Growing Body of Dis-Satisfied EA Customers: Have EA Burnt Too Many Bridges?

Pet Society's Fate: Resentment of EA Intensifies as EA's Monopoly on Games Market Extends

There is no shortage of articles from all corners of the world in the global media reporting on the shortcomings of EA. A growing body of gamers resentful towards the company are increasingly loud in their chorus of 'rage against the machine' that EA embodies.

It is not just Pet Society players who are angered by the apparent lack of concern EA has for it's customers satisfaction in the products and services it offers. It's gamers across the board, and given the monopoly EA now has on the game market, we're talking a heck of a lot of disgruntled and frustrated customers.
So how has EA managed to earn itself such a bad reputation-indeed it took out the gong for 'Worst Company In America' again for the second year in a row-and the wrath of the majority of gamers? These clips and quotes are sure to give you a few clues!

"EA has become a company that releases mediocre products created by faceless teams. There is no real vision at work, no grand design. Just the idea that free-to-play games and microtransactions are the wave of the future, or at least they better be, because none of the company’s $60 boxed releases are finding much success with either critics or gamers."

~ Ben Kuchera  Senior Editor, The Penny Arcade Report

"If they don't refund players for anything bought in the last few months then I expect a class action lawsuit in the US as a minimum. People have spent money and invested in their worlds.. Now they can't play anymore.... pretty much all purchases are made with long term plans if your playing a game like this. You effectively made every purchase in the last year or so a waste of money.
Always online game problem 101... what happens when a company closes down a game people have invested time and money into with little or no notice?
And companys like EA wonder why they get hatred and win awards all the time for bad customer service. Seriously imagine the reaction when they shut down a mainstream games servers"

~Tom Pickard  Art Lead, The Creative Assembly

"Hopefully you'll at LEAST get some sort of credit for your purchase. It's idiotic for a company to drop a title without letting users know this and allowing them at least a window of time to download it once more before it's gone forever."
~Greg Wilcox  Creator, Destroy All Fanboys

 "I'm amazed that the games are being shut down. Ceasing active development; fair enough, but surely the games have enough players to cover maintenance and server costs?"
~Mark Faulkner  Executive Producer, Bossa Studios Ltd

And here's one of my many, many tweets with the #SavePetSociety hashtag:

 typical #EA, at it again.Worst company in America 2 years in a row, scandal after scandal… disq.us/8d0c4o @savepetsociety @gamesbeat

— cindy considine (@considine_c) May 5, 2013

There are literally so many articles in the online media about the manner in which EA has conducted business underhandedly and with little concern for their customers other than for what's in their wallets.
In an uncannily accurate portrayal of EA's spiral downward, Ryan Bates of GotGame writes (paraphrased):
"EA hit their peak in the late 2000s. That’s when, much like the college freshman at their first frat party, EA drank too much of the Happy Juice. You see, those employees that were making scads of money, they wanted more. Lots more. And those people making scads of money were now also making scads of decisions. Not only were they going to take that money, they were going to do it in a way that made gamers thank them for the pillaging after the fact.
This was right around the time when EA started discovering the micro-transaction. Not everyone was willing to plunk down $20-$40 for an expansion pack full of crap for one of EA's games. They were fine with the game and what it had to offer. But, would they, perhaps, pay $4 for a cool town statue? Yes, yes they would. Would they pay, say, $10 for a new city to explore? Sure they would.
 And unlike expansion packs, micro-transactions could be used much more widely, especially in their sports games. Sure, your team’s uniforms in NHL 13 look lifelike and authentic… but wouldn’t you want to have their throwback jerseys too? Sure, the other cars in Need for Speed: Most Wanted are pretty cool, but don’t you want to ride around in James Bond’s original Astin Martin DB5? EA even went so far as to re-sell us things via micro-transaction. For example, during this past year of the game's existence, old coin-costing items from Pet Society's earlier years were given a quick colour tweak then added to the shops, though the second time around they were slapped with a ca$h price tag rather than the original coin price.

 EA had extended their micro-transaction efforts not just on PC gamers, but gamers on every platform. For every piece of furniture, every sword, every health kit, every boxing glove, and every single piece of clothing a character could ever wear, there was a newer, different, and possibly better version for sale at the low, low price of when-the-hell-did-we-start-paying-for-this-crap.
But that was just the problem… we paid for it. We wanted that town statue, that new bundle, those magic wings. We wanted the extra rooms. We wanted three Petlings. And for a few extra bucks, we were down for it. And EA took notice, as did other studios, and before we knew it, we were being bled dry not all at once, but via the ol’ nickel-and-dime game.
 While many companies stuck their hands in the proverbial cookie jar, EA became notorious for it. If it was an EA game, you could almost rest assured there would be DLC (downloadable content) and microtransactions, and you would be paying for it. If you turned it down, in the best case scenario you wouldn't be one of the cool kids. In the worst… you could find yourself at a disadvantage, or even unable to attain a 100% run or progress any further in the game.
Refusal, denial, and haughty (and occasionally flat-out demeaning) responses to players protests have been EA’s modus operandus as of late. Their debacle with the reboot of SimCity drew ire not only for their pre-and post-release planning, but their handling of player criticisms. The recent response to EA's second successive award for The Worst Company in America by Chief Operating Officer Peter Moore is one such example. Instead of addressing the concerns customers raise by voting for EA in the first place, he blames EA's Worst Company success on homophobes and whiny Madden fans.
Gamers, it is imperative that you do your homework. Research the games, and refuse to give money to any company that does not actively fight for your needs. Only by attacking their bank accounts can we tell EA, and other companies in gaming (and any field, for that matter) that we are not characters in their games, but people with hard-earned dollars in a tough economy.
The happy little buzz that EA once brought to the Video Game Party is now bordering on poisoning, and if we let it go unchecked, much like a wild bar night, all we will have to show for it is broken promises, bad decisions, a maxed-out credit card and a thumping headache."