Fuck EA Sports
22/09/09 11:08 Filed in: They Just Don't Get It
I was 16 years old when I got my first real taste for hockey. Sure I had watched games before then, but I wasn't really all that interested until the 94 playoff run for the Vancouver Canucks. During that run, the whole of Vancouver got swept up in the commotion, myself included. It was during those playoffs that hockey got into my blood. The years that followed would see me home on game nights watching or listening to the game. Don Cherry, Jim Robson, Jim Hughson, Tom Larscheid, and Ron Maclean became my instructors, teaching me all there is to know about this newfound fascination. My heroes shifted from the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jean-Claude Van Damme to that of Trevor Linden, and Pavel Bure. And at the start of the 94/95 season I picked up my first hockey videogame, "NHL 95".
For the uninitiated, "EA Sports" has released an annual hockey game since the series debuted in 1991 with "NHL Hockey". "NHL 95" is and likely always will be my most played game of all time. I played it for almost 2 solid years. Man I perfected that game. I played it until I picked up my next hockey game, "NHL 97" for the Playstation. Every year since, while NHL teams were getting ready for the upcoming season, I would pick up the latest greatest edition of the franchise. I'm a loyal beast, and stuck with the franchise until 2K Sports released a superior hockey experience with "NHL 2k5". For the next 2 years, I became an avid fan of 2K Sport's work on their NHL games. However, the loyalist in me was laying in wait for the time that EA Sport's venerable franchise returned to glory. This would happen with the release of NHL 07.
The funny thing was, my NHL 07 game playing wasn't on a home console at all. Instead, it was on my PSP. I loved the idea of having my NHL with me anywhere. NHL 07 is my most played game of all time on my PSP. And I loved it. But EA never released another NHL game on the sony handheld after that one game. So I would need to go back to the home consoles if I wanted my NHL gaming fix. So what did I pick up for my 360? NHL 08 of course. And a year later I picked up NHL 09 for the same system. NHL 09 is the pinacle of all sports game in my opinion. Not only did it have very finely tuned gameplay, but it had the most revolutionary mode I had ever played in a sports game.
So here we are. NHL 10 is upon us and I've been psyched about getting it. I have been thinking "Man, when I visit Vancouver in October, I'm gonna pick that sucker up for my North American 360." And then I noticed something today. I was navigating the Xbox Live Marketplace and stumbled upon a few things that EA is selling for NHL 10. Player attribute bonuses. What are these bonuses you may ask? Well let's put it this way. NHL 09 introduced the "Be A Player" gameplay mode. This is a sort of hockey RPG. You control 1 character, and based on how well you perform, you are able to upgrade your characters different attributes(speed, shot power, etc). It's not easy. You need to play a lot of games in order to have enough points to upgrade your character. Now with NHL 10, who needs to put work into it. Why not just spend $1.15 - $5.00 per attribute and just buy your way to a better player?
What do I think of this latest marketing ploy? I'm disgusted by it. How many EA games have I purchased over the years? To be nickle and dimed like this is just a kick in the teeth by a company that I was formally loyal to. And speaking as a person who has forked over thousands of dollars to EA over my life I can without any regret quote "Knocked Up" and say "Hey EA Sports, Jaded Gamer calling, guess what the fuck's up? I've been here as a loyal fan of your hockey franchise, you know where you're at? You're nickle and diming your fans you motherfucking piece of shit, and you know what I'm gonna have to do now? I'm going to have to boycott your sports games from now on, I'm gonna pick up 2K's game instead. You're dead to me, you're Tupac, you are fucking Biggie you piece of shit, I hope your hockey franchise fucking dies, or you feel the wrath of all your once loyal fans you fuckers... I hope your game crashes, peace fucker!"
For the uninitiated, "EA Sports" has released an annual hockey game since the series debuted in 1991 with "NHL Hockey". "NHL 95" is and likely always will be my most played game of all time. I played it for almost 2 solid years. Man I perfected that game. I played it until I picked up my next hockey game, "NHL 97" for the Playstation. Every year since, while NHL teams were getting ready for the upcoming season, I would pick up the latest greatest edition of the franchise. I'm a loyal beast, and stuck with the franchise until 2K Sports released a superior hockey experience with "NHL 2k5". For the next 2 years, I became an avid fan of 2K Sport's work on their NHL games. However, the loyalist in me was laying in wait for the time that EA Sport's venerable franchise returned to glory. This would happen with the release of NHL 07.
The funny thing was, my NHL 07 game playing wasn't on a home console at all. Instead, it was on my PSP. I loved the idea of having my NHL with me anywhere. NHL 07 is my most played game of all time on my PSP. And I loved it. But EA never released another NHL game on the sony handheld after that one game. So I would need to go back to the home consoles if I wanted my NHL gaming fix. So what did I pick up for my 360? NHL 08 of course. And a year later I picked up NHL 09 for the same system. NHL 09 is the pinacle of all sports game in my opinion. Not only did it have very finely tuned gameplay, but it had the most revolutionary mode I had ever played in a sports game.
So here we are. NHL 10 is upon us and I've been psyched about getting it. I have been thinking "Man, when I visit Vancouver in October, I'm gonna pick that sucker up for my North American 360." And then I noticed something today. I was navigating the Xbox Live Marketplace and stumbled upon a few things that EA is selling for NHL 10. Player attribute bonuses. What are these bonuses you may ask? Well let's put it this way. NHL 09 introduced the "Be A Player" gameplay mode. This is a sort of hockey RPG. You control 1 character, and based on how well you perform, you are able to upgrade your characters different attributes(speed, shot power, etc). It's not easy. You need to play a lot of games in order to have enough points to upgrade your character. Now with NHL 10, who needs to put work into it. Why not just spend $1.15 - $5.00 per attribute and just buy your way to a better player?
What do I think of this latest marketing ploy? I'm disgusted by it. How many EA games have I purchased over the years? To be nickle and dimed like this is just a kick in the teeth by a company that I was formally loyal to. And speaking as a person who has forked over thousands of dollars to EA over my life I can without any regret quote "Knocked Up" and say "Hey EA Sports, Jaded Gamer calling, guess what the fuck's up? I've been here as a loyal fan of your hockey franchise, you know where you're at? You're nickle and diming your fans you motherfucking piece of shit, and you know what I'm gonna have to do now? I'm going to have to boycott your sports games from now on, I'm gonna pick up 2K's game instead. You're dead to me, you're Tupac, you are fucking Biggie you piece of shit, I hope your hockey franchise fucking dies, or you feel the wrath of all your once loyal fans you fuckers... I hope your game crashes, peace fucker!"