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Anthem's bad reviews are because it's not a PC game, and was reviewed on PC, says Michael Pachter (plus other analyst responses to Anthem)

Deleted member 249

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Wedbush's Pachter said EA "made a mistake" by allowing reviews of the PC version of Anthem to surface early. Although the official release of the game was on Feb. 22, subscribers of EA's PC-exclusive Origin Access Premier program were allowed to play the game a week earlier.

"My personal view is that this is just not a PC game — there is flying in the game, and maneuvering your flying character is like driving a car; the controls just don't work well for that on PC, and they work flawlessly on (video game consoles)," he said.

Pachter predicted the console reviews of "Anthem" will likely be 10 points higher on average than their PC counterpart. He described such a score as "still bad, but not a disaster."
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That apart, there are some (slightly more) sensible comments regarding the fiscal impact of Anthem:

"For investors, this doesn't need to be a source of concern," Guilherme Fernandes, market consultant at video game market research firm Newzoo, said Friday in a note, adding that EA is a "highly successful company" overall.

"Investors should keep in mind that not every game will be a record-breaking hit, despite Apex Legends' very promising initial weeks. That said, their expectations will need to be shaped accordingly, bearing in mind that many of EA's revenues are generated by extremely popular yearly iterations such as its sports titles. Naturally, this is not a fool-proof guarantee of the company's future performance but there are no immediate signs of concern," Fernandes said.
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"The chatter on issues with the game surfaced over the weekend, so the review scores are consistent with that," Michael Pachter, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities, said last Friday.

"EA has executed poorly all year (they expect $4.75 billion in revenue now and guided to $5.55 billion 9 months ago). Poor reviews for Anthem are consistent with their poor execution all year," Pachter said. He did, however, acknowledge that "Apex Legends" "is working phenomenally well."
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SOURCE

This much I agree with- letting players play the game a week before its launch and then letting bad word of mouth percolate and impact the actual hype did hamper this game's chances. I for one am glad at how unexpectedly pro-consumer this weird launch schedule ended up being- but between Mass Effect Andromeda, Battlefield 5, and now this, surely EA will be rethinking this going forward.
 
Bigkrev

Bigkrev

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,329
"Made a mistake allowing reviews"
....You put the game out early on PC. You can't embargo something that is... actually out?
 
Jessie

Jessie

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,921
Of course letting consumers know the game was in rough shape ahead of time would hurt sales. But is misleading consumers really the lesson learned here?
 
ArnoldJRimmer

ArnoldJRimmer

Banned
Aug 22, 2018
1,322
Pachter continues to be a clueless idiot. And man does that moron have an axe to grind with pc gaming.

None of the pc reviews ive read or seen on youtube say anything but good things about the games controls on pc. They do complain about everything else which is a common theme with this game accross all platforms.

Fuck off pachter. This is a fucking shooter for christ sakes.
 
CopperPuppy

CopperPuppy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,636
"My personal view is that this is just not a PC game — there is flying in the game, and maneuvering your flying character is like driving a car; the controls just don't work well for that on PC, and they work flawlessly on (video game consoles)," he said.
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Isee

Isee

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
6,235
But the EA subscription service is also available on Xbox, or am I confusing something?
 
Damaniel

Damaniel

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
6,536
Portland, OR
I played it on a PC, it's a PC game. If anything, maybe it will make EA think about doing their 'early if you pay us' releases in the future unless the game is actually ready.
 
sir_crocodile

sir_crocodile

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,509
Wasn't at least one of the console versions super buggy?

would have probably been worse

I don't know why I'm trying to respond intelligently to something pachter said
 
Cyryus

Cyryus

Member
Nov 21, 2017
82
The controls on PC are fine now, flying works as well as you would hope! And the combat is great with KB&M. The only PC problem is the optimization. I can run BFV on my PC and get 90 FPS at 3440 x 1440 on Ultra but Anthem stays at like 50-60 on High.

With that said... played all weekend with my wife and we both have been having a blast. Clearly there are alot of problems with the game that seem fixable but damn its fun playing it on harder difficulty with her.
 
Dio

Dio

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,097
Pachter can be insane sometimes. Yes, different types of input matters, but it's possible to adapt. id even argue that it's a bizarre take, seeing the flying is the most consistently praised thing in all reviews.
to the second point...it would've happened anyway? allowing early access is basically trading long term profit to short, to get those that are impatient to play. a week wouldn't have changed the perception that much.
 
Van Bur3n

Van Bur3n

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
26,089
The controls on PC were hardly the biggest issue for this game. Dare I say it's not even a complaint made at all. This individual speaks words of nothing.
 
Dictator

Dictator

Digital Foundry
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
4,932
Berlin, 'SCHLAND
THe game plays best on PC so I have no idea what the heck he is talking about.

Reading about the "Challenge of Valor" right now - reasons like that, are why the game has reviewed poorly. It is not a good loot shooter maybe?
 
Dalik

Dalik

Member
Nov 1, 2017
3,528
Disagree, a game on PC is a PC game in my opinion, i only game on PC and the controls work well for me i dont know whats he's talking about , the bad word of mouth was caused by EA early access stupid thingy if anything. And to me its clear that the game needed more time but they had to ship it out in the fiscal year.
 
Mullet2000

Mullet2000

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,908
Toronto
A good game is a good game. A bad one is a bad one.

Honestly 95% of PC and console games are very similar these days. I don't get his point about it not being a PC game at all. None of the criticism on Anthem came from its kb/m controls or anything...
 
SunBroDave

SunBroDave

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,165
Given that the game's technical, design, and narrative problems are well documented at this point, an excuse like this can only be the result of ignorance or an attempt at damage control.
 

Deleted member 198

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
12,319
The game did not release a week early.
If you're selling it as an early launch, that doesn't mean it should be an unfinished launch.
 
ZeoVGM

ZeoVGM

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
76,219
Providence, RI
I'll never understand why this guy ever makes a single headline.

He literally doesn't know or understand the industry he is involved with.
 
shimon

shimon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,582
Sure, it has nothing to do with being undercooked and having weird/bad design decisions.
 

Deleted member 46922

User requested account closure
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Aug 21, 2018
595
Serious question. Is this guy Pachter I keep seeing in threads a joke character in the US? Because everytime I see this name it's combined with something so idiotic it leans on parody. I'm not American, so honest question, am I not in on a joke? Is this a comedian?
 
Coolduderedux

Coolduderedux

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,479
Anthem is a fun game. A broken demo and early access immediately following brought on this negative reception. If it was branded as a beta that was released earlier, the game wouldn't be in this situation.
 
ArmGunar

ArmGunar

PlayStatistician
Member
Oct 30, 2017
6,527
He really wants us to believe that the game does not play well on PC and that gamers on PC don't have controller (if a game doesn't play well with a keyboard/mouse which obviously is not the case with Anthem) ?
 
ckareset

ckareset

Attempted to circumvent ban with an alt account
Banned
Feb 2, 2018
4,977
Letting people play it early was a mistake reviewers would have brushed off the problems had consumers not been so vocal
 
Static

Static

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
6,110
Flying controls sucked in the demo, but they're fine in the release. Flying controls are not this game's problem. Flying controls are not the reason for it's abysmal reviews. Flying, whether on M+KB or gamepad, are one of the few bright spots for this game. This game fell so short of the mark in so many ways that will not be remedied, regardless of which week you're playing it in or what platform you're playing it on. PC has nothing to do with this.
 
Doomguy Fieri

Doomguy Fieri

Member
Nov 3, 2017
5,274
He 100% heard this from an EA source. I bet the hallways of Bioware and EA leadership are just buzzing with damage control theories while they come to grips with the fact they just pissed away a hundred million dollars on a bomb.
 
hydrophilic attack

hydrophilic attack

Member
Oct 25, 2017
21,467
Sweden
i hope that more games bomb because of negative word of mouth due to early access

maybe that would give publishers reason to reconsider their "pay not to get the game later" policies

(well, i don't REALLY hope games will bomb, seeing as that could lead to lost jobs and so on, but you know, a horrible part of me can't help enjoy the karma when these "pay more not to get the game later" policies backfire)
ZeoVGM said:
I'll never understand why this guy ever makes a single headline.

He literally doesn't know or understand the industry he is involved with.
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he understands many parts well

a lot of his public comments are just chaff and i don't think he takes those seriously even himself.

the people who pay his company get valuable insight, his public comments are mostly trolling and attention-grabbing stuff meant to increase the visibility of his brand
 
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