The End of EA Sports
It is with great dismay and sorrow that I must report the end of GamerDad’s relationship with EA Sports. This is sad to me personally, because I have reviewed Madden and other EA Sports games since 1996.
I arguably was the first to write about the “Madden Curse” (Andrew’s Views #31 at Daily Radar). As GamerDad, Madden and other games were a perennial top pick. I’ve recommended EA games to the National Library Association (I was keynote speaker), 3 years in a row during my speeches there, and to the National PTA. I’ve spoken of EA Sports in over 35 mainstream magazine articles, 28 radio shows (4 press tours, including Radio Disney), countless podcasts, and in articles and Best Of Lists for CNN.com, SportsIllustrated.com, G4 TV’s XPlay, iVillage, Family Fun, Disney Family, Family Circle and pretty much every videogame magazine and website known to man.
Their reasoning ignores all that and instead hinges on the traffic rates for this website and ignores the fact that this site is more about recommending and our audience tends to visit infrequently (which makes sense given the site’s purpose). This is shortsighted, because more traffic would mean I’d just be preaching to the gamers WELL aware of whether or not they like EA Sports’ games – and what good is that? My traffic reaches the people EA Sports can’t reach so easily.
This, unfortunately, makes it impossible to write about some of the best sports games in gaming. I refuse to advocate or write about games I haven’t played and this site doesn’t have the means to make these kinds of purchases.
In short, when EA Sports needed me (1997-2010) I was there to help them sell their excellent and family friendly games. And when GamerDad needed EA Sports… game over man. Game over.
August 19th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Amazing. EA must just have a large corporate automatic system that is brainless, and you have to fight through weird, difficult channels to get anything done (Clark Howard style guerrilla tactics).
I’m shocked to hear your traffic isn’t higher than other gaming websites. Yours is the only source I know of for certain types of gaming info. The other cookie-cutter sites do me no good – I just go to the aggregator sites like gamerankings.com.
Maybe you need better media representation or whatever? Getting yourself out there to those morning news shows, even the local ones, to reach gamer, and non-gamer audiences? I don’t know anything about that business, but apparently it’s not hard:
http://www.zug.com/live/84784/YoYo-Ha-Fake-YoYo-Master-Pranks-Six-Morning-News-Shows.html
August 20th, 2010 at 11:03 am
Wow, I’m really sorry to hear that, Gamerdad. If it makes you feel better, I check the site pretty much every day!
August 20th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
I look at this site a lot also. Are you saying they would not give you the game to review?
August 24th, 2010 at 1:52 am
GamerDad doesn’t make any money Mickey, because I don’t carry advertising. So I depend on companies sending me their games. What makes this ethical is that I play not to like it or hate it. I report only on the appropriateness. Given the hundreds of games released, I can only cover so many. I like to play and cover the obscure ones while checking out the “important” games.
Luckily, of the major major studios, EA Sports is the ONLY one who knocked me off the list.
August 24th, 2010 at 1:53 am
I should also add that all games I do not keep for my family are donated – especially Madden and other “new one every year” sports games – to a poor neighborhood’s libraries and Boy’s Clubs. So, they’re out a copy of Madden now.
August 31st, 2010 at 8:59 am
Wow, that really sucks GD. For many years I was a Senior Editor for a Case Modding/Gaming website called GruntvillE and we relied on the good graces of the PR departments at companies to send us products to review just like you do. So I know just how important that is.
That said, knowing how EA is in general towards it’s customers, it doesn’t really surprise me at all. And as important a resource you are for getting the word out about their games to people they can’t reach, they will still sell millions of copies without you.
The real losers here are the charities that you give the games to. And that is what really sucks.