I don't think the hate for EA is justified anymore, or at least not anymore then any other publisher. Maybe 5+ years ago, but they haven't done anything more outrageous this gen than any other company. Activision-Blizzard have nickel and dimed consumers just as much (if not more) as EA, Ubisoft have put unbelievably restrictive DRM (always on online- far worse than EA) into their PC games and the overall quality of their games this gen has actually been relatively high.

Sure, they have had day one DLC (as do Capcom and most other publishers), overcharged for DLC (Activision map packs? Bethesda's horse armor?), they have Origin (which is better than an always on internet connection) and they've tried to reduce second-hand sales (which publisher hasn't?), but relative to other publishers? They're decidedly average in terms of deserving of hate.

They also seem to have learnt a little from their horrible experiences with previously owned developers (R.I.P Westwood) as well as partnerships in the form of EA Partners. Bioware is doing well, DICE are thriving and been allowed to create a new IP this gen and Crytek have started the Crysis series. Not to mention, some of their staple titles like Fifa are now at the top of their market and Battlefield is thriving in the competitive FPS space.

I don't think many other publishers have published as many new quality IPs this gen either:
- Mass Effect (I know, the first was published by MS, but they now own the IP)
- Dragon Age
- Crysis
- Mirrors Edge
- Dead Space
- Amalur
- Bulletstorm
- Dante's Inferno

I like EA because of the last gamescom, they paid me dinner twice and I got drunk on their tab - twice (actually once on sony, but EA got me into the sony party)- I probably consumed more from them than I ever spent on them :D

Yes it is for me.  They grabbed exclusive rights to NFL football, and ESPN and everything else, to kill off any chance of competitors pushing the art further.  They also treated the Dreamcast badly.  Anything else is just cake.

And the hatred doesn't need to be conditional either, where I have to like them, because I dislike others.  Just because Activision goes south, that doesn't make EA better.

indifference is what i feel about them................so i guess no its not

I'm (or was, not sure) a big fan of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, and the Yuri expansion. I tried Red Alert 3, it didn't felt good. Would've a non-fusioned Westood studios made a better game, one can never know. The fact is that I felt that it was a worse product, and I'm not the only one.

Remind me of another reason why I dislike EA.  They ended up taking out the world conquest turn-based mode from one of their RTS titles (Might of been the Yuri one) for the 360, because they said turn-based games don't sell on the console.  End result, turn-based Civ Revolution on the 360 outsold it.

So EA certainly have their problems. I think the first thing to consider is Dragon Age Origins, in which they had a character just to sell DLC! EA want your money!

But seriously, EA do make quality games, but they just need to get things under better control. I think they have definitely mis-managed Bioware. They are meant to make top quality RPGs, but their last games have had significant issues, due to their games being rushed I feel (ME 2 & 3 were some of the best games I have ever played though). I think a better model would be to copy the Take 2/R* model, 1 TOP quality game per year and rotate a lot of different franchises

I think that last point is EA's biggest problem, they have stopped making new franchises! They made Mirror's Edge earlier in the generation and its failure to generate profits has scared them, any new franchises are not going to receive the same backing, and so aren't going to succeed. So what are they doing now? Just rebooting old franchises, some of which make sense, like SSX where they are doing a decent job, but I can't quite understand Syndicate

But I think this is what they should be doing with Bioware, not expanding the brand! Bioware should be their top quality brand (and the same with DICE and Criterion). Slapping their name on games generally gets the attention of gamers and could allow them to introduce some quality new games

So EA make good games, but how often are you actually surprised by the quality? FIFA is good every year, Battlefield is quality, Medal of Honor is good, but are they exciting? They need to do more things like Bulletstorm, and rely on FIFA to make the profit (maybe by stop selling it at £20 to get christmas number 1 in the UK?). Oh yeah, and stop adding multiplayer to everything!

Short answer.

Yes.

Long answer,

Take your fucking online pass and shove it up your arse EA.

Very productive. You are definitely helping getting rid of online passes on EA games.

Like Ea is the only publishers that uses online passes :/