EA and Marvel have both confirmed they have signed to deal for EA to make multiple action-adventure games for Marvel and Disney.
You can see more about the deal by clicking here.
Now, I’m all for new Marvel games. However, did it have to be EA?
EA is known to be one of, if not, the worst gaming developers in the world so why has Marvel decided EA should take the mantle of the games?
We also know Marvel is in need of a huge comeback after the disastrous Avengers game, do they really believe EA is the one to pull the Marvel gaming universe back out of the water? I can’t see it.
Let’s look at the facts.
1. History – Star Wars
EA was the exclusive developer of Star Wars games. In their tenure, they published 2 Battlefront games, Squadrons, and Fallen Order. Out of the 4, only Fallen Order was successful but this was due to Respawn’s creative nature, not EA’s.
Both of the Battlefront games were major flops. The first one never featured a story and only had limited game modes. The second game was a disaster, even to the point it was thought Disney was ready to step in. The game was filled with greedy, predatory microtransactions. Yes, the game is playable today and is a pretty decent game – however, the beginning does leave a very sour taste in the mouth that’s unforgettable.
Talking about unforgettable, Squadrons is the opposite of that. What a waste of time and resources that game was. So this is it, is this what we’re to expect? 1 good game out of 4? Maybe I’m being pedantic, but EA is known to prove history does, in fact, repeat itself.
2. History – General
Going from the history of the above, we have others to discuss and there’s one major game here. Anthem. This was hyped up to be one of the best games of the 2010 era. It looked amazing and it had everything. When the game dropped, it was everything but. EA can make a damn good trailer but when it comes to the real thing, it doesn’t exactly work out.
They have also killed off several studios as well. On top of that, the Battlefield games have been terrible for years now. It just shows. I know with the number of games and money EA make that there are bound to be mistakes, but they don’t care about their consumers. This leads me to my next point…
3. Predatory tactics
When you think of EA, you only need to look at one place. The FIFA series. Ultimate Team to be specific. To put this into perspective, it’s this game that caused the debate on whether or not packs/loot boxes/orbs or anything with a percentage is classed as gambling. In my eyes, it is. I’ve been hooked on Ultimate Team several times and find myself spending hundreds of pounds in order to pack a good player. The chances though are so low, that it becomes addictive. EA knows this.
It’s why they try to add it to every possible game they release. I know AAA titles need an additional source to create extra revenue. Some games offer season passes and DLC, some sell skins and items (non-gambling) such as Fortnite and others sell items in the game that generally come to so much more than you actually paid for the game in the first place.
We discussed Battlefront and the uproar that happened when they tried this exact thing with the game. I can guarantee you now if the game was successful and no backlash happened – the servers of the game would still be live now. EA is only out to get money and that’s been proved many times before. They neglect certain parts of games when others make more money. It makes sense from a business standpoint but it reflects poorly on the consumer. FIFA again is a prime example of this. Career mode and Pro Clubs get limited updates on the game because they focus all of their attention on bringing out promo after promo on FUT. FIFA 23 has been out a month and we’ve already had Ones to Watch, Road to the Knockouts, Rulebreakers, and Out of Position promos. It’s clear what they’re doing. It means you’re ALWAYS needing to spend to keep up with the meta. Yes, your team might last more than a couple of promos but eventually, its power crept. This is EA.
4. Quality of games
Servers. Servers. Servers. They are barely able to keep up with FIFA at times with the speed-up lags and disconnection from servers. If they’re to take a hit at Marvel games which will presumably be online as well, how are they going to handle it?
I revert back to FIFA because it’s a game I used to play a lot so I know how it can be. You also need to look at mistakes from EA. Very recently they launched a 25k Hero pack on the store which was tradeable, what did EA do to compensate those who didn’t get that opportunity? Nothing. Why? Because they don’t care.
5. Marvel content – can they really make anything good?
We already know an Iron Man game is in the works. I’ll give EA props for this one. This is a solid move from them to create an Iron Man game, but whether or not is GOOD is to be seen. This is it, I’ve shit on EA all articles but they do have the potential to make good games. Nearing the end cycle of Battlefront 2 proves if they JUST did that in the beginning, it would have been a huge success.
The possibilities are endless for what they can do. They will have access to a massive catalog of characters and teams to make a game on. I believe if they focus on the consumer and not just sheer greedy tactics then it could very well be a success, but they need to do that properly. They can’t just shell out a broken game filled with microtransactions and expect the customer to be happy. This isn’t just some random game franchise they have, it’s Marvel. They’ve proved with Star Wars they weren’t cut out for it, I truly hope they have learned their lesson.
6. Vs. Insomniac Games & Square Enix
I’ll begin with Square Enix. They were the ones alongside Crystal Dynamics that made the poor Avengers game. The Guardian’s game was good don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t enough to save them. The Avengers game was one of the worst gaming experiences of the previous generation. If anything, I don’t believe EA can really mess up worse than Square Enix here.
Compared to Insomniac, then it’s a different ball game. Insomniac already shells out Marvel games that are a part of the Sony universe. They currently have Spider-Man and Miles Morales on their portfolio. We still have Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine to come. Both games they’ve released so far have been masterpieces. Why? Because they focused on the gaming experience for their customers and not just being greedy, and it’s paid off for them.
As EA is to make Marvel games they really need to take a picture out of Insomniac’s book. They have created unforgettable experiences with their games, so much so that the hype for the upcoming games is monumental. If they do, then, in the end, I see no reason why the EA and Marvel deal could be a good thing.
Right now though, the normal gamer realizes this isn’t a great move. We’ve had a history with EA and continue to have negative experiences today. I’ve already mentioned that EA is perhaps one of the worst gaming developers in history. They have a lot of work to do to make it right. If they can follow the Fallen Order formula then maybe, just maybe, we can game future EA/Marvel games with memorable experiences.
