EA (figuratively) breaks into people's houses and steals copies of Rock Band iOS

[Dcubed]

http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229222

 

As can be seen in the pic below, EA will be disabling the game completely on May 31 for no apparent reason.

 

 

Fucking scum, now they're resorting to stealing people's single player games from them!? Oh and best thing is that they're still happily selling the game (as well as DLC) with no indication that it's about to get nuked on the iTunes page!

 

STOP BUYING EA GAMES!

[S.C.G]

This is most probably to do with the imminent release of 'Rock Band Blitz' which is set to be an arcade title very similar to the IOS version in that afaik it just uses the controller as the main input but it utilises almost the entire library of DLC from the disc-based games within it, this is why all dlc for Rock Band 3 has the 'RBB' logo instead as you can use it with both...

 

 

... when it comes out.

 

 

I have to admit while I don't necessarilly agree with the way EA is ultimately just 'eliminating' the competition they do still reserve the right to do so I believe? I'm sure it's written somewhere in the small-print of most games - particularly downloadable IOS games - that the company reserves the rights to blah blah etc... still doesn't really make it right especially when there's tonnes of dlc involved but there you go.

 

Now the flip-sde of it might be that they may be planning to release Rock Band Blitz on IOS as well, in which case perhaps you'll be able to exchange your virtual copy of Rock Band IOS for the new title complete with all your dlc but then again it might be XBLA exclusive and if so then yes this is indeed very sneaky to say the least, but what can you do?

[flameboy]

It's the way these things work...it's being delisted would have been enough but it seems that you won't be able to access anything from it. However it could be licensing perhaps, it's not a Harmonix game it's an EA game and maybe they only owned the music rights for so long.

 

This isn't unique to EA...Eliminate a free to play game is going to be shut down at the end of the month. It's a micro transaction game so people who have put money into that are also losing it all...

 

It outright sucks but its something we are going to have to get used to I think.

[Dcubed]

It's the way these things work...it's being delisted would have been enough but it seems that you won't be able to access anything from it. However it could be licensing perhaps, it's not a Harmonix game it's an EA game and maybe they only owned the music rights for so long.

 

This isn't unique to EA...Eliminate a free to play game is going to be shut down at the end of the month. It's a micro transaction game so people who have put money into that are also losing it all...

 

It outright sucks but its something we are going to have to get used to I think.

 

That's not the same as this though. They're completely nuking the game and making it inoperable to people who have already bought it. At least when a game is delisted you can still play it if you've purchased it (and Eliminate would still be playable in single player for what it's worth)

 

There cannot be a licensing agreement that necessitates turning people's purchases into ( virtual) doorstops - the licencee would just ask for it to be removed from sale. It's an EA decision and not that of the licencee, pure and simple (and it's probably being done to force people to buy the inevitable iOS version of Rock Band Blitz)

 

but what can you do?

 

Stop buying their games?

[The Bard]

Except I'd rather not skip out on the next Dead Space, Crysis, Battlefield, all Bioware games, all Maxis games and all Popcap games...

 

Pick your battles, it's Rock Band on the iOS, who really gives a fuck?

[Cube]

Pick your battles, it's Rock Band on the iOS, who really gives a fuck?

 

I would suspect that people who bought Rock Band on iOS do.

[The Bard]

My point was that I doubt that there is that big of a market for Rock Band on the iOS anyway, and regardless of that, the majority of people who bought it did so as something of a cheap distraction. The idea of recommending a blanket boycot on one of the biggest publishers in gaming for a relatively smale abuse seems like...well, the kind of ridiculous, disproportionate nonsense that you typically read on a gaming forum .

[Debug Mode]

I welcome this move. Not because people will get fucked over, but for the regular paying customers who aren't really in the know about the concerns over digital content might finally start giving a fuck.

 

It's most likely a music licensing problem, so delisting it from the app store and disabling online content is a given, but why disable a game that people have the right to play with if they've paid for it? It's not free to play, and they are still selling it on the marketplace without any notice saying the game will soon be unplayable.

 

Just when I thought they couldn't top Origin's deleting of peoples accounts and games if they don't log in for a year. Those couple of kilobytes of customer information per account sure is a fucking liability.

[Magnus]

First they came for Rock Band, and I didn't speak out because the game was just a cheap distraction.

 

Then they came for Madden, and I didn't speak out because it shouldn't even be called football.

 

And then they came for my BioWare games, and there was no one left to speak out for me.

 

 

Anyway, I really need an official statement on this before I get outraged. Maybe they're just replacing it with the new version for free?

[Ramar]

The only good thing is this has nothing to do with Harmonix. They weren't involved in the game at all and know nothing about it being deactivated (according to that forum post). Shit move by EA, I highly doubt it's because of Rock Band Blitz though.

[dazzybee]

We didn't buy a license to play this game. We didn't rent it. We BOUGHT IT!!!!

[Nolan]

Pick your battles, it's Rock Band on the iOS, who really gives a fuck?

 

It sets a fucking precedence though so everyone should give a fuck. Sure its just Rock Band on the ios, but what the fuck is next? Can't play that steam or origin version of dead space 2, must be because they want you to buy Dead Space 3.

 

Then who really gives a fuck?

 

This market is all about precedents. It's because of the people too stupid to give a fuck that PC games have always connected DRM and cost $60 instead of the traditional $50, and the quality is not reflective of that. Stupid fucking attitudes like that fuck this industry.

[Shorty]

My point was that I doubt that there is that big of a market for Rock Band on the iOS anyway, and regardless of that, the majority of people who bought it did so as something of a cheap distraction. The idea of recommending a blanket boycot on one of the biggest publishers in gaming for a relatively smale abuse seems like...well, the kind of ridiculous, disproportionate nonsense that you typically read on a gaming forum .

The boycot is ridiculous and yeah the game is little more than a short distraction. But it's the principle. You pay for a product, you expect to keep it for as long as you would choose to. They're not even pointing out on the store now that the game will be inactive in 3 weeks. So you go on your phone, spend $5 on a game and the first thing you see is a "goodbye, thanks, suckers!" message.

[Happenstance]

EA have responded:

 

"Rock Band for iOS will remain live - the in-app message users received yesterday was sent in error. We apologize for the confusion this caused. We're working to clarify the issue that caused the error and will share additional information as soon as possible."

[Shorty]

Error? Ha. More like they weren't expecting that backlash. Errors don't come in the form of "Thanks for rocking out with us!"

Edited May 3, 2012 by Shorty

[flameboy]

We didn't buy a license to play this game. We didn't rent it. We BOUGHT IT!!!!

 

That isn't technically true and hasn't been for a long time...you actually effectively pay for a license to play a game.

 

I know it sounds like I'm a dick but check the terms and conditions for this game and it does say they can withdraw it (not support but actually it) as long as they provide 30 days notice.

[dazzybee]

Luckily they've come to their senses Not that I've played it since the 5 minutes tater I downloaded it. But its the principle.

 

That isn't technically true and hasn't been for a long time...you actually effectively pay for a license to play a game.

 

I know it sounds like I'm a dick but check the terms and conditions for this game and it does say they can withdraw it (not support but actually it) as long as they provide 30 days notice.

 

Well it's ludicrous, and shouldnt be allowed.

[Shorty]

That isn't technically true and hasn't been for a long time...you actually effectively pay for a license to play a game.

 

I know it sounds like I'm a dick but check the terms and conditions for this game and it does say they can withdraw it (not support but actually it) as long as they provide 30 days notice.

 

OK, it's blown over already so this isn't a deal anymore, but they weren't giving 30 days notice if you bought the game yesterday.

[Dcubed]

Wow! I didn't think they'd go so far as to outright lie to their customers like this. What a bunch of bullshitters!

 

 

Yeah, I bet you're sorry, sorry that you had to face that backlash.

 

Watch them try this again down the line, again and again until finally they get their own way (Hopefully not before the company goes bust ) Their strategy is one of carefully managed malaise, slowly getting people to accept more and more draconian policies (it's worked with project $10 and their online server shutdowns, this is just another level down the slippery slope)

 

Actually, this could come even sooner if they tie this scheme into a potential Xbox 3 subscription model (going by what they're doing with the 360 next week in the US as a test for their next console...)

Edited May 3, 2012 by Dcubed

[The Bard]

Everything on the internet is such drama. I kinda can't take it.

[Shorty]

If you'd bought the game, you'd be on here raging about it too. It's easy to belittle other peoples' complaints when they're about something of no interest to you.

 

If you can't take internet drama, don't go on the internet. But people in the real world are pretty dramatic too...

[tapedeck]

 

 

EA: How did this slip through? Idiotic slip-up or marketing genius?

[Shorty]

Probably the latter. This is the same company that masqueraded as gay-rights activists to make its' boycotters look like homophobes.

[The Bard]

If you'd bought the game, you'd be on here raging about it too. It's easy to belittle other peoples' complaints when they're about something of no interest to you.

 

If you can't take internet drama, don't go on the internet. But people in the real world are pretty dramatic too...

 

No, I get it, I just have a hard time getting that worked up over things. Actually, that's a lie, I get worked up a lot, but not about iOS Rock Band. Come on now, it's not exactly the optimal way to play the game.

[Nolan]

 

No, I get it, I just have a hard time getting that worked up over things. Actually, that's a lie, I get worked up a lot, but not about iOS Rock Band. Come on now, it's not exactly the optimal way to play the game.

 

It not being optimal is beside the point though.