Worst company in the US, imho i think they deserve it. They killed a lot of good studios and games like the Command and Conquer series. And what of the day 1 DLC that's already in the disc you bought and own? From a guy in Blizz's forums, "if you bought a house and discovered that your basement was locked and that you had to pay extra to get the key, people would be calling BS. You didnt pay for construction workers to build the basement, the basement was already built and usable. I'm fine with paying construction workers to build additional space, but paying extra for a basement that was already there is BS." Congrats EA!
Just adding some additional info + links on this topic. http://au.pc.gamespy.com/pc/mass-effect-3/1222317p1.html http://consumerist.com/2012/04/congratulations-ea-you-are-the-worst-company-in-america-for-2012.html My exact sentiment as the Gamespy writer:
This is a joke in every sense. It's not hard to guess what the demographics of the majority of the people on consumerist.com are in: ignorant console gamers.
To be fair Ea shouldn't be in the running with companys like Monsanto about, for worst game developer maybe (but I don't even think that) but not worst company. For anyone who doesn't already know Monsanto is the one putting insect DNA into Crops which then cross pollinate with every other plant in the Vicinity, this in turn allows them to sue any farmers who don't buy seed from them and control the whole food supply.
You cannot name EA the worst company in the world. It's ridiculous. Get some perspective. Jeez. They're just video games. It doesn't get much worse then BP. Except maybe Blackwater. Hedge Fund managers and mortage lenders are pretty slimy too. Look, I'm sorry EA had the nerve to pawn off morally questionable DLC, but there are companies out there that are responsible for both taking and destroying lives.
Fair play for not understanding the day one dlc problem. If you're going to complain at least understand the issues first.
I wouldn't have called them the worst either. As others said, BP is much worse.... However EA still shouldn't be completely dismissed as being an awful company. Just not THE worst
I think it's fantastic that EA won. First point: This is just a dumb poll, the results won't make a difference to anything on a grand scale, so stop getting wound up about it. There are already plenty of people out there protesting against BP. Second point: The Gamespy writer gunxsword quoted seems to think that gamers outnumber people who care about the environment. Let's assume they don't - the poll was biased due to how it was conducted and the audience it was presented to. What a shame, but as mentioned in the first point, it's not important. The poll wasn't exactly going to shut anyone down, nor was it going to educate people about how bad banks and oil companies are, that's old news. Now let's assume they do - the poll is correct. If people don't care about the environment, whose fault is that? Certainly not the fault of gamers. They had no say in how BP ran off-shore operations, they weren't born when these companies were founded. They're merely living their lives and reacting to the things that affect them personally. Sounds natural, other animals behave in the exact same way. Third point: What the hell is Halliburton? When has the Bank of America ever directly harmed me? Some of these American companies aren't very well known outside of the USA, but you're expecting voters worldwide to agree with you? I'm sure they're terrible, but John Doe, Inc.'s slimey tentacles don't affect Europe and Asia, yet EA manages to annoy people clean across the globe. The question wasn't "Which company is regarded as worst by people in America?", it was "Which American company is the worst?". Final point: EA deserve this. Other companies do too, possibly more, but EA still deserve it. They're not well-liked, they don't listen to their customers and they're a bad example of how to run a friendly business. I think it's laughable that they tried to take the high ground with their response to the poll, as it just shows they're prepared to blatantly suggest that gamers are wrong and stupid, rather than accepting the fact their business method needs a shakeup. Typical arrogant EA, yet again.
I don't think it's about ME's ending coz that's also Bioware. EA deliberately holds back game content for the purpose of charging a fee for it at a later time and date. As quoted when gamers take this for granted, "It's that exact kind of attitude that allows people to ignore the complaints as companies like EA to nickel and dime consumers to death." and "It's one thing to support a game with new content that is worth the price. It's another to put out an inferior — and occasionally broken — product with the mindset of "ah, we'll fix it later and make some money for doing so." Personally, maybe not the worst company in the US but instead, worst gaming company.
The point is if you honestly believe EA is the worst company in the world you need some serious ####ing perspective in your life.
The Consumerist poll was "Worst Company in America," not "Worst Video Game Company in America." Even then, EA is a questionable choice when examined at any more than the surface level. There are far more studios that actively treat their employees worse, are way more aggressive about enforcing ridiculously vague IP, and many more underhanded practices. But, guys, that Mass Effect ending.
While I do think origin sucks, like I said earlier in the thread I still think EA is a ridiculous choice especially when there are hundreds of company's doing animal testing, giving us cancer, destroying the environment and messing with the food supply. Seriously if I could make a magic list (death note even) of 1000 company's I could shut down tomorrow to make the world a better place EA wouldn't even be on it and I'm someone who gets really angry about DLC most of the time.
You seriously don't know Haliburton? I still would have voted for AT&T. Even with the horrible Mass Effect ending (which is really BioWare's fault) EA isn't that much worse then other companies. The last five games I've bought all included day one DLC and online pass codes but none of them were published by EA.