Also how long ago was that? There haven't been any major complaints about that stuff in a long time. And from what I understand long ass hours can be fairly standard, especially on short cycles or during any kind of crunch time.
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EA Wins "Worst Company in America" Award
- Thread starter HardOCP News
- Start date
Also how long ago was that? There haven't been any major complaints about that stuff in a long time. And from what I understand long ass hours can be fairly standard, especially on short cycles or during any kind of crunch time.
LeninGHOLA
Vladimir Hayt
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Yes, most devs work very long hours during game development, and are salaried. This is true even when working with "good" publishers.
MavericK
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Except I'm betting a lot of the people who voted against EA bought something from them and got pissed off, hence the voting for them.
People voted for EA over BoA. CLEARLY, they had some sort of motivation to do so, presumably that they disliked EA more than BoA. Whether or not that was because of ME3, EA in general, no experience with BoA, whatever. Doesn't matter. They voted EA.
I do agree that the poll doesn't have that much worth. But there are people in this thread fighting tooth and nail against EA being the top voted "worst company" in this poll. Good for you, doesn't change the fact in the slightest that that's what happened based on the results of the poll. Doesn't make it true for everyone and it doesn't give the poll any more meaning beyond what it is.
The only real worth given to the poll was that EA took the time to respond to it in the first place with a laughable, somewhat arrogant-sounding remark, which ironically just fuels the fire even more.
Loudspeaker
Weaksauce
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And via EA's response to the award they show just how deserving they are. Wow.
night_2004
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They're by far the worst game dev company in the industry, no doubt. It puzzles me why people continue to do business with them, Ubisoft, and others. Their response is also a pretty big 'frak you' to the gaming community that made this golden poo victory possible (that is the only reason EA won this round). Should be pretty clear at this point what EA thinks of the consumer -- they're right, we're wrong, but give us your money anyway.
Screw EA. No purchases from them. Not even Mass Effect 3 on 360 to avoid Origin.
Screw EA. No purchases from them. Not even Mass Effect 3 on 360 to avoid Origin.
Recently. These "crunch times" would last for 2-3 months.
Yes, but the person also jumped ship to another company who isn't nearly as bad. Nearly all of them do it but EA has always been the worst in this aspect. It would vary on the project and the time to release, but they didn't get to be notorious for doing it by being the guy that was just as bad as the others.
octoberasian
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In many ways, though I did not vote, I'm actually happy EA won the award for worst company in America.
If it was me, I would have categorized the worst companies in America (and the world) like so:
Worst game companies:
If it was me, I would have categorized the worst companies in America (and the world) like so:
Worst game companies:
- EA
- Ubisoft
- Activision
- BP
- Goldman Sachs
- Bank of America
- Fannie Mae
- AIG
- Philip Morris
- Halliburton
- Foxconn
- Apple
- Nexon (North America)
- Ntreev (North America)
- OPEC
- FEMA
- Greenpeace
- PETA
Half of your answers makes you look like a lemming. so your answer doesn't surprise me. Get back to me when the butt-hurt clears up for ya. Haha.
Exactly. Gamers like to complain, we all should know that by now.
Just like anyone who does not agree with you is a "tool" ? See: your previous response.
Good point.
I agree. Gamers will try to vilify any company that doesn't cater to their self-entitled needs. First it was EA, then Ubisoft, then Activision, then back to EA. Depending on how the color palette looks in Diablo 3 Retail, EA might hold the crown a bit longer.
But like a lot have already said, stupid survey with stupid sampling.
LeninGHOLA
Vladimir Hayt
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I won't dispute that, though how many votes do you think just being a sub par employer got them? Personally, if I were a dev right now, I'd be looking into GoG and Steam publishing and forgetting all about large publishers, but that's just me.
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Zarathustra[H]
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I have no great love for EA, but BoA should have beaten them hands down.
Bank of America are such slime. Worse than scum. I'd argue they are the worst company in the WORLD, not just the U.S.
Bank of America are such slime. Worse than scum. I'd argue they are the worst company in the WORLD, not just the U.S.
Cmdrmonkey
Gawd
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They totally deserve it. That Mass Effect 3 ending was a fucking abomination.
fattypants
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I'm tired of seeing people displaying blatant ignorance of what entitlement is.
It's like nobody even knows the definition of entitlement anymore. People just spew the word out.
Agreed. EA has some good games, but I want them on Steam. They want a bigger cut. Sure, but why not just keep prices higher on Steam? I would gladly pay a premium to get them there.
Similarly, why not just let me activate it anywhere? I can buy the product key from Origin, but let me activate it on Steam. EA pays $1 to Valve for the admin, and everyone is "happy".
Similar thoughts here.
I think most people have no idea how shitty EA treats its employees and voted based on the fact that they hated the ME3 ending or the recent patches for BF3 and Origin. All of which are shitty, yes, but not legitimate reasons to be named worst company in America. 50-60 hour avg. workweeks and 70+ hours for months at a time while not being compensated for overtime and a "fuck you, if you don't like it leave" attitude, on the other hand, are pretty damn valid reasons.
The gaming industry really needs a union. When they're not being whipped by game dev companies then it's the US government that passes laws forcing IT workers to work for free (on-call is still working and you don't get paid for that) and avoid getting overtime. These old people making decisions they know nothing about really need to die already...
The gaming industry really needs a union. When they're not being whipped by game dev companies then it's the US government that passes laws forcing IT workers to work for free (on-call is still working and you don't get paid for that) and avoid getting overtime. These old people making decisions they know nothing about really need to die already...
Yes, it's funny that EA won.
But seriously, gamers fled to this poll enough to give EA a win? BoA is easily a more evil company,plus all the companies that weren't nominated. Other companies like Monsanto immediately come to mind, too.
It's even funnier that the people flooding this poll will likely keep giving EA more money anyways.
But seriously, gamers fled to this poll enough to give EA a win? BoA is easily a more evil company,plus all the companies that weren't nominated. Other companies like Monsanto immediately come to mind, too.
It's even funnier that the people flooding this poll will likely keep giving EA more money anyways.
Cmdrmonkey
Gawd
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Exactly. You pay $50-60 for a game and you expect a quality product. EA is in the habit of buying up once great developers and game franchises and turning them into trash.
night_2004
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Don't let EA hear that. EA will just reason that if the market supports $X+Y on Steam and $X on Origin, then Origin's price should be raised to $X+Y and EA still gets 100% of the proceeds.
EA isn't going to crawl back to Steam any time soon. Gamers are still buying BF3, ME3, and all sorts of other recycled '3' titles
p) at Origin. We're just the vocal minority that understands where all this is going and are trying to fight it.Any bets on if EA will be around in 10 years?
MeSoSneaky
Limp Gawd
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Not surprised lol'd
TechLarry
RIP [H] Brother - June 1, 2022
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Typical smug response by a smug company that doesn't give a true shit about it's customers.
But, it will never change until people start putting their wallets away.
But, it will never change until people start putting their wallets away.
You'd think winning such a distinction would give EA pause and make them stop and reflect on their practices a bit...but no. Corporations may not be people, but their size and workings make them take on a soulless and narcissistic collective personality all their own that almost no individual human being in the company has any power or control over. Their sole focus is self-preservation and expansion, without regard to customers, employees, or even shareholders. It's like O'Brien says in 1984: He only has power because he does the will of Big Brother, when Big Brother is nothing more than an amorphous entity composed of otherwise powerless people like O'Brien. The same thing happens to governments to an even greater degree, and even nonprofits and charities aren't immune to this corruption of purpose.
There's just something insidious about collective institutions altogether that makes them very hostile to actual human beings: Eventually, they become large enough to insulate themselves from the outside world with an impenetrable bureaucratic shell. They insulate themselves from their own employees with an inner bureaucratic shell and by giving customer relations employees no authority or leeway to actually help anyone without higher authorization; their job is to stonewall with a smile and occasionally keep the more persistent people busy with a dead-end bureaucratic maze with no way through to someone with actual authority. The employees feel no responsibility for anything the corporation does, because they have no power and only perform their part as a cog.
Institutions also insulate themselves from their shareholders with management. The shareholders become so distanced from daily operations by management and the limited liability corporate veil of unaccountability, that they have no control over policy and feel no responsibility for anything the corporation does...and the most influential among them usually obtained their position by being the type not to care anyway.
Finally, institutions protect themselves from being changed by management by making it nearly impossible for any manager or group of managers to authorize any change in policy, unless it involves making contractual arrangements even more one-sided and belligerent, or if it tangibly affects the corporation's bottom line soon. Intangible benefits like customer satisfaction/loyalty are ignored perpetually, until the company's reputation has become a parody of what it once was.
Long story short, institutions are a monster unto themselves, and no one is in control, much like no one of our cells is in control of our bodies and minds. The EA PR guy is just a reflection of the corporate entity's arrogance: If he weren't, he would be fired and replaced by someone who was. By their very nature, corporations and other collective institutions gradually weed out anyone with a conscience and keep them from coming anywhere near upper management or public relations.
Funny story: I tried getting a service manual the other day from Hitachi for a 23-year-old camcorder. Nobody in the customer service department knew anyone within the company, or had access to anyone within the company, who had the authorization to view their database of service manuals. The girl I spoke with was sweet and apologetic, but she could only refer me to outside service centers in the hope that they could access the database for me. Of course, they couldn't: One of them was only authorized to view TV service manuals, and the other was too afraid of copyright concerns to give anything out. I wonder how many hoops they had to jump through to set up their access in the first place as a licensed service center? I called back trying to get ahold of someone in management, or someone with ANY sort of authority over anything, but access was blocked. Only the company has the legal privilege of distributing the manuals, but essentially nobody in the company actually has authorization to distribute or even view the manuals.
Somehow, I get the feeling that nobody in middle or upper management would even be able to access them: Only a tiny little cell of company reps, who could only be accessed by licensed service centers, would likely be able to access them...and I imagine you have to go through a gauntlet of three or four more opaque departments and sign forms in triplicate in order to obtain that service center status.
Institutions by their nature are just hostile to human beings, within and without.
There's just something insidious about collective institutions altogether that makes them very hostile to actual human beings: Eventually, they become large enough to insulate themselves from the outside world with an impenetrable bureaucratic shell. They insulate themselves from their own employees with an inner bureaucratic shell and by giving customer relations employees no authority or leeway to actually help anyone without higher authorization; their job is to stonewall with a smile and occasionally keep the more persistent people busy with a dead-end bureaucratic maze with no way through to someone with actual authority. The employees feel no responsibility for anything the corporation does, because they have no power and only perform their part as a cog.
Institutions also insulate themselves from their shareholders with management. The shareholders become so distanced from daily operations by management and the limited liability corporate veil of unaccountability, that they have no control over policy and feel no responsibility for anything the corporation does...and the most influential among them usually obtained their position by being the type not to care anyway.
Finally, institutions protect themselves from being changed by management by making it nearly impossible for any manager or group of managers to authorize any change in policy, unless it involves making contractual arrangements even more one-sided and belligerent, or if it tangibly affects the corporation's bottom line soon. Intangible benefits like customer satisfaction/loyalty are ignored perpetually, until the company's reputation has become a parody of what it once was.
Long story short, institutions are a monster unto themselves, and no one is in control, much like no one of our cells is in control of our bodies and minds. The EA PR guy is just a reflection of the corporate entity's arrogance: If he weren't, he would be fired and replaced by someone who was. By their very nature, corporations and other collective institutions gradually weed out anyone with a conscience and keep them from coming anywhere near upper management or public relations.
Funny story: I tried getting a service manual the other day from Hitachi for a 23-year-old camcorder. Nobody in the customer service department knew anyone within the company, or had access to anyone within the company, who had the authorization to view their database of service manuals. The girl I spoke with was sweet and apologetic, but she could only refer me to outside service centers in the hope that they could access the database for me. Of course, they couldn't: One of them was only authorized to view TV service manuals, and the other was too afraid of copyright concerns to give anything out. I wonder how many hoops they had to jump through to set up their access in the first place as a licensed service center? I called back trying to get ahold of someone in management, or someone with ANY sort of authority over anything, but access was blocked. Only the company has the legal privilege of distributing the manuals, but essentially nobody in the company actually has authorization to distribute or even view the manuals.
Somehow, I get the feeling that nobody in middle or upper management would even be able to access them: Only a tiny little cell of company reps, who could only be accessed by licensed service centers, would likely be able to access them...and I imagine you have to go through a gauntlet of three or four more opaque departments and sign forms in triplicate in order to obtain that service center status.
Institutions by their nature are just hostile to human beings, within and without.
Don't let EA hear that. EA will just reason that if the market supports $X+Y on Steam and $X on Origin, then Origin's price should be raised to $X+Y and EA still gets 100% of the proceeds.
EA isn't going to crawl back to Steam any time soon. Gamers are still buying BF3, ME3, and all sorts of other recycled '3' titles
Any bets on if EA will be around in 10 years?
I am not really concerned about what EA charges right now because I don't see a reason to give them any money frankly. They have a lot of good games, sure, but we are given A LOT of good alternatives with more coming out all the time. For me, EA's departure from Steam just makes it that much simpler as to how to spend my money on games.
MavericK
Zero Cool
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Half of your answers makes you look like a lemming. so your answer doesn't surprise me. Get back to me when the butt-hurt clears up for ya. Haha.
I never even voted on this poll, nor did I say anything about EA other than that I thought, given the options, they deserved the award. Maybe try learning to read before replying.
Now you're just pulling stuff out of your ass. I said claiming everyone was a "lemming" for not agreeing with you made you sound like a tool. And it does. I never said anything about agreeing or disagreeing with me.
buttons
2[H]4U
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This is a true story, i have had to file a complaint with better business bureau twice because of AT&T billing practices. Their customer service reps tell me one thing, then my bill shows up and im getting bent over. Everytime better business has been able to resolve my issue, but ive had disputes with AT&T the past six months and frankly im sick and tired of it. When my contract expires im switching.
Many times i called into AT&T and they could never transfer me to someone that could actually do anything except make excuses.
Solidstate89
Gawd
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As bad as EA can be, there's no way they're the worst. AT&T, Best Buy and Comcast spring to mind right off the top of my head. Activision I also believe is way worse than EA.
I'm guess it's a bunch of butthurt Bioware fans that stuffed the ballot boxes so to speak.
I'm guess it's a bunch of butthurt Bioware fans that stuffed the ballot boxes so to speak.
Maybe I should take this more at face value, but to me, this entire EA situation seemed to me like a way for people to express their disgust rather than actually believing that they are really the worst.
I seriously doubt very many voters actually think EA is the worst company (there's so many options!) out there, so to argue based on that is really a bit of a strawman.
Heh. I just find all this funny. I see all sorts of stupid arguments comming up again like BF3 patches and the origin steam BS.
Its all the same and every company does the same shit. Justify it anyway you want but every gaming company is going to take every penny from you that they can.
Does this poll or thread change my views of EA? Hell no. If I like the games ill keep buying them, dont care what anyone thinks. If I dont like them, well they dont get my money enough said.
Its all the same and every company does the same shit. Justify it anyway you want but every gaming company is going to take every penny from you that they can.
Does this poll or thread change my views of EA? Hell no. If I like the games ill keep buying them, dont care what anyone thinks. If I dont like them, well they dont get my money enough said.
MavericK
Zero Cool
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QFT. People around here (mis)use that word WAY too much. And it's like, a 5th grade vocabulary word for christ's sake.
Zarathustra[H]
Extremely [H]
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Same here.
I only buy titles that can be activated in steam, and don't require me to have or create any other account on any other service in order to play.
Zarathustra[H]
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Zarathustra[H];1038574593 said:
I wouldn't mind giving BF3 a try, but as long as it requires me to have an Origin account It will never be found on my computer.
buttons
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I think the clear reason people are not going to vote for bank of america is because if you dont like them, then dont bank with them. If you want to play mass effect 3, you have no choice but to do business with electronic arts and deal with all their BS.
I would love battlefield 3, but i wont buy any game made under the EA banner. I dont like bank of america, but i have plenty of good options to chose from -- im not forced to use bank of america like we are forced to use origin/EA if we buy BF3/Mass Effect 3, etc.
Still this is all irrelevant to the poll, isn't this suppose to be about the workers then the products?
spacing guild
[H]ard|Gawd
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I read it as..."lets throw BP, AIG, Phillip Morris, and Haliburton under the bus...we make great video games not oil spills, foreclosures, cancer, and political corruption."
I bought Crysis, Warhead, BF3, BF2, Crysis 2 (later on), ME1, ME2, ME3, BF2142 and received AMPLE enjoyment, countless hours, days and years of enjoyment from all of them. I have Origin and it's no problem to me at all. I do not feel ripped-off for anything.
Then again, I waited to buy half those games for 10 bucks. Like I just did with Portal 2.
MavericK
Zero Cool
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None of which were actually on the list of companies. Here, I'll make it easy for you guys:
I lol at all the butthurt steam fans boycotting origin. Are you really that mad you need to have both installed on your computer.
I suspect steam will fade away as time goes on because more and more game publishers will opt for their own online retail service.
I suspect steam will fade away as time goes on because more and more game publishers will opt for their own online retail service.
sfsuphysics
[H]F Junkie
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All of those companies mentioned here could easily have said the same thing "We're going to continue to make billions in profit every year for our products which are consumed by most people on the planet"
MavericK
Zero Cool
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I suspect you are sadly mistaken.
you think so? Im just stating opinion, soon as one Game company does something and "gets" away with it, the rest follow suit.
MavericK
Zero Cool
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Thing is, I'm not sure how well EA is "getting away" with it. A lot of people are upset about Origin and I'm guessing Steam users vastly outnumber Origin users.
Agree. There's an actual reason for it too. It's called the network effect. Same reason that Facebook is hard to beat (just ask Google). As the first and premiere DD service, Steam has a huge advantage in this space and I would wager it will get bigger with time rather than smaller.