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They fought. They lost. They won.

This might sum up Electronic Arts' role in this year's Worst Company in America polling, conducted in the pages of the Consumerist.

For the second year running, the game maker has been voted America's worst company -- aka the company those who are online a lot choose to dislike the most.

It wasn't even close. EA managed to received 77.53 percent of the vote.

EA was up against Bank of America in the final and some might have imagined it might have a puncher's chance against an entity that … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Microsoft may announce the next generation of Xbox on May 21.

- Chinese people burn Apple products to pay respect to the dead; Americans do it just because.

- Here's a list of porn currently being watched in the Vatican.

- The season finale of "Alf": could it have been done differently?… Read more

It's that time of the year again.

The one where companies vie to be worse than Comcast.

That used to be the plot, at least, to the point at which Comcast tried to get its own staff to help prevent it winning the Consumerist's Worst Company in America award.

Last year, though, Electronic Arts walked off with the prize, and this year things aren't looking too good.

It's already in the Final Four, where it must face the might of Ticketmaster. So EA's COO, Peter Moore, thought it best not to attempt ballot stuffing.

Instead, … Read more

If you're starving for information about Battlefield 4, three new screenshots found on EA's Web server might whet your appetite.

CNET confirmed the authenticity of the screenshots after downloading the files from an insecure EA Web directory associated with the official Battlefield blog. In comparison with its predecessor, BF4 appears to contain massive upgrades, especially when it comes to textures and draw distance, as well as considerable improvements in the way soldiers and weapons appear. … Read more

It's finally here. More than a year after it debuted and months after it went free to play, Star Wars: The Old Republic is getting its first downloadable expansion, Rise of the Hutt Cartel, due to arrive on April 14 (or April 9 for early preorders). The obvious question is, what has it got that could tempt former players to come back?

First of all, a new planet and more story. Much of the appeal of BioWare and LucasArts' MMO is the way every quest takes place against the backdrop of the galaxy-wide struggle between the Empire and the Republic, and every player class ends up playing a different but pivotal role.

Rise of the Hutt Cartel picks up at the end of the original story: The Republic's beating back the Empire, and the war machine on both sides needs fuel (hey, it's more dramatic than trade sanctions). The resource-stripping Hutts decide it's a good moment to take over the galaxy and be generally slimy, as they are wont to do, but now you can shoot them. Yay! Actually you're fighting their mercs. What starts as a quick smackdown of the Hutts turns into something more urgent and planetwide, and as usual, it's all up to you.… Read more

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Researchers at Cambridge University have created a virtual talking head that expresses emotions and someday might be your personal assistant and a shoulder to cry on. Scotland may pass a law allowing Jedi to officiate at weddings. And the Image Toaster prints pictures from the headlines on your toast, making breakfast a whole lot more enjoyable. This, and more, on Crave. … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Check out our interview with B.O.B. and Big Boi for their new game, "Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel."

- Mico headphones let your brainwaves choose the music.

- Google Images adds filters for animated GIFs.

- Detroit doctors link garbled texting as first sign of a stroke.… Read more

Electronic Arts Chief Executive Officer John Riccitiello will resign from his position at the FIFA and Battlefield publisher after six years effective March 30, the company announced today. In addition, he will no longer be a member of the game publisher's board of directors.

The EA board of directors has appointed longtime EA executive Larry Probst as executive chairman of the company while a search is conducted for Riccitiello's permanent replacement. Probst has been in a leadership position at EA since 1991 and was CEO from 1991 to 2007. The board will consider internal and external candidates, the … Read more

According to an official invitation sent to GameSpot, Electronic Arts and DICE plan to "celebrate a new era of Battlefield" at an upcoming Battlefield 4 event in San Francisco on March 26 at 7 p.m. PT. The event occurs during the 2013 Game Developers Conference that takes place from March 25-29.

For those craving more information about the upcoming shooter, well, there isn't much to work with at the moment.… Read more