This is an exact copy and paste from a chat I had with an EA support representative:
Samuel: Hi, my name is Samuel. How may I help you?
Brandon: hi, I just bought my son Battlefield 1943 for Xbox 360, and when connecting to EA servers after accepting the Terms of Service, it just sticks at "connecting…"
Brandon: we’ve owned the game for 2 hours now and he’s still not able to play
Brandon: I just need to link his Xbox 360 gamertag and his EA account
Samuel: Alright.
Samuel: In order to assist you with this issue, we need the following information:
Your EA .com account name: (The e-mail address)
Gamer Tag / PSN ID:
Email address on which you want to link your Gamer tag / PSN ID:
Email address listed on your Gamer tag / PSN ID:
Date of Birth listed on the account:
Zip Code:
Brandon: EA account: (hidden)
Brandon: gamertag: (hidden)
Brandon: email for gamertag is also: (hidden)
Brandon: dob on what account? EA or xbox?
Brandon: zip code (hidden)
Samuel: Thank you and please allow me a moment while I check this for you.
Samuel: Thank you for your patience.
Samuel: I appreciate it.
Brandon: no problem, I just want to get this fixed
Samuel: checked the records but I was unable to find any information about the Gamertag. Please provide us with the correct name of your Gamertag so that we may assist you in the best possible way. However, if your Gamertag name is correct though sometimes it doesn’t display in our records. In order to merge your Gamertag properly with your EA account, please follow the below given steps and get back to us.
1. Go the Xbox live marketplace.
2. Download any demo game available there.
3. Start the demo and choose the "Multiplayer > Xbox Live" option
4. At the EA Login/Register screen, put in your EA account name (email address) and password.
5. Read and accept the Terms and service.
6. Exit the demo.
Brandon: that’s the problem!
Brandon: none of the games work!
Brandon: they are all say that cant connect to EA servers
Samuel: Yes it is and after performing these steps get back to us and we would link that for you.
Brandon: the only game that appears to work in Bad Company 2, but it wont let me do it on his account because its a child account
Samuel: Is there anything else that I may assist you with today?
Brandon: nor will it work for Fight Night Round 4
Brandon: because hes a child account
Brandon: tell me what game can I download to fix this?
Samuel: Any demo EA game available there.
Brandon: all the ones I’ve downloaded say "cant connect to EA servers"
Brandon: I’ve tried with face breaker, battlefield 1943, battlefiled bad company 2, fight night round 4
Brandon: what more do I have do try?
Samuel: That is it and get back to us after performing this.
Brandon: I DID THOSE STEPS
Brandon: IT DOESNT WORK
Brandon: NONE OF THE GAMES WORK
Brandon: THATS WHY IM TALKING TO YOU NOW
Brandon: IVE BEEN DOWNLOADING DEMOS AND TRYING TO FIX IT FOR 2 HOURS
Brandon: I’ve done those exact steps you listed
Brandon: they are listed on your support site
Brandon: I did them EXACT with 4 different games
Brandon: none of the games connect
Samuel: Okay then please provide me your EA Account e-mail address and gamer tag that you want to connect.
Brandon: EA account email: (hidden)
Brandon: Xbox gamer tag: (hidden)
Samuel: Please be inform you that I have linked the gamer tag from my end.
Brandon: okay let me try to connect
Samuel: Sure.
Samuel: Since I am not receiving any response from you I have to end this session.
Samuel: Thank you for contacting Electronic Arts support today.
Samuel has disconnected.
So he left while I was testing the connection on Aidan’s Xbox… and guess what? Shit still isn’t fixed.
FUCK YOU EA