It takes one helluva stupid, selfish asshole to give their kid an obviously dumb name from a video game character. Sure, it's great fun for the parents, but now that kid is stuck with a dumb name until they get old enough to legally change it.
Anyway, that $100 360 could be a pretty good move for Microsoft. I could see that selling boatloads, provided the functionality is the same as the older versions.
Meh...as long as it is a nice name I don't really see how its any dumber than any other name people give their kids.
Remember, people name their kids after cars...and these are popular names.
I'm going to go with BS, but then I'm a corporate shill.
But I mean, saying 'yeah the workers are treated like crap' may have been true five years ago. I don't know. But now? Really don't think so - there have been a number of work/life balance and Quality of Life initiatives starting over the past few years.
Which branch of EA do you work for? Because I know people who work at bioware austin who, without saying anything that'd jeopardize their job, paints a bleak picture of working for EA.
Although, to be fair, from experiences I've had with other friends working for EA, my evaluation of EA was already quite low.
I've always wondered if the Bioware branding was always more of a way to silo the parts of EA that the doctors ran with their own management style. Maybe Bioware Edmonton, Montreal and now Bioware Victory are just better off employee-wise?
Fake or real you be the judge, is this the confessions of a ex EA viral marketer?
560 seems like a really high number of viral marketers. A well managed team could probably get similar results with a tenth of that number.
Have no difficulty believing that companies are trying to influence discussion on popular forums like GAF, Reddit, 4chan and here. You can sometimes pick them out, particularly when certain kinds of messaging keeps getting repeated or negative discussions get shutdown or sidetracked.
I remember how one ex viral marketer once talked about how he had so many alts he would actually do arguments with himself and "win" to get good results.
Plus it was a way of maintaining his cover.
Anyone who doesn't think such people is around is a fool.
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reVerseAttack and Dethrone GodRegistered Userregular
I remember how one ex viral marketer once talked about how he had so many alts he would actually do arguments with himself and "win" to get good results.
Plus it was a way of maintaining his cover.
Anyone who doesn't think such people is around is a fool.
I remember how one ex viral marketer once talked about how he had so many alts he would actually do arguments with himself and "win" to get good results.
Plus it was a way of maintaining his cover.
Anyone who doesn't think such people is around is a fool.
Of course there are certain products that don't need them, such as the excellent Microsoft® XBOX 360® Entertainment System.
Doesn't really suprise me, but I heavily doubt the reasons for his getting let go, firing, layoff, whatever.
ME3 not doing well? Yeah, everyone hates the ending, but I don't buy the argument overall sales have been bad, though honestly I didn't even think that was a remote possibility so haven't checked. It's kind of like how "everyone" pretty much agrees Avatar was smurfs in space with appropriate complexity, but it still sold like crazy. I had friends who admitted it was pretty bad on certain levels, story first of all, but still saw it multiple times in the theatres.
I mean I'm going to go out on a limb here and speculate he was fired because he was the kind of guy who throws a bitch fit about being fired. On a job that most people politely refer to as "corporate shill". I mean hell, his defense was "this place was a shithole anyways" to lying to everyone for a living. I'm going to try that argument next time Tube infracts me for rambling in the wrong thread again.
Well obviously ME3 was always going to come flying out the gate, and continue for at least a week or two. The question now is, after that grace week and the news about the ending started breaking and picking up steam, whether that froze the game in its tracks, or if despite the bitching nobody game a shit and kept on buying it.
Then again, almost half the reason I bought the game was because of the bitching. I was always going to get the game to finish the fight, but the insane furor actually added to it. Because damn, it's just one of those things you feel compelled to see for yourself.
"The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
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MorninglordI'm tired of being Batman,so today I'll be Owl.Registered Userregular
I worked as a "community liaison" for a marketing company. Our client and project was Activision for Guitar Hero 3. I had arguments with myself on youtube, reddit, slashdot and digg. At least 20 alt accounts per site. The campaign was a competition with people submitting video of themselves air-guitaring, with the idea that it was an American Idol style contest with Lemmy from Motorhead judging. As far as I know he never saw a single second of footage, and I mostly picked winners if they were friends / acquaintances or looked good on camera.
To be clear, I never used alts or lied here. I think LewieP ended up winning the competition in the end.
I can't speak for this EA guy, but feel free to ask questions or whatever.
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joshgotroDeviled EggThe Land of REAL CHILIRegistered Userregular
I worked as a "community liaison" for a marketing company. Our client and project was Activision for Guitar Hero 3. I had arguments with myself on youtube, reddit, slashdot and digg. At least 20 alt accounts per site. The campaign was a competition with people submitting video of themselves air-guitaring, with the idea that it was an American Idol style contest with Lemmy from Motorhead judging. As far as I know he never saw a single second of footage, and I mostly picked winners if they were friends / acquaintances or looked good on camera.
To be clear, I never used alts or lied here. I think LewieP ended up winning the competition in the end.
I can't speak for this EA guy, but feel free to ask questions or whatever.
As writing jobs go it was awful. Activision wanted the writing to be "edgy" and "cool" and "on the cutting edge" and be "obviously passionate about music and games" except:
- no swearing
- no mention of games other than activation properties
- no mention of music other than that featured in guitar hero 1 - 3
- activation read everything before it's published and take at least 24 hours
It was a nightmare. The viral / shilling felt bad man, but at least it was interesting.
Maybe I also just have a really bad job, but I feel like every time I see these descriptions of these "horrible" jobs, they sound like every job ever. I have no idea where people are finding these jobs that don't have:
-crazy rules about what you can and can't say when dealing with the public
-actively review what you do
-are constantly trying to do whatever possible to appease stockholders
-are constantly trying to find any possible way to save every penny
It's shitty and it sucks, but I really don't see this as unique to the game industry. I mean, the above description sounds like ANY marketing type work I've ever done, and makes total sense in context. They want it to be edgy and cool, but they obviously don't want you to mention OTHER companies, games that are not the game you are trying to promote, they don't want you to swear, and they want to check your work...which all seems really, really standard.
I just always end up reading these stories about long hours and stuff and can't muster up any outrage, because it seems that's kind of the way most people are treated until they get high enough up to either change it, or just do it to those below them all over again.
I dunno, maybe having a bad job has made me jaded, but this all always sounds like complaining about stuff that's really no different anywhere you go to me and just comes off as whiny.
PSN: mxmarks - WiiU: mxmarks - twitter: @ MikesPS4 - twitch.tv/mxmarks - "Yes, mxmarks is the King of Queens" - Unbreakable Vow
Maybe I also just have a really bad job, but I feel like every time I see these descriptions of these "horrible" jobs, they sound like every job ever. I have no idea where people are finding these jobs that don't have:
-crazy rules about what you can and can't say when dealing with the public
-actively review what you do
-are constantly trying to do whatever possible to appease stockholders
-are constantly trying to find any possible way to save every penny
It's shitty and it sucks, but I really don't see this as unique to the game industry. I mean, the above description sounds like ANY marketing type work I've ever done, and makes total sense in context. They want it to be edgy and cool, but they obviously don't want you to mention OTHER companies, games that are not the game you are trying to promote, they don't want you to swear, and they want to check your work...which all seems really, really standard.
I just always end up reading these stories about long hours and stuff and can't muster up any outrage, because it seems that's kind of the way most people are treated until they get high enough up to either change it, or just do it to those below them all over again.
I dunno, maybe having a bad job has made me jaded, but this all always sounds like complaining about stuff that's really no different anywhere you go to me and just comes off as whiny.
PSN: mxmarks - WiiU: mxmarks - twitter: @ MikesPS4 - twitch.tv/mxmarks - "Yes, mxmarks is the King of Queens" - Unbreakable Vow
That's the new guy they got from the movie side of things. Sad.
Alex Navarro? Thought he was one of the Gamespot evacuees.
Left Gamespot a bit after Gerstmanngate, joined Screened and occasionally helped with Giant Bomb, currently working for Giant Bomb/CBSi out of their New York offices.
That's the new guy they got from the movie side of things. Sad.
Alex Navarro? Thought he was one of the Gamespot evacuees.
Left Gamespot a bit after Gerstmanngate, joined Screened and occasionally helped with Giant Bomb, currently working for Giant Bomb/CBSi out of their New York offices.
Yeah, it's just that Zen's comment made it sound like he's new to video games. Dude's an old hand, and responsible for one of the greatest video reviews of all time. He's winner.
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
That's the new guy they got from the movie side of things. Sad.
Alex Navarro? Thought he was one of the Gamespot evacuees.
Left Gamespot a bit after Gerstmanngate, joined Screened and occasionally helped with Giant Bomb, currently working for Giant Bomb/CBSi out of their New York offices.
Yeah, it's just that Zen's comment made it sound like he's new to video games. Dude's an old hand, and responsible for one of the greatest video reviews of all time. He's winner.
That's the new guy they got from the movie side of things. Sad.
Alex Navarro? Thought he was one of the Gamespot evacuees.
Left Gamespot a bit after Gerstmanngate, joined Screened and occasionally helped with Giant Bomb, currently working for Giant Bomb/CBSi out of their New York offices.
Yeah, it's just that Zen's comment made it sound like he's new to video games. Dude's an old hand, and responsible for one of the greatest video reviews of all time. He's winner.
You wouldn't know that from SE++
I'm not in the middle of one of my 'what's going on in SE++' periods, so I've got no idea what that's referring to..
Yeah, it's just that Zen's comment made it sound like he's new to video games. Dude's an old hand, and responsible for one of the greatest video reviews of all time. He's winner.
You can't say this and then not tell us what it was for and/or link it.
Yeah, it's just that Zen's comment made it sound like he's new to video games. Dude's an old hand, and responsible for one of the greatest video reviews of all time. He's winner.
You can't say this and then not tell us what it was for and/or link it.
Used games are a constant irritant for many in this industry - they're at best tolerated and at worst despised with a passion. Frontier Development's David Braben recently lashed out against the used games business, saying that it's effectively killed off single-player titles, and now Silicon Knights boss Denis Dyack has weighed in with his thoughts as well.
Speaking to GamesIndustry International, Dyack remarked, "From a consumer side, [in the last few years] we started seeing used games really come into fruition, and I believe that has caused quite a problem. I would argue that used games actually increase the cost of games."
The biggest problem is that used games have essentially cut off the revenue tail for most titles, Dyack explained.
"If used games continue the way that they are, it's going to cannibalize, there's not going to be an industry"
Denis Dyack
"There used to be something in games for 20 years called a tail, where say you have a game called Warcraft that would sell for 10 years. Because there are no used games, you could actually sell a game for a long time, and get recurring revenue for quite a while. Recurring revenue is very key," he said.
"Now there is no tail. Literally, you will get most of your sales within three months of launch, which has created this really unhealthy extreme where you have to sell it really fast and then you have to do anything else to get money," he continued, alluding to steps developers take like including multiplayer or launching DLC.
Dyack warned that if the pre-owned market continues unchecked it could threaten the industry as we know it.
"I would argue, and I've said this before, that used games are cannibalizing the industry. If developers and publishers don't see revenue from that, it's not a matter of hey 'we're trying to increase the price of games to consumers, and we want more,' we're just trying to survive as an industry. If used games continue the way that they are, it's going to cannibalize, there's not going to be an industry," he said. "People won't make those kinds of games. So I think that's inflated the price of games, and I think that prices would have come down if there was a longer tail, but there isn't."
For its part, leading games retailer GameStop has unsurprisingly come to the defense of its used games empire. The company's argument is that the money from used games and trade-ins ultimately fuels the industry as a whole.
"Remember that used video games have a residual value. Remember that GameStop generates $1.2 billion of trade credits around the world with our used games model. So, consider taking used games out of that, you'd have to find new ways to sell the games, and our partners at the console companies have great relationships with us," CEO Paul Raines said during the company's last earnings call.
"What we've done is created a way for that new leading edge consumer to dispose of their old games and that's what creates this great circle of life we talk about that so many try to imitate."
"People once again are saying we're going to have development costs that are two or three times of what they were last generation. I cannot see how that economy is going to continue"
Denis Dyack
Beyond the pre-owned problem, the games industry also faces a problem of costs for triple-A projects spiraling out of control.
"On the top side of the triple-A, highly-funded titles, you have $100 million games, and looking towards next generation people once again are saying we're going to have development costs that are two or three times of what they were last generation. I cannot see how that economy is going to continue," Dyack stated.
"I don't think as an industry we can afford $300 million budgets. I think some games can, don't get me wrong. For a game like Call of Duty, if they had a $100 million budget, or whatever their budget is, they can afford it. That's not the industry, that's sort of a one-off. But what is everyone else going do?"
Indeed, a mid-size developer could invest $40-$60 million in a triple-A project and if that title tanks at retail, it could truly wreak havoc on the company.
"It comes back to that tail I talked about, recurring revenue. We need a system with recurring revenue and that's why I think digital distribution is going to play a big role in things to come. That's why I am still very big on cloud computing," Dyack concluded.
Or maybe you just suck at making games with a long tail. Nintendo can easily do it. Why can't others other than incompetence?
The tail has little to do with used games. Most sales are within the first week if not first few days. This is true even on the PC barring drastic price cuts like on Steam. Anybody who really wants it just picks it up in the first few days. Unless there is really strong word of mouth or price cuts before everyone has forgotten about the game and advertising for the game is dead, there isn't any reason to expect there to be a decent tail. They only do price cuts when the game is about dead instead of as a way to create a tail. If you want a tail, you need constant advertising, at least for big budget games.
How is the budget shit any different from what movies went through?
Posts
For strippers certainly.
Here you can see how Sega was pushing Castle of Illusion, and this new thing called Music Video Games.
Which branch of EA do you work for? Because I know people who work at bioware austin who, without saying anything that'd jeopardize their job, paints a bleak picture of working for EA.
Although, to be fair, from experiences I've had with other friends working for EA, my evaluation of EA was already quite low.
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
Steam: CavilatRest
560 seems like a really high number of viral marketers. A well managed team could probably get similar results with a tenth of that number.
Have no difficulty believing that companies are trying to influence discussion on popular forums like GAF, Reddit, 4chan and here. You can sometimes pick them out, particularly when certain kinds of messaging keeps getting repeated or negative discussions get shutdown or sidetracked.
Plus it was a way of maintaining his cover.
Anyone who doesn't think such people is around is a fool.
Oh that's just nonsense.
Of course there are certain products that don't need them, such as the excellent Microsoft® XBOX 360® Entertainment System.
ME3 not doing well? Yeah, everyone hates the ending, but I don't buy the argument overall sales have been bad, though honestly I didn't even think that was a remote possibility so haven't checked. It's kind of like how "everyone" pretty much agrees Avatar was smurfs in space with appropriate complexity, but it still sold like crazy. I had friends who admitted it was pretty bad on certain levels, story first of all, but still saw it multiple times in the theatres.
I mean I'm going to go out on a limb here and speculate he was fired because he was the kind of guy who throws a bitch fit about being fired. On a job that most people politely refer to as "corporate shill". I mean hell, his defense was "this place was a shithole anyways" to lying to everyone for a living. I'm going to try that argument next time Tube infracts me for rambling in the wrong thread again.
I mean they're getting cupcakes, how can it be a bad thing.
....how much is 5000 bioware points? Do they ever have them on sale? >_>
No I wouldn't.
Shut up me.
Pay me now.
I'll moderate the argument for a small monetary fee
And a penalty payment for all the bytes you used up as well.
Oh and the paper work is two dollars too.
Then again, almost half the reason I bought the game was because of the bitching. I was always going to get the game to finish the fight, but the insane furor actually added to it. Because damn, it's just one of those things you feel compelled to see for yourself.
Sneaky.
Bioware does that dumb 80 points to the dollar thing, and I recall them going on sale once ages ago and the never again.
To be clear, I never used alts or lied here. I think LewieP ended up winning the competition in the end.
I can't speak for this EA guy, but feel free to ask questions or whatever.
Were your names ben0017 - ben0207?
Alright, here's one I can get out without an insult attached: "How well did it pay?"
As writing jobs go it was awful. Activision wanted the writing to be "edgy" and "cool" and "on the cutting edge" and be "obviously passionate about music and games" except:
- no swearing
- no mention of games other than activation properties
- no mention of music other than that featured in guitar hero 1 - 3
- activation read everything before it's published and take at least 24 hours
It was a nightmare. The viral / shilling felt bad man, but at least it was interesting.
-crazy rules about what you can and can't say when dealing with the public
-actively review what you do
-are constantly trying to do whatever possible to appease stockholders
-are constantly trying to find any possible way to save every penny
It's shitty and it sucks, but I really don't see this as unique to the game industry. I mean, the above description sounds like ANY marketing type work I've ever done, and makes total sense in context. They want it to be edgy and cool, but they obviously don't want you to mention OTHER companies, games that are not the game you are trying to promote, they don't want you to swear, and they want to check your work...which all seems really, really standard.
I just always end up reading these stories about long hours and stuff and can't muster up any outrage, because it seems that's kind of the way most people are treated until they get high enough up to either change it, or just do it to those below them all over again.
I dunno, maybe having a bad job has made me jaded, but this all always sounds like complaining about stuff that's really no different anywhere you go to me and just comes off as whiny.
-crazy rules about what you can and can't say when dealing with the public
-actively review what you do
-are constantly trying to do whatever possible to appease stockholders
-are constantly trying to find any possible way to save every penny
It's shitty and it sucks, but I really don't see this as unique to the game industry. I mean, the above description sounds like ANY marketing type work I've ever done, and makes total sense in context. They want it to be edgy and cool, but they obviously don't want you to mention OTHER companies, games that are not the game you are trying to promote, they don't want you to swear, and they want to check your work...which all seems really, really standard.
I just always end up reading these stories about long hours and stuff and can't muster up any outrage, because it seems that's kind of the way most people are treated until they get high enough up to either change it, or just do it to those below them all over again.
I dunno, maybe having a bad job has made me jaded, but this all always sounds like complaining about stuff that's really no different anywhere you go to me and just comes off as whiny.
Alex Navarro? Thought he was one of the Gamespot evacuees.
Left Gamespot a bit after Gerstmanngate, joined Screened and occasionally helped with Giant Bomb, currently working for Giant Bomb/CBSi out of their New York offices.
Yeah, it's just that Zen's comment made it sound like he's new to video games. Dude's an old hand, and responsible for one of the greatest video reviews of all time. He's winner.
You wouldn't know that from SE++
I'm not in the middle of one of my 'what's going on in SE++' periods, so I've got no idea what that's referring to..
You can't say this and then not tell us what it was for and/or link it.
Steam: MightyPotatoKing
Yeah, I was just drawing it out for attention
Including both retail and digital sales, Gravity Daze has sold 100k.
So thats like... What, a 1:6 game:system ratio? I mean that isn't too shabby at all.
Sure wish it was out here already.
The tail has little to do with used games. Most sales are within the first week if not first few days. This is true even on the PC barring drastic price cuts like on Steam. Anybody who really wants it just picks it up in the first few days. Unless there is really strong word of mouth or price cuts before everyone has forgotten about the game and advertising for the game is dead, there isn't any reason to expect there to be a decent tail. They only do price cuts when the game is about dead instead of as a way to create a tail. If you want a tail, you need constant advertising, at least for big budget games.
How is the budget shit any different from what movies went through?
Say the same one Warcraft is on.