Widescreen Gaming Forum

If you hate EA, the best thing you can do to hurt them is to simply not play their games, and encourage others to follow your example. Pirating their games just isn't going to cripple them like it could an average or small sized company (but it may cripple the dev teams, who are not responsible for the things EA does), but it could encourage EA to fight back with things that nobody wants, ranging from annoying DRM to RIAA-style lawsuits.

Yes, but, if we push hard enough and they DO resort to things like that and TRULY go far enough... Public backlash ftw :P.

Public backlash for the nothing. In order to trigger that, you need to be pretty reckless, like Sony was with the rootkit. After all, where's the public rage over things like HDCP? And why isn't the MPAA reviled nearly as much as the RIAA despite that both have sued illegal distributers? EA may fight back, but they won't be so reckless as to call more negative attention to themselves than they already do now.

If you really believe that EA deserves public backlash, then you would have to also believe that this is based on what they do, not based on what they may or may not do in a hypothetical future. Try to bring more attention to the things they already do. Personally, I think that cheating your customers is FAR more worthy of public backlash than suing thieves.

I was just building off your own hypothetical of what they could possibly do if mass piracy takes place (as if it doesn't already anyway).

It also doesn't just take something on the scale of the Sony rootkit to create an outcry from the tech community (something that can be extremely devestating, just look at something like PriceRightPhoto or certain companies passing on Starforce etc.).

You also say that to not buy hurts more than to pirate. It really doesn't. Either is a non-sale. Saying that not buying the game and telling others to not do so as well would cripple them while doing the same for pirating wouldn't seems a little odd.

Clearly what they currently do needs attention brought to it (like selling betas as complete games), but like I said, you brought up the hypothetical in the first place :P.

Amazingly, I though EA already used annoying DRM.

Although I still buy the odd EA game that interests me, since I have no interest in playing sport on a PC, most of their range bores me. Hence I don't even look at them, let alone think of buying or playing them.

something that can be extremely devestating, just look at something like PriceRightPhoto or certain companies passing on Starforce etc

I haven't heard of "PriceRightPhoto." As for Starforce, keep in mind that Starforce suffered from the backlash, not Ubisoft. Whatever might have happened to Ubisoft if they had kept Starforce is purely hypothetical.

You also say that to not buy hurts more than to pirate. It really doesn't. Either is a non-sale.

What I said is that not buying is a BETTER way to hurt them than by stealing. Rosa Parks didn't need to carjack busses in order to advance civil liberties (I'm aware this is oversimplification, but I don't think elaboration would detract from my point). Stealing from EA simply makes you the wrongdoer instead of exposing them as wrongdoers.

I agree - also stealing as asolution from a company that you feel is cheating is somewhat akin to the definition of oxymoronic.

Not buying a given product is the ultimate rebutal against it's makers.

That wasn't the point made though. You said it wouldn't cripple them. Is it right? We'll leave the Piracy thread to that, but the point stands. Either cripples.

You said it wouldn't cripple them. Is it right?

I did say that. Not because piracy can't cripple a company, but because it can't cripple one as mainstream as EA. EA's core audience is "casual" gamers, most of whom don't know how to pirate games. And if piracy becomes mainstream enough that it's a serious threat to EA, that will have some *very* bad effects on the gaming industry as a whole.