EA Voted 'Worst Company in America'

[RSOblivion]

As for the BP oil spill, that didn't directly affect consumers at all (The Consumerist - as its name implies - is a consumer advocacy site).

LOL didn't put the oil price up at all, kinda affecting most energy markets around the world negatively and causing a large amount of financial pain which in the end it's just gonna be the little people paying for.

EA's business practices (some of which I've outlined in my previous post) do directly affect consumers though and that's why EA got the title.

Since when did PEOPLE become CONSUMERS. FFS I am getting really annoyed with this distraction tactic of the media. By labelling people consumers (they used to be customers which implies and obligation on the part of the seller to be honourable and just with it's business practices) you can legally blame the consumer for almost every ill ever conceived when in reality it's the producer/seller that produces the problem.

Anyway if you limit the field to First World companies that aren't in the business of directly harming people EA could take the title of worst company from their repeated and vile business practices since the 80's where they have systematically bought and dissolved good game development studio's not to mention putting out the largest amount of sequels of any other publisher and having the most damaging effect on the people who worked for them, not to mention tarnishing the industry itself.

However if you brought companies that harm into the equation, it would have to be the banks, though the Government's would have to come a VERY close second...

[Ralph Wiggum]

Yeah I find it sad how a computer game company game is somehow seen as more worse than companies which directly contribute to environmental degradation, pollution, war logistics, financial corruption, etc.

I'm also surprised how given the amount of COD hate floating around, Activision didn't pip EA.

[Nemesis_22]

Don't get me wrong, Palzero. I'm not going to defend EA's business practices, which have suckered me in for more money than I am comfortable admitting. They do stink, and I hope this is a wake up call for them to work harder.

But stacked up against tobacco companies, oil companies, Blackwater PMC (or whatever it is they are called now after reinventing themselves after their court case for a massacre they perpetrated), or any Private Military Corp for that matter and, of course, the scum in stock market in the US who ruined the lives of people all over the world, this is ridiculous. I'm pretty sure EA doesn't have suicide safety nets at its manufacturing site (Hello Apple and Foxconn). This isn't a competition to find 'the worst company in America'. Its a competition to find out which company has annoyed the internet brats the most.

Ralph - you forget that the internet has a short, stupid memory. Its just what the latest fad is that gets them riled up, rather than purely legitimate reasoning. If Mass Effect didn't have the ending it did, this would have been a completely different result.

[Otto-matic]

"Why so serious?" to quote a meme.

It's an open Internet poll on what company has pissed you off most recently and you expect serious results?

[A13x]

Coming soon, Battlefield: Worst Company?

[Denzil]

But stacked up against tobacco companies, oil companies, Blackwater PMC (or whatever it is they are called now after reinventing themselves after their court case for a massacre they perpetrated), or any Private Military Corp for that matter and, of course, the scum in stock market in the US who ruined the lives of people all over the world, this is ridiculous. I'm pretty sure EA doesn't have suicide safety nets at its manufacturing site (Hello Apple and Foxconn). This isn't a competition to find 'the worst company in America'. Its a competition to find out which company has annoyed the internet brats the most.

This.

[shlaimon]

EDIT: Also, EA has a global reach. Bank of America doesn't. That's another reason why EA got the nod (and got such a high percentage of the vote).

Amem, its why i voted for EA.

[Matty]

You quoted the wrong person there bud

[FryzieDelta]

This, right here, is a classic case of bratty sense of entitlement issues combined with first world problems

What!? An open vote on the internet on a site I've never heard of before voted a game company the worst in America instead of BP or Blackwater!?

[smithdogg]

Coming soon, Battlefield: Worst Company?

haha classic.

EA would get my vote for sure

[Matty]

Where do you guys get these emotes from?!

[DarkMellie]

"Why so serious?" to quote a meme.

It's an open Internet poll on what company has pissed you off most recently and you expect serious results?

This.


RSOblivion does make an excellent point about the shift in words from Customer to Consumer, although don't blame the media, corporations sit firmly behind that little nugget.

[Nemesis_22]

This, right here, is a classic case of bratty sense of entitlement issues combined with first world problems

What!? An open vote on the internet on a site I've never heard of before voted a game company the worst in America instead of BP or Blackwater!?

Hah, fair cop I'm not 'that' angry about it. Disappointed but cynically unsurprised would probably describe it better. I do have an overly dramatic flair when I'm trying to make a point though - I try to curb it, but its the writer in me - it snakes out when I don't even realise I'm doing it!

All in all, end of the day - tl:dr, this whole thing is the dumbz.

[Mearehear]

My vote would have gone to "Digital River" ..

.. its no wonder Steam dominates when others operate the way Digital River do.


*backstory* Purchased a pair of COD games through the Activision Store (which is handled by Digital River) last September. After a reformat went to redownload but was greeted with a message that my 30day period to download is over, and I can never download my purchases again. Customer support runs me in circles with scripted impersonal answers, until I gave up...apparently I needed to purchase an "extended download service" at the time of purchase which would give me 2 years to download, over the standard 30days, which is not an option after the fact...wtf?! May as well have flushed my money away with my last ****..

How a business thinks they can keep customers with methods like that is beyond me, worst online service I have ever dealt with.

[DarkMellie]

My vote would have gone to "Digital River" ..

.. its no wonder Steam dominates when others operate the way Digital River do.

Yeah, been there, they handle MS Software purchases so if I lose my install file and key for my Microsoft Office I'm screwed.

The old EA downloader did the same though... I'd bought BF2: Armoured Fury from them and after 18 months or so it disappeared from my account.

That's why I love Steam, I can delete and reinstall with wild abandon