For me it started nearly a month ago. My copy of NHL failed because I was lucky enough to buy a launch copy of the game for the 360. TEN DAYS AFTER I EMAILED EA, I was finally able to talk to a REAL, LIVE PERSON. TEN. DAYS. LATER. You know, the same as, say, the INCUBATION TIME FOR THE FLU. Or perhaps a span in which it's possible to watch my favorite hockey team play FIVE REAL GAMES.

But after ten days, I talked to someone, and it felt good. I was excited to see that finally someone would be able to read my emails saying that I had cleared the cache and my disc was clean and not respond with the advice of "clearing the cache or cleaning the disc." Three days after I talked to an actual person, I was satisfied and told that I would be getting a copy of NHL 09 shipped to me, there was nothing else I'd have to do, and I was given a tracking number on UPS a day later.

That was October 20. It is now November 2. According to UPS.com, the tracking number is valid - they just haven't received a damn thing from EA. Two weeks later, nearly TWO MONTHS after the game launched, and they can't even be bothered to send me a copy of the game that I bought and should rightfully be playing. For most of this time I've been asking for a refund. Now I demand one. I DO NOT want to deal with a company that skirts around customer complaints by hoping you get tired of bots answering your emails, then hopes to brush you off by promising a solution and not delivering. I WANT A REFUND.

Two days before I was told my new copy of the game was shipping I ordered a customized hockey jersey online (a Stars Fab Brunnstrom, if you care), and was told that could take awhile to arrive. Somehow, a big company like NHL.com was able to actually GIVE ITS PAYING CUSTOMER WHAT IT PAID FOR in a timely manner despite having to make the jersey, while EA, where all they need to do is put a game in a box, has taken at least two weeks to do the same. What the hell, guys. NHL 09 is my last game. Not just last NHL game, but my last EA game. It's an absolutely ridiculous company run by absolutely ridiculous people, and I'm not going to be a part of it anymore. Deuces.