The Consumerist is doing a March Madness style bracket to determine what America's worst company is via user voting. EA made the semifinals.

http://consumerist.com/2012/03/a-round-of-applause-please-for-your-worst-company-in-america-2012-semifinalists.html

Do you think EA is even the worst video game company in America? Considering the amount of hate (justified and unjustified) EA gets, it's probably no surprise EA got nominated. However, it's not something that gets mentioned by mainstream media.

They're not worse than AT&T.

Via user voting.

Yeah, we don't want things like facts and actual numbers getting in the way of something called the "Worst Company in America."

I would have voted Gamestop as the worst.

Comcast has to be among the worst. At one point they had lower customer satisfaction ratings than the IRS. Everything I've heard makes me glad I don't have them.

EA is one of my favorite publishers.

You obviously dont know where i work, but it's the worst.

@Garfield518 said:

Via user voting.

Yeah, we don't want things like facts and actual numbers getting in the way of something called the "Worst Company in America."

@Spoonman671 said:

EA is one of my favorite publishers.

EA is a great publisher. I applaud them for taking risks this generation with new IP and with their EA Partners program. Overall I think they're currently my favorite of the major publishers.

@Garfield518 said:

Via user voting.

Yeah, we don't want things like facts and actual numbers getting in the way of something called the "Worst Company in America."

There's no way EA is worse than Comcast.

You are all wrong. Comcast wins every time.

EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

That list is balls. They don't have Clear Channel or News Corporation on there, but they have every retail chain imaginable. But yeah, EA sucks pretty bad

It's not so much 'worst company in America' as much as it is 'most damaging for the end consumer'. They named it weird.
 
edit: The contest, that is. Not necessarily EA.

@Stephen_Von_Cloud said:

EA is a great publisher. I applaud them for taking risks this generation with new IP and with their EA Partners program. Overall I think they're currently my favorite of the major publishers.

I don't necessarily agree with a lot of things they've done, but they deserve props for the EA Partners program and bringing out some of my favorite IPs this generation. Mirrors Edge and Dead Space have been some of my favorite games of all time. EA Partners brought me Shadows of the Damned, Crysis, Rock Band and Bulletstorm.

Comcast should win.

I have no beef with Walmart, Target or UPS.

I don't get the EA hate. 
 
Ticketmaster should still be in the running, because fuck they're awful.

Activision has taken up the mantle of 'worst videogame publisher' for a while now, but EA held the crown for years and years, especially amongst PC gamers. I don't think I can forgive EA for doing what they did to Spore, or for their horrid foray into the digital distribution world. Publishers don't deserve any sort of brand loyalty or admiration; they are never responsible for directly improving a game, and their utter focus on the bottom-line holds us back. The completely ridiculous preorder bonuses and Razer Mass Effect tie-in promotions are evidence enough.

@MrKlorox said:

It's not so much 'worst company in America' as much as it is 'most damaging for the end consumer'. They named it weird. edit: The contest, that is. Not necessarily EA.

Yeah, I should have made that clear. You wouldn't think of Facebook as the worst company, but all those privacy changes probably annoyed a lot of consumers.

How did Charter get up there but not Comcast? 
 
Edit: Nevermind, it was just on the other side. 

@Turambar: They're both on there.

Its a bias poll, also the USPS is not a company.

@MariachiMacabre said:

Comcast has to be among the worst. At one point they had lower customer satisfaction ratings than the IRS. Everything I've heard makes me glad I don't have them.

i have them.

I WANT THEM TO FUCKING DIE

EA ain't great but it certainly isn't nearly the worst company in America.

@Dagbiker said:

Its a bias poll, also the USPS is not a company.

Technically it's not a business, but it certainly operates just like a business, with a CEO called the postmaster general.

EA is the boogeyman. I wouldn't trust a user voted poll about most businesses.

why do i not see activision on there?

dumb poll on a dumb blog.

Cannot it be not a double winner? Both Comcast and EA? I hate them both equally :D

EA is bad, but Activision is easily worse. Have been for years. That doesn't change just because they've been more low-key of late.

Wow, people actually saying EA is their favorite video game publishing company?

People sure are drinking the milk quite a lot these days. I really feel bad for those people. I just really feel bad for them.

Ctrl F. "Monsanto". 0 of 0. Your list is broken.

Activision is definitely worse as a company, EA just has more recent controversies.

Also, I was amused by all the people that were shocked that a company called The Consumerist is using consumer opinion.

@Rohok said:

Wow, people actually saying EA is their favorite video game publishing company?

People sure are drinking the milk quite a lot these days. I really feel bad for those people. I just really feel bad for them.

You feel bad for them because they enjoy EA's games?

...

I don't hate them as much as I used to. Not a fan of them buying companies and ruining them, but other than that they're ok.

Why is Netflix there!?

I think EA has mainly been nominated because of the ME 3 ending debacle...

@Morrow said:

I think EA has mainly been nominated because of the ME 3 ending debacle...

That wasthe exact thing I was about to say. This feel like yet another backlash against Mass Effect 3. Nerd unite and lash out on that that they hate the most at the moment.

There not even the worst game publisher in America, much less the worst company in America. Other than letting Blizzard run autonomously, Activision has done a far worse job of destroying franchises (Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero), milking franchises (focus on yearly releases), and terrible treatment of employees (firing the heads of Infinity Ward). The difference between EA and Activision is that EA has way more franchises the gaming community cares about, so it's a lot more noticeable when they mess up.

EA is pretty anti-consumer and hates their employees just as much as the next guy but their evil isn't as widespread as Comcast or AT&T.

@Spoonman671 said:

EA is one of my favorite publishers.

@Dogma said:

@Morrow said:

I think EA has mainly been nominated because of the ME 3 ending debacle...

That was the exact thing I was about to say. This feel like yet another backlash against Mass Effect 3. Nerd unite and lash out on that that they hate the most at the moment.

Well, people are impulsive...

Wow, how in the fuck can EA even be compared to most of the names on that list. Thats odd that Apple is on there too...I'm not an Apple person but all I hear is "apple is so great!!11!" *slurp* *slurp*. Comcrap, AT&T, Wal-Mart, Ticketmaster and BoA are so much worse, especially on the consumer side.

@Morrow said:

I think EA has mainly been nominated because of the ME 3 ending debacle...

It doesn't help, but it's certainly not their only problem. Their constant rehashes, overpriced DLC, horrible DRM and general anti-consumer attitude is pretty appalling. Not to mention their renown for buying up developers, only to either completely destroy them or outright shut them down, doesn't help. Bioware is already a shell of its former shelf, it's only a matter of time before they're disbanded or the original creators just walk.

They're not the worst company in the US, but they're easily the worst videogame publisher out there, so the rage against them seems pretty justified. Just look at what they're doing to Sim City.

There are a lot of shitty companies in the US, and EA is one of them. EA ruins every game studio they buy out. My hate for EA stems back to my early PC gaming days when they bought out studios such as Bullfrog and Origin Systems and ran them into the ground. The casual dudebro gamers these days will never understand and continue to give them money.

They're actually in the final 2: http://consumerist.com/2012/04/worst-company-in-america-2012-final-death-match-bank-of-america-vs-ea.html

Not even close. There isn't a single video game company that I would consider in a list of the worst.

EA? Where the fuck is Activision?

EA? Where the fuck is Activision?