Why Is Electronic Arts the Worst Publisher in America
Did you lot miss a session from GamesBeat Summit 2022? All sessions are bachelor to stream at present. Learn more.
Video game publisher Electronic Arts has a new plumage in its cap: It has won The Consumerist'southward Worst Visitor in America accolade.
The tournament rookie beat out out America's other most-hated companies past a landslide 64 per centum vote. Rival honorees included Walmart, PayPal, Bank of America, and even fellow game industry villain, Gamestop.
A argument from The Consumerist, part of the nonprofit group that publishes Consumer Reports, noted that "while both Bank of America and EA drew consumer ire for their poorly-received practices of swallowing upwards smaller competitors and nickel-and-diming customers with upwardly-charges and fees, EA's success in this yr's tournament shines a spotlight on an industry that is often considered ignored by regulators, courts, and the mainstream media."
"Some may wait down their noses at the idea of voters picking a video game publisher every bit the Worst Company In America, just that is the exact kind of mental attitude that has allowed EA and its ilk to nickel and dime devoted customers for a decade," said Chris Morran, Deputy Editor of Consumerist.com. "This is not but a few people lament about bad games; this vote represents a big group of consumers who have grown sick and tired of existence ignored and taken advantage of."
Forbe's Paul Tassi writes, "I've been covering detest of EA for quite a while now, and sympathize why their brand is so despised among gamers. They have [a] habit of ownership beloved gaming companies and either summarily executing them, or corrupting them to the bespeak where they're almost unrecognizable. Most recently, fans mourned the apparent loss of Bioware. The genius [developer] was behind Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Event, but the way newer titles like The Sometime Republic and Mass Consequence three have been handled since EA took over has caused fans to lose religion. EA is at the forefront of some of the most abrasive practices in the industry to engagement, such as restrictive DRM, seemingly calumniating DLC and actualization to trade creativity for cash."
Absolutely, while companies such as Bank of America and others take a much larger (negative) impact on America overall, Electronic Arts' highly questionably business practices extend far beyond just mistreating consumers. In 2004, Erin Hoffman anonymously started the "EA Spouse" weblog, where she detailed the company's labor practices. This led to iii class action lawsuits ultimately resulting in the plaintiffs being awarded $14.9M in unpaid overtime. Over the by several months, a number of former and current EA employees and journalists have told GamesBeat that the known offenses pale in comparison to the company's ongoing practices. Every bit The Consumerist notes, hopefully at present more people will brainstorm caring virtually it.
EA has as well been caught manipulating media outlets into giving favorable coverage. Another anonymous blogger who claims to exist a former viral marketer for EA asserts that his job (and many more than like him) was to "troll" popular websites and forums under the guise of a normal user with the intention of derailing bad publicity.
Considering albeit there'due south a problem and working towards improving would be as well obvious, EA'due south spokesman John Reseburg released the following argument to GamesIndustry.biz: "We're sure that bank presidents, oil, tobacco and weapons companies are all relieved they weren't on the list this yr. We're going to go along making honor-winning games and services played past more than than 300 million people worldwide."
You certainly don't need an evil decoder ring to translate that. As long as consumers keep buying EA'southward unfinished games and critics proceed handing out inflated review scores, the company seemingly doesn't intend to alter.
GamesBeat's creed when covering the game industry is "where passion meets business." What does this mean? Nosotros want to tell yous how the news matters to yous -- non merely equally a decision-maker at a game studio, but as well equally a fan of games. Whether you read our articles, listen to our podcasts, or watch our videos, GamesBeat volition assistance you larn about the industry and enjoy engaging with information technology. Learn more about membership.
Source: https://venturebeat.com/2012/04/04/game-publisher-electronic-arts-is-voted-the-worst-company-in-america/
0 Response to "Why Is Electronic Arts the Worst Publisher in America"
Post a Comment