@President_Barackbar said:

As dumb as I think EA winning a worst company in America contest is, I have to say their response didn't much help them. Rather than maybe acknowledge that they might have done some less than good things to end up in this position and promise to create a better customer experience, they just kinda laughed it off.

Which is the correct response to this ridiculous poll.

Somewhat surprised that they made it, but still the correct response.

The fact that the poll was conducted via the Internet is what led to the result. Institutions with greater social (negative) impact never stood a chance against the netizen's (barf, sorry I used that word) pet causes.

But given that bias was unavoidable, the result doesn't bother me.

So it's an Internet poll not worth talking about or reporting on... until something wins so that you can start spouting snark at people? I get that it's ridiculous, and of course it is, but devoting an article to talking about how dumb the results of an Internet poll are is kind of like writing a book about how newspapers are in trouble these days. Everyone already knew.

In other recent news, Bioware nearly won the Escapist's Developer Showdown poll, so yeah way to go internet, way to go.

Totally agree Alex, apparently there are a lot of gamers without any perspective. Utterly shameful.

@Dark_Lord_Spam said:

With a burn that sick, it's clear that at least a few people over there have souls. EA may pull the occasional shitty stunt, but its generic corporatism doesn't deserve to "win" this contest in the face of blatant evil.

@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.

EA hasn't obliterated the livelihood of tens of thousands of people.

Why do people like you respond with crap like that? You act like I claim that EA is a worse company than the Bank of America - which I obviously don't.

I'm glad EA told them to "fuck off", basically. I don't love EA, but to think they're the worst is just idiocy of the internet coming out in droves.

This just speaks to the demographic that votes on these kinds of lame internet polls.

EA does suck though.

There were a lot of video game publishers on that list and I felt they were all undeserving of being up there. I've personally always hated BofA for multiple reasons spanning many years. They've never been customer oriented. The problem is putting this on the Internet, where boards like 4chan's /v/ post this poll every day rallying for votes (there are multiple threads right now celebrating a victory), and the same across reddit, and so on. I enjoy participating in these communities, but it just sucks when this kind of thing happens. It's so utterly meaningless either way. Even if BofA won, they probably wouldn't even blink. Now with EA up there, they've already brushed it off, acknowledging greater world problems than fucking video games. I thought this list was a joke in the first place: Sony was on there for being hacked, and that was it. Insanity.

All that said, the best thing out of EA in the past several years was Mirror's Edge, and we're never going to see that again. So there ya' go.

Seriously how the fuck does Bank of America not take that award? What the fuck internet.

I would like to instruct people to watch Mega 64's video "Mass Effect 3's New Ending." It reminds me of how people might look voting for EA in this poll.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/mass-effect-mega64/728611

I play the Sims 3 for PC and everytime they release a new expansion pack which costs around 30 bucks within the next few days they have a whole bunch of new items to purchase in the sims 3 store specifically related to the expansion they just released ... so they're just money hungrey bastards ... kudos to them for being the worst - well deserved

Its an opinion poll. I bet in two months we could muster a different winner.

" We're going to continue making award-winning games and services played by more than 300 million people worldwide."

Soooo.... They're not going to try better or something? What a horrible way to phrase it EA. The correct way would have been "We're sorry that so many of our customers feel that way, but we'll work on creating better and greater products in the future! Rock n Roll!"

@Dark_Lord_Spam said:

@NaDannMaGoGo said:

@Dark_Lord_Spam said:

With a burn that sick, it's clear that at least a few people over there have souls. EA may pull the occasional shitty stunt, but its generic corporatism doesn't deserve to "win" this contest in the face of blatant evil.

@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.

EA hasn't obliterated the livelihood of tens of thousands of people.

Why do people like you respond with crap like that? You act like I claim that EA is a worse company than the Bank of America - which I obviously don't.

But you certainly are claiming that the purpose of this poll result was to make a point rather than to select a legitimate bad-guy to avoid. Which effectively makes the entire thing worthless. An average Mass Effect 3 - the only reason EA won - does not equal heinous exploitation in anyone's eyes but the internet's. Also, speaking strictly as a gamer, you should know that GameStop deserves this more.

No, I say that all I, I myself, care about is that EA gets somewhat bad press out of an otherwise forgettable poll.

And do you seriously think Mass Effect 3 is on the bad side of things EA has done? Who gives a fuck about that ending, none thinks the company is horrible for that (though it is a representative for some things that are wrong with EA).

We're talking about a publisher that's notorious for running good developers into the ground and ruining franchises. That's what's wrong with EA, for 10 years or longer in fact. Mass Effect? None cares, I personally haven't even played any of them apart from Mass Effect 2 for some hours.

@dOm_CaTz said:

how the hell did ea make this damn list, i thought acti is the shitty publisher these days.

Meh, they are sooo two years ago. The only major thing they released last year was MW3, and instead of complaining, most people just didn't buy it (the more sensible and quieter thing to do).

@mordukai: I know someone who works there, he seems happy, long hours but good benefits, and those laid off get good severance pay.

I've worked in far worse situations.

i dislike capcom more then i dislike EA and to be honest i realized a lot.... a lot of the games i love came from them. Anyway, this is definitely a mass effect 3 thing and how varied and large was the voting audience? cause if a lot gamers are going to this site then its easy to see how this could happen, the sample data is skewed. If u were to ask all of America by force to vote between Ea and the Bank, i assume one in every 3 would have an idea what EA is and less know what they have been doing.

They made some pretty good games.

Yeah, it's pretty dumb that a bunch of people decided that EA was more evil than Bank of America, but if it makes anyone feel any better, the site says that over 250,000 people voted in the poll, and 63% of the votes were for EA, so only about 160,000 people really thought EA were that evil. Considering some of the people who are most vocal about their hate of EA, this isn't all that surprising.

I like EA, America is dumb.

Maybe a little harsh, but so is this result. EA >> Activision by miles too, so...

Why? The only people who should hate EA are those that lost jobs because of them. Are you mad because all the guns aren't on the disc? All the skins not in your game? Online pass not in your used game? I never cared about pre-order bonuses, exclusives, online passes - any of it. Guess I'm the crazy one, but none of that content is ever of great value. Entitled children living in your own worlds with no real troubles. It breeds a hell of a attitude problem.

One would've hoped that Ron Paul was all the lesson the world needed about the impact and legitimacy of online polling.

Yup, EA continues to be hated for mostly uninformed and ridiculous reasons. Not surprised at all.

Totally agree with Alex. Even when it just comes to the game industry, EA is only debatable for the worst these days.

Fuckin internet. My ending sucked = Your company is the worst IN THE WORLD. Forget the fact that the game leading up to the ending is still one of the most unique and amazing experiences in video games. Make sure to forget about the other awesome games that EA puts out too when you come to this conclusion.

It's like looking at immaturity through a magnifying glass, and seeing all of the disgusting bacteria within.

Yet again proving that people don't do these polls and reddit trolls do.

@VinceNotVance said:

@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.

This post wins so damn much that is created a space time fold in the universe causing a truthbomb that is currently destroying the universe...

...Good... job?

@durden77 said:

Totally agree with Alex. Even when it just comes to the game industry, EA is only debatable for the worst these days.

Fuckin internet. My ending sucked = Your company is the worst IN THE WORLD. Forget the fact that the game leading up to the ending is still one of the most unique and amazing experiences in video games. Make sure to forget about the other awesome games that EA puts out too when you come to this conclusion.

It's like looking at immaturity through a magnifying glass, and seeing all of the disgusting bacteria within.

Now look at yourself, you are much better, right? You just had the laughably stupid idea that people think this way due to the Mass Effect 3 ending and not the shit that's actually wrong with EA.

@HanktheAwesome08: No ill will, duder. Just saying that I posted this because it's kind of a ridiculous video game story, and I tend to post a decent number of those around here. I realize it's a dumb Internet poll, but regrettably, it's a dumb Internet poll that some people take very seriously, hence me lending any credence to it whatsoever. Your point's fully valid, I just happen to disagree.

The internet is dumb sometimes. The internet can do amazing things. Gave birth to amazing services and great talent. Creating a better place for commerce and helping the little guys to stand up on their two feet. But when the internet is dumb it is really really dumb and childish.

Yet again proving that people don't do these polls and reddit trolls do.

Giant Bomb News: Giant bomb editor Alex Navarro disappointed with internet. More coverage to follow.

The real immaturity of the industry isn't that EA won the meaningless poll, it's how people refuse to admit it because they like their games.

Its not called British Petroleum anymore, EA, you dumb fucks.

Many congratulations to Consumerist in generating pandering click-generating non-content to give an outlet for impotent outrage from users so incapable of standing up for their own interests that they still visit Gawker sites.

And I hope Giant Bomb benefits from posting a click magnet title reporting on the results of a blog's promotional contest. That's... why you decided to cover this, right? I can't imagine why else.

@Cybexx said:

In other recent news, Bioware nearly won the Escapist's Developer Showdown poll, so yeah way to go internet, way to go.

Any idea why Blizzard wasn't in that thing?

@big_jon: Sure now they treat employees like humans. Only took a major law suit to get them there. I'm not saying that they are still like that but that someone from the outside had to take action to make them treat their employees (not just higher management and CEO's) like every company should. However, at least they owned up and not tried masking it under more bullshit and made major improvements in that direction. I just get disgusted it takes law suits for a major corporation to realize that they have to take care of everyone that works for them.

PS: I think it's fucking disgusting to pick EA over Bank of America.

That's a little fucking silly. Kind of reflects poorly on gamers too. There is literally no way that EA is the worst company in America.

@NaDannMaGoGo: John Riccitiello run over your dog or something?

@GrandHarrier said:

@Duffyside So where were the foreclosed on people voting, Incidently? Why were they so absent?

Maybe that's because it's an internet pole and the people who lost their homes have more to worry about than wether or not Bank of America takes the top spot in something so meaningless.

I'm sure that if the age of each voter was recorded, this would all make a whole lot of sense. Spoiler: it was mostly children.

Apparently people with no real problems dominate online polls.

Was Zynga on the list?

I like how EA is sooo evil.  
And I love that the people hating on EA are hating on them for games they have nothing to do with aside from being the publisher. 
Can't possibly be the different developers who are messing up the games, nooo it's without a doubt EA and John Forsythe and Mick Jagger. You know, people who have abso-fucking-lutely nothing to do with the games

Oh Internet...you are a lovely place.

The worst part of this poll is that it not just paints gamers as awfully entitled and ignorant snivelling nerds against some very real and very evil companies. Its that the actions justify the companies calling the complainants "entitled". That they ignore some extraordinarily evil and malicious practices over what is essentially a hobby and not an essential service.

The thing is, there are very real problems with the videogame industries treatment of consumers that do need to be addressed and consumers don't even fight for their rights. It's shocking when I hear on NeoGAF and the like that "DLC IS AWFUL but I don't mind paying $60 for a game BUT IM NOT BUYING THE DLC". It's amazing how people justify buying products at absurd prices and then turn around when companies sell extras. The thing is, by paying a utterly stupid amount for the game, companies know you don't mind being fleeced anyway. So that's why they offer DLC. Capitalism in action. And quite frankly, gamers have extrodinarily little self control so it sells.

Ideally EA should be retailing Mass Effect 3at $30 and then start thinking about DLC. But there is an obnoxious elitism to the hobby that demonizes this sort of thinking. That, by reducing the price, you open in it up to the masses and suddenly the hobby isn't so special any more. Hell, I saw enough pissing and moaning that Halo was the death of the hobby because of all the "Frat boys" it was attracting in the early 00's and lets not get started on the Wii and Kinect.

The question has to be asked "How do we prove a point to these companies that enough is enough and were not going to pay the obnoxious amounts you are charging us if you are going to offer DLC later" and "How do we fight for actual consumer rights for our hobby while keeping in mind it's just a microcosm of consumer rights in general"

@Dark_Lord_Spam said:

@NaDannMaGoGo said:

@Dark_Lord_Spam said:

With a burn that sick, it's clear that at least a few people over there have souls. EA may pull the occasional shitty stunt, but its generic corporatism doesn't deserve to "win" this contest in the face of blatant evil.

@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.

EA hasn't obliterated the livelihood of tens of thousands of people.

Why do people like you respond with crap like that? You act like I claim that EA is a worse company than the Bank of America - which I obviously don't.

But you certainly are claiming that the purpose of this poll result was to make a point rather than to select a legitimate bad-guy to avoid. Which effectively makes the entire thing worthless. An average Mass Effect 3 - the only reason EA won - does not equal heinous exploitation in anyone's eyes but the internet's. Also, speaking strictly as a gamer, you should know that GameStop deserves this more.

No, I say that all I, I myself, care about is that EA gets somewhat bad press out of an otherwise forgettable poll.

And do you seriously think Mass Effect 3 is on the bad side of things EA has done? Who gives a fuck about that ending, none thinks the company is horrible for that (though it is a representative for some things that are wrong with EA).

We're talking about a publisher that's notorious for running good developers into the ground and ruining franchises. That's what's wrong with EA, for 10 years or longer in fact. Mass Effect? None cares, I personally haven't even played any of them apart from Mass Effect 2 for some hours.

@BlatantNinja23: I'm with you. I'm actually shocked Activision isn't on the list.

I'm not a fan of EA's marketing schemes, but they still publish some pretty unique and great games.