EA Completes Codemasters Takeover Worth $1.2 Billion
- Thread starter GTPNewsWire
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I dunno what to think at this point, but in my half-unpopular opinion of the titles outside of the F1 series (because I've never played any), an upheaval either means better games or little of value lost. Can they retire their long-in-the-tooth handling model now?
MagpieRacer
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Perhaps your oponion is half unpopular because you haven't played any? 😅. I wouldn't say the handling model in either F1 or Dirt Rally series is longin thr tooth by any stretch. F1 2020 was as good as an F1 game has been since the early 2000s and Dirt Rally 2.0 was a hard to swallow DLC plan and soke tarmac tweaks away from perfection.
On the news from the tweet, what I get from that is there was a negative culture from the companies now gone CEO and CFO, them leaving is described effectively as positive there. Happy people means high work effort and better results, if they were part if the toxicity then this will only be a positive for Codemasters. We probably won't see the fruits of this until the next big title rolls around either next year or with the WRC game. But it looks like a promising start to EA life.
@MagpieRacer -- If it wasn't clear, the ones I was referring to that I never played are the F1 games. I've played the TRD games, CMR games, GRID and Grid Autosport, Dirt 1-4.
I can more or less spot the same old handling/steering in video clips, like in the rebooted Grid. It just doesn't suit me. Nothing feels right, arcade-style or not. Finishing up Dirt 4 was sheer determination -- I liked Your Stage and wished to see more from it, but I got so sick of the steering and unpredictability.
I can more or less spot the same old handling/steering in video clips, like in the rebooted Grid. It just doesn't suit me. Nothing feels right, arcade-style or not. Finishing up Dirt 4 was sheer determination -- I liked Your Stage and wished to see more from it, but I got so sick of the steering and unpredictability.
LeGeNd-1
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I don't know about you lot but seeing the "Braking Point" storyline feature in F1 2021 is already a red flag for me. Focusing on high impact (but ultimately shallow) features like that instead of core aspects like physics, adding classic cars and other feeder series (F3, F4) just screams EA to me.
As for EA getting better, I've been playing NFS No Limits since release in 2015 and I can tell you the predatory microtransaction strategies are just getting worse and worse...
As for EA getting better, I've been playing NFS No Limits since release in 2015 and I can tell you the predatory microtransaction strategies are just getting worse and worse...
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LeGeNd-1
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Heat is a lot better than Payback I admit. Losing the roulette style upgrade system is a big plus. As for DLC, it did have one overpriced DLC, and from hacking the game files people found several cars in the pipeline. But all of them ended up being cut because they chose to focus on the new title, leaving the fanbase in the dust. We still cannot change controller button configuration for example.
And I was talking about the mobile NFS in my original post, made by Firemonkeys Studios (which is under EA). At launch it was decent, but over time the amount of money gouging tactics just gets worse and worse. I can still avoid it because as a long term player I already have all the best cars etc, but if you're a new player, good luck trying to win as an F2P.
Fair enough, you're probably right in that EA had minimal input into 2021's design direction. I guess I just associate cheesy storylines in racing games with NFS because of the last few titles, and assumed that Codies got influenced by this.
Anyway, as always, only time will tell how things will pan out.
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MagpieRacer
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Not in the slightest. Braking Point has been worked in since before even 2020 released as I understand it. Similarly, liklihood of F3 and F4 coming are slim to nine, F3 maybe has an outside shot but it only appeals to the die hards.
Also, using the No Limits comparison is a bit pointless no? Free to play mobile game, of course it's going to use predatory microtransactions. Just like every other free to play game in the history of ever.
LeGeNd-1
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Why not though? Before F2 was included I didn't think the majority of players were clamouring for it either. It would be amazing if Codies managed to include the full open wheel motorsport ladder in one game, similar to what NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona did for oval/stock cars. F1 has already reached a much wider fanbase now than even 10 years ago, I don't think you could say only die hards will appreciate it.
Same thing with classic cars. If Studio Liverpool can include at least 1 car from each decade back in F1:CE in 2007, why not Codies? Personally I'd rather have these things than a story mode. The player is the main character, and all the other drivers can create narratives on their own. We don't really need fake characters in addition to it. Just takes away dev time in my opinion.
My point regarding NFS:NL is, the MTX strategies are getting worse over time. Which is in contrary to what some people said that EA is going to be a saint from now on because they lost a bunch of court cases.
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I'd imagine Codies has player data that indicates people haven't used classic cars and F2 enough to warrant putting more resources into those areas.
1) I haven't seen anyone say EA will be a saint as far as microtransactions go, merely that they have moved away from them on console and they likely wouldn't be any worse than what we've seen recently in F1 games.
2) Mobile games are pretty much a completely different market with a different business model. What works on consoles doesn't necessarily work on mobile platforms and vice versa so a company doing something on one doesn't mean that practice will transfer over.
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Except nowhere did I say that. I stated that people needed to drop the stupid doomsday attitude with EA and listed it as one of the examples that is continually ignored where EA have forcefully learned that their previous business strategy did not work (including where they straight up said they were wrong about live services). Them losing court cases is an important example because guess what sends a clear message to a company to change what they are doing? Losing money.
MagpieRacer
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To be honest yeah, when it comes to F3 in particular, I do think that only appeals to the die hard fans. F2 was very heavily requested for F1 games and had been for over decade before it was finally included. F3 on the other hand has a small number of die hards wanting it but the majority could take or leave it. The classic cars again are pretty cool to have, Studio Liverpool had an interesting selection, and also the financial clout of Sony behind them, to secure certain things. But even then, the classic cars have a limited audience and limited appeal, especially if they aren't integrated into the game in a way that makes their inclusion worthwhile.
Regardless of NFS:NL and how it's MTX has developed over time, it's still a completely and utterly irrelevant example to the mainstream game market on console. Its a free mobile game that literally lives from MTX. Why not compare recent EA releases like Star Wars Squadrons, or Battlefront 2s reboot, or Jedi: Fallen Order, or how FIFA has started being more transparent with regards to loot boxes. It's too easy to pick no limits as a bad example because it thrives off MTX, therefore its an irrelevant comparison.
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The Engineering Lead for Dirt 5 announced his departure yesterday:
I wouldn't jump to any conclusions just yet since it appears as though he is leaving on amicable terms and has already got another role lined up. However, it is worth having this in mind if it marks the start of a trend where senior devs leave Codies for other positions.
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Feel like it'd be more worrying overall if it was someone from the team that makes the F1 games (A series that seems to have in general more overall care in it then literally any game Codemasters puts out as of late). The fact that it's someone from the team that made Dirt 5 (A game that isn't exactly setting the world on fire despite what optimistic reviews on Launch day said) is at best..meh
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Hot take: I don't really think EA is all that bad, especially when you compare them with Activision-Blizzard. Otherwise, I'm glad EA has expanded its portfolio a bit more with CodeMasters, and I'm especially interested to see how CodeMasters might end up helping out with a future Need for Speed title. Indeed, I think there's been an official statement saying that could be a possibility.
Besides, even though it's taken long enough for Star Wars games to be developed by other publishers like Ubisoft, I think EA was on its way to turning over a new leaf with that license, between Fallen Order and Squadrons. I'd be pumped if they could get Criterion and/or CodeMasters to make a new podracing game, too.
Besides, even though it's taken long enough for Star Wars games to be developed by other publishers like Ubisoft, I think EA was on its way to turning over a new leaf with that license, between Fallen Order and Squadrons. I'd be pumped if they could get Criterion and/or CodeMasters to make a new podracing game, too.
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According to that one guy's Tweet, there appears to be an implication that it was already toxic before EA bought them. I just find it fascinating that so far, the only devs that have left are both from the Dirt 5 team.
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