Usually when we announce the winner of the annual Worst Company In America tournament, the victor chooses to quietly reflect on their triumph rather than make a public comment. But not this year’s champ, Electronic Arts, which has responded to being voted the WCIA winner by hinting that it’s not as bad as other companies.
In a statement to Kotaku.com, an EA rep says:
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.
Perhaps three out of four of those companies weren’t nominated this year because they’ve already won. BP took home the Golden Poo last year. AIG won in 2009, and Halliburton was crowned the champ back in our first ever tournament in 2006.
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The biggest problem with EA and their DLC practices is that jackasses follow the same formula:
1) Game gets announced, players boycott.
2) Players buy game anyway.
3) DLC is announced, players boycott.
4) Players buy DLC anyway.
5) Repeat
I refuse to buy any EA games, and have for years. I also refuse to buy any DLC from any company, and have for years. I may be just one consumer, but this one consumer refuses to take it in the back door.
If more players would actually stick to their guns, the practice of DLC would only offer worthy DLC or disappear altogether.
This, so freakin’ hard. The number of people trying to rationalize this without coming out and admitting their real problem–that they think that buying things from EA is actually necessary–is mind-boggling. No matter how big they are, they have nowhere near a monopoly on the gaming world, and to pretend otherwise is utterly mind-boggling.
This win proves that most of the people visiting this blog aren’t the brightest.
tldr; “My company didn’t win, therefore the one that did sucks balls. Rigged, stupid, blah, blah.”
Whiners. Get over it.
EA is a horrible company pioneering ways to damn near force you to pay for intangible things. How is that beneficial to us? DLC can’t stay on the servers forever (MS gets rid of “low performers” every year), and once it’s gone, you’re still stuck with the tab. The goal of the WICA is to highlight companies that have a blatant disregard for their customers and/or people in general.. Read about EA, they deserve this award.
I just wanted to add something.
To me a lot of people are missing the point. The point of things like this isn’t to highlight the bad guy everyone knows about. I don’t think anyone doesn’t know about Banks and how corrupt and predatory they can be.
But, EA has done many of the things that other companies have done that is wrong to me, and I think letting them go off the hook because of a high-profile company like BoA is criminal.
For their specific niche, video gaming, EA has proved to be -extremely- damaging and the habub about the ending for ME3 was the tipping point, for me, where their actions couldn’t be tolerated anymore. To do something like selling the ending of a story-based game as a DLC, when files for said DLC are ALREADY in the game, indicate nothing good.
But really, they’ve absorbed and destroyed many developers in the past, including westwood, pandemic (which was a sister company to Bioware when they were bought by EA), Maxis, Bullfrog…
Really, I don’t take what Bank of America has done to be less than what EA has done because I voted for EA in this pool, but I wanted EA to be called out on their bullshit.
I may have messed up my phrasing, but I think people need to understand what a company like EA can do to their niche.
Wow. People who voted for EA should be ashamed of themselves. Use a little bit of perspective people. Even in entertainment, EA is far from the worst company out there.
Wow, you should be ashamed of yourself.
People voted for who they thought was THE WORST COMPANY.
Just because you don’t agree with it, doesn’t mean they are wrong.
I don’t use BOA, and never will, so what they have done has yet to affect myself. However, I do play video games. None made by EA, but I have watched EA absorb other companies and destroy them and get rid of their employees with abandon.
It’s just applling to me that EA won. Really, America? REALLY?? I’m so ashamed. THAT’s what you care about – a stupid computer game company? Why? What could they have POSSIBLY done that even come fractionally close to the levels of outright crime, theft, fraud, economic destruction, and life-ruining actions of a giant soulless devouring corrupt mega-organization like Bank of America? I mean, really – HONESTLY? – you think some computer game company is worse than THIS? (http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/bank-of-america-too-crooked-to-fail-20120314). I’m an avid gamer myself, but I have some perspective. Anyone who voted for EA is a pathetic spoiled child who’s more concerned about their widdle game lives than about actual people and reality. You people suck. It’s insipid, self-centered folks like you who are helping the Grifter class to rip off the last dollar from the last consumer. But hey, why would you care as long as they get your next game RIGHT this time, dammit! That’s what matters!
300 MILLION PEOPLE out of billions…
http://i.imgur.com/UmLsc.jpg
so, EA is already trying damage control. I laugh.