Just how bad is EA’s Customer Service? (E)xtremely (A)wful

Ok, so not extremely awful, but more like terrible according to the rating given by Customer Service Scoreboard.  According to the site, EA is “ranked #169 out of the 207 companies that have a CustomerServiceScoreboard.com rating with an overall score of 24.15 out of a possible 200. This score rates Electronic Arts customer service and customer support as Terrible.”

But wait, in the word of the great Billy Mays – “There’s more!”  How about EA’s review of the past 3 years from the Better Business Bureau?

879 complaints in the last 36 months
These complaints concerned :

77 regarding Advertising Issues
1 - Advertised price not honored
3 - Advertised product not available
5 - Advertised service not available
3 - Advertised terms not honored
1 - Advertisement did not disclose all conditions required to take advantage of an offer
41 - Advertisement misrepresented a product
4 - Advertisement misrepresented a service
2 - Bait & switch advertisement
11 - False or unsubstantiated claims in advertisement
6 - None of the Above – Advertising Complaint Issue

73 regarding Billing or Collection Issues
18 - Failure to correct billing errors
1 - Failure to substantiate charges
3 - Improper collection practices
9 - None of the Above – Credit, Billing or Collection Complaint Issue
13 - Unauthorized bank debits
29 - Unauthorized credit card charges

12 regarding Contract Issues
3 - Failure to honor a contract or agreement
1 - Invalid or false contract
8 - None of the Above – Contract Complaint Issue

99 regarding Customer Service Issues
51 - Failure to provide promised assistance or support for products or services
20 - Failure to respond to phone calls or written requests for assistance or support
2 - Inappropriate behavior by customer service personnel
26 - None of the Above – Customer Service Complaint Issue

38 regarding Delivery Issues
2 - Late delivery of products
31 - Non-delivery of products
3 - Non-delivery of services
2 - None of the Above – Delivery Complaint Issue

23 regarding Guarantee or Warranty Issues
3 - Disputed warranty coverage and/or terms
5 - Failure to honor service under the terms of warranties
4 - Failure to provide promised written warranty or guarantee
11 - None of the Above – Guarantee or Warranty Complaint Issue

441 regarding Product Issues
200 - Defective, damaged, or incorrect product received
241 - None of the Above – Product Quality Complaint Issue

44 regarding Refund or Exchange Issues
8 - Failure to honor promised refunds, exchanges, or credit
13 - Failure to honor refund, exchange or credit policies
23 - None of the Above – Refund or Exchange Complaint Issue

9 regarding Repair Issues
3 - Delayed completion of repair
1 - Improper or inferior repair
4 - None of the Above – Repair Complaint Issue
1 - Repairs resulted in additional damage

23 regarding Sales Practice Issues
5 - None of the Above – Sales Complaint Issue
1 - Sales presentation did not disclose key conditions of the offer
9 - Sales presentation misrepresented the product
3 - Sales presentation misrepresented the service
1 - Sales presentation not consistent with advertisement
4 - Sales presentation used dishonest sales practices

40 regarding Service Issues
3 - Delayed completion of service
2 - Failure to honor service estimate or agreement
20 - Improper or inferior service
14 - None of the Above – Service Complaint Issue
1 - Unauthorized service

Listen, I don’t know if John Riccitiello reads this site – I highly doubt it but I know employees of EA do.  If only this could somehow reach him to let him know how the fans feel – those who really matter in giving him the paycheck.  I may not have my wall lined up with various business degrees, but I do have something called ‘common sense’.  And my senses tell me that gamers don’t want to get ripped off by over-priced DLC, we don’t want half-assed games with patches that cause more harm then good, and when we do have issues, we actually would like them resolved when we call Tech Support…because that’s WHAT THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO DO!

Hey, don’t listen to us Johnny boy…we don’t know what we’re talking about…You just remember that whenever you get kicked from position as CEO for EA.  Hopefully the next person that will be put in place can actually focus in areas that matter the most.  Perhaps thats why EA keeps losing money – the gamers have wised up!

Thanks to LittleV and CMFinley94 for providing this information at the official Sims 3 Forum.

A tour of Will Wright’s house

Kudos to Sims 3 Nieuws for finding this video which I never knew existed. It’s a tour with Will Wright showing off various rooms of his house. You’d figure he’d have a room to showcase his work, but instead his rooms are filled with mostly odds and ends. I did get the pleasure of messing around with the Russian Space Control Panel at 2:15 seconds into the video as he moved it to the Maxis headquarters sometime during his work on Spore.  Strange yet fascinating house…I had to feel bad for him with the fact that the remains of his car is hanging on the wall…

Happy 50th birthday, Will Wright!

Will Wright has hit a milestone – he’s celebrating 50 years as of today!  If you want to wish the master of the virtual universe a happy birthday, you can do so at his Facebook page!  Have a great one, Will!

Spore’s Digital Media and Learning Game Changer’s Competition

I believe I already covered a little about the Spore Digital Media and Learning Competition last month, but Maxis has sent out a reminder to let folks know it is now open for everyone.

Game Changers Competition

Sign up to be a “Game Changer” and earn up to $50,000!

All Spore CREATORS, now’s your chance to create fun adventures, better the community and be awarded some money – all at once. The competition is taking submissions through February 15th so be sure to think about ways to integrate the fun of Spore with learning practices for science, technology, engineering or math and enter your adventure today!

A few weeks ago, EA partnered with the MacArthur Foundation, HASTAC, and the Entertainment Software Association, with the support from our nations’ capital, in a unique competition to help America’s youth learn more about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). We are urging members of the Spore community to step forward and be a “Game Changer”. You can earn up to $50,000 by creating new adventures and helping Spore gamers to learn about STEM.

• The MacArthur foundation is looking for adventure proposals combining an engaging gaming experience with principles of STEM learning
• There are 10 different categories, where winning submissions can earn up to $50,000 in production / development grants
• Judging will be based on potential of adventure design, quality, integration of learning content, playability and aesthetics

Check out the Game Changers Competition details page to get the full download: www.dmlcompetition.net

For more reference info on HASTAC, The MacArthur Foundation and the Digital Media and Learning Competition, check out the links below:

• HASTAC Press Release: $2 Million Competition Opens for Ideas to Transform Learning
• Follow dmlComp on Twitter: http://twitter.com/dmlComp
• Track the Digital Media and Learning Competition coverage on delicious: delicious.com/dmlComp2010
• Spore Forum Discussion and FAQ: Sporum

E3 2010 exhibitor’s list (as of 1/18/10)

E3 2010 will be kicking off in June, and as of this date, a list was published showing off all of the exhibitors which will be attending.  No doubt, Electronic Arts will be there showing off their 2010/2011 titles…I just want to know what is in store for us Spore/Sims fans!  Now if only I could afford to go!

Activision 4122 West
A.L.S. Industries/R.D.S. Industries 5332 West
Atlus U.S.A, Inc. 4966 West
Atomic-Accessories 5735 West
Autodesk, Inc. 519
Azuradisc Inc. 3151 South
BDA 5312 West
Bethesda Softworks 4100 West
Bigpoint.com 5739 West
Blitz Games Studios 5067 West
BradyGames 4770 West
Capcom Entertainment Inc. 4900 West
City Interactive 517
Creative Mind Interactive Inc. 5640 West
CTA Digital, Inc. 5506 West
DDR Game 523 South
Deuce Entertainment, LLC 4666 West
Digiwinner 5859 West
Disney Interactive Studios 1001 South
dreamGEAR 5300 West
DXT Inc. 5554 West
Dynaflex International 5854 West
Electronic Arts, Inc. 1601 South 406AB
Epic Games 501A
Exspect 4129 West
EZ Games Distribution, Inc. 3051 South
ForceTek 5500 West
Game Outlet Europe 529 South
Game Source Inc. 4666 West
Gamepark Holdings Co., Ltd. 413 South
Gamer Grub 3246 South
GameSpot 4312 West
Gazillion Entertainment 511A
Grace Marketing Company 3147 South
Havok 5067 West
Hollywood Archives Collectibles 5662 West
Hori (U.S.A.), Inc 5660 West
iBeta Quality Assurance 3047 South
IGN.com 4452 West 407
InComm 4022 West 4767 West
Infernal Engine 5167 West
Innex, Inc. 5514 West
Iode, Inc. 5759 West
Iron Will Innovations Inc. 521 South
JFJ Disc Repair 3049 South
K2 Network/GamersFirst 2803 South
Konami 2423 South
LucasArts 404AB
Majesco Entertainment 512
Marjacq Man 4880 West
Mastermedia 3052 South
MTV Games 1047 South
MusicSkins LLC 2947 South
nDreams Ltd. 5166-5170 West
Nintendo of America, Inc. 4922 West 409AB
Nordic Game Resources AB 5636 West
NVIDIA 4866 West
Nyko Technologies 5322 West
OnLive, Inc. 801 South
Paradox Interactive 4774 West
Parature 4766 West
Parrot 5267 West
Pega HK Limited 2847 South
Penguin United 5850 West
Perfect World Entertainment Inc. 5112 West
Performance Designed Products LLC 513
Playseat 5614 West
Prima Games 5066 West
Proximo Games 422 South
Rebellion 4867 West
Royal Electronics Inc. 2946 South
RTI Disc Repair 3146 South
Sakar International 5606 West
Scanavo North America Ltd. 5844 West
Sega of America, Inc. 2023 South
Slang 2647 South
Sony Computer Entertainment America 45222 West 504, 505
Sony DADC 4975 West
Sony Online Entertainment 4600 West
Square Enix, Inc. 1647 South
SureDisc Disc Repair Service 2953 South
Taiwan Pavilion 547 South
The Get-Well Gamers Foundation 5852 West
The Video Game Club 3250 South
THQ 2001 South 303A
Trion World Network 847 South
TRITTON Technologies Inc. 2847 South
Turtle Beach 417 South
U-Way Corporation 5846 West
U.S. Games Distribution 3055 South
Ubifrance 429-423 South
Ubisoft Entertainment 1023 South 306A
Univenture, Inc. 3149 South
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment 2401 South 308B
WCN 5848 West
XBOX 360 1637 South 304C 305
X-Games Inc. 3053 South
Zeroplus Technology Co., Ltd. 2955 South

Thanks to GoNintendo for the list

UK: Top 20 PC Games Chart ending January 16, 2010

Sorry Sims…Football Manager has eaten you for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

Source:  Chart-track

Spore Mech Parts from Dr. Pepper demonstration

I’ve been collecting many yellow caps from Dr. Pepper, so I’m debating on whether to establish a code-trading post for those who want these parts in an official manner.  Just not quite sure how to work that out just yet.  Speaking of Dr. Pepper, SimOperations found a video demonstration of the stats from the Spore Mech Parts which are part of the promotion:

NPD’s top 10 PC selling games of 2009

Is it really a surprise that The Sims 3 takes the crown for the top 10 PC games of 2009?  I mean, sure there are a lot of Warcraft nerds out there but they are nothing when compared to Sim fans…Well okay, actually they are more dedicated to their games. When was the last time you heard of someone that died from playing too much Sims and neglecting their real-life needs?  And second note – way to go, Maxis.  Glad to see Spore still hanging on (I did buy 2 copies in 2009)

1. The Sims 3
2. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack
3. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
4. World of Warcraft: Battle Chest
5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
6. World of Warcraft Blizzard Entertainment
7. The Sims 3: World Adventures Expansion Pack
8. Spore
9. Dragon Age: Origins
10. Empire: Total War

via Kotaku

C3 reviews Spore Hero (Wii)

That’s not to suggest it does anything badly. Graphically it looks suitable gaudy and shiny and all the squeaks and squelches are appropriately cute and cuddly. What’s perhaps the most appealing aspect is the way in which it attempts to let you leave your mark on the world. If you explore lots you’ll get a more exploratory creature, if you fight more you’ll get a better fighter. Alongside this you have the chance to ‘leave your mark’ by altering other creatures and generally mucking around with your surroundings. But it never goes far enough, it always keeps with what is comfortable, what is tediously generic.

review over at Cubed3

SimOperations – Spore Origins reviewed for the iPhone

SimOperations would like to share with you their review of Spore Origins for the iPhone:

The lasting appeal for Spore Origins is that it isn’t a game in which you need to dedicate a lot of time to. You can pick it up and play it anytime you have your iPhone/iPod touch with you and continue your game without extensive loading. Whether you’re on break at work or just not near your computer, Spore Origins is a great little time waster.

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