You know when companies get in on viral memes but they don't quite hit the mark? Well, EA's Twitter account recently posted something of the sort, appearing to mock single-player gamers using a particular meme format.
The meme in question is the "You're a 10 but..." one, and EA decided to anchor it around single-player games, which errr, went down well...
Vince Zampella, head of Respawn Entertainment (an EA-owned studio) hit back with a simple facepalm emoji. Respawn is known as a multiplayer-focused studio, but its recent work on Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has shed a light on the team's single-player chops.
That's not the only EA-based response we got either. BioWare writer Patrick Weekes quote-tweeted the publisher, thinking back to when the studio crunched to help ship the single-player-focused Mass Effect 2.
In a tweet that seems to have made waves across the broader industry, non-EA devs even got in on the act. Xbox Game Studio Obsidian posted a pretty simple tweet, with a message that all games are good, basically.
There's more besides as well, and to be honest, we're quite surprised EA hasn't taken the thing down yet. It's certainly not got the response they'd have wanted for a 'jokey' meme, but that's what you get when you're a publisher as notable as EA, appearing to mock single-player games and the people who play them.
What do you reckon to this effort from EA? How bad did they miss the mark? Let us know below.
Comments 26
Removed - trolling/baiting
@JetmanUK
No-one:
EA: "Haha, Single Player games are bad"
Fans: "WTF?"
EA: "It's a meme joke"
@Richnj If Nintendo tweeted this no one would have batted an eyelid.
@Microbius Haha yep, the land of the offended.
Such a nothingburger. But outrage olympics are always searching for the next big high...
@JetmanUK Wouldn't have made it funny either.
People really can't take jokes anymore. It's sad!
@Richnj Or offensive.
@JetmanUK an ex-white supremacist telling unfunny racial jokes might be recieved as offensive too.
If the joke had been smart and funny, or if EA hadn't once tried to kill the single player game, this would have gone differently.
Context is key. And the context is very awkward.
@Richnj I have no idea where your racial comments came from, they have no place in the context of the comments on EA's tweet. That would be on another level!
You are clearly so triggered and not thinking straight fella.
Go take a lie down.
Wow, just wow.
And you really really hate EA don't you? Don't let it eat you up champ.
@JetmanUK Telling me I'm not thinking straight and you don't even know what an analogy is.
All I've been doing is trying to explain why people reacted to this the way they did. And you've placed an emotional investment on to me that isn't there. Think all that triggered talk is a bit of projection on your part.
Always warms my heart to see people come to the defense of a multi-billion dollar corporation from backlash to their bad PR moves. To be a poor multi-billion dollar corporation these days can be so stressful.
@Richnj I am fully aware what an analogy is mate, I use them all the time, but to compare EA's tweet to an 'ex-white supremacist telling unfunny racial jokes', well I think you don't know how to use one properly.
Nah, the fact that you made such an over the top analogy shows me that there's more here than you are now trying to lead me to believe. Not buying it. I can see you there, in the distance, hastily walking back from your comments.
That aside, tell me... How do you feel about the tweet?
More importantly how do you feel about EA?
@JetmanUK I feel about EA the same as I feel about all companies. Don't care about the tweet one bit. Why do you care so much about what I think though? Why are you invested in me hating EA for a tweet?.
An analogy is an analogy. The comparison wasn't calling EA racist, it was saying that a thing that use to unironically engage in a thing, now doing it "ironically" or for a joke. I could have use anything. And I 100% stand by it. Not walking away at all.
My biggest investment here is you being angry at people that were angry at EA for doing a meme joke, while you got angry at me for my initial meme joke. It's top quality hypocrisy.
@Richnj I'm not angry. You're the one comparing a video game company to a racist. 🤣 My comments are calm and considered.
Don't deflect now.
Tbh I dont care about your opinion of the tweet much at all, but I was interested as to how you got into the mindset of making such an over the top analogy, seemed like the action of an upset person to me. I was seeking confirmation. I think I have it.
I'll tell you my thoughts on the tweet, and EA now.
Firstly EA, not my favourite, equally I have no hate for them. I guess you'd say pretty neutral. I've enjoyed some of their games over the years, we all have. I've also been disappointed by some, we all have.
The tweet.
Their social media guy was just trying to join in on a funny meme. Remember his employers make video games, fun, recreation, entertainment. They are just a software company. They make games for plastic boxes.
People don't like EA, so they picked up their pitch forks and off they went to overreaction town.
Twitter is the place to go if you want to be offended, even if there's nothing there to be offended about, people will still find it. Amusing and just a bit of a shame that that is some people's mindset.
Hypocrisy? Where?
Removed - inappropriate
I don’t understand
I mean it's just kind of a stupid tweet to make. I'm not bothered by it in the slightest, but it would be like McDonald's saying "they're a 10 but they only eat Big Macs" if they had employees whose sole purpose was to make Big Macs. I mean, they have two HUGE single player games in the pipeline right now in the form of SW Jedi and the Dead Space reboot. Why disrespect your own developers?
Also, I don't play EA multiplayer. I specifically avoid them. For reasons that are EA's own stupid fault. So this tweet makes even less sense. If anything, I would consider only playing SP a plus.
See look, now i'm all worked up over something I don't even care about lol. Dammit EA, I'm blaming you for this.
When the comments on this topic are funnier and more enjoyable in the ps community than pxb, you know it's time to log off and play a game ...
Reminds me of that tone deaf tweet someone at Xbox made about gatekeeping lol
@JetmanUK by any chance are you a shareholder of EA lol
EA is tone deaf. Always have been.
Multiplayer (usually) make more money than single player games (think of the all mtx) so of course ea like multiplayer more.
It's important to note that it was likely one person at EA that wrote this tweet. Social media managers aren't usually considered high level employees. Sometimes they are given statements to post on behalf of the executives but that was almost certainly not the case here. Sometimes individual bias will bleed into a corporate twitter post.
Saying "I can't believe EA thinks like this" might not be accurate as it was probably one low to mid level employee making a joke they thought was funny.
I do not know why this would be considered news. In the current world where there is too many far left and far right comments, too much us vs them with communism and democracies, too many console war fanboys, and now we have single vs multiplayer fanboys scouring the net to make the other look bad.
Maybe news on gameplay of games, inspiration coming from games, etc would be better? Deciding who's values and views are right and wrong is bad. It is not like they posted that single player games are bad. They are just pointing out a fact about single player games. Some people look at this fact both positively and negatively. There are a lot of gamers who only play MP games, just like there are a lot that only play SP games. Neither makes the people any less of a gamer. To me it is the difference between competing vs art. MP games are competitive experiences. SP games are about games as an art form.
@NeoRatt Not all MP games are competitive. Competitive is one category of MP games, but you can also have co-op for example. That's not competitive.
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