10/06 Update: Since we no longer write for the Edmond Sun, this section is temporarily housing our podcast links for our iTunes feed. All of the columns are in the archives menu if you feel like exploring.

These columns (as well as the 'releases') come from weekly content that we write for the Edmond Sun, out of Edmond, OK (though we live in Chicago). This page contains the archives for said column, many of which are in their pre-published, unedited state. Some titles and editing by Brendan Sinclair.

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I can sleep at night, can you?
Tuesday, March 29, 2005

I have written in this space numerous times about my undying hatred for Electronic Arts. They appeal strictly to the mainstream gamer without any attempt to innovate or actually push the industry forward. They also like to buy promising development teams and use them to build the EA Empire ever larger. If EA stood alone making their sub par games it would be easy to look the other way and enjoy the fruits of worthy developers. However, since they are in a perpetual arms race with themselves, they get their hands on enough quality products that a gamer such as myself, who lets morals guide purchasing decisions as much as quality of game, faces a real dilemma.

This topic is relevant for me now because EA has just released a title that I am frothing at the mouth to buy. Timesplitters: Future Perfect is the third title in the acclaimed series and the virtual descendant of Goldeneye on the N64. Last week I pegged it as my Game of the Week in this column. This week I am forced to watch swarms of anxious gamers rush to its glowing lights, while I sulk in the backgrounds pretending to enjoy my Gameboy Advance. For you see, constructing a pedestal out of my higher ground morality has condemned me to a life of sitting idly in the shadows while the rest of my peers are naively enjoying a fantastic title. Don't think for a moment that I am not jealous of their carefree ways.

So the question is raised – am I ultimately happier standing up for what I believe is right or would a slight lapse in moral judgment cure what ails me? Upon first inspection it would appear that I am a stubborn donkey. Video games are about fun. Why not max out the possible fun I could have by buying every game I have interest in? Seems like a pretty cut and dry proposition, does it not? To further run my own beliefs into the ground, think about this – if the main reason I hate EA is because they refuse to make games worth buying, why not reward them when an original title is finally released?

These are the arguments I have heard from countless people any time they hear I am actively boycotting the uncaring behemoth. Most people simply cannot understand why I trouble myself by boycotting a company that racks in billions of dollars in profits every year. The art of consumer activism may work when Mom and Pop stiff me a dime in change, but not buying a $50 game from EA is like coughing on someone who has Ebola. For all my yelling and stamping of my feet, I don't think the higher ups at EA are worried about the harm I am doing to their corporation.

Even still I continue to boycott EA. Though my boycott may only prevent me from buying a few games I would really enjoy, I continue to live without those games and tell anyone who will listen that it is wrong to support EA. Why do I type until my fingers are blue rather than play until I see the same results? Because I love video games too much to sit by idly and condone what Electronic Arts is attempting to do. This industry cannot survive without creativity and originality.

Electronic Arts is good at making money because they don't take any chances. They do a little bit of market research, see what types of games are selling well, and then release their version of the title. Fans of EA are probably reading this right now and shaking their heads. EA doesn't merely copy their competitors, right? Think again. NFL and NBA Street are simply Blitz and NBA Jam with a hip hop soundtrack. Lord of the Rings is a straight forward hack and slash set in Middle Earth. The Sims, brainchild of Will Wright, was an original title that deserved the praise it got. But then in typical EA fashion they churned out minor updates until it became a joke. From Sims University to Urbz, they have dutifully run that franchise into the ground.

If I buy EA products I am allowing vanilla titles like these to populate store shelves. Furthermore, I am preventing original titles from coming out in the future. As EA gets bigger they buy more and more companies. Westwood and Origin, two of the most influential PC developers from back in the day, were bought and dismantled by Electronic Arts. While the original employees no longer work there, EA continues to milk the lucrative franchises they created. You may remember Command and Conquer and Ultima being great games. Well, not after EA got their hands on them.

Depriving yourself of the occasional fun title may not be for everyone, but I would rather miss out on the latest Timesplitters than fund EA's destruction of the industry I love. And remember, if you must buy EA titles, buy used.

- Tom


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