"Live Service" and why EU and others should enforce it.

I know this might come as a weird discussion and even pointless, but I would like people from the community's opinion on this.

A little background - me and my friends had a discussion today when playing 2042 about how "Live Service" is being used by game devs as something incredible and amazing, while in reality, it means absolutely nothing. This ends up frustrating players by creating a false sense of post-launch support that never really comes.

So what would happen if governments would start forcing devs to be overall more transparent when it comes to the development of their games? This comes after EU shafted Apple and made them switch from Lightning port to USB-C. And multi-billion corporation had no choice other than to comply. And now the EU is making even more legislation regarding phones.

ANYWAY. So do you think it would be a good idea for the EU and maybe the US to force developers to be more open instead of making false and empty claims?

Lets say EA is announcing Battlefield 6 and baldly claims it will have a "Live Service". Remember how previous Premium titles announced what was coming with the Premium pack straight away? BF4 even released a Premium video showcasing Premium DLCs and content BEFORE the game was actually published. BF3 and BF4 made announcements regarding Premium content stating that it contains X amounts of DLCs, X amounts of maps etc.

I think it would be a good addition to the General Consumer Rights and Protection against unfair commercial practices to force EA to actually show what comes with the so called "Live Service" or DLCs or Past Launch support or whatever another term they will use to add content post-launch.

If EA claims the game will have post-launch content, it must show us its roadmap for the first year of support. Say how many "Seasons" or DLCs will be released during the first year and exactly how many maps they contain.

Failing to deliver on their promises should be penalized with fines or refunds for customers, similar to how warranties work.

This would prevent BF5 and BF2042 disasters where players have been sitting in the dark for 4-6 months with almost total radio silence from devs waiting for an answer when all EA/DICe says is "Working on it, duh"

I know some will say "But game dev is hard". Well, EA is worth 32 BILLION USD. There is no excuse. Either make a good product, or don't. If you release it and its in a garbage state, recall it. Refund all purchases and get back to work. This is how other companies work. If they make a premium product and it doesn't meet the standards? Cancel it and get to fixing.

Don't get me wrong, I praise EA's dedication to BF2042, but it's a long call from what one would consider smooth post-launch content. Delays, delays, bad patches, minimal amount of content, and much more.

discussion

13 Replies

sk1lld
Legend
2 years ago
@UP_LordPlumber

I think the days when EA/DICE are forthcoming with what's going on are long gone. I agree only government intervention will correct this bad behavior. But the gaming corporations have lots of power, so I don't see this happening.

I think the only way we can actually change this is by not spending money on companies that do this but who am I kidding people will always order the next shiny Battlefield.

Bah,
YourLocalPIumber
Seasoned Ace
2 years ago
@sk1lldI wouldn't say gaming corps have too much power. As with Apple example, a company worth mind bending 2.7 TRILLION USD had no choice but to accept EU terms or risk losing a market.

EA already got in trouble with the governments back when Battlefront 2 disaster unleashed with P2W loot boxes and certain countries forced them to stop selling loot boxes. That also spread to other companies such as Blizzard.

So clearly governments have the power to force legislations onto gaming companies
RMEChief
Legend
2 years ago
I doubt governments or legislative bodies would step in for something like this.
Live Service is a loose term and basically a marketing ploy. I don't even know what they advertised at launch and unless they outlined the actual content, there is nothing to hold them to.

Live Service allows studios to release unfinished games, and then complete the development after launch. I doubt that changes because labor is a huge sunk cost and that is an easy way to reduce the number of months you pay a platoon full of developers.
AngrySquid270
2 years ago
@DICE wrote:
WHAT TO EXPECT AFTER LAUNCH
Launch is only the beginning.
We’re taking a new approach to live service with not only a commitment to new content, but a goal of enhancing the Battlefield experience through seasons that will continue to evolve the world of Battlefield 2042.
In our first year of live service, we will deliver four Seasons, with four Battle Passes, four new Specialists, and new locations along with more fresh content. We also intend to deliver updates to Battlefield Portal that will give players more ways to build and share new Battlefield experiences with the world.
That means for Season 1, you can expect a new Specialist, Battle Pass and Portal content, and maybe even some new sights to see as the story of Battlefield 2042 continues to unfold. Expect more details early next year.
During launch we’ll also kick off the Preseason with Weekly Missions and Rewards, Limited Time Modes, featured Creator Spotlights and experiences in Battlefield Portal, and more!
Source:https://www.ea.com/games/battlefield/battlefield-2042/news/battlefield-briefing-get-ready-for-launch
'Live Service' was never a factor in my purchase decision, but had I been swayed by the marketing above I don't think I'd feel cheated. Disappointed they didn't offer more, but probably not cheated/mislead.
We have a couple data points now on what 'Live Service' means to DICE. When DICE mentions Live Service on BF6 during the launch marketing I think we'll all know exactly what we can expect.
YourLocalPIumber
Seasoned Ace
2 years ago
@AngrySquid270Alot of people are still (unfortunately) get mislead with it. They expect Premium Pass level of content. 3-4 maps per season, multiple vehicles and weapons.

That's why I said EA must be forced to spill the beans early.

"In our first year or live service" This first year launched something like 9 months after release with absolutely nothing in between.

Also 0 information in that article about maps or vehicles or weapons. Something that everyone is looking for on the new content drop. Here is what I mean. Look at this trailer. Instead of reading through some corporate BS talk that means nothing, they instead showed you what is coming post launch in less than 2 minutes. And this was posted nearly 3 months BEFORE the game launched. 5 DLCs, each is briefly explained so you know what type of maps would be present. Plus all extra features of premium pass. If that was released for BF6 I would buy it straight away https://youtu.be/eEIWYgA2lbQ?si=5K_8d-QUqHiqzw0x
TG_Maveric2022
2 years ago
Live service is not the elephant in the room. It is just a term to describe something that already existed before the term was coined.
For me the elephant in the room is the problem that started as soon as patching became an easy thing to do with the broadband connections:
Games being released incomplete like an mammal that was born at 75% of its normal gestation period. This result in the "live service" not being focused on expanding the game but instead turning into "Life support" to try to keep the premature game alive long enough that it can finish its gestation outside the figurative belly of its parent.
80uwjx4m1chc
Rising Ace
2 years ago
@UP_LordPlumber
You will never change any of their behaviour unless the Laws change, but, alas, we have too many silly people in power that like so many of the game developers are just plain greedy.
The Consumer Laws do need to change to reflect the digital age and to bring in protection for Consumers regarding digital content, IE If it's not fit for purpose then refunds are due. It's funny though, if you do something to one of their games they can sue you, but they release something that's clearly not finished and it's fine!
They also should be banned from using clearly over edited and made up cinematic trailers where the end product is nothing like those trailers. That should be picked up immediately as False Advertising and Misleading advertising. Again, this appears to be something that's OK when it comes to this industry.
BF2042 is a perfect example of this, it has less than a third of the maps we should have in this kind of game. There is no campaign mode, No Server Browser, the servers are deserted a lot of the time and players that are wise have left because they know this is just utter rubbish and don't like being lied to.
Do you remember this clip making the rounds some years ago? Well it's just as accurate now as it was then Game Makers
OskooI_007
Legend
2 years ago
I think free-to-play and subscription services like Xbox Gamepass and Netflix are the future.
If buying a $70 game then be sure to read how many maps the game launches with. If buying a Season Pass then be sure to read how many maps comes with it.
If it doesn't list how many maps there will be then don't buy it.
80uwjx4m1chc
Rising Ace
2 years ago
I posted to this thread, where has it gone ?
EA_Barry
Community Manager
2 years ago
@80uwjx4m1chc

I pulled a post of yours out of the spam filter, thanks.