"GDC 2013: EA miniboss says DRM is 'a failed dead-end strategy'"
Based only on that headline, I was going to say something like "Well, that's a good sign, I guess." But then I read the actual article. Why couldn't John Riccitiello have taken this Frank Gibeau asshole with him when he left? *sad/mad face*
The gist: EA, or at least Mr. Gibeau, essentially accepts no responsibility for the SimCity always-online debacle, and blames it all on Maxis (which, uh, is part of EA and under EA management, last I checked). The only thing I agree with is his assertion that DRM is "a failed dead-end strategy; it’s not a viable strategy for the gaming business." If, however, I thought he actually believed that, and that this wasn't some corporate mandate handed down to Maxis from on-high, it'd be different, but I don't buy it for a second. He's just trying to throw Maxis (or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say "Maxis" with "air quotes" here) under the bus. Frank Gibeau is just yet another empty suit in a long, long line of empty suits who have tried to claim that they weren't trying to ram through an inane DRM scheme when what they were really doing was totally trying to ram through an inane DRM scheme. Essentially, what I'm saying here is that I think what Mr. Gibeau is saying there is more than adequately described by Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park.
SimCity is not (or, at least, should not have ever been treated as) a fucking MMO, same as how Diablo III is not a fucking MMO. Neither of those games should have been always-online.
But, anyway, even ignoring the always-online aspect of it, the game apparently just plain sucks regardless. (I wouldn't know, myself, because I haven't played it, but I have no reason to doubt the many, many people who have claimed it as such.)
The gist: EA, or at least Mr. Gibeau, essentially accepts no responsibility for the SimCity always-online debacle, and blames it all on Maxis (which, uh, is part of EA and under EA management, last I checked). The only thing I agree with is his assertion that DRM is "a failed dead-end strategy; it’s not a viable strategy for the gaming business." If, however, I thought he actually believed that, and that this wasn't some corporate mandate handed down to Maxis from on-high, it'd be different, but I don't buy it for a second. He's just trying to throw Maxis (or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say "Maxis" with "air quotes" here) under the bus. Frank Gibeau is just yet another empty suit in a long, long line of empty suits who have tried to claim that they weren't trying to ram through an inane DRM scheme when what they were really doing was totally trying to ram through an inane DRM scheme. Essentially, what I'm saying here is that I think what Mr. Gibeau is saying there is more than adequately described by Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park.
SimCity is not (or, at least, should not have ever been treated as) a fucking MMO, same as how Diablo III is not a fucking MMO. Neither of those games should have been always-online.
But, anyway, even ignoring the always-online aspect of it, the game apparently just plain sucks regardless. (I wouldn't know, myself, because I haven't played it, but I have no reason to doubt the many, many people who have claimed it as such.)