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Project Cars CEO talks about EA attempting to sabotage his company
- Thread starter Alexander DeLarge
- Start date
D
Deleted member 80556
Unconfirmed Member
This is Bethesda levels of bad. Fuck that shit.
At least they were able to carry on forward. Human Head wasn't as lucky after Bethesda.
At least they were able to carry on forward. Human Head wasn't as lucky after Bethesda.
Given the role Patrick Bach was in at the time, I would guess this was actually gross incompetence that was effectively akin to sabotage, though I don't think that has much meaningful difference to the studio involved.
What I mean by that is that Patrick Bach (former CEO of DICE) was put in charge of the "First Person and Racing division" and was tasked with items like "Add sim racing to the Need For Speed franchise". He does so by contracting an external developer, and then signing contracts with them so that they agree not to go to another publisher instead, and that EA at least gets to use their technology and continue on with another developer if Slightly Mad decides to head out the door, securing the business. However, the order comes down that the series is selling badly and the game is canceled, but the issue is that independent developers need six months to negotiate a contract with a new publisher, leaving Slightly Mad totally screwed unless another publisher decides to show them mercy very quickly.
The issue is that you should never sign a developer into a contract like that unless you're 100% confident you will actually publish their next game.
What I mean by that is that Patrick Bach (former CEO of DICE) was put in charge of the "First Person and Racing division" and was tasked with items like "Add sim racing to the Need For Speed franchise". He does so by contracting an external developer, and then signing contracts with them so that they agree not to go to another publisher instead, and that EA at least gets to use their technology and continue on with another developer if Slightly Mad decides to head out the door, securing the business. However, the order comes down that the series is selling badly and the game is canceled, but the issue is that independent developers need six months to negotiate a contract with a new publisher, leaving Slightly Mad totally screwed unless another publisher decides to show them mercy very quickly.
The issue is that you should never sign a developer into a contract like that unless you're 100% confident you will actually publish their next game.
Astral Dog
Member
Fuck EA
Astral Dog
Member
The new one looks more like Wilson, the other was handsomefiedLet's not forget that Mirror's Edge Catalyst had a villain that looked exactly like Andrew Wilson.
Later they changed it.
AcceptableGhost
Member
This is awesome.
No I really think there is only 1 side to the story.
What was everyone's first reaction to hearing his story?
Was it - this sounds like a load of horseshit?
Or was it - yeah, that sounds exactly like something EA would do?
He even directly named the name of the person responsible.
I see no reason or no motive at all for him to just make this up, or even spin it.
Why would you be expecting it given that Slightly Mad has been making Project Cars for a few years now?
NullPointer
Member
I always thought of DriveClub as a kind of spiritual successor myself - in terms of cockpit views, sense of speed, beastial audio, asynchronous competition, and simcade hybrid action, but if you need real tracks and Motorsport, Project Cars 2 looks pretty damn good.
GifGafIsTheBestGaf
Member
Wow and I thought they were getting better, maybe they did but for cover ups
It's not an unreasonable comment. There are a lot of sociopaths in corporate leadership positions. It's an advantage.
andrerobot
Member
I'm pretty sure EA signed the Titanfall deal with Respawn, because they didn't want Vince and Zampella going with another publisher, not because they really wanted to publish their game. And they fucked up the Titanfall 2 launch on purpose, because they wanted their own IP to succeed and bury these guys in the process.
huh, its been a few years and i dont exactly pay attention to every single developer that makes the games i play. well then, pcars 2 is right around the corner!
Herb Alpert
Banned
Wow.
EA is the devil.
The CEO in the video mentioned Robert "Patrick" Söderlund (EA VP) by name as the main devil behind it all.
Wasn't he the asshole doing the EA press conference at E3 this year?
He named his son Luigi
mister slim
Neo Member
If I remember correctly, Shift sold so poorly I got a free copy of it for buying Hot Pursuit. But yeah, there's nothing in it for EA in destroying other companies. Do they care if Slightly Mad go under? No. But they aren't competing with Slightly Mad in any real sense and they don't benefit from pushing them out of the market.
I think it was a corporate decision to give Shift the NFS branding. Shift was pretty damn enjoyable but it should have been free of the expectations of an NFS game imo.
That was what i was thinking. Why didn't you get the 1.5 m and work signed in a contract before throwing out bonuses?
TransTrender
Gold Member
I mean, that's not really what this thread is about. You can argue that you didn't find the game fun, but the whole point of this thread is EA trying to screw over Slighty Mad Studios. Whether you like the game or not, both sequels were made on time without delays, scored 80+% on metacritic, ran well on all platforms, and sounded amazing.
EA has a history of screwing over developers, and I'm sure some devs don't speak out. Recently the TF2 devs spoke out. And we found out a few years ago how EA made that deal with MS behind their back.
Sword Of Doom
Member
A lot of deluded assholes running big companies. Activision also comes across as another profitable yet shit company
Hoho for breakfast
Member
Wow my man. I love it when people come out and tell it like it is. As long as it's the truth.
Now cancelling an announced title is scamming?
xrnzaaas
Member
Depends on what you like, for me it was the only enjoyable NfS after Underground. Besides they marketed Shift 2 as a new IP so if they wanted they could've continue that and release "normal" NfS games at the same time. Forza's example shows there's nothing wrong with alternating between pure arcade and more sim/simarcade title. You get more time for development and you reach more types of gamers.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
Super shady shit. Glad he talked about it in public.
.... this is an EA Bashing thread, and yet you feel the need to go "I hated EA before it was cool"?
.... this is an EA Bashing thread, and yet you feel the need to go "I hated EA before it was cool"?
Necron
Member
I think we have enough evidence to prove how horrible EA is as a publisher - perhaps only surpassed by Activision and Warner Bros. Interactive.
This just isn't surprising anymore. I avoid them when I can... but that 2 player, co-op game (A Way Out) does look extremely good, however.
This just isn't surprising anymore. I avoid them when I can... but that 2 player, co-op game (A Way Out) does look extremely good, however.
He wasn't one of the 5 founding members of Digital Illusions CE, although he was brought in (from Refraction) as CEO for DICE during the late 90's.
And AFAIK, Söderlund sold all his EA shares in 2014:
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/top-ea-execs-sell-shares-as-stock-hits-six-year-high/1100-6419574/
michaelius
Banned
So much amazing studios that eere part of my childhood killed by corporate greed ehh. I`m glad modern EA makes only mainstream crap makes boycotting them super easy.
This might sound like victim-blaming which is definitely not the intention, but it goes to show that you should never take words for granted when dealing with these ludicrous amounts of money, even if you previously had two successful dealings (NFS1/NFS2). Always sign clear contracts, and never fully trust suits.
Herb Alpert
Banned
I've played video games for almost 30 years. I've never ever bought an EA title, and I just realized that few years ago. Never on the NES, neither on the SNES nor the PS2.
I guess this will go on.
I guess this will go on.
TAJ
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Fixed.