EA has tried this before, with predictable results. In 2020, EA Sports UFC 4 included full-screen ads for the Amazon Prime series The Boys that would appear during ‘Replay’ moments. These were absent from the game when it launched, with EA introducing the ads about a month later, thereby preventing them from being highlighted in reviews. It wasn’t long before the backlash led to EA disabling the ads.
I’d be okay with this if they made those games cheaper. But no, I have to pay $94 CAD for a shit live service game that I don’t even have the rights to and which the online service may be terminated at any time. Fuck EA and their monopoly on sports games.
Good thing seeing that a game is published or developed by EA, or one of its subsidiaries, is 9 times out of 10 enough for me to not bother with the game to begin with. They don’t make a thing that is worth dealing with them to get to play.
That company burned all of its good will and trust with me years ago. So sure go ahead and put as many ads as you want EA. I know for sure I won’t be seeing them.
i just want to fucking play battlefield 1 when i want that i own. i don’t care about your EA live services, i don’t care about your ads. i already gave you my money because i liked the game. but i fucking hate you so much EA, like you’re on top of the list
I hope gamers will unite. Though it seems far more likely that kids will just buy it because “wooooo hype. Who cares about ads, I already watch a bazillion a day when doomscrolling Instagram”.
gamers, unite!
Get off the gaming market EA.
I can’t believe I’m actually going to have to become a retro gamer. Sigh.
Once you discover the sea of great indie games you won’t even care what AAA is doing anymore. Some of the AAA games remove cash shops after the game loses relevance anyway, like Shadow of War, meaning you get rewarded for not buying the game until it is 90% off.
Or you know, indie.
The real answer here. Indie scene is BOOMING
I know that I’ve played EA games before, but I don’t think that I’ve played stuff from them recently, so I don’t have a personal preference on their games.
As long as they also provide some option to pay more and not have ads, I don’t really see an issue. It just becomes another option to buy the game – if you want ad-supported, can do that, and if you want to pay directly, you can do that.
If they don’t have any option to pay for an ad-free experience, then it seems like it could be obnoxious for people depending upon their ad preference.
I think that all the games that I would play – setting aside the issue of EA specifically – I’d rather pay for an ad-free experience, but eh. Games with ads – as well as the option to buy an ad-supported or ad-free version at different prices – are a major thing on, say, mobile, so obviously there are people who would prefer the ad-supported route.
Back in 2022, EA patented a system that generates in-game content and ads based on a person’s playstyle.
Personally, I don’t really think that I want to have my activity logged and data-mined either way, though. I would pretty much always rather pay more than have my activity recorded. I care more about that than the ads. I’m fine paying more for that, but I want the opt-out. I’d also really prefer that vendors like Steam make it very clear that if a game is being subsidized by extracting data on a user, what data is being extracted. Right now, it’s kind of a free-for-all, and the games aren’t running in a jail, so they can do pretty much whatever.
gluck gluck gluck please let me pay even more money for the privilege of not being advertised to, corpo-daddy
Counter point, if I paid $60 for a game, i don’t want ads in that game
If I paid >$0 for a game I don’t want ads in that game.
Season passes, in game stores, and every other mtx in a game I paid for is insulting and generally ends up being intrusive and annoying since they tend to shove it in your face.
I was going to read all of this until I got to “provide some option to pay more and not have ads” . Zero chance this would ever end in a consumer friendly way after that first payment.
Only game I play from EA is apex. Everything else is…rented…online…indefinitely. 🏴☠️
They tried it way before 2020 too, they talked to the agency I worked for at the time. Same result
A little thing called the “Massive Ad client” exists in NFS Carbon, Pro Street, Undercover and even World.
It was used to download ads off the internet and display them in the game’s own billboards.
It was also an entrypoint for a NFS World hack too lol so ripbozo EA
A little thing called the “Massive Ad client” exists in NFS Carbon, Pro Street, Undercover and even World.
It was used to download ads off the internet and display them in the game’s own billboards.
It was also an entrypoint for a NFS World hack too lol so ripbozo EA
I remember them putting ads on the billboards in Battlefield 2142 way back when.
I 'member
I’m really struggling to remember when 's the last time I played an EA game. I can’t really…
Let them monetize everything until oblivion,no one’s gonna stop them anyway,so they might as well slowly die.
They’ve got EA Sports FC (formerly FIFA) and madden though, they’re never going to die.
Maybe not, but individuals can choose where to spend their money. The masses will still buy this shit, but I am the kinda guy will will make his own life harder based on morals.
Like I ain’t shopped on Amazon for years. Some stuff I just can’t find anymore. Not used WhatsApp for many years, makes it harder to join friend group chats. Etc.
The masses will still buy this shit
The dark side of the XKCD comic Ten Thousand is that there’s always a new pool of suckers entering the market - people who haven’t gotten burned yet and think they’re getting something real.
I am the kinda guy will will make his own life harder based on morals.
I wouldn’t even call it morals so much at Once Bitten, Twice Shy. There’s a point at which you don’t want to keep doing business with people who make you miserable.
Yeah I agree completely, but we shouldn’t kid ourselves that companies are going to go bankrupt because a minority of users are absolutist about in-game ads, or will sacrifice social connections to avoid using Meta products.
This is my argument.
I don’t believe my choices have an impact at all, in fact they impact me more negatively than the things I avoid.
But I can sleep at night knowing I am not giving them my money, or my business, etc.
It’s like with the Reddit exodus and people thinking it would / will be the death of Reddit. The truth is they barley noticed we left and they certainly don’t care, but again morals.
You never know, this thread could make more people think like this and make conscious choices where you can, for yourself so you know you tried to not be a part of the problem.
LOL “clever response involving a bottle of rum and the high seas”
Fuck EA of course but that AI pic is horrible. The fuck does a U-shaped Ferrari sitting in front of an Obama campaign billboard have to do with EA putting ads in games?
Spot the part in the article how they want to do it “again”? Now think what that implies.
Hint: Burnout Paradise, a racing game published by EA, was released in 2008.
Dead Space from 2008 is such a good game. EA has fallen so far. I don’t see myself ever buying another EA game at this point.
why the fuck should I pay for them then?
Idiots.
Good, do it.
Let your player base dwindle some more. I already outright refuse to play EA crap. Fill it with ads, make ads mandatory before and after all loading screen.
Want to equip new gear? Forced ads Want to save? Forced ads
Put so many ads that you make bajillions. Do it ea I dare you.
Here’s another great idea: persistent ads. Have ads take up a portion of the screen always. Players may want to shop while fighting a boss or taking a shot on goal.
Different portions of the screen
Otherwise it’s too vulnerable to a common blocking technology
An EA exec got hard reading that
I hope they do it, shorting their stock will be easy af.
If they’d just be smart about it. Make the ads in-game. Like a Nike poster on a wall or a can of Pepsi on a table or something. I wouldn’t have a problem with that. Making them the entire focus - however brief - just makes me hate them immeasurably.
Soon the game world will have speakers with ads, that will not really follow volume settings or distance attenuation.
The tutorial will have you collect “refreshing Pepsi Colas”.
Cinematics will always look to the big billboards.
And the game will have strict anti tampering/mods and will require internet connection to support this adds.
EA doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt anymore
