Ready to Launch?

I mentioned this in passing a few weeks ago, but video game launches, especially with hardware but also software, can be complicated, frustrating, blood-soaked really happy family playing affairs.  In essence, when a new console comes out, as Sony’s Playstation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One did in November, what those early adopters are opting for is to be paying beta testers.  They are the first customers to experience the new technology and games, but they also volunteer to

risk bearing the brunt of any early issues which the new device might face that the company either overlooked or lacked time to correct before the launch. 

Console developers generally have a lot on their plate after the release of their new systems.  That is why no one is smiling when one of their major third party publishers, like Electronic Arts (EA), finds itself suddenly mired in legal troubles over their military shooter game, Battlefield 4.  Video games are no longer the niche entertainment pastime of the late 20^th century.  Big dollar signs are often involved, which makes headlines such as this significant: When a flagship release is riddled with the kind of problems that are usually ironed out in quality assurance, customers can be a querulous bunch.  Several such widespread issues were discovered soon after launch, with bugs, crashes, corrupting save files, server issues, some even making the game unplayable.  The game was also the target of a DDoS attack in November.  DICE, EA’s Sweden-based studio that developed the game, offered official apologies for the troubles, but the release of the game’s first batch of downloadable content (DLC; subsequent game content released after the initial game), titled “China Rising,” brought with it a new host of bugs, sending ill feelings further plummeting, given voice on official forums and social media pages.  Stock prices were soon to follow, falling from $28.13 per share in August to $21.01 in December.

Several lawsuits were subsequently filed; one, a class-action suit from securities firm Robbins Geller Rudman and Dowd LLP.  The gist of all combined is essentially the same: EA violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing “Materially false and misleading statements highlighting the purported strength of the Company’s rollout of version 4 of its all-important Battlefield video game series.”  One of these statements, from CEO Peter Moore, claimed “We couldn't be happier with the quality of the games our teams are producing or the early reception those games are getting from critics and consumers.”  This had the effect of raising EA’s stock prices, says the suit, by encouraging investments, which also allowed several EA executives to sell their shares at these artificially high prices prior to the game’s release. 

Moreover, the delay to future projects caused by DICE’s scramble to fix Battlefield’s issues, including new Battlefield DLC, is another subject of the suit, which states EA has now been hindered from achieving “the financial results it had told the market it was on track to achieve during the Class period.”

As for EA, the company views these claims as meritless, stating “We intend to aggressively defend ourselves, and we’re confident the court will dismiss the complaint in due course.”  In the meantime, the law firm has until February to find a plaintiff for their case—a case which, according to UK law firm Sheridan’s Alex Tutty, may be difficult to prove intentional deceit on the software giant’s part.  “You'd have to prove that they knowingly gave false information, and it would be difficult to know about all the bugs that would crop up on the PlayStation 4 version. EA can probably produce a lot of evidence to suggest they didn't perceive the extent of the problem, or didn't have sight of it until after launch,” says Tutty.

Whatever the outcome proves to be, damage done to an organization’s reputation is difficult to restore, especially among gamers, and dealing with lawsuits is no treat either.  But, as more games seem to be released to similar glitches and other troublesome issues, such as Grand Theft Auto V’s online multiplayer mode after its September launch, one wonders if such imperfect launches will become an industry standard for customers to expect in the future.

The other overriding moral to the story is: How can ‘we, the people’ exert our voice when companies take such a lackadaisical attitude toward our general well being?  Find somewhere else to spend our money.  That’s what I do.  Either way, EA now has a road ahead to repair its image and relationship with customers after this breach of trust. 

Written by Jonathan Weicher

http://www.netlib.com/blog/application-security/Ready-to-Launch.asp