Is Chillingo Less Than Thrilled About EA Acquisition?

The makers of Cut the Rope, Chillingo, have been acquired by Electronic Arts Inc. However, while the company seems thrilled to have been gobbled up by the giant game maker, an email sent to Chillingo Crystal members perhaps tells a different story. Could it be that all is not rosy between Chillingo and EA just days after the two companies became one? In news first uncovered by David Chartier of MacWorld, Chillingo Crystal customers are being asked to review EA’s Online Terms and Conditions. After doing so, customers are asked to select the ‘Delete my Account’ option, if they aren’t happy with the EA conditions. While Chillingo calls the providing of this information “customary with transitions like this,” the tone of the email is quite strange. They state:

If you don't want us to pass your information to EA for any reason, then you will need to delete your Crystal account before April 30, 2011 by opening Crystal in a Crystal enabled game, entering your account settings, then selecting the 'Delete my Account' option.

Of course, there is another rub. Crystal customers are receiving this email today (May 5), but the deadline for opting out of EA’s terms is April 30. As Chartier states on his Twitter feed:

Email today from Chillingo's Crystal network on the EA buyout. If I don't want EA to have my account info I should delete it... by April 30.

This email could mean nothing, of course. However, one would expect an email like this would have contained language suggesting more excitement about its acquisition. At the minimum, Chillingo could have provided some reasons why agreeing to EA's terms was a positive thing to do. Instead, they suggest users delete their account if they aren't happy with the terms. And obviously, the email should have been sent out earlier. Here is the entire email:

From: Crystal Notice <noreply@crystalsdk.com>

Date: May 4, 2011 10:57:57 AM CDT

To:

Subject: Change in terms of service notification

Reply-To: noreply@crystalsdk.com

Dear Crystal Gamer,  As you may have read, Chillingo has been acquired and is now a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (EA). We are very excited about this change which will help enhance our ability to deliver high-quality mobile applications and services to our valued and loyal customers. As is customary with transitions like this, the terms governing your use of Crystal and the data we collect from Crystal will change no earlier than May 15, 2011. As of that date, EA's Online Terms and Conditions ( http://privacy.ea.com ) and Privacy Policy ( http://tos.ea.com/legalapp/WEBTERMS/US/en/PC/ ) will apply to Crystal. From that point onwards our friends at EA will be looking after your information and treating it under the terms of their privacy policy. Your use of Crystal will not otherwise change. Please review both the EA Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy carefully. If you don't want us to pass your information to EA for any reason, then you will need to delete your Crystal account before April 30, 2011 by opening Crystal in a Crystal enabled game, entering your account settings, then selecting the 'Delete my Account' option. Kind regards, The Crystal Team

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