Putting it in the simplest words: Doesn't want to be worst yet doesn't try to stop being the worst.
EA Really Doesn't Want to be The Worst Company In America
- Thread starter The Wooster
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Yeah, they stuffed up with Sim City, but most bad rep they get seems to be people not realising that they don't actually make most of the games, they publish them. People blamed EA for Bioware's latest few games (when really the only game that Bioware made that did suffer from EA was Dragon Age 2, but even then that game is still playable and enjoyable, if a little lacking in some areas), instead of saying, "Maybe I just don't like this" a majority of people on this site say, "THIS GAME IS TERRIBLE AND THAT IS A FACT THERE IS NOTHING REDEEMING ABOUT THIS GAME IF YOU LIKE IT YOU'RE AN IDIOT". The thing that I find most interesting is people assuming the worst immediately. As someone who does not have Xbox Live nor the ability to connect my Xbox to the internet, I found that Dead Space 3 was an excellent game and at no point did I feel as though the game was made harder to encourage micro transactions, but what did some forum posters say about this? They screamed and yelled that it would destroy the integrity of the game and that the single player would be warped so as that people would be forced to make the micro transactions, WHICH WAS WRONG.RatherDull said:
I'm sorry, but I don't buy the idea that EA is the worlds WORST company. They're not saints, but lets be honest, no successful company is (not even Valve).
Dexter111 said:You've been quoted here: http://consumerist.com/2013/04/05/ea-admits-it-can-do-better-but-blames-worst-company-success-on-homophobes-and-whiny-madden-fans/Xdeser2 said:
It's a pretty good rebuttal piece.
Gotta love some of that bite:
....Damn
Didn't know I'd get quoted on that 0_o
At least they are FINALLY doing something about their PR. It might be too late but whatever.
Calling them the worst company in america may be overdoing it though. and Peter is right in saying that some of the reasons are ridiculous.
To be completely honest, I think that a lot of hate EA's receiving is misdirected. Yeah, sure, they are a terrible publisher, their business practices are bullshit and they don't exactly treat their IP right. but the Sim City flop? Ubisoft has done this with the same results. Blizzard has done this with the same results. Sure, EA didn't win any points for repeating the obvious mistakes of other companies but the amount of hate that they are receiving for that is disproportional. People hate them because it's cool to hate EA. They are a convenient target. It seems a bit hypocritical to me.
Now I'm not defending EA. They have made shitty decisions and angered a lot of people, myself included. They definitely are a bad company (not the WORST in america mind you). But people should try and exercise critical thought before they start relentlessly bashing on someone because everyone else does.
Calling them the worst company in america may be overdoing it though. and Peter is right in saying that some of the reasons are ridiculous.
To be completely honest, I think that a lot of hate EA's receiving is misdirected. Yeah, sure, they are a terrible publisher, their business practices are bullshit and they don't exactly treat their IP right. but the Sim City flop? Ubisoft has done this with the same results. Blizzard has done this with the same results. Sure, EA didn't win any points for repeating the obvious mistakes of other companies but the amount of hate that they are receiving for that is disproportional. People hate them because it's cool to hate EA. They are a convenient target. It seems a bit hypocritical to me.
Now I'm not defending EA. They have made shitty decisions and angered a lot of people, myself included. They definitely are a bad company (not the WORST in america mind you). But people should try and exercise critical thought before they start relentlessly bashing on someone because everyone else does.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions but I just wish you wouldn't marginalize people's legitimate complaints by saying that they are just complaining because it is popular.Johny_X2 said:
I've seen very few responses that have been hating on EA for the sake of it. Most of people's anger is expressed through one of the MANY time EA has fucked up. I mean if you keep pissing on your consumers eventually everyone will have the same opinion of you.
that's true and I'm definitely not trying to defend EA. I'm just saying the hate is kind of getting out of hand. There are legitimate complaints to be made and they have been fucking up constantly for the last few years but if you look at the popular opinion, you get people saying that EA should go bankrupt and that it's a lot better than EA improving their business practices. Why? Beats me. Apparently, it's because 'we hate EA and want it to die'. Now you've got to admit that's a bit extreme. And that's just one example.GAunderrated said:
I'm not saying that complaints made against EA are not legitimate. They definitely are. It's just that some people are overdoing it with the hate. And quite a few only hate it because other people do, without even knowing the reason.
I'm really trying to not sound like a dick about it so I hope I don't come off this way. However, the part I highlighted is what I mean about marginalizing people legitimate complaints.Johny_X2 said:
I have seen VERY FEW people say that they hate EA and want it to die. Sure there are always a few extremist about but to portray a faction as the overall consensus is a fallacy. Most people I see are saying they hate EA for X reason and want them to stop X reason so they can play the game's they enjoy without all the anti-consumer practices.
Heck I myself would love to play Simcity without the always online DRM, I would have loved D3 without the always online DRM and auction house BS that I still can't forgive blizzard for, and I would have LOVED to finish the ME trilogy except I didn't want to support EA's anti-consumer practices during that debacle.
I personally am just tired of publishers getting in the way between me and my game. I give them x amount of money for y product so they can get paid and I enjoy my game. I don't need all this added bullshit getting in between my enjoyment.
Sorry I went on a tangent there.
If the voting for this is anything like it was year then it isnt voting for the worst company in America, because everyone outside the US can vote as well. Most people outside the US have never even heard of some of the other companies or at least wont be affected by them, so they are going to skew the vote by choosing the one they do know - EA.
What a cute "justification" for all their bullshit.
Not really surprising. Not many people take responsibility for their own failures these days, much less corporations. Anyway, moving on. No amount of fake apologies will convince me to give EA a drop of my money again.
Not really surprising. Not many people take responsibility for their own failures these days, much less corporations. Anyway, moving on. No amount of fake apologies will convince me to give EA a drop of my money again.
Well I don't live in America but it does seem a bit backwards to vote for a gaming company when there are far worse companies that effect the economy directly as well as people's lives. Don't get me wrong, EA can crash and burn for all I care and hope they do. But You could have another poll exclusively for entertainment business so people won't feel like douchebags while berating EA.
What I am saying is Evil doesn't even deserve equal opportunity even when it is for berating
What I am saying is Evil doesn't even deserve equal opportunity even when it is for berating
Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm really not trying to defend EA, nor am I trying to, as you put it, marginalise the legitimate complaints because as I said, the legitimate complaints and reasons for hating EA are definitely there and there are quite a few of them. And I imagine that most people (well most people with above-average intelligence at least) would have a very concrete reason for not liking EA. Just like you do. And just like I do.GAunderrated said:
I've seen quite a few examples of the "I want EA to go bankrupt" attitude though, even here on the escapist. There are entire threads dedicated to the idea. That's where I'm coming from. There are always people who will take the hate one step too far and unfortunately, they often have the advantage of numbers over the sensible ones like you and I.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that while I agree with you on almost all points, I feel that the amount of hate EA gets in general is a lot more than it should be getting. EA is not the devil. They are a shitty company and there are waves of criticism to be made on their account, but what I'm trying to do here is to urge people to keep the criticism reasonable and informed and not go overboard with the hate.
I like that he says "people think free-to-play is a pox on gaming - tens of millions people are playing, though!"
Because that really disarms the "pox" analogy.
Because that really disarms the "pox" analogy.
If you don't want to be considered the worst company in America, EA, you shouldn't ACT like the worst company in America. No, there are companies that do worse things to people, sure. And though there usually are other alternates to those companies and this is the age of information, they still manage to do it often. But I have yet to see any company ever that looks at the worst, most objected to business practices and uses them with far more frequency than the people who started them in the first place. I have yet to hear a company try to constantly and consistently defend practices that virtually everyone agrees are bad. I've never see a company continue to lie and lie and lie long after they've been proven wrong, and then have the arrogance to try and lump in all their detractors with bigots and whiners, hiding behind age old stereotypes and a marginalized community that still faces bigotry to try and garner sympathy. That's last part is slimy on a level that's hard to describe. They somehow have the balls to badmouth their own customers, a large portion of their potential audience, to say they were right on every issue that mattered and to slap the consumer in the face with lies and trivializations of their opinions and then try to make us feel sorry for them or like they're the good guys.
Now, someone above me said that hating EA and wanting it to die is extreme. I would say that it's the only position any sane, rational person can hold. If you have any empathy at all for the people who get screwed out of their hard earned money, who relish every new opportunity to inconvenience the consumer and affect the industry by doing so, who ruin franchises and development teams, who constantly make things worse for just about everyone involved with them in any way constantly for years, and then defend every big issue of the day while blaming the amount of hate they get on homophobes, you aren't going to say, "Man, this hate is out of hand. I mean sure, there's the ruining the days/weeks/jobs/industry for everyone who crosses their path for about two years now thing, and sure they try and brush off their criticisms by hiding behind gay people and saying, 'IT'S THE HOMOPHOBES!' but I sure want them to shape up so I can feel better about giving them my money. I wouldn't want to be so extreme as to say that I want them to go out of business.'
That isn't how it works. You don't just forgive them for years of almost cartoonish wrongdoing because they begin to do even part of what they should have been doing all along. They have to atone for the horrible things that they've done to people constantly and consistently for years. They've stepped on anyone they could and then changed their business models so that they could step on more people. They're the revolutionaries who said, "Exploiting all of these people just isn't enough. We have to raise the bar! Let's look at what the other companies are doing that no one else likes, and then do all of that constantly." These aren't people I want to give my money. They do not deserve my money. Even if they stopped doing things like this, they would not deserve my money. Because I believe in justice, and justice isn't EA saying that they're really sorry and riding off into the sunset with saddlebags filled with all the money they've sucked out of people.
EDIT: I went back and checked out some links early on in the thread. Specifically, the one about how EA ran their employees into the ground by flat out lying to them about having a mild crunch early to avoid another one later, piling on tons of hours to make work weeks 85 hours and not affording employees any overtime or any other compensation at all, and...just read it. Just...go back and read it. EA at this point disgusts me and there is no longer any defense that I will accept for why they should even be legally allowed to exist.
Now, someone above me said that hating EA and wanting it to die is extreme. I would say that it's the only position any sane, rational person can hold. If you have any empathy at all for the people who get screwed out of their hard earned money, who relish every new opportunity to inconvenience the consumer and affect the industry by doing so, who ruin franchises and development teams, who constantly make things worse for just about everyone involved with them in any way constantly for years, and then defend every big issue of the day while blaming the amount of hate they get on homophobes, you aren't going to say, "Man, this hate is out of hand. I mean sure, there's the ruining the days/weeks/jobs/industry for everyone who crosses their path for about two years now thing, and sure they try and brush off their criticisms by hiding behind gay people and saying, 'IT'S THE HOMOPHOBES!' but I sure want them to shape up so I can feel better about giving them my money. I wouldn't want to be so extreme as to say that I want them to go out of business.'
That isn't how it works. You don't just forgive them for years of almost cartoonish wrongdoing because they begin to do even part of what they should have been doing all along. They have to atone for the horrible things that they've done to people constantly and consistently for years. They've stepped on anyone they could and then changed their business models so that they could step on more people. They're the revolutionaries who said, "Exploiting all of these people just isn't enough. We have to raise the bar! Let's look at what the other companies are doing that no one else likes, and then do all of that constantly." These aren't people I want to give my money. They do not deserve my money. Even if they stopped doing things like this, they would not deserve my money. Because I believe in justice, and justice isn't EA saying that they're really sorry and riding off into the sunset with saddlebags filled with all the money they've sucked out of people.
EDIT: I went back and checked out some links early on in the thread. Specifically, the one about how EA ran their employees into the ground by flat out lying to them about having a mild crunch early to avoid another one later, piling on tons of hours to make work weeks 85 hours and not affording employees any overtime or any other compensation at all, and...just read it. Just...go back and read it. EA at this point disgusts me and there is no longer any defense that I will accept for why they should even be legally allowed to exist.
well, one thing hasnt changed with ?A after the CEO resigned. they are still full of shit.
this letter woulndt even fit inside 3 toilets with these stupid remarks. 45mill have an account with origin...HA. i dint even create an account because they used my account already from bioware.
im wondering how stupid they will look when they get voted again as the worst company.
this letter woulndt even fit inside 3 toilets with these stupid remarks. 45mill have an account with origin...HA. i dint even create an account because they used my account already from bioware.
im wondering how stupid they will look when they get voted again as the worst company.
Who cares?
It's an internet poll. Internet polls are pathetically easy to manipulate, and they are always manipulated by hordes of self-important people with half-cocked messages or dumb jokes. In this case a bunch of videogame nerds are angry over Dragon Age 2, Mass Effect 3, Metal of Honor, and so on and so they will just overpower the poll because no one else gives that much of a shit.
It's an internet poll. Internet polls are pathetically easy to manipulate, and they are always manipulated by hordes of self-important people with half-cocked messages or dumb jokes. In this case a bunch of videogame nerds are angry over Dragon Age 2, Mass Effect 3, Metal of Honor, and so on and so they will just overpower the poll because no one else gives that much of a shit.