Electronic Arts, Inc. (EA) is an American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers responsible for its games. Electronic Arts is the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue after Nintendo and Activision Blizzard. EA develops various series including Sports (Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, etc…), SimCity, Mass Effect, Battlfield, Dead Space, Dragon Age, Medal of Honor and other series.
Due to practices in game development, most notably the use of Digital Rights Management (DRM), the company has been hugely crticized and negatively received by many. Some notable events include the Mass Effect 3 ending and the SimCity launch.