Developers Don't Take Kindly To EA's Single-Player Gag On Twitter

Their follow up about "taking the L" is so shallow. They meant what they said, and just want to save face. But it's clearly too late.
EA is already more disliked than even Activision or Ubisoft as it is.

I’m sure some young person is running these tweets but I swear they sound like something my father (in his 70s) would say. Have I reached the slang upcycle point that hits every generation?

Anyway EA could have found something else gaming related to say.

Odd looking Cuphead DLC review.

single player games is always better then multiplayer games, i will play single player until my body is unable to play games anymore.

It's just a joke. A joke many other people made with no consequence. People just like piling on EA cuz it's the cool thing to do. I don't like EA, but let's not pretend this is some opportunity for demonstrating one's moral superiority.

If some indie darling studio had made the same joke it would be all ROFLs and crying laughter emojis.

@CharlieGirl Yeah, no apologies or acknowledgement of bad behavior allowed. Just harsh, unrelenting judgement. /S

With single player games, it's harder to turn your console into a glorified gambling machine, so I'm not surprised they feel that way.

With that said, the tweets are cringy as heck, regardless. I feel like I'm watching someone's fifty-year-old dad trying to be hip like the kids.

@Franklin reviews of big releases on here? You’re joking aren’t you?!

I've pretty much played nothing but single-player games my entire life. Honestly, while I don't agree, it's still a pretty good joke.

EA: If we say it enough times, then maybe it will convince everyone.

People actually got mad about that silly joke?

EA deserves 100% of the roast they get. But I also think anything they tweet can be taken the wrong way because they are a company people like to hate on.

Stupid is as stupid does.

As an old-school gamer who actually prefers single-player experiences (though I'm game for couch co-op; never saw the appeal of online multiplayer), it still amazes me when people talk smack about single-player. Are gamers who appreciate being able to play at their own pace (and pause a game whenever) becoming a dying breed?

Good lord how tone deaf. Read the room EA.

Makes them seem completely oblivious to game culture in general, even the biggest streamers of multiplayer games like Fortnite, COD etc play the single player campaigns of games with either really good stories, really unique or funny ideas, or super scary horror games, and from what I've seen, those streams get as much traction, if not more. Not to mention the multitude of Minecraft streamers who play single player making huge projects... though it could be argued that the stream chat giving them ideas and feedback makes it more co-op than true single player I guess.

While its "just a joke" its hugely insensitive considering how much they've damaged the single player experience in many recent gen games and actually cancelled many games, shut many studios, and put 100s of people out of jobs because they wanted to focus on multiplayer only. Screw them.

That said, coincidentally I only discovered the "they're a 10 but..." meme yesterday when a google hole lead me to a site with a load of quizzes, and it was fun playing "what if" and finding where my boundaries are. Turns out, if you're a 10, I'll forgive quite a lot of things... I'm more shallow than I thought

On a personal level (just posting because some may find it amusing) I once met a girl who at the time I genuinely believed to be the most attractive person I'd ever met, which is saying something being I work in the entertainment industry. Through some miracle she was into me and we flirted a lot and I thought it was going somewhere. But over this time I discovered she was from quite a posh background, and was SUPER into fox hunting. Was practically the only thing she posted about on social media. Instantly I knew I'd never date her. Not for me, sorry. For balance, another partner, definitely a 10, is extremely into football and other sports, which I've never really been, and also really loves extreme thrill stuff like skydiving... I adapted and was fine with both as I liked doing things together that made her happy. Turns out I'd rather jump out of a plane than murder an animal.

That’s hilarious! This won’t hurt their income though people will still blindly support! I feel bad for the folks currently making single player games under their umbrella such as the highly requested dead space remake. They kinda just burn themselves.

@calbeau not at all, we are just a breed that typically buys a game, and doesn’t buy all the DLC extra add-ons they like to charge for. So we are not their main focus for sure. They make a lot more money typically with multiplayer games.

I suppose it's kind of funny if they were originally trying to poke fun at themselves for having said something so ridiculous in the past

@calbeau I couldn't agree more. I'll be honest, I find it genuinely perplexing, the shift towards multiplayer. So much so, that a lot of the biggest games are multiplayer and single player often takes a backseat.

Do I have anything against multiplayer? No, there's been a couple of multiplayer games I've found very fun and addictive, but I much prefer single player for the reasons you stated - being able to pause the game whenever you want, and play at your own pace, I find it hard to play a game where I can't do that tbh, so I inherently enjoy single player games more. I ultimately find a good single player game to be a far more engrossing experience than multiplayer.

The two multiplayer games I really enjoyed, and found addictive, are PSO and SF4.

Obviously social media meant no harm to this and moreso wanted to animate the inconvenience of not being able to play certain games with your SO, which is a pretty lame joke to begin with, but given EA execs saying for years that Single Player games are dying, it comes off so tone-deaf.

@calbeau unfortunately we are a dying breed. I only play single player games.

I thought it was pretty funny to be fair.

EA wouldn't know a 10 if they saw one.

@Chocobo_Shepherd they bought the dead space studio, turned the game into a lootbox shooter and when noone bought that they closed the studio. Funk them.

EA is the living embodiment of Hello, fellow kids!

A) if something this irrelevant bothered me I'd be genuinely embarassed, to the point of not expressing it out of shame.

B) the joke isn't that she only plays single player games and that's bad, the joke is that they couldn't game together. I realize that any contact with a woman in a romantic context is hard for some of you sympathize with, but that's where the joke was.

EA is a bad company that has killed some of my favourite developers, and even then this is so utterly innocuous. Which do you think speaks more to EA's view of single player focused games, this one tweet, or pushing the Jedi games, Mass Effect and the Dead Space remake as single player experiences?

If it's the former and not the latter I have to assume you're a silly human being.

I’d forgive the social media team. They’re so focused on trying to pump out good quality content that they’re bound to flub once in a while.

@DudeshootMankill that's my point exactly. people don't like EA. it has nothing to do with the content of the tweet. just a chance to beat up on something they hate.

I don't think I ever thought an EA game was actually great. Sure games like Command & Conquer and the original Dead Space were quite good, but in my honest opinion they just weren't great.

I don't know what it is with EA, but to me all of their games seems to be kind of soulless.

Edit: But then again that could be said of Ubisoft (although the Splinter Cell games did have something I admit), Activision (probably - haven't played any of their games for ages), Square Enix (not a fan of Final Fantasy - seems kind of generic) and probably more. Bethesda, Warner, Capcom, Bandai Namco do make great games (I don't really know what to say about Sega, Koei Tecmo and Konami).

@Chocobo_Shepherd I agree with you that people are blowing it out of proportion when it's not really that big of a deal. But I also agree it's a bad take from EA and indicative of how little they understand their audience. It's enough to warrant an eye-roll and a sigh, but then moving on, in my opinion. But it's not worth the lengthy essays and public outrage coming from this, as they aren't gonna stop EA from being EA, and if anything, they're just gonna get some social media intern fired over something pretty benign in the grand scheme of things.

That said, as a classic Paper Mario fan, I'd probably lose it if Nintendo tweeted, "She's a 10, but she likes story-driven narratives," lol. So maybe I don't have room to talk.

Well, I don't really know if a tweet from their social media team represents EA as a whole. But even if it does, so what? It's a joke. Not a very good one, but nothing to get mad about

Honestly a company may not like making single player games, that's on them. You should judge them on the games they do make, not the opinion or jokes of their social media team.

I probably enjoy single-player games more than competitive multiplayer games like 90 percent of the time. There's tons of great multiplayer games out there, don't get me wrong. But if it isn't Mario Kart, Smash Bros., or Mario Party, a multiplayer game probably isn't one of the first games that come to mind when thinking about what I would consider all-time greats.

What sucks is games that require an account or that you have to have a constant internet connection to play them... I think of those as rentals because you will lose them at some point, EA is one of the worst when it comes to that

I don’t really… disagree with them? I don’t think there’s any games where multiplayer makes it worse, unless it’s mandatory or the main focus of the game. Usually, multiplayer is just a fun thing that’s added to make it a bit more fun. But if a game is fun, I don’t think you shouldn’t buy it just because it’s single player. So I understand both sides I guess.

@Yorumi,

Yes I am shocked that Twitter is shocked, imagine my shock at the whole thing.

I miss when Meme's were actually funny and not just people parroting the same thing. :-/

What an interesting remark from a company that seems to think employee compensation is "single player" - i.e. all rewards to the CEO...

the "big" western games companies have been trash from jump and to this day they never, ever (ever ever ever) redeem themselves.

@Ralizah
Oh, I don't know...I've known a lot of young idiots. Making cringe-worthy tweets has no demographic.

it has nothing to do with the content of the tweet. just a chance to beat up on something they hate.

@Chocobo_Shepherd Supposing I agreed with that first part, I would ask you - how do you reckon that EA became hated in this way?

@CANOEberry They ruined dead space

EA would need about a decade's worth of good will just to get out of the hole they've continually dug for themselves. They're really in no position to be making snarky comments about anything.

Yeah, I think people are taking this the wrong way? I read it as "they're a gamer but they won't play games with you." Not "people who only play single player games are bad" or as some people seem to interpreting it "single player games are bad."

@westman98 Hey now, I'm sure EA would know a 10 if they saw one. They'd recognize every 10 dollar bill, 10 pound note, 10 euros, 10 yen, oh wait. That last one is too small, but they might still take it anyway.

@CANOEberry by being a ***** company? I said up front I don't like EA. but trying to fight evil with hate is like trying to put out a fire with gasoline. so I can't get down with that.

If I recall, EA originally DID single- and multi-player games on older consoles during the 80s and 90s. They don't even have what it takes to go back to those roots, with controversial or interesting games like the Strike series.

EA needs to stop drinking and tweeting. 💁🏻‍♂️

Pour one out for you he social media intern who probably begged them not to do this

I'm more likely to get angry at EA if they openly said something like what Mr. Krabs said once.

The children? I don't care about the children! I just care about their parents' money. Ah, the fact that their feeble minds are easily manipulated by cheap playgrounds and talentless clowns is no skin off my nose!

They're a 10 but they have EA play.

bruh I hate these corporate companies getting into "jokes" and memes when they have no idea what they're doing. Especially when it's EA.

I actually found their joke kinda funny because i love playing multiplayer games. But that's just me finding that joke relatable, it does not mean I support EA. I have never been a fan of their games, they aren't my cup of tea.

Wow, this is even an internal problem within EA.

It is just a joke that likely was merely an attempt at "edgy Internet humor", yes, but it comes across as lacking any self-awareness when you consider just how many studios that specialize in single-player games EA has shut down over the years.

Patrick Starr: Is EA a 10?
Squidward: No Patrick EA is not a 10...
Squidward: No Patrick horseradish is not a 10 either.

Saying things like "We'll take the L" and using memes is a "Hello fellow kids!" moment for ANY company.

I really hate when companies pretend they're cool or "with it". Everytime they tweet something out like that, you just know it was a calculated business decision. Absolute cringe.

I mean, bad joke from horrible company, but we still missed the point. That's not OUR fault, EA should know they don't have the goodwill to have people stop and reflect over something they say.

It's the word "only". I think that's accurate regardless of what's after the "only". They are a 10 but they ONLY like singleplay, multiplayer, Xbox, Play Station, Nintendo, 1st person, 3rd person, hardcore games, casual games, phone games, console games, computer games.

Like what you like, play what you play, but as soon as gaming is "only" one type of game to you ... you're gonna lose a few points.

Impressively dumb move given the company's history with the subject. Backpedal is hilarious. All in all, pretty harmless...and in fairness to them, I'd think you'd want to at least have the OPTION for multiplayer with your loved ones.

@Chocobo_Shepherd Yeah man, I'm sure if we just showed EA some love, they'd change their ways.

Look, I appreciate the sentiment you've got; it seems like you've got a good heart, and I commend you for that, truly, but it's not just an opportunity for people to beat up on something they hate. That's a fringe benefit, I'm sure, but context and source are important. It's not just that EA said it, it's that it indicates a tone deafness that directly relates to things that company has done in the past, like shuttering companies that specialized in single-player experiences when their games couldn't be turned into hollowed out cash-grabs for the company. You're right to say people might laugh at that so-called meme if the source were different, but it isn't, and context matters. If the tweet were totally unrelated to EA's past handling of their subsidiaries and IPs, then you'd be completely right to call this out as just dogpiling. That's not the case though.

What a dumb thing to tweet but it's EA so not surprising given they love 'surprise mechanics' & micro transactions & it's harder for them to shove those into single player games

EA is the most reviled company in America. Even more so than Amazon. They top that list every year.

You’d think they would know better than to give people a gold mine of ragging material.

"Take the L". Gimmie a break

@Chocobo_Shepherd Yes! Thank you! My God I feel like I was going crazy. I get that EA is an easy target, but jeez.

@calbeau Single player games are still selling millions of copies. Some of the most anticipated AAA games coming in the next few years are single player experiences. I don't know where you got the impression that you're a dying breed.

They're a 10 but they don't have the high ground.

Ea. It’s in the game. But it’s not it’s dlc.

They're a ten but they got fired for making EA look bad.

@BloodNinja Given EA'S track record their apology is easily taken as traditional corporate speak.

This is what happens when people pretend that anything on Twitter is real or matters at all.

@GoombaGreg You’re misunderstanding the philosophy. When you spread hate, you hurt not only the people you hate, but you also hurt yourself.

If you choose to sow love (or even indifference to EA) the company may not change, but your life will be better because you carry less hatred in your heart. It’s not about changing their behavior, but setting oneself free from the negative effects associated with hatred.

@Raffles True. Our modern society continually emphasizes the self, except for gaming.

Wow, I can't believe people actually got upset about this... I only play single player games (except occasionally some multiplayer games with family) and I thought it was silly and innocent... And kinda funny.

There are so many things that are more important than this. Life is too short to be upset about everything...

So what, I'm supposed stop playing awesome stuff like Zelda and Final Fantasy for some boring online
EA sports title? In your dreams EA!

@ChandlerKeith19 Good point. I guess I was just looking at the gaming scene where I'm from. Here in the Philippines, multiplayer mobile games (usually MOBAs, battle royales, and ugh, NFT games) are all the rage. Those would usually be the games mentioned when you ask gamers here what they play.

Did that Diablo guy who asked people if they had phones chime in to ask people if they had friends? I feel you need that to push things over the edge.

Then again, it's Twitter. You so much as puff a breath and things go over the edge. Good thing I stay away from that rubbish.

@BloodNinja You may not have meant to, but don’t condescend to me. You’re extrapolating an awful lot more from what the person I replied to stated than what they actually said. Fine philosophy and all, but there is a place in this world for righteous indignation. If you don’t have it, that’s fine. No one says you have to; you do you, but don’t offer platitudes that border on sophistry to those who do instead. People can express their disdain for something without falling into some spiral of self-destructive hate. Although I will grant that some people are potentially more at risk of that, that hatred is a symptom, not a cause of their issues. My objection to this whole discourse is the implied notion that people who don’t “hate on” EA are somehow morally or intellectually superior to those that do, whether that is the intended message or not. That’s all. I don’t think anyone’s reaction to this story is inherently superior to anyone else’s, whether it be mine, yours, or any other poster on here. To be clear, I’m not decrying your stance on the issue, and I would much rather you maintain the good-hearted position you do than some alternatives.

@GoombaGreg You’re asserting yourself over nothing.

@samuelvictor
Neat story bro. Sum up your next feelings on a big corporations dumb tweet in a sentence or two.

I just love that nonsense like that came from the one studio who's recent multiplayer games tanked harder than the titanic, while it's singleplayer outings surpassed all expectations.

There is being tone-deaf and then there's not even being able to understand your own bottom line anymore.

Imagine a company like EA, with all that money and resources, that actually understands its own industry and consumer base and gives a damn...

Anyone not getting why this is crappy from EA - just put it in context. They’re one of the biggest, richest, most influential, most mainstream, most powerful forces in modern gaming - and they’re publishing statements that crap on a whole huge section of gaming! It’s not a genre that they’re just not interested in - it’s a whole TYPE of game that happen to be less profitable for them, but loved by so many people. Bafflingly idiotic and cynical statement from them and probably an insight into a wider strategy for them as a corporation - in my opinion. They’re absolutely getting what they deserve in my opinion. Screw you EA.

@steventonysmith Nah, I'm a storyteller. While I've tried to post a few quick supportive quotes about indie games recently, in general I either don't post at all, or I post something I think might actually be interesting or funny for those who bother to read it, and often they go down well and spark interesting conversations. If long comments bother you, that's completely understandable, but its what I post most often. Feel free to "ignore" me and they won't show up any more, and the people who do enjoy them will still be able to.

@samuelvictor
People in general don't enjoy rants

@JoyBoy It's the internet, people get mad about a roach fart.

@TJM
If they are the biggest bestest AAA developer then why are they looking to sell their behinds?

@GoombaGreg You make good points. And really, I think it would feel better for me if people were being more forthright with that context as their motivation. But it feels like some are actually trying to say the meme is objectively offensive. Hopefully that distinction makes sense. Either way, thanks for the measured, polite and even complimentary response.

@calbeau What a fun coincidence! I live in the Philippines too. Not to get off topic in the comments but my family and I are heading up to Baguio today. I definitely understand where you're coming from. Those types of games are really popular here. But I'm sure plenty of other Filipino gamers who enjoy single player experiences. It can't just be us two.

@JoyBoy Go grab a calendar and look at the year. It's 2022, if you aren't mad about something, you aren't one of the cool kids.

EA's tweet did nothing to ruin or impact my immense enjoyment of single-player games. And that's all there is to it...

The tweet itself wasn’t worth making a fuss about.

However, EA have done enough to warrant being roasted for pretty much anything, so go for internet!

they got eviscerated in the quotes

@steventonysmith 9 people liked my first post. 3 people liked my response to you. This isn't Twitter where posts are limited to a short sentence, I broke no rules. Some people enjoy my posts. Some don't, and thats fine.

I'd hardly call my first post a "rant". Yes, I was mildly annoyed by EA's post, but I gave detailled historical context as to why I felt like this, and that could easily explain why others were "over-reacting" to a joke and why its actually justified to feel that way.

But that was only the first half of my post. The second half was more in the spirit of EA's intention with jumping on the bandwagon of the meme. I told a light hearted story about the meme itself. My intention was firstly to entertain, but secondly to balance out my indignation from the first half, and show that I understood the joke, though I felt it was in poor taste, given the context.

Having re-read the post I feel it was well balanced, and far more valuable to the conversation than if I just posted a single sentence dunking on EA. Thats just yelling into the void, making people angry and making the world a worse place. If I wanted to do that, I'd be posting on Twitter or Facebook.

As I said, its understandable if you personally don't like longer posts, and you are welcome to ignore mine - you can literally stop them appearing for you. No harm done. Other people enjoy them, and I have made several friends and had long, interesting valuable conversations here, which is why I continue to post.

Yikes. Talk about polarizing. I enjoy couch multiplayer games and have played a few online games before (Loving Fall Guys on the Switch), but I always go back to what games have always been for me: single player. It's the only way to truly immerse myself and embrace the escapism aspect of it. I will admit some games that are optionally co-op can be much more fun than the single player experience (Rayman Origins/Legends and Guacamelee, etc), but for the most part a game needs to have a single player aspect before I devote any money to it

@Giancarlothomaz at the end of the day when they close the multiplayer servers the single player is always left standing... I'm with you.

I hate multiplayer games. Single player all the way. Ea just wants their games multiplayer so they can eventually shut them down and take the money and run.

To ea, a multiplayer game is essentially a form of DRM. Look at SimCity and Darkspore.

@cammers1995
I like all games, multiplayer, single player it's all good. As long as the game is fun and well made, that's where EA struggles. They have either made or funded some amazing experiences, Unravel 1 and 2, for example are wonderful and published by EA.

Jedi Fallen Order and Titanfall 2 show they can also make fantastic single player games (Titanfall 2's online also slapped) but they are too busy for the most part in making money that you get Madden (insert number), and Anthem.

I'm not a fan of EA and I only play single player games but people generally need to chill.

So, I legit think the person whom authored the Tweet 100% meant that they like playing single player so you can't have none of that kind of thing.
However, I love how it blew up though. Because on the face it it sure sounds like they are downing Single Player games, but if you actually look at it and think about it they are saying, they are a 10 but they don't do multiplayer so no luck for you.

In any event, another fun internet thing to laugh at. lol

Look I know EA is trash and all that stuff haha, but dang, I think even they should be able to make fun of themselves.

@CharlieGirl I feel like these 800lb gorillas take turns putting a fat target on their back.

My impression was that EA was the absolute devil in the 2000s to mid-2010s because it was like they were acquiring and then milking their IPs dry...but some of their more recent actions have been more palatable in comparison. Things like the re-release of Mass Effect and Command and Conquer come to mind.

@Ryu_Niiyama a younger person is more likely to make fun of single player games than someone in their 70s...

@cammers1995 multiplayer games are far more profitable, with much less effort (skins, map packs, etc). They'd rather them make money for eternity, but shut them down when it's not profitable (enough) anymore.

@Ralizah except, again, young people are the ones who like multiplayer.

@twztid13 that wasn’t what I was referring to but ok. Also you haven’t met my mother, who games waaay more than I do. So that is invalid as well.