Consumers vote EA 'worst company in America'

Electronic Arts has been voted the Worst Company in America in an online poll, securing 64% of 250,000 votes in a face-off against Bank of America.

Poll organiser The Consumerist cites a lack of respect for customers as the main reason for the ‘win’, although the debacle surrounding the ending of Mass Effect 3 probably didn’t help either.

"For years, while movies and music became more affordable and publishers piled on bonus content – or multiple modes of delivery – as added value to entice customers to buy, video games have continued to be priced like premium goods,” reads a post on The Consumerist website.

"There have even been numerous accusations that EA and its ilk deliberately hold back game content with the sole intent of charging a fee for it at a later date.”

For EA’s part, senior director of corporate communication John Reseburg says an award like this will make no difference.

"We’re sure that British Petroleum, AIG, Philip Morris, and Halliburton are all relieved they weren’t nominated this year,” Reseburg says in a statement to Kotaku.

"We’re going to continue making award-winning games and services played by more than 300 million people worldwide.”

The fact that a video game company won ahead of a bank is testament to how strong the feeling is – or possibly just how quickly the online gaming community is able to mobilise.

However, according to Forbes contributor Paul Tassi, if you hate EA with a fiery passion – which evidently some people do – then the answer is simple.

"If you want to topple EA, don’t vote in a poll,” Tassi says.

"Vote with your wallet.”

That’s certainly something that nobody has been doing, seeing as Mass Effect 3 sold a ridiculous amount of copies before it was even released.

Do you hate EA, or are they just misunderstood? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.