27 replies to this topic

[Ben]

Ha.

EA's not the worst in my opinion (that honor belongs to Gawker Media) but they're definitely in my top ten most-hated companies.

This is probably in part related to the Mass Effect 3 debacle, but honestly EA has been gouging its customer base for years now. They ruined The Sims, they ruined Battlefield, ...

Edited by Bagel, 04 April 2012 - 10:21 PM.

[Dawnlight]

I would have easily given that to Capcom. Try all you want, but you cannot justify on-disc DLC.

[Moosh]

I would have easily given that to Capcom. Try all you want, but you cannot justify on-disc DLC.

Isn't Capcom headed in Japan though?

[Giggidy]

I'm not finding it so easy to hate EA here. Yes, they take good games and make them worse by forcing the developers to apply the signature EA stench nobody wants. But let's not forget they provide the critical funding for these games' development in the first place.

You can blame them for the Mass Effect 3 debacle all you want but would the Mass Effect series even exist if it weren't for EA's funding? It doesn't excuse what they do by any means but I still can't really see them as being the friggin devil. The world would be a worse place, on the net, without EA.

Edited by Giggidy, 04 April 2012 - 11:38 PM.

[Moosh]

The world would be a worse place, on the net, without EA.

I find this very hard to believe. EA's games are acceptable at best. I could easily live without Mass Effect and so could the rest of the world.

[Beefster]

EA was cool back when they were small. All they care about these days is money, not games.

I'm sensing a pattern here. Entertainment industries are absolutely ruined by greed. If only that principle applied to other industries...

As soon as an entertainer stops caring about entertainment and starts caring about money, his entertainment is permanently ruined.

[Eurysilas]

I'm sensing a pattern here. Entertainment industries are absolutely ruined by greed.

Fix'd.

(Except they're not ruined, they just get zombie cast on them and keep on going.)

[Beefster]

Other kinds of industries are hurt by greed, no doubt, just not to the same degree as entertainment.

But yeah. Greed is bad. Yo.

[Orithan]

Me and my friend were discussing about this just a couple of moments ago.

I never thought EA would have been voted the worst company, I always thought a smaller company that consistently produced TERRIBLE games would get this kind of award until now.

Yeah, I can kinda understand this because the furore with the Mass Effect 3 DLC must have REALLY sealed the deal. Not that I care about stuff like Battlefield, Sims or most of the other stuff they put out anyway. One thing I can say is that they have little chance of recovery after this incident.

I have a feeling that, when EA falls, Activision will dominate the sports VG industry - EA seems to be their main competitor in this field and, when EA goes bankrupt, won't have much other than 2K and some other smaller companies to worry about.

[CastChaos]

EA? I can relate to that. The great Ultima games could have been EVEN greater (especially Ultima IX) if it weren't for EA's deadlines. "Hey, let's release this and that game before they are half finished, players will know only after they gave their money anyways!".

Other mention is Capcom, for doing kinda the same. Maybe Megaman X5 would have been any good if they test the stages at least ONCE before quickly pushing the game onto the shelves. I bet the developers didn't even see the Mattrex stage, just jumbled the code together in an evening and next day they wake up to see the game in the shops.

[Radien]

I'm honestly a little surprised, since bad companies do more than supply bad customer service and engage in gouging practices....some also do absolutely horrible things to the environment and the economy and the political system, or even engage in major anti-humanitarian activities.

As far as products go, the only thing I can think of that I like from EA is the SSX series. And that's made by EA Big, an offshoot in Canada, so it functions by different rules... which explains a lot.

[Giggidy]

I find this very hard to believe. EA's games are acceptable at best. I could easily live without Mass Effect and so could the rest of the world.

Firstly, it's not a question of whether you could "live without" these games. The world could "live without" electricity and plumbing and clean water, but that doesn't mean we should go without those things.

Secondly, the extremely large number of fans in protest of the Mass Effect 3 ending is pretty clear evidence against that. If they seriously didn't care about the game, then why would everyone be so butthurt over it?

Finally, it's Not just Mass Effect. The critical question is, would we all be better off if EA, and by extension, most of the games on that list, didn't exist?

Other kinds of industries are hurt by greed, no doubt, just not to the same degree as entertainment.

But yeah. Greed is bad. Yo.

Yes, because the people who made your clothes, your computer, your house, your food, etc. definitely didn't do it because they wanted your money.

[Eddard McHorn Van-Schnuder]

EA is hardly the worst company in gaming, but I believe this nomination is due to EA's way of management, rather than the games they've been making. Which I totally agree with, they've been doing things in incredibly stupid ways.

I'm not finding it so easy to hate EA here. Yes, they take good games and make them worse by forcing the developers to apply the signature EA stench nobody wants. But let's not forget they provide the critical funding for these games' development in the first place.

You can blame them for the Mass Effect 3 debacle all you want but would the Mass Effect series even exist if it weren't for EA's funding? It doesn't excuse what they do by any means but I still can't really see them as being the friggin devil. The world would be a worse place, on the net, without EA.

I don't understand what you're trying to say. Of course the Mass Effect series would exist, EA had nothing to do with the first game.

It's when they started publishing the series that it went to s***, starting with number 2.

[Ben]

Well, BP won this dubious "award" last year, and apparently Halliburton before that, so they were exempt from being re-nominated this year, I guess.

I was kind of hoping Bank of America would get it this year; they're responsible for some significant damage to the economy ("LET'S GIVE A BUNCH OF LOANS TO PEOPLE WHO WON'T PAY US BACK!!!! oh wait crap we gave out too many") and just being general jerks to people (a story comes to mind about a guy whose debit card was used in Greece to buy $25000 worth of stuff that they refused to give back, saying it was a legitimate charge.)

EA is a crappy company though, and it's fun to actually tell them so.

Edited by Bagel, 05 April 2012 - 09:49 PM.

[Beefster]

Yes, because the people who made your clothes, your computer, your house, your food, etc. definitely didn't do it because they wanted your money.

Well that's the borderline difference between greed and self-interest. Greed is at the point where you've completely forgone quality in favor of money. Self-interest is where you just need to pay your bills and would like to be able to sleep at night. But that isn't what's important here...

Capcom has always been shameless about remaking Megaman 20 times. And they've alienated some of their fanbase, but that's not nearly as bad as the price gouging that EA does.
Square Enix pisses me off with their C&Ds on fangames for franchises they will probably never do anything with, but really that's their own loss. Their quality has plummeted since they merged and they aren't much better than Capcom as far as sequels go.
All of these companies occasionally produce good games, but, as it turns out, money isn't what makes a good game happen. Sure, it helps, but it has proven itself to not be a requirement. Go indie games!

-- Tangent --
Nintendo has always been odd. They're consistently ahead in innovation, but far behind in technological prowess. And it's been that way since the N64. Cartridges. Poor online support. Not enough memory.
They make extremely durable products at a good value, but have little support in repair and warranty. Their customer support has otherwise been pretty good. I don't think they'll ever be the most hated company; they just get more raised eyebrows in America than in Japan.