An Open Letter to EA Marketing - Why EA's Controversial Ads Harm the Industry - Extra Credits 

Seems like EA didn't watch your video...

The problem with EA is that it's no longer run by electronic artists. It's now run by stuff suit corporate executives who know less about gaming than the couch I'm sitting on. On top of that they consult marketing departments who know even less about gaming than they do. 

I literally forgot that EA stood for Electronic Arts. Their tag line was once "Challenge Everything." I think someone interpreted it the wrong way somewhere down the pipeline.

*Reads EA Letter* ...What the fuck happened?

Remember children you can't spell "STEAL" without EA, that's what i learned so far from playing a few of their titles.

in 2018 this video is even more true

Almost 5 years later .... I wish to have back THIS version of EA. God almighty they've become a terrible company

That quote made me cry at how far EA has fallen. And I'm at a computer. So 'grats EA, you did it...I guess.

I have to say, those last few minutes made me depressed.

It's 2021 and EA has only gotten worse as we discover how most employees are treated like disposable goods.

its like one of those episodes where you see the childhood of the main villain. seeing them happy and comparing it to the monster you know. After the dantes inferno example, I forgot it was being told by EA till the end of it. powerful stuff

7:08 Hey look! Dante's in EA's headquarters! EA: Evil Abominations

This was released 5 YEARS before Battlefront II. The world never changes.

I look at EA twelve years ago and EA today and think "where did they go wrong." (To put it politely.)

3:55 "A newly humbled EA..." I actually laughed out loud when you said that. I know it was a set-up for your Deadspace 2 joke but you managed a brilliant oxymoron. Well done, Extra Credit.

I'm old enough to remember EA being creative and a mark of quality.. these days it's means a soulless corporation giving as little as it can get away with and trying to make the most money from it.

This aged better than wine

I personally think, that them buying companies and stabbing them in the back thus destroy good franchises sucks much more then their marketing. Seriously Origin, Pandemic, Bullfrog...all died because of the buying and backstabbing them later on. No more, new Ultima, Wing Commander, Theme Hospital, Dungeon Keeper, SpellForce....thank you EA for ruining studios and still holding the rights to them ...Electronic Arses.

Watching this video for the first time in 2015, I see that EA really hasn't improved, and Ubisoft is starting to follow in their footsteps.

I hope Valve do not fall down the same path as EA. EA had it time when it was the game company people looked up too, and I know that valve has been around for quite a while and are so far doing good, I hope they don't screw up eventually.

WHOA! I did not hear about the marketing for Dantes Inferno. That is just insulting to everyone. I knew EA were scum bags but... I didn't know it was this bad. Oh by the way, I'm just going to say it. I thought the Dead Space 2 ad was just funny, but you guys are right it does make the more mature players look bad.

4:39 im younger than 13 and i still find that insulting

This is, in my opinion, the main problem with the game industry. People see games as a product, like any fruit or toy, instead of as a form of art. They make them not to make something beautiful but to make money. Thats why we have so many CoDs. There is no real solution to this since in the end companies will always be more inclined to what nets them the most cash in the easiest manner so they will never change.

every time I watch this, I cry. not the cutesy 'I cri errytim' internet bullshit, but real tears of bitter loss. not many... and not long... but enough to remind me about how deeply beautiful this medium can be, and how much we've lost by having such a big player act so juvenilly. sigh... ...well. at least we have ValvE.

Samsung's marketing is far worse. I love their technology but the moronic ads make me feel like an idiot.

8 years later, EA still does the same thing. (For the money)

I know by this point a lot of viewers only know EA as the hated company they are today. But what he said about EA's beginning is true. The founder of EA, Trip Hawkins, always seemed to be seeing the industry about 10 years down the road. He looked at the simple space shooters and maze games of the era and knew in his gut that we would have amazing experiences decades later like The Last of Us. The 80's were actually a pretty magical time for EA. They used to put their games into big vinyl record-sized sleeves (like the M.U.L.E. case mentioned) because they wanted them to be viewed in the same way as music and other forms of art. Hawkins left EA in the early 90's to form 3DO, which itself was a couple of years ahead of its time and suffered for it. EA was never really the same after he left it. The accountants took over and it has all been about maximum profit at all costs since. I do understand that they are a business and need to make profits but it seems like they keep hurting themselves for it when they really don't have to.

This aged like fine wine unfortunately

To quote Yahtzee "Electronic Arts. ARTS. ARRRRRRRTS!!"

It's 2020 now, and this video sounds like a sad joke, which is made even sadder by the fact it isn't. When it was 2012, we thought EA couldn't fall any lower. So we did in 2014, '15, '16, '18. They will not seize to amaze us at just how low one can stoop to make a quick buck. This company is not salvageable. I sincerely hope it consumes itself in its unsustainable, reckless chase after all the money in the world, and on its ashes, better companies rise. Let EA milk dry all of their precious little whales, stretched thin among rising scumbag competition. Let them lose it all when gambling for worthless digital rubbish finally becomes illegal. Let them realize at the very last moment that all of the quick buck opportunities are gone, and they have nobody to back them up, and nobody to sell their shit to anymore. Let them fall. Oh, and EA, while you're falling, be sure to grab Activision/Blizzard and Konami with you. You all are worth each other.

The problem is that EA really sees its audience as such: Immature 13 year old pimple faces that won't ever move out of their mom's basement. And bluntly, their games even reflect that attitude, not just their ads. Look at their portfolio. Then tell me which of these titles would actually fit a mature gaming population that care about character depth, an intriguing story line and subtle bits of information that you might only really grasp after playing it a few times through, with different angles only becoming evident as the player understands the various viewpoints of different actors, or at least different angles to view a problem? None of their games offers anything that's deeper than a kiddy pool. Hell, most of their games are essentially the same as the game released a year earlier with the main difference being the year's number slapped at the end of the title.

It's odd to see EA portrayed in such a positive light.

did anyone else find that worst day of Christmas odd

So glad I decided to rewatch all of these from the first season. Watching this episode has shown me that EA has lost their way considerably more over the past few years.

I wonder if EA currently feels a sense of pride and accomplishment for their games.

I'm trying to coin a new phrase. "At least they didn't pull an EA" For instance. "Those terrorists crashed a plane into a school, sure. But at least they didn't pull an EA and put terrible DRM on the plane". It works for pretty much everything.

"It looks like something that would make someone insane." NO, it's not. It's bloody, disturbing, and violent, sure, but games do not make people insane.

I had shivers running down my back when he read the article. Seriously. But well, things change, especially if people turn pessimist.

Oh poor poor innocent narrator...

With your latest video as of writing you really went back on your words...

here we are, 8 years later and they are horrible, even worse

watching this in 2017... it hurts...

EA needs to fire their marketing team.

I wonder what Extra Credits would think of EA's latest marketing campaign of Battlefield. You know the whole ' We want to outsell activision '. I wasn't aware of these campaigns for Dante's inferno and dead space. But now , I guess i understand the reason behind Battlefield's way of marketing.

that end hit me hard. the entire video got more serious with the end addition.

wait what about all the other ones? **Notices video is 8 years old** Oh.

I dont think half of the EA employees ever played a game.

That's some deep shit, just one problem, EA doesn't give the faintest e-ff about it's customers. It's objectives are quite clear, make as much profit as posible with the least effort (time and money). They know what they're doing, if they did care about their customers then they wouldn't mess the poor bambies who seek help from customer support and get threatened later with a perm ban to their account if they continue to pursue their dilemma (which is called blackmail btw which is a crime no matter whatever their TOS contains). And lastly, the reason why EA treats it's customers like poop is because the customers let themselves get treated that way. For example the relationship between EA and it's customers is akin to the relationship between an abusive boyfriend and an abused girlfriend, EA abuses it's customers, milks them for every penny they can get (proof is those truckoloads of DLCs, pay to win multiplayer as well DRM) and those bambies keep coming back, buy another game,play, get horrified at how much it sucks, go lick yours wounds for a little while then restart all over. So, in conclusion, it's not just EA's fault, it's also the customers fault for being idiotic enough to buy their god dam game expecting for a positive change. If people want EA to change (zero chances by my standards) thn they got to start deciding with their wallet. - To all people, as well retards who buy stuff from EA only to complain later, and repeat the same thing over and over. Grow an e-ffing brain or don't complain at all.

This is such a well-thought-out and moving video. Thank you, Extra Credits. You have a new subscriber.

I think that extra credits is timeless that's why I am watching inn 2021!

* insert $50 overpriced DLC here for battlefront*

As a gamer i've already decided to just not buy anything from EA, even tho i like some of their game's ideas and i could potentionaly buy it, if it were from other company. Because that's really what matters. If we as gamers just wont buy their stuff, only then they will really have an urge to change their ways.

Perception is a key idea here in EA's big issues. Their marketing and money bag divisions are definetly repulsive, but if we look at the company as a whole through those terms, it does no one favors. I would actually like to know who was on the marketing team for EA during those radical marketing events. I wouldn't be surprised if they were the same people.

5 years later, and EA hasn't changed. For this reason, I still hate EA. Might even hate it more than Activision. EA, or Electronic Arts, has not lived up to its name.

I loved his voice at "You know how hard..." Just the incredulity.

"we shall rally around you" nope sorry. hail steam. hail Gabe Newel

I just buy EA's games, review them poorly, and then get refunds. I do this repeatedly, and return the games so soon that I get all of my money back in order to perpetuate the cycle. Thus, I lower the company's ratings overall. I once ordered 100 copies of Dante's Inferno (all under different names), reviewed it under those names, and returned it under those names.

EA doesn't care. They never did. They never will. If it is on me I intend never buying anything related to them. But Dead Space was a good game. EA's sadly.

I wonder what the EC crew would think of some of EA more recent actions...

No other entity has done more damage to games than EA, I would NEVER rally with them.

I get the vibe that EA's management is simply very ineffective. Surely the people who build the games have heart for the business, but those aren't the same people who market that stuff. I think the people who marketed the games simply only gazed at ten minutes of gameplay, took the most shallow idea they had and tried to sell that to the audience. If they'd have worked together with the people who designed the game from scratch, they'd know what the game is all about, what it tries to be and how the audience should perceive that. I'm not saying that the designers should do the entire campaign for the game, I'm merely suggesting that the marketeers should have a good conversation with the developers before they start campaigning. After all, nobody knows the gaming community better than the people who develop the games.

Hmm... makes me wonder. If the artists of old EA are rolling in their graves for what EA currently does. I mean, they probably already had a heart attack because of it, so rolling in their graves might be the only thing left for them to do... :-/

After playing Dragon Age Inquisition I can see how EA may have the budget, but not the "magic". I compared DAI to Witcher 1 & 2, although these games would be grouped as similar; you can see and feel the difference. DAI doesn't look bad and got me to spend many hours on it, but I just never felt like I was in its world. DAI makes you feel like a boss in a gang, go over there you four and F*ck that guy up. If the situation ever got too hot, you ran like a coward and left your posse behind; don't feel bad though, you don't have to deal with the guilt of having them perish for they will magically teleport to your side after you run far enough away from the action. The Witcher series by contrast pulls you in and makes you feel that you are not only in the game's world, but you have influence in it. Your choices shape the near and distant future of the story, which gives you a sense of ownership over your adventure. The combat feels like a live-and-die by your sword (and magic) situation, not a mob beat down. Plus the Witcher series (especially the third game) has that re-imagined look at classic monsters and myths, the specters aren't your typical misty ghosts, vampires look like actual man-sized bats, etc. Now I hear terrifying rumors that EA wants to purchase my Oasis-of-good-game-developer CD Projekt Red !!!!!! NO ! We can NOT have that. I wish Project RED would let us know how much money they would need to NOT get in bed with EA; I know for damn sure I'd chip in and send money to them.

Your juxtaposition of the old EA statement against its more modern advertising was superb. I think this is one of the best episodes you have ever done. Thank you. :)

"You were working with one of the most compelling pieces of literature in western tradition." I'm thinking maybe... just MAAAYYBE, that's what they shouldn't have done in the first place. It's setting yourself to literally THE highest bar.

That last part got to my feels.

Update: EA is still relevant, but not in the way it wants to be.

You know, as much as I despise EA, I wonder just HOW Activision has flown under Extra Credits' radar. They haven't learned jack shit either; look at the franchises they have destroyed for short-term gains.

2012: This is bad, you gotta stop this 2015: You hit rock botton, it cant get worse 2018: I was wrong! Congratas for being the worse tech support company of 2018 and don't get me started on SIMCITY, SIMS or Battlefront

My childhood was pretty much every Maxis game. Rest in Peace, old friend.

Its been 9 years since this video came out.... Wow...

There is Satire and then there's this abomination of an _"ad"_

I have unoffically changed their names from EA (electronic arts) to CA (Con Arts) join me in making this a thing. It's like EA is the plague of the gaming community and they make me sick to my stomach.

Am I the only person who can't stop watching episodes because I keep saying "Oooooh, just one more, I mean it's an extra!" Marketing=success

For some reason, this video makes me cry every time I watch it.

This is quite possibly the saddest episode of EC. When did the people who wrote those words sell their souls to the corrupt mass that is EA? It happened quite some time ago, because they had already killed Westwood and others by the time I got into playing Video Games.

Can you do a 2018 version of this video? With updates relating to the last 8 years?

I used to LOVE the first Harry Potter games and The Hobbit. Those were the games from my childhood (well, those, the early Lego games, and AOE). Later on, I played and enjoyed Spore. Seriously... what happened?

8 years later, and they've just gotten worse, they've gone from trying to piss off everyone outside of gaming, to pissing off all of gaming as well. And yet, somehow, the company is still afloat. I don't understand this.

1:36 hell is not a game doom: about that...

3:10 This statement didn't age well

The only video game company(s) I would rally around would be Nintendo/Valve.

The year is 2018. Guess how well EA is doing now?

I hate to call anyone a sellout, but Electronic Arts might very well be the best example of a sellout that I can currently think of.

You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

When did EA forget what they were founded on?

The ea letter makes me sad knowing how great ea once was.

"see you next week!" last online 3 years ago

I have to agree, EA Games pretty much went Jimmy Kimmel on their buyers, albeit I do live with my parents, I'm not a 12 year-old in the basement, I'm a 20 year-old with 2 jobs and graduated valedictorian from my school, and if EA reads this. Show your buyers some respect, we're adults, and not only are you treating us like children, but committing federal crimes doing so! Selling an M-rated game directly to minors, as the Dead Space 2 "Your mother will hate this" ad campaign was not only, as many people on the comments section here mentioned, tacky and distasteful, but was in direct violation of the M-rating it had clearly received by that point. I know I'm being hyper-legalistic, and honestly, I believe that with the proper sit-down and discussion for it, even games as horrible and taboo as Dante's could be used as teaching tools, not only for design, but to encourage people to sit down and read the Divine Comedy, for one example, or Dead Space 2 and 3, or Spec Ops: The Line to teach children the real-life horrors of PTSD and other brain disorders, and help explain to children of soldiers why they're fathers or mothers are different now that they're back and having to re-adjust to civilian life. I'm probably just being hopeful, but I can see even horrible games being used to help teach subject matter in a way that will probably get through to more kids than a book or a movie will. I know I went all over the place and I apologize for any bad grammar I may have used, but this is my two cents, take it as you will.

I'm so glad I completely missed those advertising campaigns. I'd have sacked the entire marketing department if I were in charge.

EA!! WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU CREATED!? YES, GO BACK TO YOUR ROOM! YOUR GROUNDED! FOR. LIFE.

In short, EA is a corporate shell of what it once was.

I risk starting a flamewar by posting this, and i know the marketing on Dante's Inferno was really, REALLY bad, but i still think EA's marketing on Dead Space 2 was the worst. "The game your mom wouldn't want you to play!"? Excuse-me, Mr. "I have great ideas about marketing" marketing team, but i don't need my mom to aprove the games i want to play. You need MY APPROVAL to get me to buy your game. I'm a grown man, with my own job, with my own income, i play games because i like them, not because someone told me not to. I buy games with my own money, if i like them, otherwise i use my money on something more useful, like a gift for my mom on mother's day. Of course she wouldn't like violent, gory games, so we have an unspoken rule: I don't bother her with my games, and she won't bother me with her new age spiritualism and channelers (Which i don't like, BTW). I played Dead Space 2 despite this terrible marketing, the only thing the ad achieved was to annoy me. On the other hand, I've never played Dead Space 3 due to the terrible choice of adding microtransactions in the game. A single player story driven game! That killed it for me. Despite making a donation in the Humble Bundle Origin, i've still not played this game. EA's like the Midas king with a twist: Instead of turning everything into gold when EA touches it, it turns everything into a well known organic compound mixture...

I genuinely miss the Electronic Arts of the late 80s and early 90s. I remember the original corporate logo and expecting great things, and was very well satisfied! It is still possible to gain this level of notoriety again.

I'm watching this in December 2017, thinking "oh my sweet summer child..."

DAMN.... that last bit... just... DAMN

Dear EA, You are a blight upon the gaming community. Your shady business practices have crushed the dreams of developers and your rushing of sub-par or not ready games have alienated thousands of people, many of whom once considered you a terriffic company. You are the embodiment of evil, a symbol of avarice and greed that shows the lowest of man's folly. You are a plague which must be erradicayed. You deserve nothing less than to crash and burn, torn asunder by the customers you treat like criminals. There is a special place reserved in Hell for you. Sincerely, A Very Pissed Off Comsumer

think the letter got lost in the mail

( 3:55 ) ''Humbled''... Haha ! **snikers** Ahhh, right... Sigh. Right. ''Newly'' Humble.

EA 2017 to EA 2012, "Hold my beer..."