EA Rom said:
:shock:
Just to try to bring in a bit of context, we measure all sorts of game telemetry and community commentary far outside the realms of this forum, and that's what forms the basis for a lot of the prioritisation that goes on. We have to do that because, actually, the experience of the vast majority of people who play FIFA is not particularly well reflected by the content of this forum alone. That's not some sort of swipe at the forum or something, by the way - it's very important to us indeed - it's just a statement of fact. It's the nature of the beast.
There's two reasons for that really: 1) Generally speaking, people only come to this forum when they have a problem or criticism. And that's totally fair enough; it's the same for the forums associated with any game, but it does skew things off in one direction and we need to gain as balanced a view as possible. 2) The things that people care most about on this forum aren't necessarily the things that most people are actually doing in the game. We know that because we can see it, real time.
Anyway, that's a bit of context. Basically, from a top-down view, relative 'volume' on this forum in any one area is actually only part of the picture, albeit a big part.
In terms of the micro-freezing issue, we do know that with the first title update the issue was vastly reduced. It does seem, however, that it's not fixed for some and the dev guys have spent an amazing amount of time trying to figure that out. It's not a simple thing, but that's as techie as I personally can get.
I will do my best to get more in-depth info on it, though.
I'm sorry but I don't see how your two points make sense, let alone what you've said is actually "fact" as you claim. I'd love to hear you explain further, and I'd imagine if you could it would go a ways toward alleviating some of the feelings on the forums that EA aren't interested in what its fans care about.
In your first point you say most people who come on these forums do so only because they have a complaint, and these complaints are not representative of FIFA's wider customer base. Well first of all, there are plenty of people on here who come to support the game, ask a question, or simply share their experiences, like in CM. The first reason I came on these forums had to do with MM a few years ago, and it was only until the last couple years that my posts have taken a more critical lean. From years of first observing and then participating in the FIFA forums, I know that my own experience is reflected by many others and the level of complaints and criticisms were not as high a few years ago as they are now.
Also regarding your first point, that the complaints on these forums skew things off in one direction, I'd like to know why a) when the topic of discussion is a patch you wouldn't be solely interested in complaints and problems, is it even relevant whether the overall level of complaints does or does not skew things off in one direction as you say; and b) why you believe the complaints, concerns and feelings of these forums are not a decent sample of your general customer base to begin with?
Which segues into your second reason, that things people care most about on this forum aren't necessarily the things that most people are actually doing in the game. Again, I'm most interested to know how you can be so certain that these forums are not a decent sample of the general FIFA customer population. You say you're certain because you "can see it, real time." Well big-brother conspiracy theories aside, what in the world does that actually mean? What, you know every time some kid curses at his FIFA game because his starting CB declines in OVR in Career Mode? Or you know every time Iniesta gets unrealistically barged-off the ball by a defender? Or you're able to monitor the number of FIFA players who now refrain from using any tackle or pressure buttons when they play because the auto-tackle and jockey systems are all you need now to defend efficiently (and realistically) in FIFA?
I have been playing FIFA or one football game or another for about two decades now, yet I've only participated in online forums regarding these games in the last couple years, and only began observing the same forums a couple years earlier. So for much of my FIFA-playing lifetime, I've done so as one of the silent majority, yet my complaints and interests in the game were the same then as they are now. It's just that before I never bothered to participate in an online community. Nonetheless I was still interested in a working management mode, realistic physics, quality animations, etc. Why is it you believe that those who participate in these forums are so different from those who do not?
I'm curious to know what it is people are actually doing in the game, that EA is watching in "real-time," that is so different from the experiences represented on these forums? When I speak to friends who do not participate in online forums, or those who are in other forums than these, the feedback I see is quite in-line with what's presented here. I see no indication whatsoever that the priorities expressed by fans here are not representative of the greater FIFA fanbase. Unless EA's ability to watch "in real-time" includes some form of mind-reading, how in the world do you know what FIFA fans are thinking about your game is not well-represented by this community?
I'm getting tired of EA hiding behind the accusation that the FIFA forums are not a decent representation of the wider FIFA customer base, and I'd really appreciate a greater explanation of how EA manages to acquire better feedback that what's provided here. I may disagree with a lot of what is posted in these forums but I see no reason to consider the FIFA forums to be a weak sample of FIFA players reactions, impressions, expectations, and priorities. So why does EA?
