EA isn't a horrible games developer at all. They have great franchises and some incredible games: BF1942 etc.
However, their football games just happen to be below par. It's not like the whole EA Sports team is incompetent. Look at Madden. NBA Live does well although gets tough competition from the 2k series (SEGA). And, arguably, they have one of the most exciting branches in EA Big.
Konami, on the other hand, has always been one of my favourite developers. Old school classics like Axelay, Contra, Castlevania were some of the best things I played while growing up.
They keep up the consistency these days too. Sure, they're not as big as EA but no other company is. Rockstar will be, though, in a couple of years time, I'm certain of that.