Dead Space 2 Remake: EA makes profits, not games.

EA has consigned Dead Space, one of the very best horror franchises in the history of gaming, to oblivion because its sales “did not meet expectations.” So, EA, what were your insanely overpaid executives’ expectations? How were they not met? The remake was well received on Steam, though accurate sales figures are hard to come by. Why won’t EA say truthfully why the rumored Dead Space 2 remake was cancelled? Why won’t they consider funding a Dead Space 4?

EA doesn’t seem to care about what gamers want. I don’t think EA sees gamers as anything more than wallets to be opened and emptied to maximize short-term profits for shareholders. EA isn’t a game publisher anymore. I seriously doubt they care about the quality of the content they’re producing, since the vast majority of their games chase trends and don’t try anything new.

EA executives force unfinished games out the door and fire the blameless developers when those games don’t do well. EA executives force developers to alter their games to follow trends, like forcing a dev that makes excellent single player games into turning what they’re working on into a live service game with endless micro transactions just to make it playable, and when the game doesn’t do well, EA executives close that studio, putting talented developers out of work.

Executive meddling in game design decisions and prioritizing maximum profits over quality and originality is ruining gaming. It sure ruined BioWare, turning the legendary Dragon Age series into yet another poorly written ARPG. EA’s behavior mirrors that of publishers all across the industry, and I’ve had enough.

 I’ve been playing video games since the old Atari consoles and the 386 processor were cutting edge tech. I’ve seen the evolution of the entire game industry, and as soon as industry revenues started reaching tens of billions, the business executives took over and now the vast majority of AAA games are terrible, with many titles in each genre practically identical. 

I will no longer buy games from EA or any of the other major publishers. Indie games may not have the best graphics, but they more than make up for that in creativity. Besides, Larian is an independent developer, and Baldur’s Gate 3 was a bestselling work of art, showing what developers can do when they’re left alone to make the kind of games they WANT to make.

So, EA, go on making the same games over and over again, chasing trends, stifling creativity, abusing developers, and letting your best classic IPs languish in limbo. I’ll save my respect and hard earned cash for developers and publishers that respect gamers and work hard to earn it.