The nuclear option: EA bans “abusive” FIFA player from all of its games

Fenech: "I never said anything I shouldn’t have." EA: "[He] crossed a line of decency."

Read the whole story

 

[Snarky Robot]

EA targeted his YouTube and Twitch accounts neither of which has anything to do with EA, that's where EA is crossing the line.

You mean, the places where he makes money streaming their content, associating himself with them? Again, this is all really preposterous, but it boils down to:

Fenech reaping: haha, fuck yeah, I do what I want
Fenech sowing: what the fuck this is tyranny

Consider an edit? Transpose "reaping" and "sowing"?

This is tyranny

 

[Rand]

The Trump of gaming has spoken. You must comply. Resistance is futile.

Which one of the parties are you referring to?

 

[DRJlaw]

This is a warning to all about criticising EA on YouTube and Twitch, do so and they will fuck your channel over.

"If I can't act like a shithead towards a company who I want to be associated with and make money from, what even is the point of freedom? They're fucking me over by having standards of conduct that I choose to violate!"

EA targeted his YouTube and Twitch accounts neither of which has anything to do with EA, that's where EA is crossing the line.

If neither had anything to do with EA, then they couldn't target his accounts. Instead, they serve as platforms for him to stream his play of EA's games while abusing EA's other customers. That's something to do with EA. That's targetable as an unauthorized public performance of EA's games.

As for crossing the line... I see that as his abuse of EA's other customers, not EA's revocation of his ability to engage in it. Sorry, not sorry.

 

[jscham]

How we have forgotten that the "customer is always right" is beyond me, even if that customer is an a-hole.

We've forgotten it because it's idiotic, overly reductive, and the genesis of shitlord behavior.

Sometimes you have to politely tell "May I Speak To The Manager" Karen that you're willing to do without her business and her consistent abuse of your employees, and to please get the fuck out of your coffee shop.

i wish i could upvote this until the upvote broke

 

[Inaksa]

I give him some credit. He made something I thought impossible: side with EA.

 

[scrimbul]

why haven't Twitch banned me

Good fucking question.

'Newsworthy' exemption probably.

 

[Grashnak]

Fenech is right, but he said his views in such a terrible way that he discredited himself.

Humans are just so stupid that they think only one party in an argument can do wrong. Both sides are wrong here.

EA is a tyrannical corporation. EA should be ashamed of how awful FIFA and all of its sports games are year after year.

EA puts in minimal effort to update rosters each year. Then they charge you $60 for the same game you bought last year and take away your ultimate team from last year to make you start buying a new one.

Edit: I couldn't quickly find newer numbers but apparently EA was paying something like $50 million for the exclusive license back in 2013 or so.

EA aggressively monetizes and adds gambling to every aspect of their (rated-E-for-kids!) sports games. EA is shareholder suckling scum.

Fenech may be rude and uncouth. Some of his followers are script kiddies. But Fenech is ultimately right about EA's greed, laziness, and corruption.

Please explain how EA is forcing you to update if you don’t think its worth the money.

If you don’t want to buy the next release, then don’t vote with your wallet. But as people keep buying, EA clearly sees, what its doing is sufficient. Because the clientele keeps buying.

You may be unhappy with it, but as long as you’re buying, you’re saying its enough, no matter what you may be saying with your mouth or on inline fora.

There really isn't any option. For the NFL and FIFA, EA have bought a monopoly. People used to have a choice when it came to official games. Hence why EA ponied up to buy exclusive licenses.

I'm of the opinion exclusive licenses should be disallowed. Yes, you need a license to participate commercially. But, you can't buy exclusivity in any medium.

Good luck getting anyone to pay you millions of dollars for the license to your league but not have the license be exclusive.

Why should the rest of us care? The major sports leagues can still command high prices, and now they can do so with multiple studios. I'm failing to see a problem.

Or, hell, NFL could license for $5m and get 12 developers and make $60 million rather than $50.

But, then, I'm not an executive for many very valid reasons

You think there are 12 companies out there who could make an annual NFL video game and make enough money at it to justify an upfront $5 million license fee? Yeah, no.

 

[Faanchou]

"One thing's for sure: there's a revolution on the way," Fenech said in a November video. "You have to pick a side. And choose a side wisely."

You can play EA games or you can play Fenech games. Choose wisely.

 

[eckso]

I don't follow eSports or streamers in general, but just from reading these types of articles over the years it seems like they are filled with assholes and game companies who are terrible at consistently enforcing ToS/rules.

Publishers and streaming platforms profit from these assholes. Bad actors have to become more trouble than they're [literally] worth in order to receive a punishment that can act as a deterrent to others.

 

[Thr2hrmrf]

The guy may be an offensive shithead, but throwing him entirely off the platform is overstepping.

Revoke his online multiplayer access? Sure

But to ban him from every single game in his EA account? Yeah, no.

Can't he just make new account?

Heck, he probably doesn't even need to make new email account because you can just add "dot" anywhere on Gmail or add +suffix before @. This will make the email looks new to almost all services

He presumably paid for games in his library that are now revoked.

That's the problem to me.

It's not a matter of "creating a new account" it's that goods and/or services paid for have been stripped.

They might have legal grounds to stand on to revoke his multiplayer ability due to his toxic behavior, but I don't believe they have grounds to terminate his ability to play games single-player due to toxic behavior.

Pretty sure the Terms of Service cover this, actually. From Section 6:

"If you or someone using your EA Account violates these rules and fails to remedy this violation after a warning, EA may take action against you, including revoking access to certain or all EA Services, Content or Entitlements, or terminating your EA Account as described in Section 8."

Would this clause (and the revocation of "purchased" content licenses) hold up in a court of law if it came to a lawsuit? I'm not a lawyer, but I think there's a good chance it would.

Edit: Link - https://tos.ea.com/legalapp/WEBTERMS/US/en/PC/#section6

law suit?

It just so happens one of our company lawyers was passing by my office when I read this, I asked her.

Didn't spend a lot of time on it, and it was a few quick generalities, but basically; If you pay something like a subscription/access fee on some re-occurring or one time basis (e.g. monthly. annually, one time, etc...) and they receive the payment then banned you during the subscription/access period that payment covered, or you purchased a 'content license' that can no longer be used due to being banned, if they will not refund in full you can sue for that amount if such a suit is allowed in the state. There also seems a time limit as well but it varies from state to state. But they can ban you from the game at anytime if its in violation of their terms of use, and you can't sue for that because its their property.

 

[wagnerrp]

Thank you, Captain Obvious. That's why we're discussing licensing. People want to play as their favorite actual player.

Why?

Hence why non-licensed games don't push numbers like licensed games do. When licensing wasn't elusive, real competition helped to create more varied and better overall experiences. Now, non-licensed players don't put in as much effort knowing they'll see lower purchasing numbers, and all the money for folks like EA goes to licensing and monetization (not gameplay).

Or is it advertising? I have never once seen an ad for PES. I see ads for FIFA all the time. What kind of numbers do you actually need if you don't have a $50M license buyout?

 

[thekaj]

Just like in real pro sports or a boy band: of course you can give yourself the image of the "outlaw", but you need to know precisely how far you can go with your commercial stakeholders and then stay well clear of that line! This guy however apparently did not know.

Maybe he should team up with Antonio Brown to start their own league of people who don't understand why they can't bite someone's hand while still expecting to be fed.

 

[Deleted member 174040]

Sometimes you have to politely tell "May I Speak To The Manager" Karen that you're willing to do without her business and her consistent abuse of your employees, and to please get the fuck out of your coffee shop.

Karen?

Niiiice.

 

[matthewmspace]

First heard about this from some YouTubers who cover gaming news in general. Can't believe I'm saying this, but EA is totally justified in permabanning him. He's had multiple chances to apologize and fix his behavior, but after all this time, it needs to stop. We can all agree that EA is a terrible company, but this is not the way to act about it. He seriously needs to just chill. It's EA's usually crappy soccer game that hasn't advanced in the last 5-10 years, it's not like it's the coronavirus or anything important.

 

[wagnerrp]

Sometimes you have to politely tell "May I Speak To The Manager" Karen that you're willing to do without her business and her consistent abuse of your employees, and to please get the fuck out of your coffee shop.

Karen?

Niiiice.

It's an industry standard term.

 

[agpob]

IDK. I find it hard to comprehend that there are millions just like him that stare into a video monitor, spewing obscenities as easily as breathing, looking for the next virtual punch, kick, rape or kill, and call it fun? "What an age we live in" - H. Simpson

 

[DirtyJ]

How we have forgotten that the "customer is always right" is beyond me, even if that customer is an a-hole.

We've forgotten it because it's idiotic, overly reductive, and the genesis of shitlord behavior.

Sometimes you have to politely tell "May I Speak To The Manager" Karen that you're willing to do without her business and her consistent abuse of your employees, and to please get the fuck out of your coffee shop.

Coming from someone who currently works as a Tier 1 Support Desk Technician, and with face to face sales experience (AT&T). DAMN STRAIGHT. The customer can sure be an id10t!

Example:
Customer: "Can you help me with this?"
Me: "Sure! Try this!"
Customer: "No, that's wrong. You're an idiot."
Me: Thinking to myself...."Why did you call the Help Desk then?"

 

[Deleted member 174040]

Sometimes you have to politely tell "May I Speak To The Manager" Karen that you're willing to do without her business and her consistent abuse of your employees, and to please get the fuck out of your coffee shop.

Karen?

Niiiice.

It's an industry standard term.

It's also hilarious.

 

[Faanchou]

I'd say overall his attention grabbing tactics are working. His YouTube channel is now posted to this website, for thousands of new people to learn who he is. Only if a fraction of a % side with him and subscribe, he is successful. I've never heard of him before, and now I"m watching his video on YouTube...

I'm kind of curious about what in the article made you think "that channel is worth watching" but not curious enough to ask.

 

[Asvarduil]

Dude.

You made EA the good guys.

Yeah, it's a real hell of a thing, when you make EA - the game company known for being actually evil - make you take a break because even they think you're too big of an asshole.

Looks like Cracked is going to have to update their list of the biggest dick moves in gaming; someone has decided they want a prominent place on the Wall of Shame.

 

[IncorrigibleTroll]

Thank you, Captain Obvious. That's why we're discussing licensing. People want to play as their favorite actual player.

Why?

Because sports geeks are the biggest geeks. We're talking about the sort of people who will cosplay in the grocery store or LARP at a public park or play their tabletop games in the office.

 

[Asvarduil]

Thank you, Captain Obvious. That's why we're discussing licensing. People want to play as their favorite actual player.

Why?

Because sports geeks are the biggest geeks. We're talking about the sort of people who will cosplay in the grocery store or LARP at a public park or play their tabletop games in the office.

Oh hell no.

EDIT: I wasn't specifically intending to find a bad cosplay of Nott, Mollymauk, and Caleb of the Mighty Nein, but I'm not sad that I did.

 

[Geebs]

I'm not sure EA is done with this mess. This guy seems like your standard demagogue wannabe. He might be able to get a group of followers rabid enough to cause much more trouble.

I believe the next stage in the internet demagogue lifecycle is to go full on conspiracy nut and make money from dick cream and brain pills. Judging from the quotes, I think he’s going to do just fine for himself in that market.

 

[IncorrigibleTroll]

Thank you, Captain Obvious. That's why we're discussing licensing. People want to play as their favorite actual player.

Why?

Because sports geeks are the biggest geeks. We're talking about the sort of people who will cosplay in the grocery store or LARP at a public park or play their tabletop games in the office.

Oh hell no.

EDIT: I wasn't specifically intending to find a bad cosplay of Nott, Mollymauk, and Caleb of the Mighty Nein, but I'm not sad that I did.

Ahem.

 

[Albino_Boo]

Thank you, Captain Obvious. That's why we're discussing licensing. People want to play as their favorite actual player.

Why?

Because sports geeks are the biggest geeks. We're talking about the sort of people who will cosplay in the grocery store or LARP at a public park or play their tabletop games in the office.

Nah it's the Agents 47 cosplayers that are worst, there are millions of bald blokes in dark suits.

 

[Deleted member 1]

Thank you, Captain Obvious. That's why we're discussing licensing. People want to play as their favorite actual player.

Why?

Hence why non-licensed games don't push numbers like licensed games do. When licensing wasn't elusive, real competition helped to create more varied and better overall experiences. Now, non-licensed players don't put in as much effort knowing they'll see lower purchasing numbers, and all the money for folks like EA goes to licensing and monetization (not gameplay).

Or is it advertising? I have never once seen an ad for PES. I see ads for FIFA all the time. What kind of numbers do you actually need if you don't have a $50M license buyout?

The why is because it ruins the immersion, whether you're playing as "the brains" of the real thing, or as an user-created avatar playing alongside the stars of the game. It's one of the reasons why PES is a distant second to FIFA despite it being the "better" game (or at least used to the last time I gave it a shot.. unfortunately my entire friend circle is firmly FIFA only).

Advert-wise, it's gone down of late, but it's probably because A) the money spent wasn't enough to offset the .. "oh, wait, I can't play as my team or in my league" disadvantage or B) because it got redirected to directly license players and stadiums directly from the teams - ie my Arsenal signed a 3 year extension before the start of the season...

 

[Asvarduil]

Thank you, Captain Obvious. That's why we're discussing licensing. People want to play as their favorite actual player.

Why?

Because sports geeks are the biggest geeks. We're talking about the sort of people who will cosplay in the grocery store or LARP at a public park or play their tabletop games in the office.

Oh hell no.

EDIT: I wasn't specifically intending to find a bad cosplay of Nott, Mollymauk, and Caleb of the Mighty Nein, but I'm not sad that I did.

Ahem.

You know...you make a damn fine point.

Even the person going as Mollymauk is still going as a 'regular' person - however one defines that to apply to a carnie Tiefling.

The sports fans? Not so much.

My mind isn't 100% changed...but it is less than 100% changed. And it makes me sad.

Also the dude in the second photo looks like a member of Blue Man Group who trespassed in Willy Wonka's candy factory. Someone may have to juice him.

 

[clackerd]

Fenech sounds like an entitled, bad-mannered little prick, and that assessment is based on his own words. He won't learn anything from this, either.

 

[wagnerrp]

Thank you, Captain Obvious. That's why we're discussing licensing. People want to play as their favorite actual player.

Why?

The why is because it ruins the immersion, whether you're playing as "the brains" of the real thing, or as an user-created avatar playing alongside the stars of the game. It's one of the reasons why PES is a distant second to FIFA despite it being the "better" game (or at least used to the last time I gave it a shot.. unfortunately my entire friend circle is firmly FIFA only).

Advert-wise, it's gone down of late, but it's probably because A) the money spent wasn't enough to offset the .. "oh, wait, I can't play as my team or in my league" disadvantage or B) because it got redirected to directly license players and stadiums directly from the teams - ie my Arsenal signed a 3 year extension before the start of the season...

So make artificial players and teams that people can care about. Rather than basing the players off real world stats, have the artificial characters improve over time based off the in-game performance of gamers using them. You'll give gamers a real, vested interest in the players they choose to use, rather than just living vicariously through someone who doesn't even know they exist.

 

[Hopefully Smarter]

Fuck him.

 

[IncorrigibleTroll]

Thank you, Captain Obvious. That's why we're discussing licensing. People want to play as their favorite actual player.

Why?

The why is because it ruins the immersion, whether you're playing as "the brains" of the real thing, or as an user-created avatar playing alongside the stars of the game. It's one of the reasons why PES is a distant second to FIFA despite it being the "better" game (or at least used to the last time I gave it a shot.. unfortunately my entire friend circle is firmly FIFA only).

Advert-wise, it's gone down of late, but it's probably because A) the money spent wasn't enough to offset the .. "oh, wait, I can't play as my team or in my league" disadvantage or B) because it got redirected to directly license players and stadiums directly from the teams - ie my Arsenal signed a 3 year extension before the start of the season...

So make artificial players and teams that people can care about. Rather than basing the players off real world stats, have the artificial characters improve over time based off the in-game performance of gamers using them. You'll give gamers a real, vested interest in the players they choose to use, rather than just living vicariously through someone who doesn't even know they exist.

What you're describing is catnip for us RPG lovers, but it most definitely is not what sports game players typically want. Think about how successful Guitar Hero would have been if it was all custom tracks or tracks that players could compose themselves using simple tools. It would have tanked. The point of these sorts of games is to pretend to be the famous person you already idolize, not to chart your own path.

 

[bobdude11]

"We deserve a damn football game"

You think that you deserve a game, really? People are really becoming too entitled.

"Deserve's got nuthin to do with it."
- William Munny

 

[LosAngelesPandas]

If the game is soooo baaad. And soooo broken,
Why are you playing it buddy???

What a total pain in the butt,
Maybe he’ll learn something from this, seems like EA has been pretty clear about the escalation and gave him plenty of chances to change.

Nothing of value was lost here.

Dare I say it? Good job EA.

He's playing it because he gets to be a real MLG gamer and make more money than most people do in a lifetime sitting on the couch playing videogames.

The surprised pikachu face when the stupid prize comes for playing stupid games and talk of revolution, whatever that means, is the cherry on top of the proverbial cake.

I didn't previously but I completely understand why nobody likes gamers now. Wastes of resources like this come to mind.

 

[Z1ggy]

Thank you, Captain Obvious. That's why we're discussing licensing. People want to play as their favorite actual player.

Why?

Because sports geeks are the biggest geeks. We're talking about the sort of people who will cosplay in the grocery store or LARP at a public park or play their tabletop games in the office.

Oh hell no.

EDIT: I wasn't specifically intending to find a bad cosplay of Nott, Mollymauk, and Caleb of the Mighty Nein, but I'm not sad that I did.

Ahem.

You know...you make a damn fine point.

Even the person going as Mollymauk is still going as a 'regular' person - however one defines that to apply to a carnie Tiefling.

The sports fans? Not so much.

My mind isn't 100% changed...but it is less than 100% changed. And it makes me sad.

Also the dude in the second photo looks like a member of Blue Man Group who trespassed in Willy Wonka's candy factory. Someone may have to juice him.

1 group of people go to a sports arena dressed up.
1 group of people go anywhere dressed up.

Ill let you decide who is the bigger geek.

 

[LosAngelesPandas]

Fenech sounds like an entitled, bad-mannered little prick, and that assessment is based on his own words. He won't learn anything from this, either.

A lawsuit will be filed, probably.

 

[Z1ggy]

Thank you, Captain Obvious. That's why we're discussing licensing. People want to play as their favorite actual player.

Why?

The why is because it ruins the immersion, whether you're playing as "the brains" of the real thing, or as an user-created avatar playing alongside the stars of the game. It's one of the reasons why PES is a distant second to FIFA despite it being the "better" game (or at least used to the last time I gave it a shot.. unfortunately my entire friend circle is firmly FIFA only).

Advert-wise, it's gone down of late, but it's probably because A) the money spent wasn't enough to offset the .. "oh, wait, I can't play as my team or in my league" disadvantage or B) because it got redirected to directly license players and stadiums directly from the teams - ie my Arsenal signed a 3 year extension before the start of the season...

So make artificial players and teams that people can care about. Rather than basing the players off real world stats, have the artificial characters improve over time based off the in-game performance of gamers using them. You'll give gamers a real, vested interest in the players they choose to use, rather than just living vicariously through someone who doesn't even know they exist.

What you're describing is catnip for us RPG lovers, but it most definitely is not what sports game players typically want. Think about how successful Guitar Hero would have been if it was all custom tracks or tracks that players could compose themselves using simple tools. It would have tanked. The point of these sorts of games is to pretend to be the famous person you already idolize, not to chart your own path.

yeah theres a reason why people remember tecmo bowl, and not 10-yard fight.

 

[effgee]

"All of that would have been avoided if you gave me the microphone so I can speak to the people that were watching which were watching for me”

Everything you need to know about a person’s character is in this one sentence. The self-entitled, thin-skinned choleric whinger.