EA Takes Over Scrabble App, Wipes Player Histories and Switches Dictionary

New submitter DeathToBill writes "EA is in the midst of another user backlash, the BBC reports. After EA took over operation of the online Scrabble brand, it introduced a 'new and improved' version. Improvements include requiring manual refreshes to see other players' turns, irretrievably wiping players' game history and a switch to the Collins dictionary (rather than the traditional Chambers edition) that has proved deeply unpopular with Scrabble fanatics. "EA was unavailable for comment.""

Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated.

[jedidiah]

This seems like the perfect use case for side loading. Avoid whatever misbegotten version EA has managed to put in the official "app store" and install some illicit clone.

It's sad when an official release has you reaching for the equivalent of "Hack Man".

Re:Really?

[Anonymous Coward]

This article is about how you can get free advertisement. Move along.

Yep, because nothing makes me more interested in checking out a game than learning of an unpopular change.

It serves as a reminder that EA are a bunch of assholes. Lest we forget.

Feeding the Beast

[Major Ralph]

The problem with EA is that they have shitty customer relations/service, and are incredibly greedy. So people get all pissed off and swear they'll never buy another game published by EA ever again. But we forget that EA owns a lot of really great developers that make some kickass games (Anyone excited for the new Battlefront?). So we end up buying the awesome games and just feed the beast a little more.

Re:That's Right EA.

[grasshoppa]

What hole? Users still line up to buy their shit. EA execs know gamers will continue to fork over the cash for shit. As a gamer myself, I can't help but marvel at the stupidity that requires.

Watch; EA has control of star wars. I guarantee they pull the same shit with forthcoming SW games, and they'll make a mint regardless of the quality of the game itself, nor how the company chooses to abuse the consumer this time around. Oh, we'll all whine, bitch and moan. Then we'll turn around and buy the DLC and expansions.

FUCK your fans!

[Thud457]

You should respect EA's copyright.

Why?
EA isn't.

Re:Pizza

[mephox]

Is this reality?

The board I have at home is operating correctly...

[Anonymous Coward]

Along with my paper dictionary.

EA and the NSA continue to demonstrate that the digital world is too fragile for society to rely on.

Re:How is this newsworthy?

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

Isn't it just common knowledge that EA destroys everything they touch and have zero respect for gamers?

What kind of amazes me(not entirely, given how EA manages to fuck up things like 'Origin' so completely), is that none of the player-shafting here appears to have actually been in EA's interests...

Manual refresh to see the other player's move? That's just insanity. If anything, the bandwidth eaten by players hammering 'refresh' impatiently will be substantially greater than just having the server push things down when the other player submits their move.

Nuking play histories? Probably made some DBA's life easier(but since when has EA given a damn about the tech peons?), at the expense of cutting existing customers' perceived 'investment' in the platform. Good job, guys...

Switching dictionaries? You'd better have a convincing story about how usurious the licensing costs were for the official one; because the reaction from the hardcore scrabble heads was totally predictable. Those guys are Serious.

Had they taken it over and then larded it with DLC, microtransactions,(Would you like to buy a vowel?), and in-game ads for assorted discordant products, that'd be merely lawful evil of them. This is just stupid evil.

Re:Pizza

[Agent0013]

no escape from reality

Exclusive rights to football

[tepples]

Users still line up to buy their shit.

They have no choice. With EA owning exclusive rights to the National Football League, Arena Football, NCAA, and even FIFA, what league is a competing developer of football video games supposed to use? Fictional leagues don't work so well because the majority of people buy the game to play as a particular team.

Re:Really?

[Grishnakh]

Of course they care about profits, it's all they care about. However, they're not too worried about that when suckers keep buying their crap, regardless of how shitty it is. The vgcats comic is right: if you don't like the game, why did you buy it? Yes, it's hard to try games before you buy them, but MS and EA have long reputations for shittiness, so at this point if you buy anything from them, you deserve whatever you get. It's not like you're taking a chance on some new indie game studio's product; I've been reading stories about how awful EA is for well over a decade now.

Re:Pizza

[KZigurs]

Oh FFS - this isn't reddit!

Re:Pizza

[fisted]

if this is what happens on reddit, then i'm glad not to use it