EA is up for the Consumerist's Worst Company in America award for 2013, an accolade it won last year. Readers of the Consumerist sent in nominations, and then the editors narrowed the list down to a shortlist of 32, so this measures customer dissatisfaction more than anything. Still, it's the kind of thing that will make headlines if EA wins again, so it's worth a note.
It seems like last year netted EA a “win” because of the outraged response to the Mass Effect 3 ending, so what's the fuss about this year? Well, SimCity may not have a disappointing ending, but it has a lot of other issues. Not only have EA and Maxis kept quiet on the news that a modder has found a way to play the game offline, apparently disproving their claims that the servers that have prevented so many people from playing are a necessity, but rumours – the kind of rumours that a reader of the Consumerist might hear about – suggest that EA has refused refunds of the game.
On the flip-side, EA has allowed Maxis to offer everyone who has registered a copy of SimCity a free game through the Origin service, which will satisfy many.
But then there was all that fuss when it seemed like EA said that all future titles from the publisher would contain microtransactions, until CFO Blake Jorgensen clarified that he actually meant all mobile games (or something like that).
That said, there are a lot of reasons to appreciate EA. After all, according to Metacritic it was the best major publisher of 2012. It also continues to stand up for women and gay rights.
After several rounds of voting, we'll soon know whether EA will receive the title of Worst Company in America for a second year running. But whatever happens, the execs probably just won't care.
