The Developer Gobbler. The Consumer Crusher. The Franchise Obliterator.

If EA had a nickname in college, it would probably be a combination of all three. But in the past two months or so, Electronic Arts has made a couple public decisions that lean away from their evil side. Are they trying to change for the better, or will they turn back to Satan quicker than one can say “Take-Two Buyout”?

The boycott of Battlefield: Bad Company was a hard fight, with thousands of gamers on a slew of popular websites joining the rebellion. EA wasn’t expecting the intensity of the blowback, admittedly caught off guard. Since all of the DLC weapons have equal or lower stats to their free counterparts, they originally concluded Battlefield fans would not see a problem. A huge mistake.

But, for the first time in a long time, EA listened. Gamers were granted their wish of free weapons, albeit on completion of a few easy marketing tasks.

While it seemed like a small decision from Electronic Arts, it was a huge win for their customers and fans. A Fortune 500 company giving into the demands of the squeaky wheel is not an everyday occurrence, but very well should be. It’s how a free market is supposed to function.

More recently, an uproar across online communities expanded quickly, as EA released details about the SecuROM DRM anti-piracy used with Mass Effect and Spore. Both would have to be activated online every 10 days to keep playing, posing trouble for the internetless, rejected freaks. Even without a coordinated community effort, the game publisher quickly addressed the concerns by removing the 10-day validation.

Whiners and complainers rejoiced.

Although there will still be other DRM implementation on the discs, EA budged again for the voices of their customers. Another small move that supports their image, sales, and chance to get into corporate heaven (Jesus is a damn good CEO).

John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, and owner of the world’s coolest last name, is vowing for quality over timeliness. In a conference call this week, Riccitiello proclaimed EA would make more sacrifices towards ship time, aiming for a better finished product.

“If I had to tell you which will give, ship time will give before quality,” he said. “We’re making big improvements on timeliness, but there’s still more work to do.”

So what is causing this sudden change of heart for the EA monster? Is their poor image and quality of their final products finally catching up to them? Is there a rogue EA employee, holding the board of directors at gunpoint?

Whatever the reason, I believe there are some internal struggles between profiteers and consumerists. An exchange of a marketing program instead of Microsoft Points reeks of a compromise based on cash. Removing 10-day validation, but leaving the less harsh DRM protections, also promotes a compromise between EA, its customers, and investors with piracy concerns.

Electronic Arts is trying to please everybody, but we all know that in event of a recession, slow adaption, or every other Tuesday, who gets the short end of the stick.

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