More Awesome Than You!

I doubt if I even fit the demographic they're looking for, but supposedly they will call me back for a phone interview of some kind before inviting me to the paid session ($75 for 90 min.).

My question is, should I take this seriously?  Is it worth attending?
Does EA even pay attention to the feedback from their focus groups?

Will I end up in a room full of 12-year-olds?

Sure.
Yes.
Maybe?
Perhaps.

Are they going to pay you?  Or do you have to pay them?  ???

No but I get invited to them all the time. One of these days, I should go. I was most tempted the time they were holding one in a hotel up the road from where I used to live. Somehow, I doubt they want to know what I really think.  ;) Which is even more reason to go. LOL  I doubt you'll be in a room of 12 yr olds since they always hold them in the middle of a weekday. You're more likely to end up in a room full of soccer moms.

That aside, I think that they do actually listen to feedback. Look at how many things from the stupid surveys end up in the game. Besides, at this time of year, it would give you a chance to play Seasons, most likely.  :) If you can make it and get selected, it's $75 back from them, from all you've paid them over the years.

I wanna get invited to one of those!  >:(

How can I sign up?

And I always miss those stupid surveys, when do they do them?

First, it helps to live in the Bay Area.  ;) I've heard of people getting invited to them in Chicago or New York, but I'm about 30 minutes from Redwood City, and I get the invites at least twice a year. I think I signed up one time when I registered a game.

As for the surveys, they go up at random times, and you have to be lucky to first see them before they're taken down and then see them before they've already filled the quota of your demographic. I've seen them during the day, I've seen them in the wee hours of the morning... there's no set time.

Do they do them a certain amount each month/year?

Sure you should go if they invite you.  For the experience....and of course for the $$$.   ;D

Plus you could think of something really stupid to ask for, just to yank their chains.  ;)

I'd be more enthused about going if it were more convenient, and if I thought that they were going to listen.  ::)
The money doesn't hurt, but I can't stand the idea of getting locked in to anything for an hour and a half, without a way to politely excuse myself.  This one is in Santa Monica (greater Los Angeles) and getting there isn't exactly a breeze either. 

Isn't it a little late in the cycle for Seasons discussion?  My first thought was that they were looking for input on more Life Stories, or Sims on some of the alternative platforms.  (iPods, maybe?)

FWIW, I didn't sign up for anything special, just the usual game registrations.  However, the e-mail invites me to distribute this link http://www.focusgroup.com (http://www.focusgroup.com) to my friends.  ;)  It's pretty general, but for those who are interested, maybe it's worth having a look.

Best not, they would probably take you seriously.  :P

Well, that would kinda be the point.

A cheat so you can have quads...like all the time. That would be so cool /sarcasm [shudders]

Tips:

Bring a bottle of febreeze.
Bring some hand sanitizer.
Bring paper towels to sit on, or make sure you stand the whole time.

I did a couple of these once. I was signed up in University, and they used to call me over every couple of months and ask me stuff about ovens, usage, what would I like in an oven (same for other beauty products and stuff) and shit like that. I'd answer and go home with 50$ worth of supermarket coupons (That would be my 2weeks worth of shopping), and/or a present like an electric grill, blowdryer or something of the sort. So I loved it, I didn't care about my wasted hours, as long as I got something worthwhile out of it. So I'd go if I were you.

An EA focus group, blubug?

Sounds like you went to the Kitchen Appliance Convention.

*dies laughing*

Hahaha! No, I guess that came across wrong. :D I've never been to an EA focus group.
 I've been to appliance live-surveys.
 I was just trying to say, that if they pay you and you have the time, why not? (okay, now I sound like I'm willing to do anything for money, that's just not right. Anyway, I hope you get my point)
How bad can it be in a roomful of 12 yearolds? (I know, it can be very, very bad) It could be fun and you can be heard, your feedback can change stuff. Anyway, I'll be off before I embarass myself. Even more.

Well, blubug, if it's any consolation, I understood that you were mainly just telling folks that focus groups can be worthwhile and somewhat lucrative, by using examples of focus groups that you had attended, and I think that you got your point across just fine. So there :P

It calls itself a global company, but it's looking for US residents - nowhere to say you live in Europe.

 ;) Thank you.

*edited to correct smiley mistake.

Well, I've been to a Dark Age of Camelot Round Table, shortly after EA had eaten Mythic, so I have been to an "EA focus group," indirectly.

One of my concerns was actually fixed within days, but that's in an online game where they're patching weekly.

I knew what blubug meant, but I felt like saying something.

I know you did, I enjoyed your comment too :) It's just sometimes I need to re-phrase myself. English is my second language, and although I believe that I'm not too bad, thinking in another language makes me skip stuff or end up not making sense at all. (sometimes) :D

Hey, you spell much much better than most of native English speakers.

Is that good or bad?

Very good for blubug, and very bad for my students.

Tell them that unless they shape up, the Commies will be running America.

Quite a few of them wouldn't know what I was talking about...they're too young for Cold War references.

Why thank you very much! I went to an American elementary school and since then I've read a lot not to lose the language. And I translate a lot of essays as well, so I guess the effort pays off. (Although I know my sentences could be structured much better) :)

And Elfpuddle, a lot of the students here (in Turkey) have terrible spelling and grammar. It's like the new generation just doesn't read.

Anyway, back to the subject, focus groups anyone?

Gah! Can I just take a moment to bitch about this, since my posts on the topic were deleted from PMBD during the Great Purge and even though this is not Retardo Land? I've tutored English off-and-on over the years, and English is NOT my native language. It's always amazed me how many native English-speakers were in need of English tutoring. They could speak the language perfectly well, but could not seem to transfer their instinctual knowledge of it to the written page. In other words, they could speak it, but they couldn't write it. I've determined that some people are just naturally better with words, whilst others are better with numbers. Those students who seemed to do well in English (or whatever language they happened to speak) were generally not very good at Maths, and vice versa (I fall into the former category). That said, if language is not your strong point, there are tools that can help you, such as dictionaries, thesauruses (thesauri?), and the like. Grammar is a bit more complicated than spelling and diction are, but simply being observant of how words are used by those who use them correctly can go a long way, and I often encouraged my students to read well-written books and to emulate what they had read. Sometimes this helped, sometimes it didn't. The point is, not presenting yourself in a way that is understandable really does make you look stupid, whether you are or not (the exception being non-native speakers, who have a valid excuse). It really doesn't take much time to read over a post before sending it, and this simple act alone will go quite far in making one appear to be at least marginally intelligent. For example, I just misspelled 'marginally' but I caught it and corrected it before posting this. :P

[/rant]

Wooot! Way to out yourself as a member of the fire-breathing grammar police! Awesome rant.

Hey, where's my closet?!! *looks around suspiciously*

:D

*tacklehuggleboogleglomps notveryawesome for a very awesome rant*

Are you saying that a few of them are Baby Boomers and older?

That's insane.

No, silly, they're all too young, but some pay attention in *gasp* history class, so they would know to what I referred.

*claps and cheers NVA for her rant*
I liked the PMBD one too. (still reeling slightly hence the post on the wrong site).
I also like Witch's sig, although I would add it's not that big a deal, OF nothing!!!
I tend to be better at numbers, but I love reading, lots of 18th and 19th century literature as well as sci-fi so I tend to be quite formal when writing. I try not to go overboard, but it really bugs me when people think it doesn't matter. If you want people to understand you, it does matter. If you're not prepared to make the effort, don't bloody type.

I don't live in US so no EA focus groups for me.

Funny, I just noted that from the thread where Craigsters lost the plot. I'm planning to add that comment. It's that big a deal for me. :)

ETA: Oh and the 'then' 'than' issue.

The funny thing about people who say the could care less is that they are being unintentionally accurate. If they really didn't care, they wouldn't talk about it.

It's sarcasm, which people don't seem to get without a scorecard especially in writing. Intonation is everything.

cf "I should be so lucky" and "cheap at half the price"

Awww, I feel so warm and fuzzy now. Thanks for the tacklehuggleboogleglomp (whatever THAT is, though I can guess at it from the context - yet another concept that many people do not seem to grasp, especially on the InterWeb, where everything seems to be taken literally, if not literately ;)).

Edited because I am living up to my screen name.

It's a phrase I learned from RainbowTigress and her wonderful Wiki skills.

;)

I learned about yiffing from Assmitten and wikipedia.

*Is scared to ask if rohina yiffs as often as ElfPuddle tacklehuggleboogleglomps, but feels she should ask anyway, in the interest of full disclosure*

I don't think anyone does anything with the frequency of Elfie glompage.