EA: We Never Want to Be Named Worst U.S. Company Again
- Thread starter BlameTheWizards
- Start date
To little, to late. I do not believe for a second that anything out of the EA camp is spoken with genuine regret or remorse for the nonsense they have pulled on us gamers. They will not see any further monies from me again. I would rather give up gaming than enrich them further.
Hey, at least they did rework Origin and include stuff like money back, which friggin' Valve still hasn't gotten around to with Steam, continuing to be in violation of consumer protections in Europe. Who knows what'll come of all that, but for some reason Valve is so beloved that few people care. I'm not a fan of EA, but are they at least improving? Very much so.
Plus, the title of "worst US company" seems really over-exaggerated when you have private military contractors killing people for money, oil companies sucking subsidies out of taxpayers while lobbying to lower environmental restrictions, banks pushing for a continued lack of regulations that ensure the next economic crash is on the way and so on. Even back then I was very weirded out by the idea of EA as the "worst".
Plus, the title of "worst US company" seems really over-exaggerated when you have private military contractors killing people for money, oil companies sucking subsidies out of taxpayers while lobbying to lower environmental restrictions, banks pushing for a continued lack of regulations that ensure the next economic crash is on the way and so on. Even back then I was very weirded out by the idea of EA as the "worst".
A part of their problem lies with their Board of Directors [http://investors.ea.com/directors.cfm]. You know, the suits above the CEO that dictate where the company goes? I did a quick bit of googlingresearch and took a look at their board.
Out of nine members, only 2 had spent ANY tine in the game industry, one of them being the CEO (Who does not head the board) and another person. The company is being guided by people that have no clue what the difference is between the consoles or even how to use them. Since the shareholders have seen their shares increasing in price for the past year or so, odds are they like this board too (Although they'd likely want the prices from back in 2006/07; company is still in its former shadow) and won't mix it up a lot.
Out of nine members, only 2 had spent ANY tine in the game industry, one of them being the CEO (Who does not head the board) and another person. The company is being guided by people that have no clue what the difference is between the consoles or even how to use them. Since the shareholders have seen their shares increasing in price for the past year or so, odds are they like this board too (Although they'd likely want the prices from back in 2006/07; company is still in its former shadow) and won't mix it up a lot.
By your definition, I don't see how they beat out Comcast or Time Warner Cable. As much as you may want to bash EA, the fact is you still have a choice to by the games or not. With Comcast you're basically beholden to them for many services (some areas have more options than others, but even than it's with companies just as bad) like cable and high speed Internet. Their customer service is 10x worse than EA and make much more money of dirty or shady practices.FalloutJack said:
But, EA wins b/c the Sim can't go swimming....
Ah, well, Warner is too recent on the polls to really count them, and Comcast is not a bunch of idiots but very insideous. Also, I know 'don't by the game'. I don't. I do, however, sympathize with the people who are angry and support their feelings on the matter.Brockyman said:
I always found it amusing how EA got named "Worst Company in America" the same year the federal government fined HSBC for laundering money for Iran and drug cartels.
Right now there's a group of mid level executive huddled up in a board room hoping that Kotaku / Gawker continues their steady stream of literally publicly peeing on their readership while taking a dump on their advertisers, like they're making a German skat porno.
While EA isnt the best company out there, they certainly dont deserve the 'worst company in America' prize year after year. Its a great example of how when you have things like this measured online, you get skewered results. All they'd have to do is make the testing process encompass the population as a whole, and it would immediately stop being the worst.
But yeah, EA only gets worst company all the time, because the online polls are heavily dominated by gamers, voting based on what impacts them directly, rather than who's actually worst.
But yeah, EA only gets worst company all the time, because the online polls are heavily dominated by gamers, voting based on what impacts them directly, rather than who's actually worst.
I've seen this song and dance before...
I remember two years ago when Riccitello gave the same line right after winning the second golden poo.
Or even before that, back in 2007 when EA made peace with their own employees.
I gave them a chance then too...only to run into Hellgate London. Which failed primarily because EA, true to their nature, rushed the damn thing out over 6 months ahead of schedule just to meet a Halloween release date.
At this point, I give up. They're simply amusing to me now.
Every year, they find new ways to innovate being greedy dicks.
EA should consider themselves blessed that the majority of their customers don't even about the bullshit claims the company makes. It's the only reason they're still in business.
I remember two years ago when Riccitello gave the same line right after winning the second golden poo.
Or even before that, back in 2007 when EA made peace with their own employees.
I gave them a chance then too...only to run into Hellgate London. Which failed primarily because EA, true to their nature, rushed the damn thing out over 6 months ahead of schedule just to meet a Halloween release date.
At this point, I give up. They're simply amusing to me now.
Every year, they find new ways to innovate being greedy dicks.
EA should consider themselves blessed that the majority of their customers don't even about the bullshit claims the company makes. It's the only reason they're still in business.
EA might have a new CEO, but there's still plenty of the same people running the company. Wilson might believe the PR talk he just said, but investors are still mostly crotchety old rich folks who never played a game in the past 30 years and only invest in the company because it is/was doing well when they decided to buy stock for it. Pushing back games and cutting back the cheap money makers like yearly installments with little improvements and free to play BS will only piss of the share holders since that hurting the business's immediate bottom line.
Yeah, I'll just keep doing what I've been doing for most of the past 15 years or so: not buying EA games but watching them to see if they either can dig themselves deeper or temporarily find their way out of the paper bag. The new leadership might be able to change some small things, but it's hard for anyone to change the status quo and general business culture.
As for the "Worst Company in America" contest, it's a public opinion vote and regrettably only getting responses from a small portion of the public that knows of its existence. Of course, a media company with a penchant for stupid decisions will have a good chance of winning in an online poll such as that. Gamers are especially vocal online. It does at least tell the winner and runners up that their public relations need work in some way, but it's a double edged sword that might send the subliminal message to other shady companies that either didn't place high or at all on the list that they can still say, "Tee-hee, we're still getting away with jacking up the economy and environment. Let's go club some baby seals while foreclosing on some low income families' houses."
Yeah, I'll just keep doing what I've been doing for most of the past 15 years or so: not buying EA games but watching them to see if they either can dig themselves deeper or temporarily find their way out of the paper bag. The new leadership might be able to change some small things, but it's hard for anyone to change the status quo and general business culture.
As for the "Worst Company in America" contest, it's a public opinion vote and regrettably only getting responses from a small portion of the public that knows of its existence. Of course, a media company with a penchant for stupid decisions will have a good chance of winning in an online poll such as that. Gamers are especially vocal online. It does at least tell the winner and runners up that their public relations need work in some way, but it's a double edged sword that might send the subliminal message to other shady companies that either didn't place high or at all on the list that they can still say, "Tee-hee, we're still getting away with jacking up the economy and environment. Let's go club some baby seals while foreclosing on some low income families' houses."
ok, they showed minor improvements like releasing free games. thats a plus i think a lot here will agree with. i mean dead space, BF3 (kind of obvious but still) peggle and some other titles.
but yes, they sure have to work hard to get out of this mess. i do hope actually they will manage it and that M$ will get the worst company award.
but yes, they sure have to work hard to get out of this mess. i do hope actually they will manage it and that M$ will get the worst company award.
Well, given the poorly prioritized rage of the internet, I'm sure they'll be named the worst company over and over until they no longer exist.
1. When a big corporate CEO publicly opens his mouth what comes out will be a carefully crafted PR speech aimed towards customers/shareholders/etc.
2. Let's be realistic here EA shouldn't be considered the worst company in America to begin with. For all the crap they pull at the end of the day they just make video games, it's just one of the dumber sides of the internet that these polls get hijacked and people vote EA.
Sometimes these online poll hijackings can be cute (vote for Rory!), but in this case it would really be better to put the shame on someone who has a bigger impact on society than our entertainment.
2. Let's be realistic here EA shouldn't be considered the worst company in America to begin with. For all the crap they pull at the end of the day they just make video games, it's just one of the dumber sides of the internet that these polls get hijacked and people vote EA.
Sometimes these online poll hijackings can be cute (vote for Rory!), but in this case it would really be better to put the shame on someone who has a bigger impact on society than our entertainment.
At the risk of sounding cynical, the only reason someone at EA kinda-sorta saying the right things is newsworthy is because before they were saying the wrong things while doing the wrong things and topping it off with double-plus-good spin like that puff piece at IGN.
I don't particularly want to dislike EA, but I don't think we should act or be treated like puppies that will keep wagging for the occasional pat on the head when you kick us the rest of the time. Don't just tell us you want to do better; stop games like Dungeon Keeper Mobile from coming out. Stop gouging people for ninety percent of the content in The Sims. Stop former companies like PopCap and Bioware from hemorrhaging some of their best people!
I don't particularly want to dislike EA, but I don't think we should act or be treated like puppies that will keep wagging for the occasional pat on the head when you kick us the rest of the time. Don't just tell us you want to do better; stop games like Dungeon Keeper Mobile from coming out. Stop gouging people for ninety percent of the content in The Sims. Stop former companies like PopCap and Bioware from hemorrhaging some of their best people!
You gotta love people still complaining about the results of a poll that's not even part of a federal survey, but instead decides which company will get a poo trophy. As if the companies destroying the environment and people's lives will give a single shit about the golden shit.
But hey, why are you complaining about the results of an online poll when you could be part of a volunteer movement helping those victims? Just saying.
Hey EA? Try to actually show that you care for once. How about that? How about instead of saying you don't want it, actually release full games that don't have features stripped out and actually do shit that makes it so you don't get the trophy? Don't just say "Oh please don't vote for me again" because that's not going to work. Actually show that you don't want to get it again.
But hey, why are you complaining about the results of an online poll when you could be part of a volunteer movement helping those victims? Just saying.
Hey EA? Try to actually show that you care for once. How about that? How about instead of saying you don't want it, actually release full games that don't have features stripped out and actually do shit that makes it so you don't get the trophy? Don't just say "Oh please don't vote for me again" because that's not going to work. Actually show that you don't want to get it again.
Come ON, EA. Even as your local "Quit Blithering" defender, even I can see how poorly timed this announcement was.
Do you really want to remind people of the Golden Poo awards right after the launch of The Sims 4?
Do you really want to remind people of the Golden Poo awards right after the launch of The Sims 4?
Oh thank you EA. I was worried that the gamer civil war could potentially rage unchecked and consume the whole hobby, but thank you for popping up and reminding us where rage should really be directed.
"We don't want you to hate us. Here, have this edition of the Sims with all the best bits cut out? You don't like that? Well we've got some DLC coming that will fix it all up! Hey, where are you going?"
"We don't want you to hate us. Here, have this edition of the Sims with all the best bits cut out? You don't like that? Well we've got some DLC coming that will fix it all up! Hey, where are you going?"