25 replies to this topic

[Audioboxer]

Quote

In an effort to downplay SimCity’s always online component that has rendered thousands of players unable to play the game due to unexpected maintenance, EA has hired hundreds of Chinese internet spammers to spin the news positively.



On gaming boards like GameFAQs, IGN and NeoGAF, new registrations have spiked causing some forum administrators to shut down registration. They have reported that a majority of the IPs originate from China and that those users have only posted in threads regarding SimCity complaints. Many share similar themes and phrases including:

Quote

“I like to think of this game as an MMO. You can only play MMOs online so I’m okay with this!”
“Only losers like to play alone. We should make friends with all SimCity players for a better gameplay!”
“Thank you EA for making sure our game will always be up to date!”
“Our patience will be rewarded with a wonderful game!”
“Don’t get a refund so soon, you should give EA another chance!”

We spoke to one of these spammers in an exclusive interview:

Quote

Play4Real: Rumor has it that you are being paid by EA, is this true?
citybuilder229: No, this is not true.
Play4Real: Then why are you posting only good things about SimCity’s always online requirement?
citybuilder229: Because I was told by EA representative to post them.
Play4Real: But you said you weren’t being paid by EA.
citybuilder229: I have not been paid yet.
Play4Real: Oh, okay. Is there anything else you can tell us about this deal you made?
citybuilder229: I am to be paid one RMB (approximately .16 USD) per good post I make.
Play4Real: How many posts have you made?
citybuilder229: 780.

An EA spokesperson has denied these claims saying, “We would never stoop so low as to hire Chinese spammers to post positive spin about SimCity’s always online requirement. There is no reason to since the always online requirement is a good thing.”

Source: http://www.p4rgaming.com/?p=1473

Take with a grain of salt, but there have been a lot of 9/10's popping up on Metacritic - http://www.metacriti...s?dist=positive

edit: Oooops satire website, ah well, have a laugh at the idea

[DARKFiB3R]

It wouldn't have surprised me if it was true. Some serious damage control is needed right about now.

[Growled]

EA has become a really sad company.

[LeGourmand]

It may not be EA directly, it could be the PR/Marketing firm they work with. But then again EA is big enough to have those department.

[MDboyz]

I don't buy this. Real Chinese spammers do not write English that well

[Torolol]

MDboyz, on 08 March 2013 - 01:45, said:

I don't buy this. Real Chinese spammers do not write English that well

but they may have pre-made list of 'good comments',
all they need to do is pick some from that list, and copy-pasting will do the rest.

[Pupik]

Torolol, on 08 March 2013 - 02:00, said:

but they may have pre-made list of 'good comments',
all they need to do is pick some from that list, and copy-pasting will do the rest.

Think he had pre-made answers for that "interview" too?

[Torolol]

Pupik, on 08 March 2013 - 09:02, said:

Think he had pre-made answers for that "interview" too?

Probably not,
after all, it was very likely that he was outsourced by PR company (which he thinks was 'EA representative').

The praise spams were writen quite well,
while in that 'interview' he answer with simpler structured statement.

[Dushmany]

I wouldn't be surprised at all, EA's a shell of what it once was....
I'm not going to add my original post to this, as part of it may not be fact and I'll only have to end up apologising for my mistake....

[Draconian Guppy]

where do I sign up ?

[Xilo]

Dushmany, on 08 March 2013 - 15:07, said:

I wouldn't be surprised at all, EA's a shell of what it once was....
I'm not going to add my original post to this, as part of it may not be fact and I'll only have to end up apologising for my mistake....

What it once was? EA has been ****ting up the industry since the 90s. They really haven't changed as a company.

[nub]

Torolol, on 08 March 2013 - 02:00, said:

but they may have pre-made list of 'good comments',
all they need to do is pick some from that list, and copy-pasting will do the rest.

Would be better to write a script.

[GreyWolf]

[Thread cleaned]

Please take this back to the thread's topic. This is not a discussion about political views, Windows 8 or other Neowin members.

[Intrinsica]

GreyWolf, on 19 March 2013 - 15:22, said:

Please take this back to the thread's topic. This is not a discussion about political views, Windows 8 or other Neowin members.

My eyes were getting wider and wider as the amount of red posts got larger and larger.

On topic, it's a bit of a shame that this isn't real. It would be good for something like this to point out that EA admit they've messed up, even when they continue to say that they didn't.

[Deranged]

Intrinsica, on 19 March 2013 - 15:38, said:

My eyes were getting wider and wider as the amount of red posts got larger and larger.

On topic, it's a bit of a shame that this isn't real. It would be good for something like this to point out that EA admit they've messed up, even when they continue to say that they didn't.

I would think it was Maxis' decision, not EAs. Maxis makes craploads of money and is allowed to operate however they feel is appropriate.