posted in Technology
EA staff fear new Saudi Arabia owners will police their games: "Projects just won't get signed because they don't align explicitly with what the Saudi government wants"
www.gamesradar.com/games/ea-staff-fear-new-saudi-arabia-owners-will-police-their-games-projects-just-wont-get-signed-because-they-dont-align-explicitly-with-what-the-saudi-government-wants/
It is so funny to me that the Saudis would invest into a creative industry that thrives on letting artists make what they think is right and then forbid them from doing that. And also expect that industry to then operate profitably, even though they just removed the basic foundation of that industry.
But there is no talking and arguing with people like that, so we can just get popcorn, watch and enjoy the Schadenfreude.
Has EA really made creative games recently though? I’m looking at their recent games list and it’s mostly: Madden, EA Sports, The Sims 4 DLC, NHL, Battlefield, Plants vs Zombies, etc. Sequels and remakes basically. With notable exceptions by subsidiary companies like Split Fiction.
Like, if you’re going to buy any company, the one where you make almost the exact same game every year and everyone still buys it is probably a safe bet.
I kind of hope they make a Sims 5 that has limits on what female characters can aspire to, no LGBT+ relationships, etc, purely for the backlash that would ensue. It’s a big ecosystem that they could really screw up.
Sims 5 DLC: Arranged Marriages & Harems
Sims 5 DLC: Appropriate Attire
Sims 5 DLC: Woman Wishes & Aspirations
The last one that comes to mind is dragon age, and it performed terribly.
With notable exceptions by subsidiary companies like Split Fiction.
Yeah. No they haven’t.
EA is just a big bundle that they were able to buy at all with a huge pile of cash. Going around the globe, chasing studios that do this and that is a ton of work and takes forever and is not really a good strategy.
I think they’re betting on exactly that recurring structure of licensed sports games.
But that still depends on letting artists do some amount of stuff. For example a bunch of sports outfits may clash with strict Islam. Same for Sims.