News EA forum ban blocks Dragon Age 2 player

Random question here, assuming people here have Dragon Age 2, as I do, can anybody vouch for needing your forum login at any point to play the game? It had nothing to do with unlocking it for me. I put my Bioware pass and whatnot into the game -after- I'd installed it and was set to play it, but I didn't need to, I could have gone without it.

Where has this story even come from? Some guy complaining on the Internet? Since when does that make something true? I've seen the same story pop up on other sites as well, with not so much of a hint of evidence to back up the claim. Some guy with no name on the Internet says X, Y and Z, and suddenly Bioware are the evil empire? Is that how easy it's gotten to perform smear a company these days?

If somebody can replicate this ban = no game phenomenon then fair enough, it's news. Until then it just looks like a lot of gullible people looking for a reason to rage.

 

Well, the statement from EA pretty much confirms that he's not just making it up:

As for the activation thing I'm not too sure, but it's my understanding that he bought it from the EA Store under that account.

 

By that logic then sentencing someone to sit in an electric chair isn't a death sentence, it's just that they happen not to be able to withstand 10,000 Volts for very long. I think you'll find (A→B)∧(B→C) → (A→C)

 

to add to EA's story just a little more for everyone check this out:
Dragon Age 2 stealth installs Securom without user knowledge or consent

 

It's NOT a freedom of speech issue , a forum is private and you can not say just anything you like on one .. you agree to abide by the rules or your out ... but having ANYTHING to do with your ability to play a legally purchased and owned game is not acceptable and will only change when enough people say it's not

 

OMG, this is like those little ***** admins who ban you from game servers for beating them.

 

The phrase stems from a Faustian bargain (though Faust made this popular, it could well have been a popular phrase before then) where a person has sold their soul to the biblical devil

Not sure the phrase "to sell one's soul to the Devil" appears in Marlowe's Dr Faustus. I think it has more to do with the attempted temptation of Christ by the Devil.

 

Ban for using algebraic logic!

 

Can I add something:

for C&C3 people were banned from the EA forums for posting about EA being **** at making patches (which they truly are!!), and then couldn't play online either. The community managers / mods who were responsible for doing so were reprimanded heavily. Basically a lot of the mods are part time or volunteers or something and just see it as their kingdom and don't actually answer to a higher power, because the higher powers are too busy counting their money and/or making games and/or speaking to journalists. The executive team does not spend a lot of time worrying about community matters I don't think. In the same way the writers on bit-tech will probably spend more time reviewing hardware / games and getting good scoops than poring over every moderator decision.

So if you asked a bioware or EA executive about it, they'd probably swear under their breath, try and cover it up as a misunderstanding or something, while having serious words with the ****tards who ban people from games under their own authority. It's not a one off.

 

Ah Free Speech is winning here then.

 

I won't be using EA forums again then.

 

Looks like Bioware has sold their souls, too. I would never buy a game from a company that would render goods unuseable I have paid good money for being able to use because of a secondary incident in a forum. Maybe Dreaming who posted above has the right clue though. I have experienced quite a few mods who are volunteers who were rather young and abused their power for overly restrictive handling of paying customers discussing game bugs and were very easily offended in their tremendous sense of personal dignity when they got criticized for threating people to close their threads or dealing forum users in an unfair manner. As a consequence I shun certain game publishers and developers.

 

This just happened to me today but I did not call ea the devil, it said this Your Electronic Arts Online account has suspended for 72 hours for violating the Terms of Service for Electronic Arts Online.

Violation:
[rape...shep rape to be specific if that helps

. *slits wrists* ]

Yeah and here's the forum topic where I showed pics ea is going nuts I just bought dragon age ultimate addition and can't use any of my damn DLC because I can't access the damn servers wtf! http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/141/index/6503413/2

First I wasn't even banned from the forums, just from using my DLC via the servers online and in game, but then later I get IP banned all together wtf is going on?

 

This describes roughly 99.9% of forum/game moderators.

 

EA sold their souls years ago, I fear a backlash.............I have been got at, really must go now, FIFA 2......0..11.....

 

The guy is a paying customer.

If he is out of order on the forum then ban him from posting on the forum. That's fine.

To remove his ability to use the product he paid for is a disgrace and questionable in terms of its legality.

One day I hope they p*ss of the wrong customer (someone very rich) who takes them to court just for the principle of the thing and humbles them.

 

That's a very arrogant statement to make, what a tosser!

This sort of attitude just encourages piracy.

 

Looks like they made a 'mistake'

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/games/1283536/ea-accidentally-bans-user-from-dragon-age-ii

 

+1 for that. It's a resounding yes, they have sold their souls.

 

It’s not like what he said was offensive. Merely an opinion. Since when are huge companies so delicate and sensitive?? Surely it’s a bit much, a company like this, meeting out punishment on an individual for such a little thing. As For Mr Woo's comment, its very easy to resent your customers, but displaying such apathy and adding to the hurt with pure arrogance could be quite damaging to his business, particularly as EA already had this customers cash safely in their pocket, they would do well to remember who puts the food on their table!