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doh123

macrumors 65816
Dec 28, 2009
1,304
2
While I don't like EA much as a company... thats high praise really that so many people would take the time to vote against you. Just looking at some of the winners/losers leading up the the final... its a total load of &%&#@, so I doubt any of it really means anything at all, positive or negative.
 

SingularityG

macrumors 6502
Jun 7, 2012
338
0
EA tries to patch up their incompetence by blaming their customers. Still, it's the kind of crap we don't have to buy.

Bank of America creates the kind of evil that is mandatory and that is why I think they are the worst of all.
 

edddeduck

macrumors 68020
Mar 26, 2004
2,061
13
While I don't like EA much as a company... thats high praise really that so many people would take the time to vote against you.

That's really the problem with these polls they are skewed towards the demographic that reads the site and also internet petitions and "Lets all vote that EA sucks" on gaming forums etc. However something like Bank Of America is a much less "cool" target so will not get as many votes.

The fact that 78% of the vote was for EA kinda proves that EA are a popular punching bag, I am not going to enter the debate on EA (you can use Google to find out all you need to) but I will say this poll is not really indicative of EA actually being the worst company across all industries in the US, it's more like they have annoyed more internet users with spare time on their hands than any other company.

For example the Origin Spyware fiasco, people still claim they have spyware in Origin when it was in the initial release that was fixed (they claimed it was a bug), and that their current policy is pretty much identical to Steam. At the same time Valve tied the release of Halflife 2 to the revenue going through the Steam store and everyone thought cool I should buy some more games to get Half Life 2 faster, imagine the s**tstorm if EA had done something similar?

I am old enough to remember when EA was hated the last time, then was liked, then hated again. I also remember when the worst thing EVER was Steam, it was buggy, had annoying DRM and crashed on the launch of every major title, now Steam is the greatest ever invention according to the very same people who hated it a decade ago. :)

Edwin

These views are my own and nothing to do with my employer etc etc
 

TedM

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 19, 2012
356
2
California
EA has really pissed off their consumer base. Everything they've done over the last couple years has been negative in the eyes of their users. They gutted bioware destroying two games in the process. Mass Effect and Star Wars the Old republic. Both amazing games, that would of done much much better had they really spent time, effort, and a little bit of listening to their customers. Its really in the long run just poor customer relations. I've had so many issues with Origin, I'd rather not return to it.

There is no doubt in my mind the EA deserved it, but carnival and some other evil entities also did. At the same time I feel like EA at least has to care about a slanderous review on the internet, otherwise they wouldn't release statements with "we can do better."

When it comes down to it gaming these days is based on money. There are numerous failing game companies that you can recognize off stock dives alone. EA lost 50-60% of their net stock last year, and around november announced they would spend 100 million in their own cash buying it back. Because they thought it was worth more, and it kinda worked. They experience a minor rebound, but since the quality of their garbage hasn't changed I expect to continue seeing them decline till they really decide to do better.

PS Love the Total War Games bro. I play shogun II almost every night. Thank god for steam workshop otherwise I'd get bored so much faster.
 

antonis

macrumors 68020
Jun 10, 2011
2,085
1,009
People don't seem to care much about spyware & privacy incidents (proof: the masters of the subject - Google - didn't make it to the second round in that poll, while Facebook only till 2nd round). They seem to care most about screwing up customer's experience.

Regardless, I'd like to see Blizzard in this poll too. After Diablo 3 launch I'm sure it would be a very worthy competitor for the first place.
 

TedM

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 19, 2012
356
2
California
People don't seem to care much about spyware & privacy incidents (proof: the masters of the subject - Google - didn't make it to the second round in that poll, while Facebook only till 2nd round). They seem to care most about screwing up customer's experience.

Regardless, I'd like to see Blizzard in this poll too. After Diablo 3 launch I'm sure it would be a very worthy competitor for the first place.

I don't think they were even nominated, but I agree. I'd like to see how they do. But I bet their loyal fans wouldn't let them become the golden poo.
 

antonis

macrumors 68020
Jun 10, 2011
2,085
1,009
I don't think they were even nominated, but I agree. I'd like to see how they do. But I bet their loyal fans wouldn't let them become the golden poo.

Yes, that's true. But still, they might made it to the final, hehe.

It's hard to take the whole thing seriously when Apple's on there and Monsanto isn't.

Indeed, especially since Apple went to 2nd round instead of MS.
 

roadbloc

macrumors G3
Aug 24, 2009
8,784
215
UK
Ironic that EA has the word "Arts" in their name. Electronic Giveusyourmoney would be a more suitable name for them. That company is plague on all things gaming.
 

edddeduck

macrumors 68020
Mar 26, 2004
2,061
13
Ironic that EA has the word "Arts" in their name. Electronic Giveusyourmoney would be a more suitable name for them. That company is plague on all things gaming.

They also funded and published some of the most loved and iconic games since 1982 so they are not all bad, I am not saying peoples negative points are invalid but I think sometimes we need some perspective, without EA existing gaming would be a much worse place right now as many legendary games would never have been green lit.

Here are a few series EA have helped fund, create and release to gamers over the years.

Sim City
FIFA
Madden
Battlefield
Burnout
Command & Conquer
Dead Space
Mass Effect
Medal Of Honour
Need For Speed
Rock Band
Syndicate

I know I have spent more than a few days of my life playing some of the games in that list. :)

(All comments are mine not my employers etc etc :) )
 

El Awesome

macrumors 6502
Jul 21, 2012
471
0
Zurich
I love some of EAs games, for example I'm a passionate BF3 player.

But I must say, Origin is complete *********!
I don't need it for anything, I don't even need Battlelog because that's just for stalking other players, and both of them are way too buggy. There are always bugs that keep me from playing!
And even te game itself contains quite a few bugs, especially in the expansion packs.
Dear EA, just produce games. You really don't need to reinvent the wheel with "social media" like Battelog or wannabe-Steam-clients like Origin. Just keep it simple.

How 'bout that one:
3805407_700bs5bcn.png
 
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ianwuk

macrumors regular
Dec 2, 2010
161
0
If EA brought back games that people actually wanted and reinvented them for modern consoles, such as Road Rash and Desert Strike, then they may win some new fans. They would most likely flood it with DLC though.

I can just imagine Desert Strike now:

In-game voice:

Warning! Low Fuel.

Dialog box:

Pay .99 cents right now to fill up or wait 10 minutes.

All in real time whilst you are flying around being shot at.
 

adder7712

macrumors 68000
Mar 9, 2009
1,923
1
Canada
If EA brought back games that people actually wanted and reinvented them for modern consoles, such as Road Rash and Desert Strike, then they may win some new fans. They would most likely flood it with DLC though.

I can just imagine Desert Strike now:

In-game voice:

Warning! Low Fuel.

Dialog box:

Pay .99 cents right now to fill up or wait 10 minutes.

All in real time whilst you are flying around being shot at.
Sounds more like WarZ.
 

ianwuk

macrumors regular
Dec 2, 2010
161
0
It would be nice though if EA did bring back some classic franchises and did not fill them full of IAP.
 

roadbloc

macrumors G3
Aug 24, 2009
8,784
215
UK
You played the latest version? They've done nothing but remove features and make it child friendly and online only.

Really not my type of game.

Again, not for me.

Battlefield
Potentially good, but requires both Origin and a web browser running just to play. But certainly their best IP.

Never played it.

Command & Conquer
Again, potentially good, but anything past '03 has been total trash.

Dead Space
Played it. A rather pathetic attempt at survival horror with very weak character development and plot.

Mass Effect
Never played it.

Medal Of Honour
Began good but turned into a lame Call of Duty clone (not that I'm saying COD is good either). MoH: Warfighter was the worst thing I've played in a while.

Need For Speed
Entertaining, but hardly a AAA release.

Rock Band
Basically an EA fuelled version of Guitar Hero.

Syndicate
Never played it.


Last time I bought an EA game (Spore), not only was it rather pathetic but the DRM crippled my PC and was irremovable unless I reinstalled Windows. That combined with them buying many an IP and riddling it with micro-transactions and crappy interfering DRM makes them the worst company in the gaming industry in my mind.
 

cluthz

macrumors 68040
Jun 15, 2004
3,118
4
Norway
I have played mostly the Bioware games EA has released.
Dragon Age Origins and Mass Effect 1 was apparently in production and just got released under the EA brand. Imo all the EA/Bioware games are worth while.

I'm not a huge fan of the EA business model, and I have refrained from buying SIm City (5) just because of the draconic DRM. If it wasn't always on requirements I would have pre ordered it even!

I currently have a lot for games on Origin, and I'm not very fond of the Origin system at all. Also since I live in Norway games are ridiculously expensive on Origin. Sim City deluxe was a whopping $110 dollars at release!

I'm not a huge fan of steam either, but you cannot really play AAA titles without caving into it these days. However steam does have same prices for most of EU, which means games end up costing the half on steam compared to Origin.
 

thejadedmonkey

macrumors G3
May 28, 2005
9,155
3,265
Pennsylvania
I'd like to see Blizzard in this poll too. After Diablo 3 launch I'm sure it would be a very worthy competitor for the first place.

Not even close. Sim City makes Blizzard's launch of D3 look almost picture perfect.

edit: So, what is this, 5 weeks post launch and they're still having server issues. I just quit playing for the night because my one region with 200+mw of excess power only had 3.5mw of power to sell to my other city. So now, the city which is just starting out, has no power, my mines closed up, my water pumps stopped, and its turning into a ghost town. 5 weeks after launch. The power just mysteriously vanishes. *poof*
 
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clibinarius

macrumors 6502a
Aug 26, 2010
671
70
NY
I have played mostly the Bioware games EA has released.
Dragon Age Origins and Mass Effect 1 was apparently in production and just got released under the EA brand. Imo all the EA/Bioware games are worth while.

I'm not a huge fan of the EA business model, and I have refrained from buying SIm City (5) just because of the draconic DRM. If it wasn't always on requirements I would have pre ordered it even!

I currently have a lot for games on Origin, and I'm not very fond of the Origin system at all. Also since I live in Norway games are ridiculously expensive on Origin. Sim City deluxe was a whopping $110 dollars at release!

I'm not a huge fan of steam either, but you cannot really play AAA titles without caving into it these days. However steam does have same prices for most of EU, which means games end up costing the half on steam compared to Origin.

Hey, $110 isn't a lot of money in Norway. That's what, three meals out? A day at Tryvann? Just buy everything by proxy from the US!
 

Nightarchaon

macrumors 65816
Sep 1, 2010
1,393
30
I have to say i don't mind some of the ways EA does business, the Mass Effect DLC releases actually ADD to my enjoyment of the game, by giving me MORE game to play.

Its the Pay to Win, or Pay to be able to complete the game without grinding for a million years mechanic they are toying with introducing, like buying material to make stuff in Dead Space 3 , there is just NO excuse for that, or the pay to win "unlock" ing Battlefield 3 which basically made the game no fun multiplayer if you didn't buy the unlock because whilst your trying to level up with crappy gear, the guy who spent money has the best armour and weapons from day 1.

DLC is good when its extends a games life, and if release at the right pace leads nicely into a sequel , keeps interest in the game, adds value to the experience, and keeps sales of the original game running.

DLC is bad when it gives people an unfair advantage, or it is required to completed a game, thus effectively making it a mandatory, hidden additional cost to the original purchase price, this i think is criminal, and hopefully the UK OFT will find this to be so shortly.
 
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