Everybody Hates EA, Apparently

We've purposely avoided covering The Consumerist's poll for the 2012 user-voted Worst Company in America. We did this despite the fact that both video game publisher EA, and video games retailer GameStop were, at one point, both competing for this year's prize. We even ignored this poll as EA went deeper and deeper into the tournament, going up against the likes of Bank of America, AT&T, and Best Buy. We did this because there was no way EA could possibly be considered a more horrific company than any of those great institutions of corporate shittiness, right? Right...?

Imagine my slack-jawed expression upon learning this morning that, yes, EA did manage to beat all of the above companies and take home the "golden poo" award for the very worst company in America in 2012.

The user voting came down to EA going directly against Bank of America, the financial institution known for raising interest rates on credit card holders with no marks against their credit, misleading mortgage holders who sought to modify their loans, and randomly experimenting with jacking up debit card and checking account fees just for shits and giggles. In the end, EA took 64.03% of the vote, essentially destroying Bank of America 2-to-1 in voting.

Look, I'll be the first to admit that many of EA's business practices are fairly anti-consumer and occasionally even straight-up deplorable, but looking down the list of offenses the Consumerist post lists as justification for why it totally makes sense that EA had won--shipping games that required major patching later on, nickel-and-diming players with held back content as DLC, and acquiring independent developers and their innovative products in lieu of innovating with their own products--these could be lobbed at practically any major publisher in the video game industry. In a competition for worst video game publisher in America, I'm not even sure EA would win outright. They'd probably be a contender, but it hardly seems so cut-and-dried.

Most likely, many of the votes for EA came from those particularly incensed by recent issues like Mass Effect 3's ending, the general lousiness of EA's Origin service, and probably some combination of the things listed previously. Considering that EA has been at the forefront of a particularly nasty bit of Internet vitriol regarding Mass Effect 3 in the last month or so, it's not so surprising that voters came out in droves to express their displeasure via this outlet. Unfortunately, in doing so, they managed to put EA up on a pedestal over a company that has literally illegally foreclosed on people's homes. Repeatedly. So, hey, great job Internet.

EA, for its part, is taking the award in stride, telling Kotaku in a brief statement, "We're sure that British Petroleum, AIG, Philip Morris, and Halliburton are all relieved they weren't nominated this year. We're going to continue making award-winning games and services played by more than 300 million people worldwide."

Snap.

I refuse to be surprised.

P.S. EA, British Petroleum no longer exists: It's now legally called just BP. Same as BT is no longer British Telecom.

Well, they're not a nice company.

Yea, weird.

The only legitimate argument I've heard is that Bank of America has made this list so frequently that the voters just wanted someone new to hate the most.

It just proves how stupid and unaware people are on the internet.

I really have no issue with EA

Huh, it was only a couple years ago when everyone loved EA and hated Activision.

That's what they get for shutting down Pandemic all those years ago!

I disagree with the results of that poll.

Activision is more evil than EA.

It is funny, EA a few years ago was staring to seem less evil, now they are right back to it, but I ear that they are good to their employees.

But only morons think that EA is more evil than the Bank of America, fact.

People are idiots.

I don't really care for EA but this seems excessive especially considering GameStop and Bank of America being on the list (why didn't it come down to those two? GameStop doesn't do ANYTHING nice, or even pretend to, just like BofA)

They're the one American games company I'd consider boycotting. Well, if you consider Capcom as Japanese and BioWare as Canadian.

But worst company in America? Jeez, guys. That's nuts.

This must be accurate because people that go to the consumerist are the most level headed and sane people on the internet.

That was more of a poll looking at how butthurt gamers are

And yet everyone still buys their games. What use is it voting in a poll to say they're the worst company in America if you still run out and throw money at them everytime they bring out a new game?

I don't give my business to companies I dislike and would do the same to EA if I had any major issues with them. I personally don't have any major problems with EA though.

I hate the Internet so much right now.

Every gamer SHOULD hate EA.

I couldn't care less about that poll, and EA winning this means more folks get aware of that crap company. Meanwhile if the Bank of America won, who'd give a shit. Everyone knows they suck already.

EA needs to die, won't happen anytime soon but considering how much effort they're putting into screwing over their customers, eventually none is left. EA absolutely dwarfs every other company/publisher in regards to what's bad.

I said on reddit that I wouldn't be surprised if they won because the level of butt hurt is so enormous.

I don't, I don't hate any company to be honest, why does it always have to be about who sucks and how much?

EA's biggest offense in my eyes is their big investment with DLC in their games and having poor customer service. Besides that they have put out some of the best games this generation. This award is undeserved.

That's why an internet poll is almost certain to be infinitely unrepresentative: people who hate EA are more than likely to already be on the internet looking to vent their frustration, people angry with the Bank of America very possibly have neither the time nor money to go on the internet and vote in such a vacuous and inconsequential poll.

They do some bad shit, as do a lot of other corporations. I try not to buy their games new because of it, or look for them on sale on PC.

@Drebin_893 said:

It just proves how stupid and unaware people are on the internet.

...and that's why here in the US more people vote for American Idol contestants than a candidate during a presidential election. Fucking stupid.

Welp, that's dumb.

"Unfortunately, in doing so, they managed to put EA up on a pedestal over a company that has literally illegally foreclosed on people's homes. Repeatedly. So, hey, great job Internet."

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Well said, Alex. Oh and LOL.

@NaDannMaGoGo said:

Every gamer SHOULD hate EA.

I couldn't care less about that poll, and EA winning this means more folks get aware of that crap company. Meanwhile if the Bank of America won, who'd give a shit. Everyone knows they suck already.

EA needs to die, won't happen anytime soon but considering how much effort they're putting into screwing over their customers, eventually none is left. EA absolutely dwarfs every other company/publisher in regards to what's bad.

Well, I'm convinced. This argument is fucking flawless.

@Cataphract1014 said:

I said on reddit that I wouldn't be surprised if they won because the level of butt hurt is so enormous.

That is definitely why haha Little kids found out about the poll and showed up in droves to vote for EA at every stage. I mean EA sucks, but they suck at making games. They're so irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

@MattyFTM: That's why I don't buy Activisoin games.

@NaDannMaGoGo said:

Every gamer SHOULD hate EA.

I couldn't care less about that poll, and EA winning this means more folks get aware of that crap company. Meanwhile if the Bank of America won, who'd give a shit. Everyone knows they suck already.

EA needs to die, won't happen anytime soon but considering how much effort they're putting into screwing over their customers, eventually none is left. EA absolutely dwarfs every other company/publisher in regards to what's bad.

Why? Please explain why.

Because Bioware ain't what it used to be? Sorry about that. Surely that makes EA evil right?

Because Origin exists? Sorry that you can't buy EA games on Steam, why should EA sell their own games through their own store, they don't have the right to do that!

Because they have a ton of DLC & online passes for games? Oh definitely worthy of my bile, considering that Activision, Capcom, Ubisoft, Sony, THQ and a whole mess of other publishers & developers our there totally doesn't do that, right?

Give me a legitimate reason why EA should be considered the worst company in America that's not typical whiny entitled internet bullshit and maybe I'll believe you.

Silly.

"I feel cheated by the end of mass effect because it robbed me of my player agency" vs "I don't have a place to live anymore"

If anything, I think this just shows what the demographics are for bulk of The Consumerists users..... Really?! It won against Bank of America? Really?

These results have to be skewed based upon who was actually voting in the poll. These types of polls are shifted more towards a specific demographic, which in this case, would be the cross over of internet users with those who've purchased EA products, rather then internet users with customers of Bank of America. This is liking sending out a pro-democrat magazine to democrat's and taking a poll on who they believe will win the next presidential election. Sure, EA does some shitty things, but this is not entirely indicative of which is actually the worst of the two.

I really don't understand how anyone can call them the worst company in America.

I still don't really have a problem with EA. Sure, they do a few shitty things but what company doesn't? There are much shittier things that other companies do. I don't think EA is even the shittiest video game company out there, not by a long shot.

@JacDG: well said. Why aren't we talking about companies like TeachAmerica or other exciting stories of people and companies using creative problem solving to fight back against what makes this world difficult?

Good call.

Makes you embarrassed to be a gamer.

EA are assholes and flat out refused to help me get my Bad Company 2 / EA account back, the cunts were cheeky enough to ask me to re-buy it. Fuck those guys.

Blizzard go out of their way to help you get accounts back.

Still this is excessive, but they're probably the worst in gaming.

@deadly_polo said:

That's why an internet poll is almost certain to be infinitely unrepresentative: people who hate EA are more than likely to already be on the internet looking to vent their frustration, people angry with the Bank of America very possibly have neither the time nor money to go on the internet and vote in such a vacuous and inconsequential poll.

Man, people are fucking stupid.

@BrianP said:

"I feel cheated by the end of mass effect because it robbed me of my player agency" vs "I don't have a place to live anymore"

Predatory lending vs. Predatory ending

I wonder why...

This really is a non-story.

Hahaha. People's stupidity never ceases to amaze me.

@Drebin_893 said:

It just proves how stupid and unaware people are on the internet.

Bullseye.

@big_jon said:

Activision is more evil than EA.

It is funny, EA a few years ago was staring to seem less evil, now they are right back to it, but I ear that they are good to their employees.

But only morons think that EA is more evil than the Bank of America, fact.

I also hear that they are really good to their employee.

The kind of people who vote in these stupid online polls are the very same people who are pissed off at EA for everything listed on that website. Many of them are probably the same people who troll the character battle polls sponsored by GameSpot. They aren't exactly the kinds of people failing to make mortgage payments and taking out loans they could never possibly repay.

Are you really telling me this outcome surprises you?

Companies are evil? Since when?

The internet, at its worst... again. Illegally foreclosing on homes is not as important to the entitled internet man-babies as them having a good ending to Mass Effect.