EA Opens Mouth, Inserts Both Feet
14th Nov 2006, 18:55 GMT
It's getting harder and harder to tell whether EA's stance on the whole microtransaction content debacle is born out of arrogance, spite or just plain stupidity. Major Nelson spoke yesterday with Chip Lange, EA's Vice President of Online Commerce, regarding the growing concerns Xbox Live users have over EA's swindling. Did Lange try and clear EA's name after they copped a ton of flak for charging money for cheat codes? Nope: There are places where cheat codes are free but those are on websites and those websites are making money by selling advertising. There'll still be a healthy business around hint guides, magazines, websites... I just look at the Marketplace as yet another extension of ways in which consumers are going to be able to access the content they want. You're kidding me. That's your response? That makes no sense. You cannot equate the revenue gained from advertising to charging consumers for content. It's like charging people to listen to commercial radio, or to look at a billboard. What he really means is that EA have looked at all the money Gamefaqs and co. make from advertising and have decided they don't want just a piece of the pie, they want the whole damn thing. With cream on top. And have decided we're going to pay for it. But wait, it gets better. When pressed on whether EA are removing cheats for 360 games that are free on other consoles, all Lange could come up with was: "I don't know if that's right or not. That's not something I've actually gone in and researched." So...he doesn't know the answer to the question. We do. By their own logic, for him to access the content he wants (ie, the answer), we are now within our rights to charge him for it, even if he's previously asked those kinds of questions for free. This was a great chance for EA to calm the rising anger consumers feel towards their online pricing strategy. Instead, they've only gone and made things worse for themselves. Dig up, stupid. Luke Plunkett EA Bites Back at Marketplace Microtransactions [IGN]
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