When does the Season 20 hype start?
We are 2 weeks out and there is literally nothing out there other than speculation about the new legend (Cave), the new map (codenamed 'District'), and some snippets about the Battlepass. Not that I...
Forum Discussion
Wow, that statement from the advisor is really tough.
Then, my friends, I believe that all dissatisfied players will have no chance of improvement in the near future.
Why are players investing so much money if the game is getting worse and worse? Is the perception problem with us or them?
As @ComicBookGuy2727 has already said: the best chance would be if revenue were to fall. But from EA's point of view, the numbers are right and everything is going great.
EA is too big, but can't we buy Respawn?
So I can only repeat my last sentence: If you are no longer satisfied, then find another game!
@saurerDropsXXL
"Why are players investing so much money if the game is getting worse and worse? Is the perception problem with us or them?"
It's probably a little bit of both. There are many players in this game who login once or twice a week, or once or twice a month. They're casual, they float from one title to the next depending on where their friends are, on what peaks their interest at any given time, on what their favorite streamers are playing. And that kind of player is probably unaware of a lot of the things that irritate a more consistent player. I'm also pretty sure age has a lot to do with it. Ten year old kids, of whom there are a lot in this game, don't really care about aim assist, or glitchy audio, or probably even about ranking systems. They care that there IS a ranking system, but probably don't much concern themselves with how it works, or if it's better or worse now than it was ten seasons ago. And I'd also be willing to bet that these same kids are the ones making up the lion's share of store sales. Every day that I play I get matched up with some level 15 player who has his Octane kitted out like his dad OWNS Respawn.
And then you have the older, more experienced, more regular players. Like you. Like me. But even with people like us there can be big differences in focus which cause big differences in the experience. As an example, I almost never play ranked and don't give a hoot whether they create a ranking system that people love or hate. It just doesn't matter to me. I've never experienced the audio issues people talk about. I definitely have experienced most of the nightmare scenarios that matchmaking can cook up, but usually not for long, and none of them are any worse than any other game I've played. Once in a while I come across an opponent who I'm 90% sure is cheating, but it seems pretty rare to me. I'm told I'd notice more if I played mixtape, but, like ranks, arena game modes hold no fascination for me.
So I see most of the problems, but I experience them less I think than most other players. And I don't ever pump money into the game so I'm never rage quitting a match and thinking, "I can't believe I paid money for this!" Because I didn't. I'm all for finding a game I like better, but so far I'm not seeing anything that would justify abandoning all the time and effort I've put into learning this game. Especially when I still have so much more to learn.
- @reconzero I am not investing any money in Apex until they start addressing the fundamental issues with the game and start pricing some of the content reasonably. Hundreds of dollars for an heirloom deathbox when your matchmaking, servers, audio, and anti cheat have been left broken for years? No thanks!
@HappyHourSumwur I agree with you but we need to also see it from company perspective. Apex was not made by some garage community funded company. Whole idea of Apex is to generate money for EA. Only income they get from the game is the cosmetics sales. How would you feel if EA would be selling audio & matchmaking patches for 50 dollars? Competitive integrity and so on...
But dont get me wrong. I too feel that more money should be invested in the things you list below. But the issue is that EA is just too big stock company to do such things. Big execs & shareholders only see it as numbers game. And that numbers game is not the player numbers, its only the money numbers. Only thing that they care about is the profit. Should the devs / game directors try to make the game actually better (added cost + no direct income numbers like how much more sales we got from this audio patch) they risk losing their jobs. So in my opinion its not so much about their ability or interest to fix things but how the funding is allocated. Ive worked at higher level in big companies like EA (different industry) so I know the mindset.For you its just a pastime where you get frustrated about the matchmaking. For devs its livelihood. What a life to be a dev. Get manured on and harassed by internet randos because of free to play game that your boss doesnt give you the funding or approval to do something about it.
@Airish85I understand the revenue model and would have no issue buying coins each season if the balance of the devs work was more on things that had value for me. It is more about the core experience for me than the window dressing of cosmetics. Their pricing is basic Economics 101 where they've priced me out of that market. I don't view them as luxury items where higher pricing would drive demand up. Many of them aren't really "micro transactions" anymore and thats an issue.
I look at live service games as entertainment investments. If I haven't seen an adequate return over time, I'm less likely to invest moving forward.
Of course EA wants to earn money. It should.
But the players' point of view/fear should not be forgotten: they don't want to invest money in a game in the hope that there will be enough money left over for the developers (to make long-awaited improvements), only to realize in the end that the "more" money disappears as profit into the pockets of the company bosses or shareholders (and nothing improves in the game).
Especially in the USA, they say "the market will sort it out". What if the market forces are out of action here? That only leaves the press, but I don't think EA cares about its image either.
If EA were demonstrably more concerned about the wishes of the players and could not make the improvements due to a lack of money, I would have a suggestion. But I don't want to say it, because an EA employee might read it and incorporate it into the game, and EA would rake in even more money without improving anything.
- @reconzero
Well, if you were looking for an arena third-person shooter, I could tell you the one I'm playing as a replacement for Apex...unfortunately I can't help you.
In fact, I've only become calmer because of this Apex alternative. Not because I invested money in Apex, but because I realized that my problems in Apex didn't necessarily have anything to do with me, but more with the game. In S8, the Apex world was practically perfect for me. I think it was good to ok until S12. It got more difficult until S15 and from then on it became more and more unfair and exhausting. - @saurerDropsXXL
Likewise, I can't claim to be enjoying the game more now than I did eight or ten season ago. But unlike you, I'm not at all certain how much of my discontent is the game and how much of it is my own personal burnout. I keep thinking I should take a season off, but then what would I do with my spare time? Read a book? I'm not even sure I remember how to read at this point. Nope, I just keep playing because I've always played. It's just what I do. And I don't hate it. I often wish things were different, better even, but they're not a total disaster as they are. Not yet. - @HappyHourSumwur There's a YouTube trailer dropping Monday.
