While SimCity got all of the publicity and helped publisher EA win a major award, it’s certainly not the only single-player game out there that requires you to be connected to the publisher’s server all the time. For example, there’s Darkspore, another EA/Maxis title released in 2011 that some gamers still enjoy. Sometimes. [More]
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EA Cutting Prices, Eliminating Online Passes For Existing Games
By 5.30.13
Reigning two-time Worst Company In America Electronic Arts recently announced that its future game releases would not include the much-hated Online Pass program, which charges a fee to owners of used games to access online content, but there were still questions about whether it would keep the program alive for existing games. Now we have an answer. [More]
EA Killing Off Its Much-Hated “Online Pass” Program
By 5.16.13
Last month, Consumerist voters chose video game publisher Electronic Arts as the Worst Company In America for the second year in a row. Whether the company listened or not, we have no idea, but it is doing something that will make some gamers happier. [More]
Help Us, Obi Wan Kenobi: EA Signs Deal With Disney To Publish New Star Wars Games
By 5.7.13
As a Consumerist reader and tipster puts it, the news that Electronic Arts has signed a deal to develop and publish games based off Star Wars, it’s as if “millions of Star Wars gamer nerds cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced…” That’s a reference to (spoiler alert) the destruction of an entire planet (Alderaan) in Episode IV, for those not in the know. [More]
Worst Company In America 2013 Winner EA Set To Debut Sims 4 In 2014
By 5.6.13
While it’s been busy winning our Worst Company In America 2013 (second year in a row!), mucking up game releases and dumping the Wii U, Electronic Arts has made the time to announce the arrival of Sims 4 for Macs and PCs in 2014. Wonder if there will be a required online-always situation or if EA has learned its lesson with SimCity. We won’t hold our breath. [EA Blog] [More]
Despite “Strong Partnership,” EA Says Madden NFL 25 Won’t Be On Nintendo’s Wii U Console
By 5.2.13
Calm those quivering lips, Wii U users, it’s true, it’s really true: For the first time since 1991, Electronic Arts’ Madden series will sidestep a Nintendo console. The company’s newest offering, Madden NFL 25, won’t be available for the Wii U, but hey guys, don’t worry — the two companies totally still have a “strong partnership.” [More]
EA Releasing First Patch For SimCity Today: Mansions For Mayors, Still No Offline Mode
By 4.22.13
If you’ve been holding your breath for Electronic Arts (our Worst Company In America 2013, everybody!) to update SimCity with an offline mode, well, keep holding it. The company is releasing a patch today at 4:00 p.m. ET with a few new things and a variety of fixes, but that offline mode players have been wishing and hoping for is nowhere in sight. [More]
EA Triples Original Payouts In Settlement Of Football Games Class-Action Suit
By 4.17.13
If you bought an EA football game — Madden NFL, NCAA Football, or Arena Football — between 2005 and 2012, here’s some good news. Not only are you due a few bucks thanks to a class-action settlement with the reigning two-time Worst Company In America champ, but the dollar amount of the individual payouts to affected consumers have been tripled. [More]
Report: EA Quietly Making Staff Cuts At Customer Service Center In Ireland
By 4.16.13
It was nary a few months ago when Michael Lawder, the head of customer service at Electronic Arts, was touting the company’s new call centers in Texas and Ireland as part of its effort to improve the customer experience. What does it say about the Worst Company In America 2013‘s dedication to that plan when it’s reportedly started laying off staff at the Galway customer service center? [More]
EA Celebrates Its New WCIA 2013 Term By Killing Off SimCity, The Sims Social On Facebook
By 4.15.13
We should’ve known that Electronic Arts is far from being the kind of organization that would just sit back and relax on its Worst Company In America 2013 laurels. Just last week it made layoffs at its studio in Montreal and is now following that execution by lining up SimCity Social and The Sims Social on the chopping block. Both Facebook games will shut down June 14. [More]
4 Years After Launch, Sims 3 For Mac Still Sucks And EA Doesn’t Care
By 4.12.13
Our readers are already intimately familiar with the anti-consumer behavior that won EA its second gleaming Golden Poo trophy in a row. One issue that we haven’t heard a lot about, though, is the continued suckiness of the current generation of “The Sims.” You know, that other Maxis title. [More]
Worst Company-Winner EA Lays Off Staff At Montreal Studio
By 4.11.13
Only days after being chosen by Consumerist voters as Worst Company In America for the second year in a row, Electronic Arts is not gaining many fans in Canada. Earlier today, it was reported that a large number of employees were laid off from one of EA’s studios in Montreal. [More]
EA Will Have Another Chance To Botch A Game Release With SimCity For Macs Coming In June
By 4.10.13
Fresh off the heels of its two-peat as Consumerist’s Worst Company In America with the 2013 win (nominated and voted on by you, our dear readers), Electronic Arts is giving itself the chance to botch yet another game release with the impending launch of SimCity for Mac users on June 11. [More]
EA Makes Worst Company In America History, Wins Title For Second Year In A Row!
By 4.9.13
Following last year’s surprise Worst Company In America victory by Electronic Arts, there was hope that the video game giant would get the message: Stop treating your customers like human piggy banks, and don’t put out so many incomplete and/or broken games with the intent of getting your customers to pay extra for what they should have received in the first place. And yet, here we are again, with EA becoming the first company to ever win a second Golden Poo from Consumerist readers. [More]
Worst Company In America Final Death Match: Bank Of America Vs. EA, Part II
April 8, 2013
This is it. Make no mistake where you are. After weeks of gouged eyeballs, pulverized ribs, countless bruised egos, and one dislocated thumb, the battered bodies of 30 bad businesses are licking their wounds and vowing to fight another year, while your votes have set up an epic rematch of the 2012 Final Death Match. [More]
EA Admits It “Can Do Better” But Blames Worst Company Success On Homophobes And Whiny Madden Fans
By 4.5.13 — Updated: 4.6.13
Video game giant EA is on the precipice of having a chance to repeat as grand champion in the Worst Company In America tournament, so one might think this would be a time for EA to make nice with the customers who feel like they are being mistreated. And in an EA.com blog post, Chief Operating Officer Peter Moore does admit to mistakes and promise to “do better.” But, for reasons we can’t even begin to fathom, he didn’t stop there. [More]
Worst Company In America Semifinals: EA Vs. Ticketmaster
April 5, 2013
The last duel before the WCIA Final Fracas of Fury features the reigning tournament champ squaring off against a longtime contender with dreams of Golden Poo glory in its head. [More]
Meet The Final 4 Contenders For Worst Company In America 2013
April 4, 2013
After more than two weeks of dismemberment, disembowelment, and all-around good family fun, this year’s Worst Company In America tournament nears its finale, with only four contenders remaining with a chance at claiming the ultimate victory and clutching the Golden Poo. [More]
