hearts of their financial advisors (hehe, j/k), they still know they can make many millions from this market.
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