Community Feedback Discussion

[Roy38]

Boy who did not see this coming.



I am going to jump in here as I have been around the industry and people working in it for quite some time. You are obviously a younger person or someone who has had little to no business experience. There will always be perks for people who cover the industry. In my time at OS I was given early access to the original Xbox Live and a personalized Headset for doing an interview with the announcer of Inside Drive 2004. Both myself and Steve Noah are listed as Free Agents in Inside Drive. The guys at 2Ksports always found a way to get us in the MLB games as minor league players. EA just happened to create a game changers program. They give a an outlet to people well known in the forums to cover information with their fellow forum members. If you think being "bought" is a company reimbursing you after what Paakka tried to explain to you then you are either a young fooolish teenager or just stirring up trouble because some feature of NCAA is not working to your liking.

I would have thought the way I outlined my post would indicate I am a mature person with a legitimate concern. I am married, have two children, and own my own successful business.

If you notice, I put "bought" in "quotes". It was an implied reference because I wasn't positive of the exact benefit the participants received. As Paakka outlined earlier,

[I]"Since many of the community event attendees were required to take time off from their employment--sometimes without having vacation time or paid time off to use to offset the time away--expenses were compensated. All community event attendees--not just those in the Game Changers program--also received a free copy of the game prior to retail release."

So to be clear, he does indicate that expenses were compensated, which could mean they were actually paid along with the other benefits. Since he was a little vague in his comment, at least to me, I used the term "bought" in "quotes". Again, regardless what they were given, my point remains the same. For all intents and purposes, these participants were brought in to provide information or knowledge to EA in exchange for travel, food, lodging, and a free copy of the game as well as early access at the very least. I would consider that a consulting "fee" on their product which, as you indicate, would be a reimbursement.

By the way, is the game to your liking?