Quoteworthy: Notch Knocks "Indie" EA

Sin_Chase · 4 May 2012 at 11:12

arknor said:
but if they were developed independent of publisher funding they are still an indie game no matter who is handling the distribution

Why is it on Steam and not Origin then? :confused:

The bundle could be sold on Steam without EA so why are they approaching EA? Money is swapping hands somewhere and I very much doubt it's Indie devs approaching EA, rather the other way around.

Gimpymoo · 4 May 2012 at 11:17

E.A have became a swear word to me over the last few years. Origin sealed the deal.

My opinion on this is that E.A have noticed the Indie scene growing and seen the respect it gets from its fanbase and thinks "We want some of that pie, why are they not buying our games".

So, they jump into a scene they know **** all about and wonder why the scene go all kung fu on their ***.

E.A HAVE NO PLACE IN INDIE ANYTHING. Any respectable dev can get a better deal elsewhere. It is not like E.A are world renowned leaders for royalty payments.

Their E.A partners programme however is meant to be rather good for physical distribution but for digital distribution, not so much.

The big plus for an Indie dev with E.A is that they have hotlines to the "gatekeepers of gaming" such as Xbox Live marketplace, Steam and PS Network making them rather attractive.

Evilsod · 4 May 2012 at 11:23

Can anyone explain to me why the individual price of the games is £24 but the standard price for the bundle is £48 without the 70% discount? :confused:

iamtheoneneo · 4 May 2012 at 11:28

so hes happy to bash EA a bit for releasing a pack of their own original games, but is all cool with the yogcast twerps who are now making a clone of his game?

whatever Notch.....

Gimpymoo · 4 May 2012 at 11:32

iamtheoneneo said:
so hes happy to bash EA a bit for releasing a pack of their own original games, but is all cool with the yogcast twerps who are now making a clone of his game?

whatever Notch.....

Who are MASSIVE MASSIVE fans of Minecraft and have probably helped contribute to more Minecraft sales then you can ever imagine.

I do not see why Notch would mind.

If I was an Indie dev, I would hate E.A with all my heart.

The newer generation probably just see them as a "Movie studio" making "the big flashy films" and the Indie devs as "arty film makers, making **** films".

orderoftheflame · 4 May 2012 at 11:39

Evilsod said:
Can anyone explain to me why the individual price of the games is £24 but the standard price for the bundle is £48 without the 70% discount?

The games are all on 50% off any way as part of the offer.

Normally £8 each x 6 = £48

50% of £8 x 6 = £24

70% of £48 = £14.40 ish.

Relentless81 · 4 May 2012 at 11:45

Gimpymoo said:
E.A have became a swear word to me over the last few years. Origin sealed the deal.

My opinion on this is that E.A have noticed the Indie scene growing and seen the respect it gets from its fanbase and thinks "We want some of that pie, why are they not buying our games".

So, they jump into a scene they know **** all about and wonder why the scene go all kung fu on their ***.

E.A HAVE NO PLACE IN INDIE ANYTHING. Any respectable dev can get a better deal elsewhere. It is not like E.A are world renowned leaders for royalty payments.

Their E.A partners programme however is meant to be rather good for physical distribution but for digital distribution, not so much.

The big plus for an Indie dev with E.A is that they have hotlines to the "gatekeepers of gaming" such as Xbox Live marketplace, Steam and PS Network making them rather attractive.

Explained it so much better than I ever could

Evilsod · 4 May 2012 at 11:49

orderoftheflame said:
The games are all on 50% off any way as part of the offer.

Normally £8 each x 6 = £48

50% of £8 x 6 = £24

70% of £48 = £14.40 ish.

Ah, I should probably have added them up myself, didn't pay attention to that.

Cutshaw · 4 May 2012 at 11:54

Sin_Chase said:
The bundle could be sold on Steam without EA so why are they approaching EA? Money is swapping hands somewhere and I very much doubt it's Indie devs approaching EA, rather the other way around.

Because they made the choice to do so. For good or ill, they went to EA.

Ken Schachter- Trapdoor Founder said:
Warp was started at the beginning of 2010, we were around 8 people who had left their jobs at big studios and our focus was to create something new and original on our own. At peak the team grew to 16 people. I'd like to clarify that we funded Warp 100% on our own, and that our deal with EA was one of distribution and marketing. We own the IP, and made the game on our terms (final say on all content/schedule/etc.).

A little sidebar on making a downloadable game for consoles:

I'll try to be as transparent as possible without breaking any NDAs here...

If you want your game to be distributed on a console, you have to deal with the platform owner, and ultimately it is their decision wether your title makes it on the service, not yours, even if you fully fund the game yourself. Originally this was our intent, to bring the game to XBLA just as others had before. Now in our minds the lead platform would be XBLA, however if you are a small studio dealing directly with Microsoft, you are at a bit of a disadvantage, and they will ask you for exclusivity. Not comfortable with the idea of only being on one console, we wanted to bring the game to the widest audience possible, and for us that meant consoles and PC. In that case you basically only have one choice, to team up with a publisher, as they are the only entities who are not subject to platform exclusivity. EA can launch a game simultaneously on all three platforms, but I can't.

Not talking about one person in particular, but it seems trying to inject some balanced and critical thought into this thread is going to be pointless.

Neil79 · 4 May 2012 at 12:02

http://indiegames.com/2012/05/ea_indie_bundle_ruffles_feathe.html

Elsewhere, Size Five's Dan Marshall commented with tongue in cheek, "We're simply going to have to come up with a NEW word for 'indie.' One that's clearly-defined and THE MAN can't take away from us."

Alex74 · 4 May 2012 at 12:50

Woah, talk about overreaction

PGdude · 4 May 2012 at 13:02

I just have a problem with EA having the gall to call something with their name on it Indie. There probably isn't an EA Indie bundle on Desura, or other distribution platforms.

Gimpymoo · 4 May 2012 at 13:16

Maybe Valve would be wise to kick E.A off Steam in a suicidal/manical laugh type way?

It is not like they need E.A to make a profit and E.A are just causing them too many issues anyway what with some games not releasing on Steam and some with delayed releases, just makes Steam look poor.

Plus, what with an inevitable Linux launch for Steam, what better way to rile up the nerdy masses before HL Ep3/HL3 release than the "little guy" telling the hated giant around town to "**** off".

My bottom line on all this is that I respect the **** out of the Indie scene, even from my younger days when kids were making games in their bedrooms. I looked upto people like the Darling brothers as a kid myself, probably not the best example as those guys sold out. Do I like E.A remotely aligning themselves with the Indie scene, NO, not one bit.

It was the same corporate suits who tried bullying Notch not too long ago.

orderoftheflame · 4 May 2012 at 13:40

Gimpymoo said:
Maybe Valve would be wise to kick E.A off Steam in a suicidal/manical laugh type way?

It is not like they need E.A to make a profit and E.A are just causing them too many issues anyway what with some games not releasing on Steam and some with delayed releases, just makes Steam look poor.

Plus, what with an inevitable Linux launch for Steam, what better way to rile up the nerdy masses before HL Ep3/HL3 release than the "little guy" telling the hated giant around town to "**** off".

You're just being silly now.. :confused:

Delete anything EA from Steam? Over reaction much?

You know that Valve publish the retail versions of their games through EA I presume? They have no physical distribution network, so they go to people that are very good at doing it. EA and Valve have a much bigger business partnership then you realise. What would Valve gain from it? Nothing. What would they lose? Revenue on a large part of their catalogue.

Valve are far from the "little guys" anyway... I love Valve and dislike EA, but you're talking crazy unobjective fanboyism.

Purdy · 4 May 2012 at 13:44

Sigh, Notch getting attention again over his completely over reactive views.

Gimpymoo · 4 May 2012 at 13:46

orderoftheflame said:
You're just being silly now..

Gimpymoo said:
in a suicidal/manical laugh type way?

Indeed

It was no way a serious suggestion, just a thought, hence the maniacal laugh

I referenced the E.A partners scheme in a previous post and I did acknowledge that as being one part of E.A which delivers as they are probably the best in the world in that sector.

valkynaz · 4 May 2012 at 13:46

Gimpymoo said:
Maybe Valve would be wise to kick E.A off Steam in a suicidal/manical laugh type way?

It is not like they need E.A to make a profit

I'd vouch for EA actually bringing in a decent amount of revenue for Valve, especially with their library of games currently for sale. Alice: Madness Returns, The Sims series, Dragon Age and Battlefield being some.

From a business standpoint Valve have no reason to kick EA off Steam as they wouldn't gain anything other than bad press (or good press from the EA haters) as they pose no threat and bring in extra revenue.

orderoftheflame · 4 May 2012 at 13:49

Gimpymoo said:
Indeed

It was no way a serious suggestion, just a thought, hence the maniacal laugh

My bad.