As if things couldn't get any worse, now EA are looking at ways of putting adverts in video games to squeeze every possible penny from you.
We have mass layoffs with CEOs taking no responsibility, AI being shoved in our faces everywhere possible to eventually replace everyone and now real-world adverts inside our video games too? When will this AAA enshittification of gaming end? Never, obviously. CEOs and their shareholders will never stop chasing every possible extra penny. Growth for growths sake and it simply must continue. Consume consumers!
Writing in their latest Earnings Call, Andrew Wilson - Electronic Arts Inc. - Chairman & CEO said:
"To answer your question on advertising broadly, again, I think it's still early on that front. And we have looked over the course of our history to be very thoughtful about advertising in the context of our play experiences. But again, as we think about the many, many billions of hours spent, both playing, creating, watching and connecting and where much of that engagement happens to be on the bounds of a traditional game experience, our expectation is that advertising has an opportunity to be a meaningful driver of growth for us."
Wilson continues:
"We'll be very thoughtful as we move into that, but we have teams internally in the company right now looking at how do we do very thoughtful implementations inside of our game experiences. But more importantly, as we start to build community and harness the power of community beyond the bounds of our games, how do we think about advertising as a growth driver in those types of experiences?"
This only makes me think of that scene in Ready Player One, where they talk about selling up to 80% of your vision for adverts.
Pictured - Ready Player One, Warner Bros. Pictures
Also mentioned in the report is that Apex Legends continues to do well as it "grew 29 points over the last fiscal year" and as for Battlefield? A new one is on the way that "is going to be another tremendous live service". That's…certainly a way to describe an upcoming game.
For Linux and Steam Deck fans, EA are not exactly doing great. Their continued push for their home-grown EA anticheat has been causing problems because it's not supported at all. At least for now Apex Legends is safe with EAC which was just updated.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
After the last week or so with Sony, Micosoft, Ubisoft and now EA playing shenanigans I have purged my wishlist of all games from these clowns. To summarise this last week,
Sony and their PSN requirement and then banning and removing 180 countries from access to their titles on steam.
Microsoft buying up and then shutting studios, not to mention Gamepass which has caused significant financial damage to numerous studios.
Ubisoft killing games to force players to upgrade and pay again for the next instalment. AKA The Crew.
And now EA want to shove adverts down our throats.
I am Done and voting with my wallet. I will now support the indies who actually care about what they create and put out.
I am convinced at this point that a major crash within the games industry is just around the corner.
Mohandevir May 13
Super Simple Solution:
Open Steam.
Select the Store.
Search for Electronic Arts.
Click on the "Gear" icon
Select "Ignore this Publisher"
Thanks! I didn't know about that. Done!
I am convinced at this point that a major crash within the games industry is just around the corner.I believe it's already begun. It's already not hard to tell which pre-existing companies and indies will be left standing afterwards - if you look around, there are certainly some who've clearly prepared for this inevitability.
Who wants to play some Command & Coca Cola?
COKE WINS!
It begins......I am convinced at this point that a major crash within the games industry is just around the corner.I believe it's already begun. It's already not hard to tell which pre-existing companies and indies will be left standing afterwards - if you look around, there are certainly some who've clearly prepared for this inevitability.
Caldathras May 13
The Seven Deadly Sinners of the Game Industry
Greed: EA
Wrath: Nintendo
Sloth: Bethesda
Pride/Hubris: Rockstar Games
Lust: Epic Games
Gluttony: Microsoft
Envy: ???
Wouldn't Embracer and Microsoft be in competition for the Gluttony slot?
Caldathras May 13
Last edited by Caldathras on 13 May 2024 at 4:15 pm UTC
Who wants to play some Command & Coca Cola?I'd rather go for Pepsi, Please
I don't like the idea itself, but to be the devil's advocate: it *can* be done right.The statement is a bit vague, but the way they talk about "many billions of hours spent [...] creating, watching [...] where much of that engagement happens [...] on the bounds of a traditional game experience, [...] advertising has an opportunity [...] of growth for us.", that sounds to me as if the ads will be shown to the people watching on Twitch, not to the guy or gal streaming the game.
But of course, once the viewers are used to it, might be best to give them the same experience when they turn to play the game themselves :-).
The statement is a bit vague, but the way they talk about "many billions of hours spent [...] creating, watching [...] where much of that engagement happens [...] on the bounds of a traditional game experience, [...] advertising has an opportunity [...] of growth for us.", that sounds to me as if the ads will be shown to the people watching on Twitch, not to the guy or gal streaming the game.
TBH I understood it more as "if we put ads in the game, they will also be visible on the streams".
Last edited by pb on 13 May 2024 at 10:11 pm UTC
Mountain Man May 14
The fact that it made the game slightly less enjoyable really left a bad taste in my mouth.
Who wants to play some Command & Coca Cola?More like Command & Conquer: Chiquita Banana Republic edition.
If it will be compatible with EAC, which will be surely pushed to single player games, remains to be seen.
For a Linux site, I'm surprised no-one has mentioned this. The adverts will probably be delivered through a specific domain, which can be blocked in your firewall.Knowing EA, they'll probably have locally-stored ads ready to go for offline use, too, hahaha!
For a Linux site, I'm surprised no-one has mentioned this. The adverts will probably be delivered through a specific domain, which can be blocked in your firewall.Nope, gonna be local and updates every day. No chance they'll let you escape.
Instead of the shader caching progress screen, you will now also enjoy the ads downloading progress screen. In fact while you wait, why don't we show you some ads! Or maybe throw a little gambling minigame in your face since you won't be going anywhere for a couple minutes. Why not make this an even 10 minutes so you really get the true EA experience. Perhaps add some real money in-game currency for skipping this artificial time waster. Mmmmm.
Please wait, downloading new advertising assets.
Progress: 4/146 (1%)
*Playing Titanfall 2 when the internet drops out*For a Linux site, I'm surprised no-one has mentioned this. The adverts will probably be delivered through a specific domain, which can be blocked in your firewall.Knowing EA, they'll probably have locally-stored ads ready to go for offline use, too, hahaha!
"With the internet connection disrupted...... Its time to have a break...... When its its time to have a break its time to have a Kit Kat....... With smooth chocolate covering a crunch wafer biscuit....... Its always break time when you have a Kit Kat....... Have a break....... Have a Kit Kat......."
*Bites Kit Kat...... Smiles at the camera...... Gives a thumbs up*
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