The Video Game Critic

Just went through the agonizing process of getting my PS4 online with Playstation Plus, and it was every bit as aggravating as I expected. My buddy in Kentucky went through the same process.

First, I needed to buy a code off Amazon. The good news is, it's just $49. The bad news is, I had to enter my credit card info again. Why? Apparently Sony wants to keep your payment information so they can make it REALLY EASY for you to buy stuff with their wallet system. How convenient.

Next I was prompted to sign in. I vaguely recall setting up some kind of account when I initially got my system, but I still had to go through endless prompts requesting far more info that they needed (date of birth, address).

Then you need to wade through the privacy settings. By default, it's wide open, but that's not wise from an identity protection point of view. The problem is, when you tighten those up it makes it hard to link up with a friend. So me and my buddy had to mess around with those.

Finally got Madden loaded and online, and guess what? I need to create an EA account! Why can't it just use my Sony credentials? Oh well I had to go through another account creation process, including security questions. When I chose not to share my personal info, it said "are you sure you don't want to share for a free team pack?" So now they are bribing people to share their personal info. Then I have to go through prompts to update several aspects of the game. Why not just update everything at once? Why does it even ask me if I can't play online without it??

Setting up a contest between me and my friend was a fiasco. You'd think by now it would be an intuitive process but it's anything but. Took us about a half hour to start a game. Then we couldn't hear each other talk. We played the game with no chat and it was okay. There are a lot of bugs in EAs games but some are downright entertaining.

Afterwards we figured out that we had to share our voice in the party settings. How were we supposed to know that?
I didn't even bother to mention the lengthy updates and licensing agreements I was forced to agree to.

Anyway after a better part of the afternoon I'm finally online. Now that wasn't so bad was it?

No offense critic, but you start one of these threads almost every time you play a new modern game. I get that you are always surprised by depths of these requirements, but for most youngsters (the target audience), it's expected.....and therefore, only a mild annoyance.

Got to just let it go. There are TONS of things that were simpler/easier in the "old days", but there are pros and cons of each.

I'm not a online gamer myself, but I do recognize how it has taking gaming to the next level, warts and all.

It's gonna be okay...

Why not use your PC for online gaming instead of consoles? Since your PC lives online, it's already 90% of the way there. All you have to do is install the games and start playing (assuming you use Steam).

Voor wrote:No offense critic, but you start one of these threads almost every time you play a new modern game. I get that you are always surprised by depths of these requirements, but for most youngsters (the target audience), it's expected.....and therefore, only a mild annoyance.

Got to just let it go. There are TONS of things that were simpler/easier in the "old days", but there are pros and cons of each.

I'm not a online gamer myself, but I do recognize how it has taking gaming to the next level, warts and all.

It's gonna be okay...

Pretty much this. I've had Xbox Live for well over 12 years, and never had a privacy crisis or experienced hacking/theft.

The Critic is not alone in his frustrations.
http://www.reaxxion.com/2108/the-death-by-suicide-of-console-gaming

On top of everything else, he paid his money to play a game with a friend online and had an afternoon of headaches. Thats a genuine customer service issue. Saying you did not have that issue, or that the modern process is the way it is so stop complaining is not constructive, and worse, its being dismissive.

Younger gamers may not know any better, but those who do need to speak up.
I am the video game critic for crying out loud. I'm not here to make excuses for these companies.
It's my job to call them out. Just calling it like I see it.

I hope my message will be useful to those who run into similar problems.
Me and my buddy were scouring the Internet for answers but they can be hard to find.

Did PS+ really force you to put in cc info? I didn't have to do that when I had it a year ago. I used a code from Amazon like you to activate my existing free PS3 PSN account.

I would never ever put cc info on such a thing.

Voor wrote:No offense critic, but you start one of these threads almost every time you play a new modern game. I get that you are always surprised by depths of these requirements, but for most youngsters (the target audience), it's expected.....and therefore, only a mild annoyance.

Got to just let it go. There are TONS of things that were simpler/easier in the "old days", but there are pros and cons of each.

I'm not a online gamer myself, but I do recognize how it has taking gaming to the next level, warts and all.

It's gonna be okay...

The Critic is not the target audience so stop spending your money where it isn't appreciated Critic. No offense Voor, but your post reads like that of an apologist. "Let's not get our panties all stained. It's the way it has to be. It's the future of gaming. There's good and bad. It can't be all good now can it?"

It's not going to be okay. It's going to get worse for a long time before there's even a possibility of it starting to get better. How is it okay that the game solicits consumers to share information in exchange for game content? I say no thanks.

I guess I feel that way because nobody is FORCING you to play that game. Yeah, all those online requirements are stupid, but is that really a surprise? Especially coming from EA?

So....

Return the game and spend your hard earned cash on another game that meets your preferences and doesn't put you through all that drama and headache. Lots of choices out there.

I get that the critic doesn't like this stuff, and he is right to call EA out on it. I hate it too, which is why I don't mess with it. My point is, is that nobody should be surprised by it.

EA has a monopoly on NFL video games so they have us by the balls and will squeeze as hard as they can to milk every penny out of us they can. So what other online nfl choices do we have Voor? Zero zip nadda. So yes we are forced to deal with this crap if we want to play NFL online with our games consoles.

It's not cool one bit and I'm afraid it will continue until another company can make nfl licensed games. This has gone on long enough.