Disagree that the backlash against EA is simple "we hate change." People like good change. DRM that treats paying customers like criminals, EULAs that really require you to bring your lawyer to Gamestop to read them, forced multiplayer (along with all the other incredibly shitty design decisions that plagued SimCity 2013), and pushing a microtransaction-based model (which, admittedly, was largely spread to the West by Zynga, but EA is still pushing it) that should have been left to fester in South Korea and China are in no way positive changes, and they're needless when other companies don't push these things and are actually profitable. EA's problem is that it's a very badly managed, bloat-ridden company, and they're passing the costs of their expensive mistakes on to their customers.
No, EA isn't the worst company in America. Technically speaking, only companies manufacturing WMDs should make that list (not even Bank of America really deserves it compared to that metric). People need to realize that the Consumerist poll is not about sheer human misery so much as it is about which companies have the worst customer service records according to their consumers, regardless of whether they make thimbles or GMO food - and EA is therefore a legitimate contender for the Golden Poo Award. Yes, gaming is a hobby. That doesn't mean that people are passionate about this hobby shouldn't be angry when their hobby's enjoyment is being worsened by the practices of a company such as EA whose influence extends far beyond game boxes with the EA label on them. I'm personally tired f people who speak up against EA and other companies being shouted down as "entitled." This isn't a slap at you, Julian, but it is a general observation of the resurgence of Gilded Age attitudes regarding corporations, workers, and consumers that has reared its ugly head in recent years.
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