There is one game that repeatedly comes up in discussions about why free-to-play games should not exist. That game is Dungeon Keeper, a game that unfortunately bore little to no resemblance to the 1997 PC game it inherited its name from. I personally had no issue with the game and quite enjoyed it (as evidenced by my review) however the overwhelming consensus was that EA had created a blatant money grab that was unplayable for most, and for others, an insult to the Dungeon Keeper name. On that front, EA boss, Andrew Wilson has gone on record in an interview with Eurogamer as saying:
“For new players, it was kind of a cool game,” he began. “For people who’d grown up playing Dungeon Keeper there was a disconnect there. In that aspect we didn’t walk that line as well as we could have. And that’s a shame.”
He even goes on to say that “we misjudged the economy” when employing the free-to-play model in Dungeon Keeper that had even casual gamers up in arms. It’s great that the new head of EA is being so open about their past failures and appears to be instituting a greater culture of responsibility to their gamer base, one which can be polarized by even the slightest indiscretion. Hopefully this filters into the imminent releases and we all reap the benefits of games which benefit us, the gamers, more than they benefit the company.
What do you think about Wilson’s comments? Do you think EA can make good on what they’ve done in the past? Let us know your thoughts.
Source: Eurogamer via Kotaku Australia
