Former Epic designer Cliff Bleszinski has hit out at the negative reaction gamershave to microtransactions, and in particular, EA-driven microtransactions.
Speaking on his blog, Bleszinski openly spoke about the double-standards gamers hold for such publishers like EA and Valve:
“I’m going to come right out and say it. I’m tired of EA being seen as “the bad guy.” I think it’s bullshit that EA has the “scumbag EA” memes on Reddit and that Good Guy Valve can Do No Wrong.”
Bleszinski then added his thoughts on the difference between the publishers in question is in fact a finer line when inspected, stating both firms aim to “make as much money as possible”:
Don’t get me wrong – I’m a huge fan of Gabe and co most everything they do. (Remember, I bought that custom portal turret that took over the internet a while back and I have friends over there.) However, it blows my mind that somehow gamers don’t seem to get that Valve is a business, just like any other, and when Valve charges 100$ for an engagement ring in Team Fortress 2 it’s somehow “cool” yet when EA wants to sell something similar it’s seen as “evil.” Yes, guys, I hate to break it to you, as awesome as Valve is they’re also a company that seeks to make as much money as possible.
What are you thoughts on microtransactions? Do you welcome them? Oppose them?
I don’t think it’s a question on micro-transactions, really. It’s about the way EA go about business in general. When was the last time you saw Valve snap up a promising company and gut the shit out of them? Never. But EA? See Westwood Studios, Origin, Bullfrog, etc.That’s why people don’t really like them. Plus, though I’m not really interested in the series, people tell me Dead Space 3 is just a watered down, simplified, and COD take on the games that came before it. EA don’t know how to step back and let the creators create. They should take a page from how Sony are dealing with Media Molecule. So no, people don’t hate them because of “hey, buy our overpriced shit!”, they hate them because they’ve destroyed some companies that have given them some of their most precious memories, something I don’t think “Cliffy B” will ever do for someone.
So no, go to bed Clifford.
^ Very well said. The worst part in this is neither EA sell somethin’ within published games nor that they do it at a high price. At least, it’s not necessary yet – as they say, a player can find and open these items for free in the game. But this shitty trend chases gamers from ME3, which appeared to be a piece of frustration for many people. And the community believes that it happened because EA has an awful habit of limiting game-developers in time. And it seems so, because most of the in-game scenes look like they were first made for other events. Moreover, there was a leaked script from BioWare, and it was the way better for the community (I made myself love both of them). Obviously, the BW team could do better, but they just didn’t have enough time. And it sucks. EA is definitely ruining the best franchises ever created in the gaming industry. Many good titles just losing there charm. I can’t call myself a big fan of Valve production, but I’m sure they have never been doing suchlike shit.