Okay, so just catching up on the forum after taking the day to deal with health issues, not asking for sympathy or anything. I love being on these forums for the insights, as well as being able to share my thoughts. Anyone who knows me, or has seen me on these forums over the past years, knows I believe in honesty. If something is good about the NHL version, I give praise where praise is due. If something stinks, or smells off, I will tell it to you straight. I have always appreciated EA_Aljo 's efforts to be as open as they are able to, realizing that in many things, moderator's hands are simply tied. The point in having a forum, is to gather insight into the gamer's side of things, get their thoughts on the product. Honesty is key. If, as a gamer, they choose not to be on the forum, nor share their thoughts, that is totally on that person, and their thoughts are simply lost into the void, that is their choice, if they want their thoughts to be imparted into any kind of change, then they must go onto the forums, its that simple. I appreciate having the forums available to use and to share on. What I don't appreciate is that when feedback is given, it often feels like it is ignored by the devs/EA. Hey, it may be that it is heard and plans are in the works for some of these things to be implemented down the road. If this insight is not shared or communicated in any way with those who are paying hard earned money, at a time when money is getting super tight, then people start to grow frustrated and will react in 1 of 2 ways. Reaction 1 will be to stop sharing feedback and simply go back to an older version of the game, a reaction that could be avoided if someone from the dev team stepped down from on high and gave a glimmer of hope for the requested changes, let people know they were heard. Reaction 2 is almost worse than them not spending money on EA games, it involves getting to the point of frustration where all they do is provide negative feedback, without any positive feedback. This negativity then drives people away from the game, lessening the overall marketability of future titles/products. Again, simply having game devs or those higher up the food chain stop in occasionally to say they hear the concern and it is being worked on, OR having the devs put out videos addressing some concerns and reassuring the consumer that they are appreciated, would go a long way to rebuilding trust. This is basic customer service, and basic marketing. Marketing 101 and Customer Service 101. If EA shares nothing and remains secretive, and fails to share information in a timely manner prior to game launch, well they make their bed and all that. To consumers it becomes a matter of once bitten, twice shy. I continue to play, as there is enough there that I enjoy to act as a distraction from the enormous amounts of pain I deal with daily, again not asking for sympathy, just explaining why I continue to play. If I felt that sharing led to actual change, I would be inclined to share more wish lists that I compile of things people request and have been requesting for years. Sadly, I have not felt like this has been the case, which is no fault of the forum mods, it is the fault of those higher ups, so I see no point in sharing wish lists and wasting time on gathering info to place in them. I have said my piece, EA can take it and leave it, which would seem to be the norm, or they can humble themselves and start showing consumers that they can change their ways and actually care what any of us have to say. I have removed all of my NHL streaming videos and will not be making more until I feel that EA appreciates our feedback. BreakerFamily peacing out.
