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]
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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]
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]
Worst Company In America Quarterfinals: EA Vs. AT&T
April 4, 2013
Let’s close out the WCIA quarterfinals with this match between the reigning champ and the Death Star itself. [More]
Probably No One Is Shocked That The First Free Downloadable Content For SimCity Is An Ad
By 4.3.13
Money makes the world go ’round, even if that world happens to be a virtual one like EA’s much talked about new SimCity. And nothing brings the dollar dollar bills rolling in like advertising, which is why we’re completely unsurprised that the first bit of free downloadable content (known as DLC) offered up for SimCity boils down to an ad. [More]
Worst Company In America Round 2: EA Vs. Facebook
April 1, 2013
Having each thoroughly thrashed their competitors in the opening round, it’s time for the reigning Golden Poo holder and the current king of social media to pick on someone their own size. [More]
Worst Company In America Round 1: EA Vs. Anheuser-Busch InBev
March 25, 2013
It’s Monday afternoon, so what better way to commemorate the joy of being back to work than with a WCIA battle between two companies intent on ruining your good times. [More]
EA Didn’t Give Me A SimCity Refund, But Agreed To Switch It For A Game I Can Actually Play
By 3.19.13
Yesterday Electronic Arts offered up a list of freebie games for disgruntled SimCity customers (and oh yeah, its CEO announced his resignation), but from what Consumerist readers are saying, the options are at best “meh” and at worst, laughable. Reader L. hadn’t had much success playing SimCity but realized his chances of getting a refund were more than slim. [More]
EA CEO To Step Down
By 3.18.13
Just hours after finding out his company was set to make another run at Worst Company In America, Electronic Arts has announced that CEO John Riccitiello has resigned. [More]
EA Unveils List Of 8 Free Games It’s Offering To Disgruntled SimCity Customers
By 3.18.13
UPDATE: Electronic Arts has announced that CEO John Riccitiello is stepping down. His last day on the job will be March 30. Maybe he didn’t want to have to accept another Golden Poo? [More]
EA Disabling User Accounts Because It Thinks Any Contact With Amazon Must Be A Refund Request
By 3.18.13
UPDATE: Electronic Arts has announced that CEO John Riccitiello is stepping down. His last day on the job will be March 30. Interesting timing, eh? [More]
EA Insists SimCity Must Be Connected To Servers, Gamer Figures Out How To Run It Offline
By 3.15.13
For the swarms of angry EA customers ticked off at the company for forcing players to play the new SimCity in an always online mode, the slow, problem-riddled servers have been a huge annoyance. Calls for EA (our Worst Company In America 2012) and Maxis to allow gamers to play in offline mode have been dismissed by the company as not possible, but lo and behold, one game modder is claiming it is quite possible. [More]
Amazon Pulls SimCity 5 Downloads Amid Furor Over Constant Crashing & Slow Servers
By 3.7.13
Remember that whole outrage over SimCity 5? Yeah, it hasn’t gone away since this morning, when the powers that be at EA and Maxis said they were trying their very best to get more servers up and running. A few things have changed today, but the complaints keep rolling in on Consumerist’s tip line as well as all over social media. Amazon has subsequently suspended the game’s availability for digital download as well. [More]
Here’s Why The Launch Of SimCity 5 Ticked A Lot Of People Off This Week
By 3.7.13
On Tuesday, EA released the highly anticipated newest iteration of SimCity, a game that fans have been waiting years for, eagerly counting down the days until they could flex their god-like creation muscles and craft fresh societies as they see fit. Except SimCity 5 can’t be played offline, unleashing a torrent of complaints about crashing games and slow and wholly unavailable servers. Consumerist’s Worst Company In America 2012, everybody. [More]
EA Backtracks A Bit On The Whole “Microtransactions In Every Game” Thing
By 3.6.13
A good part of the reason that Electronic Arts is the reigning Worst Company In America is the video game publisher’s increasing use of nickel-and-diming customers through microtransactions. The company took a lot of heat recently when the CFO declared that all its games would feature these in-game purchases for a wide range of add-ons, but now he’s is saying that’s not exactly what he meant to express. [More]
EA Customer Service Head On Improving Relations: We’ve Got A Ways To Go
By 12.21.12
Winning Consumerist’s title of “Worst Company Of The Year” is likely the kind of award that stings, as Electronic Arts found out last April. In light of its reputation for awful customer service, the company says it’s really working hard to turn all those frowns upside down. And thought it might not seem like it, EA’s customer service head says things are going to change for the better in how the company handles its customers’ issues. It’s all part of a three-year plan. [More]
EA Sues Zynga Over Facebook Game That Also Has Simulated People Doing Everyday Things
By 8.3.12
There’s a fight brewing in social media gaming land: Electronic Arts is steamed at Zynga over its new “The Ville” game, which EA claims is a total ripoff of “The Sims Social,” both games that are played on Facebook. EA is suing, claiming The Ville is an “unmistakable” copy of The Sims Social. Both do have characters that are you know, people, who do things like build homes and put fancy virtual stuff in them. [More]
EA Settles Price-Fixing Lawsuit But Apparently Still Has Madden Monopoly On NFL Games
By 7.23.12
Electronic Arts (aka our Worst Company In America winner) has settled a lawsuit alleging that it was overcharging for some of its most popular sports titles, including Madden NFL as well as NCAA Football and Arena Football games. But while the settlement restricts EA’s ability to sign exclusive deals with the NCAA and Arena Football, it appears its Madden Monopoly on NFL titles will march on intact. [More]
