Yes, e.g. Firefox for Android does very similar thing: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=774479 Standard tactics, nothing special.

It's shady no matter who does it, IMO, and I'm surprised that nobody working on that issue had a problem with it. I hope it was at least discussed on a mailing list or something.

It seems there were objections about ethics in another bug: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=787860

I'd rather see UI like:

  [I love it]                |
  [I ran into a problem]     |     [Review on Play Store]
  [I have an idea]           |

With this UI, [I love it] doesn't lead you to the play store, it just sends a signal back to Mozilla.

Alternatively, offer this UI up front:

  [Send feedback directly to Mozilla]
  [Review on Play Store]

and nest the "I love it/I had a problem/etc." behind that first option, with no redirects to the play store.

Doesn't matter; it should start being punish, and because it is EA it would be one exemplifying move.

It makes sense to me. Support your highest ratings, get feedback from those who are unhappy.

Are you serious? Not linking to the app store is an extremely dishonest move. Like if EA could restrict that only the people who are satisfied with Battlefield 4 should be able to rate Battlefield 4 amazon after buying it; otherwise "fill an email please".

EA isn't restricting you from reviewing the app in the store, they just aren't linking you from inside their app.

Also, it's incredibly frustrating for app developers to get support requests via poor app store reviews. It's a real problem.

What do you think a re-view is? A review is what the user experienced; doesn't matter if the developer is going to get the bug fixed the next day or if is going to stay there for the rest of the eternity; the same thing with the user experience and expectations. If one of the users is uncommonly dumb and doesn't understand your simple user interface that's why the app store uses an average and not the opinion of one single user when it displays the app. Plus your users can always change their ratings later on if you answer (or fix) their concerns.

I think you missed my point. Some reviews are actually support requests.... requests that the developer is unable to reply to. It would be better for nearly everyone involved (and certainly the user leaving the review) if they had been sent in an email instead.

Ok, just show two buttons: "Get help" and "Rate this app"; then you can clearly identify intention without being dishonest with your users. (But that's only tangentially related to the subject at hand)