Expansion boycott banners (forum sigs)

[CingularDuality]

Not to make your day worse, but this is a bad argument. Doing this would be like attempting to make a statement against Kraft by buying some Mac & Cheese and then not eating it. Kraft doesn't care that you don't eat it, they have your money now. Just like EA wouldn't care that you don't play after you've bought their game because they already have your money.

For me at least, what's crappy isn't the game; the bugs do suck, but I've learned to live with them. What I dislike is EA's business practices, where they think it's appropriate to release bad patches and devote large amounts of energy to an expansion team when the patch team really needs the focus. There's a good chance that I won't buy the expansion if EA doesn't shape up.

Exactly. And let's not forget the media. Let a couple of PC Gaming magazines run articles on an EA boycott due to buggy software, and I bet they'll be changing their tune pretty quickly...

[Wulfyn]

I agree that the point here is that people are not annoyed that the game is buggy, it is that they are spending money on something else other than fixing it. Stopping from playing wouldn't solve anything. 1942 and Vietnam both took a few patches to get sorted, so I wasn't expecting much different from BF2. However for them to be devoting resources to an add-on when the main game is still flawed is something I personally do not agree with.

I for one will not be buying the expansion pack until the main game is fixed to a state that I am happy with. This is not even a decision that was fuelled by talk of a boycott, but by my own personal feelings on issues such as this. What if the exapnsion has bugs? Will they be fixed, or will the development money just be spent on another expansion pack?

They have some time to get it right yet, but I think it would be worthwhile EA & Dice knowing that if they don't shape up they will lose money.

[jex]

Who here bought JO? and then the expansion pack? Remember what a complete cluster fu.. that was? EA own 20% of novalogic. I didn't buy JOE because I new it was a ripoff, and boycotts are perfectly justified in these case.

Software companies get away with too much these days, and you're either an idiot to put up with it, or you stand up and say "enough is enough". Buying expansions for a game that is already bugged ridden just says to these companies

"I'm prepared to be made a fool of."

The product you purchased gets fixed as a priority. Then the next priority is to release a great expansion to the communtiy that is also bug free. When JOE was released after Joint Ops, It ruined that game completely. So badly in fact that they have been unable to fix it.

Now we see the same with BF2. An expansion is being made to integrate with an already buggy piece of software - so you work out how the two will work together.

Support the boycott until we the gamers have a fully working product.

[B-Wise]

I'm mad as hell and I'm NOT going to taket it anymore!!!! to the people that say just don't play....I don't play anymore because I can't take the bugs, the bad graphics, and the weak as hell patch support. I'm back to CS:S cause STEAM actually knows how to release a game with little to no bugs, great graphics, and updates that actually update. BF2 is on the shelf until an at least halfway decent patch is released. You can put me on the boycott list...POWER to the people!!!!!

[Mateo]

Who here bought JO? and then the expansion pack? Remember what a complete cluster fu.. that was? EA own 20% of novalogic. I didn't buy JOE because I new it was a ripoff, and boycotts are perfectly justified in these case.

I bought both. It wasn't until a third party (Brutal Arts) got involved, that the game's weaknesses started to get fixed, but by then, it was too late: most of the JO community had moved on.

Which is why I found the lack of mod tools disheartening. If they aren't going to fix the game, then at least allow people the chance to code it themselves.

[=Sarc=]

Another reason I'm not eager to buy the expansion is it's too early. I haven't fully enjoyed BF2 and I don't even know what I would want in an expansion. Do they just expect us to like what they've come up with for an expansion a month after the game has been released?

This expansion is going to split the community. BF2 might have a large player base to handle it where JO didn't. For our community, the split could be bad. Those that buy it might have to play somewhere else because not enough here bought it. Or maybe those that didn't buy it will have to play somewhere else because just enough bought it to have decent expansion pack games.

[Telorn]

Another reason I'm not eager to buy the expansion is it's too early. I haven't fully enjoyed BF2 and I don't even know what I would want in an expansion. Do they just expect us to like what they've come up with for an expansion a month after the game has been released?

This expansion is going to split the community. BF2 might have a large player base to handle it where JO didn't. For our community, the split could be bad. Those that buy it might have to play somewhere else because not enough here bought it. Or maybe those that didn't buy it will have to play somewhere else because just enough bought it to have decent expansion pack games.

the TG community would deal with that issue and run a server that supported the expansion - unless we didn't have enough member support for it. I for one am not going to buy this expansion right off the bat. I'll wait until after it comes out and see how its gameplay is before purchasing.

It wouldn't surprise me if the mod tools didn't come out until after the expansion pack to try and boost its sales.

[Syn]

What I dislike is EA's business practices, where they think it's appropriate to release bad patches and devote large amounts of energy to an expansion team when the patch team really needs the focus. There's a good chance that I won't buy the expansion if EA doesn't shape up.

If memory recalls correctly...Sony pulled something similar, with fixes for Planetside bug embedded in their Expansion pack. So you had to pay another $30 to get the game you already spent $50 on, to work properly.

[|TG| B]

I will probably go where TG goes. I would like to see some new contents in Expansion but if TG is not there with their script of squad enforcement I cannot enjoy them. So If that kind of stuff happens I will go out and buy the expansion.

[warcriminal2]

get real man, since when do software companies have to release a product that never has buggs on EVERY system that plays it? Updates and more updates is what u can expect once you cross over to PC gaming....dont want updates, get a PSII or some other ****e

[Telorn]

get real man, since when do software companies have to release a product that never has buggs on EVERY system that plays it? Updates and more updates is what u can expect once you cross over to PC gaming....dont want updates, get a PSII or some other ****e

I think you misunderstand the issue at hand. People are not complaining that this game doesn't work on this particular system. Sure it sucks when it happens, but that's what happens when there are 1000s of possibilities to cause a hardware issue.

The issue people have is with the gameplay bugs, which can happen to *all* systems.

[SmokingTarpan]

get real man, since when do software companies have to release a product that never has buggs on EVERY system that plays it? Updates and more updates is what u can expect once you cross over to PC gaming....dont want updates, get a PSII or some other ****e

I expect bugs and updates for all software that I buy. I also expect a company to fix major problems with current products before spending time and money on future products. Unless the game is of the pay-per-play type, however, the game company doesn't stand to make money off of fixing things, so that takes a side seat to anythnig that will make them money. It's poor ethics.

[Edwin]

get real man, since when do software companies have to release a product that never has buggs on EVERY system that plays it? Updates and more updates is what u can expect once you cross over to PC gaming....dont want updates, get a PSII or some other ****e

Please think before you reply. Otherwise you look like a fool.

Exactly. And let's not forget the media. Let a couple of PC Gaming magazines run articles on an EA boycott due to buggy software, and I bet they'll be changing their tune pretty quickly...

Advertising dollars is a far louder song than the tune that you mention.

[Edwin]

If memory recalls correctly...Sony pulled something similar, with fixes for Planetside bug embedded in their Expansion pack. So you had to pay another $30 to get the game you already spent $50 on, to work properly.

BF9142 also did this. No mod tools till WAY after Road to Rome, and Secret Weapons. Only way mods were being made was by fan made editors.

[MileHighAko]

It's not an issue of ethics. It is more of an issue of how the software marketplace has evolved. As consumers demand lower prices, similarly the quality of the software drops in order to maintain expected margins. You can disagree with those margins, but this is capitalism at its best. For many years now, this has become the status quo of software. The released product isn't quite finished. It never is. Sometimes patches are created in order to maintain a market position, but ultimately the real investment goes into the next version.

In the end, we consumers accept it. After all, we click yes on the license agreement that says we agree that the software is provided to us "as is" and without any guarantee that it will actually do what it is intended to do. In fact, direct from the license agreement: “This software is provided by the copyright holders and contributors
‘as is’ and any express or implied warranties, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose are disclaimed.” The fact is we all said yes we agree. But now it seems we’ve changed our mind.