Finally, justice has been served! Every year we, as proud Americans, get together and let our voices be heard as we have selected who is truly the Worst Company in America. In the past, we've put some of the worst sorts of corporations on notice, that we Americans will not stand for this nonsense any longer, and they need to improve.
In 2006 we selected Halliburton, unquestionably an evil oil company led by such supervillians as Dick Cheney. Dick Cheney is one of the most heartless individuals out there, until recently that is.
In 2007, we chose the oft-despised RIAA, a company that recently tried to sue LimeWire for $75 trillion. That actually happened. The RIAA tried to sue a company that provides a free service for more than the GDP of the EARTH. Such douchebaggery shall not be tolerated on our watch!
2008 saw Countrywide Financial take the award, a company that decided that the best way to help people get into houses was screw them over in ways never before imagined. They were a major force behind the housing bubble crisis that is still plaguing many Americans today. They got their comeuppance, though, as they were purchased by Bank of America that same year.
AIG was tagged in 2009 for taking taxpayer money and essentially setting it on fire. They received over $170 billion in taxpayer bailout money from the government, then reported losses of $61.7 billion (record losses), then reported they were going to give out around $1.2 billion in bonuses. As it turns out, that made some people angry, and thus, the award was given.
In 2010, Comcast was plastered to the wall for basically being selective with customer's internet speeds, among other issues. Comcast is well known for treating their customers... let's just say poorly. To sum up, there's a reason why many Americans have turned the former catchphrase Comcastic into much more... appropriate term.
2011 had BP taking the illustrious reward for reasons that probably don't need to be explained. As it turns out, the rest of the world gets a little upset when a bunch of OIL ends up in the ocean. Go figure.
But that brings us to this year. Which company deserves the ire of our country the most? Looking at contenders, we had a couple of sure-fire finalists in Wal-Mart and Bank of America.
Wal-Mart is well known for it's sexism issues, poor wages, and poor customer service.
Meanwhile, Bank of America was busy doing such wonderful acts like illegally foreclosing on ACTIVE SERVICE MEMBER'S HOMES. That's just the tip of the iceberg, however, as Bank of America has introduced such practices as robo-signing to get foreclosures churned out faster and faster.
Wow, we've got a couple of Super Heavyweights ready to duke it out here! And I have the envelope here, folks! It looks like our winner is...
What. No. That can't be right. The votes must've had a margin of error issue or...
WHAT. 64-36 over Bank of America!? Are you fucking kidding me!?
Well, America. Seems we need to have a little chat. I don't think it's any secret at all why this happened. EA is the publisher for a major game that released this year, called Mass Effect 3. The game was the conclusion of a trilogy that was supposed to provide an ending to the story of the main character, Commander Shepherd. People weren't pleased with the ending.
Okay, I get that you're upset about the ending, and I get that the Consumerist Worst Company in America award is voted by people online. But some companies actually do take the award seriously. Comcast actually has been reported by people to have cleaned up their act a lot in the last couple of years, for example. BP really tried to clean up their image and fund some charitable organizations after the mess. But we really are saying that EA is worse than Bank of America or Wal-Mart? Perspective is a wonderful tool, and right now I think the issue is we had too many tools and not enough perspective voting for this award.
Actually, I'm going to briefly address the fan backlash on the ending to Mass Effect 3. I really don't get it. It's not from lack of trying, however. The Mass Effect franchise has probably been near my favorite game franchise from the last decade. I loved the story, I loved the character interactions, and I loved how each game clearly took large strides forward in every department. However, the amount of rage generated by the final 10 minutes of a 40+ hour game is quite insane, really. People weren't this upset by the ending to the Sopranos.
I'm not getting into spoilers here, but I will say that people who have portrayed EA and BioWare as this EVIL EMPIRE that has RUINED GAMES FOR EVERYONE really have lost their perspective. Look, you make it sound like the ending was bad and now the company is laughing at you for being invested, when their actions show just the opposite. They are giving you FREE DLC. FREE. F-R-E-E. They're doing it because everyone was upset and complained. They are going back into studio to do it. They've also announce they are giving you free Multiplayer DLC. I can probably count the number of full-retail games that gave free Multiplayer DLC on one hand or less. Yet, some people are still livid. Guys, get over it. They're doing the best they can given the situation, but ultimately the ending they wrote is the ending they wrote. It is their IP, they can do what they want with it. No, we don't have to be happy about it, and they such seem to be doing their best to address the outcry, but the level of enragement that is present is atrocious.
The fact is, while I can understand the frustration and anger to a certain extent, it really has gone overboard when this is causing people to say that EA is worse than a company that, I remind you, ILLEGALLY FORECLOSED ON ACTIVE SERVICE MEMBER'S HOMES. America, we have a voice that has some real power. Maybe we should try and use that power for good instead of for... whatever the hell this is. Oh well, I guess that means that Bank of America will just have to try harder next year. Yay.
A wild Ryan appears! Ryan uses Debate!
ReplyDeleteThe hate on EA started way before the Mass Effect debacle. Server shutdowns, online pass shenanigans, disc locked content, etc. Not to mention unfair labor practice lawsuits, or being outed for manipulating media coverage with a team of fake accounts. Theres a lot to complain about.
As for Mass Effect itself, the ending sucked. I bought the game, didn't enjoy the ending and I have a right to say that it sucked. As does everyone else. You're right that they don't need to change it (and really, they aren't... they're just adding some extra scenes to provide more closure), but that doesn't mean that I (or the large amount of others who didn't enjoy it either) have to magically love the ending.
Why have a problem when people have a negative view of bioware for the ending? Is it also wrong to hate Michael Bay for ruining Transformers and Ninja Turtles? Is your attack on George Lucas when you decry that he raped your childhood because he decided he wanted Han to shoot second in his story? This stuff happens all the time, Bioware and mass effect isn't the first. Not sure why it bothers you to that extent. Maybe just because you don't agree this time?
And as for the free multiplayer DLC... when your online system is funded by microtransactions, its not truely free. Free to play, yes, but its not like they're giving some magic gift of themselves... they're just making enough from people buying packs and they don't need to charge for it. Its cool of them, yes, but its not as altruistic as you make it seem.
All that said... any poll that doesn't result in Gamestop being called the worst? Has to be faulty. :D
Bioware is so much the face of Mass Effect that it completely slipped my attention that EA was the publisher, and while the ME3 ending debacle surely contributed to this, it's not the only source from which EA draws ire.
ReplyDeleteOther folks have brought them to task far better than I have (and if we're going after game publishers, let's talking about Zynga, shall we) so I'm just going to link to this brilliant Extra Credits video that addresses their skeezy marketing practices: http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/an-open-letter-to-ea-marketing
The degree to which EA has been vilified is pretty extreme. As far as business practices go, EA has actually been doing everything it can to make it's customers happy and not lose it's ass in the process. Capcom has easily quadrupled any other company's use of "Disc Locked Content" and Activision has bombed the industry, screwed over many well respected developers and squeezes more money out of it's consumers than any other publisher period. Purchasing COD:BLOPS and all of its DLC was about $120 and COD:MW3 hit the shelves within two months. And as you have already said, None of this really matters in the big picture. Unless, you have concerns about big video game publishers attempting to make money by sinking franchises, suing former employees and, trying to collect profits for games that they officially dropped the year previous. Which is what Activision has been doing for years and EA get "Worst Company of the Year 2012" because EA charges $10 to play online if you did not buy the game new. COD:Elite is much more reasonable at $50 up front for DLC and features that are free in Battlefield 3(which also sports free DLC if you pre-ordered). EA is certainly one big monster of a company.
ReplyDeleteOh and don't forget the dozens of REALLY big financial institutions that have this country in a headlock. Truthfully, even with the winners of the last several years, this "award" has barely chipped the tip of the iceberg(god I hate that saying).
ReplyDelete@Ryan
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right that people have a right to be upset. I just feel that it has been seriously overblown at this point. I have an issue calling EA the worst company in America. To your point about the hate for EA starting way before this, I understand what you're saying, but are they more evil than Capcom? More evil than Activision? More evil than Sony? I mean, though they will always be hated, if only because they release sports games year-after-year with minimal changes, are they overall even as bad as those other three? Or, more to my point, are they worse than Bank of America or Wal-Mart? Or to your own point, GameStop ;)
Also, I need to point out that although people have always hated EA, if you look at the past results from this award, EA never even made it to the last four, so this seems to pretty clearly have been fueled by the ending to ME3.
Look, people can be mad. I get that. I personally don't think this is worth the rage at this time, especially since they are at least outwardly expressing an attempt to try and fix this. Will it? Who knows, but I see no reason to be pessimistic about it at this point. I'm more frustrated with people who got mad when they announced the Extended Cut and the free Multiplayer DLC. Look, getting mad that they're trying to fix things and giving you free stuff is kind of dumb, it just is. Give it a chance before you condmen it.
Also, as to your point about the Multiplayer being funded by micro-transactions, it is an optional way to shorten the curve versus naturally playing the game. Look, some people obsess over this stuff and will pay to get better stuff. I certainly understand a business wanted to take advantage of that. My point still stands, there is no precedent to give us free DLC, since they aren't putting you at gunpoint and making you buy the content, you can unlock it naturally. Free is free. Complaining about it being free will just make everyone seem unappreciative and give them no reason to ever do it again. Doesn't make much sense to me.
You're comparisons to Lucas and Bay are fair, but I would argue that doing things that change a story that was a part of your life in your childhood is indeed worse than changing something that is only 5 years old. Nostalgia is a powerful beast. But I still get your point. I think the reason this bothers me so much is the level at which people have screamed and shouted.
/debate
@Beth
You are absolutely right that EA has done some deplorable things, but again, I still can't put them higher than the other companies they are competing with in this poll, which was my greater point. The Extra Credits video was good, though. Thanks for sharing. :D
@Noah
You kind of addressed some of my points. I don't feel that EA is even the worst video game company at this point. Sony, since the last time this award was given, had that huge information leak that resulted in people's credit card information getting out, and they didn't even break the final 16! That goes back to perspective.
Again, this just seems like fan backlash to the Mass Effect 3 ending, and if that's what this is, I'll point people back to my comparison of tools and perspective in the main article.
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Thanks for the feedback guys!
As much as people hate EA, I wonder how many copies of Madden, The Sims, Mass Effect, Battlefield, you name it will sell? Enough for EA to laugh and say "worst company in America eh?" thanks for the money suckers...All your base belongs to us....Assuming direct control...
ReplyDeleteI'd be interested to see how many people voted this year vs. last year, I doubt that many people changed their opinion on EA, this situation might have just pushed people beyond apathy as far as the poll.
ReplyDeleteAbout the Lucas comparison... at least the original star wars films do still exist out there. *SPOILER* There is no existing ME3 ending without a god child and rainbow explosions. :D *END SPOILER*
I think all of the screaming and shouting seems louder to you because twitter and other social media are bigger now than they ever have been. I'm assuming you visit more games news sites than movie news sites like I do also.
About the people getting angry over Free DLC. The rage about the extended cut is from the people who had issues with the actual story elements (some of which I just spoke about) rather than just the lack of closure. The Extended Cut announcement clearly stated that they are not changing the events of the ending. So people still rage about it. That part goes back to them not having to change it, and people not having to like it. Each their own. At least they are making good on their promise from before launch that "there won't only be ending A, B and C" (LOL!), by giving more variation.
I haven't seen anyone angry about the free multiplayer pack. The only complaints I've seen about it (like Angry Joe's) are that they're acting like they're doing something for the fans that were mad. It was already announced as free before the game came out, and it is microtransaction supported to boot. Hear me out before you say its optional to pay, I understand that. Games like DC Universe Online for example are the same way, you play for free but can pay to upgrade stuff. They still release free missions and other additions for everyone though. This pack is like one of those, it should be free. Its two new maps and some new character skins and guns, its not an expansion.
If they had charged for it, they'd have backlash along the lines of Gotham City Imposters. The game costs $15, and THEN you still have to buy your gear. Or even without optional purchases, it would be like Gears of War's Horde pack. Now, you know I love Gears, but I bought that pack when it released (last year) and just last week I finally unlocked the command centers that I paid for in the pack. C'mon!
*phew* Hope I was coherent in that. I get a week off of class and I still write a paper, just in comment form. Too bad I can't turn this in for my History and Techniques of Games class. :D
@Ryan
ReplyDeleteThe voting numbers would indeed be interesting to see.
Versus the Lucas comparison, yes, and Mass Effect 2 still exists, as does the other 95% of Mass Effect 3. I agree with the complaint about the ending, but the comparison is valid.
You're right about social media and Twitter playing a much larger role, and explaining why it's so loud, but I follow movie critics and general news sites as well. I also visit a variety of websites, few being solely focused on games (IGN being the main game site, and I take everything they do and say with a grain of salt). Trust me, this fansplosion is huge. My dad heard about it and he doesn't even have an Xbox, so it's not just game sites.
I'll continue to stand my ground on the free multiplayer DLC not being worth getting upset and/or indignant about. Even using your DC Universe comparison, in that game there is a lot of content that you HAVE to pay for to get, while ME3 allows you to get anything in the game with no financial investment (at least right now). And, as stated, retail games still don't do this stuff very often, if ever. Hell, other games allow you to buy weapon kits and stuff like that (Battlefield 3) but still charge you for new multiplayer content, so there really isn't a precedent to give it for free. You're right that even mentioning free multiplayer DLC is a lose-lose right now though. People just aren't happy at all right now, and I can understand that to an extent.
The overall point that I'm trying to make still stands, not the worst company in America, especially considering their competition, and the past results of this award poll. This is the first year that I think pretty much the entire business world is going to not take this award seriously, and that's damn sad.
Sure ME2 exists, but thats a different game, not a change to story events. Thats like comparing Star Wars movies, rather than different versions of the same one, or saying "well, the rest of the movie is still there", after a CGI change. Slightly different thing here.
DeleteMy point about social media is that that stuff wasn't as big (or didn't exist) in the late 90s when all the Star Wars stuff went on. I feel like the Star Wars outcries would've been even louder than ME. What we get now is just the echo.
In your DLC defense, you're talking about another EA game, not exactly the way to compare their practices to others. We'll just agree to disgree.
I get the point about the consumerist award, but considering EA's stock hit a new 52 week low yesterday, I'm not certain that companies can't take it seriously. The award does seem to have negative consequences if you get it.
I would argue that it is still very similar. The major complaint is that the ending of ME3 cheapens the overall story and makes that previous decisions and games ultimately worthless (I'm paraphrasing, and I agree with that statement if the ending is to be taken as literal, as I've said.) That's what the complaint about the Star Wars prequels were (in addition to the fact that they are mostly cinematic garbage.) It cheapens and disregards the original story. Yes, there are differences between the two, but the comparison is still close.
DeleteRegarding social media, you are absolutely right, and I agree with you.
In my DLC defense, we can bring up THQ with the Smackdown games. In those you can pay to unlock all the games unlockable content, but it's not necessary. Also, you have Capcom and THQ both known for charging for on-disc content, so you have that also.
As far as EA's stocks, you might have a point. On a side note, I'll have to keep an eye on that. That is a stock that will rebound eventually. Might be worth buying. :D