EA voted "Worst Company in America"

[Snokio]

Not really news is it...but here is what the COO says anyway:

http://www.ea.com/news/we-can-do-better

[smilodon]

Clearly EA aren't the worst company in America, but their excuses are not valid. Their successes are more about the quality of the studios and IP's they've bought not about what they've created as original ideas and content themselves. People have Steam accounts because they love the platform and value Valve as a decent company that at it's heart loves games and gamers. People have Origin accounts because they were forced to when EA pulled many of it's titles from Steam. Pay to Play and Pay to Win popularity is directly related to how much a publisher over charges for it's games, and EA do love to squeeze as much money out of their customers as is humanly possible.

They're right when they say it's ridiculous for EA to be voted worst company in the USA, but until they're willing to admit to what's actually broken with their business they will have a tough time fixing it. So far they either don't know or won't admit what's wrong. So I doubt anything significant will change. Best that they just get out of the PC gaming market and stick to consoles.

[Blunt]

He can bluster all he wants, but the bottom line is 'I'll never buy another EA game'
Loads of us think this way and loads of us won't.
If he thinks EA is the tallest tree, he's living in a small forest.

Steam is the only way to go for me from now on, and it doesn't matter much what EA says to try to lure me back.
Having said that, I will support independant game devs if they have something worthwhile to offer.

EA can go to hell.

EDit: Uninstalled origin just so I don't show up in this idiots stats

[kregoron]

1. Ubisoft is much worse the EA.
2. The fact that EA wants to move away from Steam isnt entirely to maximise profits, knowing a few game devs, getting updates sorted to steam games is a huge task, as steam wants to control huge aspects of it.

[ArithonUK]

EA is definitely the worst company. For all of UBI's failings, their crimes are more arrogance and stupidity, where EA is just plain vicious! They'll delete peoples entire Origin account on the most spurious of reasons, stealing not just the game at fault (where someone has complained or bad-mouthed them on a forum), but every game an account holder has bought.

Their recent pricing (£45-65 for Sim City and the pre-order for BF4) shows a staggering amount of unbridled greed, their transparent lies around the launch of Sim City and it's car-crash DRM is an indictment  of how they regard their customers. Dumb-ass cattle to be led by the nose to be milked for cash!

EA and Ubisoft are both on my blacklist and I won't be buying anything with their names on it.

[T-Bag]

I've not got a problem with Ubisoft. With Farcry 3 you have UPlay which is annoying, but it's not an always on scheme. They tried that with some Assassins Creed games, I just didn't buy them. It hasn't got to a point where I despise the company. Whereas EA have consistently killed off games before their time and pushed worse and worse DRM schemes despite negative reactions from the public. They've pulled away from the most popular online community and raised their prices by £10 and they're not at a price I refuse to pay. They are still charging £30 for battlefield 3 on origin. Steam is great because it has killer sales. If Origin had lowered prices at the same time as moving games from steam I'd have been a bit more forgiving. They've essentially cut out the middle man, and then raised game prices heavily rather than reducing it to reflect the fact they're not paying a cut to Valve any more.


The final point which is perhaps the worst though, is they're telling barefaced lies about the games. SimCity does not require an internet connection for single player except for the fact they've told the game not to work without one. The gameplay does not benefit, it's clear from the modders who have removed the functionality. It's there as a form of DRM that punishes legitimate customers.

[TheDvEight]

There drunk on Greed and $$$ made from half built games.

[Chaosphere]

I've not got a problem with Ubisoft. With Farcry 3 you have UPlay which is annoying, but it's not an always on scheme. They tried that with some Assassins Creed games, I just didn't buy them. It hasn't got to a point where I despise the company. Whereas EA have consistently killed off games before their time and pushed worse and worse DRM schemes despite negative reactions from the public. They've pulled away from the most popular online community and raised their prices by £10 and they're not at a price I refuse to pay. They are still charging £30 for battlefield 3 on origin. Steam is great because it has killer sales. If Origin had lowered prices at the same time as moving games from steam I'd have been a bit more forgiving. They've essentially cut out the middle man, and then raised game prices heavily rather than reducing it to reflect the fact they're not paying a cut to Valve any more.


The final point which is perhaps the worst though, is they're telling barefaced lies about the games. SimCity does not require an internet connection for single player except for the fact they've told the game not to work without one. The gameplay does not benefit, it's clear from the modders who have removed the functionality. It's there as a form of DRM that punishes legitimate customers.

Couldn't agree more. EA simply only think with their wallets. They do anything that can increase their immediate income, not thinking about their customers or the long term effects its having. I don't expect to see them stick around as a company if they carry on like this. Sure, for now they are a giant, but the bigger they are the harder they fall (I hope).

[b00n]

Couldn't agree more. EA simply only think with their wallets. They do anything that can increase their immediate income, not thinking about their customers or the long term effects its having. I don't expect to see them stick around as a company if they carry on like this. Sure, for now they are a giant, but the bigger they are the harder they fall (I hope).

I hope so too. It'll only happen if people will flat out refuse to buy their rubbish though. So long as people still rush to buy new releases like they did with SimCity, it'll carry on.  Publishers know that if they spend enough on marketing (and tell some porky pies about the product) it'll still sell on release. People need to learn to think objectively before they can vote with their wallets.

[T-Bag]

I hope so too. It'll only happen if people will flat out refuse to buy their rubbish though. So long as people still rush to buy new releases like they did with SimCity, it'll carry on.  Publishers know that if they spend enough on marketing (and tell some porky pies about the product) it'll still sell on release. People need to learn to think objectively before they can vote with their wallets.

I know it's an over generalisation, but I can't help but feel console gamers are somewhat to blame. The mentality of trading in one game for another and only paying a smaller amount for a new game was originally a nice method of getting rid of games you no longer played. It's now essential for many gamers as the prices have climbed and the release schedule increased. What used to be great about consoles (just putting in a game a playing) has become it's greatest weakness, but the audience doesn't appear to have decided waiting 6 months for a game is acceptable...something the PC market appear to settle into with steam.

If games are locked to an account in future consoles I think you will find people a lot more wary of buying games because they won't have any resale value. For a company like EA with a constant cull and re-release cycle that could be a death sentence. I think they've over simplified the maths and neglected the positive effect second hand games do for console owners...even if the money isn't going to them.

I'd both love and dread the next gen being always-online, because it could kill these sort of behaviours by EA...but then again, it could make it go entirely DLC & Pay to Win which would mean everyone loses.

[Tutonic]

That's a great point about the trade-in market. If you only have to pay, say, £12 to trade up for the latest version of COD (and you're a fan of the series) then it's less of a risk and you're more likely to buy.

If they kill the 2nd hand market (which it looks like they are determined to do), they might find people more reticent to drop £50 on the latest Generic Shooter.

While the success of COD and it's offspring is a little depressing, there's no need for total doom & gloom. There are some fantastic PC devs out there kicking out great games, and Steam is a great platform to buy them on.

[Blunt]

Genuine Captcha so I'm told
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[Benny]

Where do EA Sports come into this?

[Blunt]

just for you Benny
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[Benny]

No ya donkey, I saw that, I meant does EA Sports operate as a standalone company or are they embroiled in it all too? Mainly as I like EA Sports, they make some good games....