Linux gamers have found yet again that their ubiquitous operating system remains unwelcome in the context of mainstream entertainment.
The latest insult comes from Electronic Arts, which appears to have issued a few permanent bans to online Battlefield V players attempting to play the game on Linux systems.
Mind you, Battlefield V isn't intended for Linux; the EA game specifies that a 64-bit version of Windows 7, 8.1, or 10 is required. But those committed to Linux can get around that by using Lutris, a Linux gaming client.
Last month, a Battlefield V player claimed that attempting to play the game online using Lutris resulted in getting banned. It would seem to be the fault of EA's server-side anti-cheating system FairFight. A few others participating in the discussion thread said they too had been banned. That's not exactly a mass market catastrophe.
EA apparently considers using Linux to be cheating.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by kazzie on Wednesday January 08 2020, @09:53AM (5 children)
Well, I can join the boycott by not buying the game that I wasn't interested in anyway.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday January 08 2020, @11:34AM (4 children)
If you were going to buy an EA game after their abysmal track record, you deserve what you get anyway.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by loonycyborg on Wednesday January 08 2020, @12:20PM
EA most definitely became decadent. Now they're solely reliant on cash cow franchises. That's because whole company is ruled by marketing. Most of enthusiastic employees have already escaped to unrelated startups. So you can't expect anything interesting from EA unless you're already hooked on one of their cash cows.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday January 08 2020, @12:26PM (1 child)
You don't quite get it. EA is a publisher, the game producers are individual studios. It's like saying there can't be good games on Steam because Valve flip-flopped [arstechnica.com] big time on censorship [segmentnext.com].
Apart from the big titles, EA publishes a non-trivial number of indies [google.com]. Maybe you like them, maybe not, but surely the studios don't sacrifice their ideas for the quick buck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday January 12 2020, @11:33AM
It's about how they treat their customers not the games themselves, though the games themselves tend to be more and more marketing driven as well.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 12 2020, @10:09AM
This! They screwed me over with 2 maps that I bought for Battlefield 2142, and when I tried to get support for my issue(s) they were literally banning people on the community boards for even daring to ask for help. That was the last time I've ever purchased anything from EA! I avoid them like the plague that they are!