Just my two cents, i've enjoyed a lot of EA games over the past 25 years or so (yikes) but in my experience they have got to kinda stink in the last few years. Firstly, ensuring a hugely famous marque such as Porsche is entirely exclusive to their games just felt like such a cynical move and it's still a little scary for us genuine car and driving game fans, though thankfully this kinda precedent doesn't seem to have been followed thus far.
It showed little or no regard to the consumer and scoffed at the notion of healthy competition (funny that, perhaps they think their product doesn't stand up against the likes of PD or Turn 10), and was merely a cynical ploy to rake in the $$$. No way of dressing that one up.
Of course they've done exactly the same thing on numerous occasions, with the likes of the FIFA franchise, though I do wish Konami would get their act together so the PES series can win back the title of the best soccer game around.
My most recent "run-in" with EA and their questionable money-making tactics was when I got Shift 2 as effectively a freebie with my Playstation Plus membership. Firstly, whilst I still manage to somehow enjoy the game, the PS3 controls are shocking, as there is a constant input lag of about 0.5 seconds. In other words, drive in a straight line then tap the stick and see how long it takes for the car to move left or right. I believe some kind of update/patch was mooted but it would seem EA thought it a better plan to kinda hope it all blew over, and continue selling a bugged product. Ick.
However worst still, and this was alluded to earlier in this thread, is their knack for dressing up paid-for unlocks as DLC (see Shift 2 again). This is, quite simply, appalling. I guess more fool (some of) us for paying them to unlock content that is already in the game, but as a cynical marketing ploy and blatant cash cow, it still beggars belief. Money for old rope indeed.
Anyway, that's me done. Award well deserved I think, and the infantile response they gave speaks volumes.
Incidentally, for those who asked where Capcom or Ubisoft were, you seem to be assuming all software publishers are American. Perhaps there are equivalent awards in Japan or France though.
