Jimquisition: BOYCOTT!

Echo136

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Plazmatic said:
Im sorry, but Jim was wrong on the Left 4 Dead protest, the problem wasn't simply that it was released one year after, it was that it was practically the same game, and that anything else that was added could have been added as an update, and things that weren't fixed in the origional left 4 dead still have not been fixed to this day, were added when left 4 dead 2 came out. and that's just the tip of the iceberg, and if you look, it actually worked, the studio that made the game got kicked out AND they didn't make another game for valve afterwards.
Give it a rest. Time has shown just how right they were in making a second game. If you check the second game you will normally see only a handful of games in each level being played at any time even with the addition of the maps from the first game, the modded maps, and the Mutation rules that change every week, while when the game came out there were probably hundreds of lobbies going on. The first game is doing worse. It may have been a similar game but L4D's popularity certainly wasnt holding up well when the sequel was released, even with the new maps. I would see more people playing Killing Floor.
 

BlueInkAlchemist

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Jun 4, 2008
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"I love words, and I hate to see them devalued." I've never agreed with anything Jim has said more than this.
 

Therumancer

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Nov 28, 2007
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Well, I've commented for a long time that gamers tend to act like a bunch of junkies who gripe at their dealer when he increasingly cuts their fixes with baby powder, but still buy it anyway because they want their drugs.

It's not a perfect analogy, but the problem with franchises like "Modern Warfare" is the peer pressure involved, the FPS fanboys don't want to NOT buy the game for fear that they will be the only one and left out of their online peer circle, never to fully recover. To
be honest I think the gaming industry knows this, and exploits it.

As far as content related boycotts go, I have mixed opinions on that, depending on what they happen to be. In my opinion I think it's pretty ridiculous how the game industry uses existing "brands" and franchises to promote what are pretty much entirely new products. When it comes to things as "stupid" as the character redesigns in "Devil May Cry" or what the newer "Fallout" games look like, I think that there is an overall issue there even if any of the individual cases are themselves trivial. Simply put, the whole point of a series *IS* to produce more of the game, the idea of "[name] [numerical installment number]" is to provide more of something to someone who liked earlier games in the series. Improvements and tweaks are one thing, but entire re-designs are something else entirely. If a game company wants to radically alter a specific character or game franchise, then they should instead be launching an entirely new franchise or product line, or at least a spin-off series that is clearly identified as such.

To put things into perspective, I see no real reason why if the developers think Dante is tacky they don't just develop a new franchise with a new character, rather than changing the entire character and saying "well this is Dante, he's the same guy as before, live with it" which insults the fans, and understandably upsets the people who kept a franchise going for god knows how many installments in order to justify those changes (which allegedly are to make the game "even more popular" despite the length of time it's been around). With "Fallout" my opinion is similar, in what way was "Fallout 3" like the previous games in the series? If they wanted to go there why not launch a new franchise? Of course to be fair, it DOES seem Bethesda is trying to do exactly that with "Rage", albiet after the fact. Personally I look at the old "Ultima" games and how when they wanted to go from isometric top down gaming to a first person real-time perspective they launched a spin off series called "Ultima Underworld" specifically for that reason.

At any rate, the point isn't so much to sell any of these specific issues as being some kind of earth shattering development individually, however cumulatively I think they represent a major problem with the industry. If the industry was to knock it off, and actually launch new franchises as opposed to trying to badly modify existing ones and slot off a lot of the fans, I think everyone would benefit, and that shift in attitude would contribute to seeing more innovation because it would shed the remaining chains those franchise connections put on them. As it is a lot of these radically changed franchises wind up involving the worst aspects of both a franchise, and misguided innovation.

In short, I've come to the conclusion on that issue that someone who talks about boycotting say "Devil May Cry" specifically is a bit of a moron, but someone who talks about boycotting games in general developed with the mentality that lead to that... games that are sequels in name only... is ultimatly pushing for quite a bit, but at least has a meaningful and positive goal that would benefit everyone.
 

SatansBestBuddy

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I stopped buying anything Activision made way back when Prototype was released, and so far I haven't knowingly bought any of their games since.

This includes StarCraft 2, which I did borrow from a friend, and from the looks of things Diablo 3 is also gonna be skipped by me cause they're just asking that I give them too much of my freedom to play a game.

So, yeah, there are people out there who do, in fact, stick to their guns when they say they're not gonna take publishers shit, just so you know.
 

mikespoff

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Oct 29, 2009
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Much better video - valid points, well made, without unnecessarily offensive self-aggrandisement.

Well done.
 

blindthrall

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I'm boycotting Diablo 3 and any other game with always-on DRM. Don't give a shit if anybody else does it, but they're not getting my money. And good point about Fallout there. Story was better in olden times, but the engine killed it.
 

Gunner 51

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Jun 21, 2009
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Mr Stirling, you spoke a lot of sense this time. This pleases me. :)

But the trouble with Boycotts is that they nearly ALWAYS fall flat on their faces. Not just because they were launched for the silliest of reasons. But the fact that people are fickle and forgetful at best and hypocritical at worst.

Take the MW2 boycott for example. Most of the boycotters fell from grace because any CoD game is advertised and raved about like it's the second coming of Christ. (Pass the Kleenex! *giggles*) CoD games have an enormous social impact upon gamers, and to try resisting it is pretty hard even at the best of times.

But I have to reiterate your previous points that folks who don't boycott should be more willing to boycott stuff. But those who do boycott should be thinking about whatever it is they are boycotting and they should be asking themselves if they are taking the correct course of action. After all, boycotting for silly reasons only serves to weaken further boycotts for ALL games in the future.

Good show, sir!
 

Avaloner

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Oct 21, 2007
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This episode actually made me watch all previous episodes, because I just saw "Metacritic is not the problem" and simply thought that no one would be stupid enough to actually blame metacritic for their senseless users.

But yeah the episode, among others, speak very true, its annoying if you fight for something and "vote with your time and wallet" and than someone shouts about boycott and after a week he forgot everything and everything is happy again, it makes me so sick.
 

Sir Prize

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Dec 29, 2009
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I've never boycotted a game/series/whatever, I just avoid giving them any of my cash. I tend to buy pre-owned stuff anyway, or go the free version of any games/websites I can.
 

Kagim

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Don't know if it has been mentioned thus far, but half of a boycott is not fucking downloading it off some fucking torrent site.

It takes away all meaning from the message trying to be sent. Essentially changing "We won't give you our money because we are agaisnt your business ethics!" to "I want free shit and everything i have said is a smokescreen for it!"

It's like saying you are boycotting McDonalds.... While eating it every time your buddy offers to take you out for a bite. All your moral outrage looks like nothing more then a bullshit smokescreen so your friend will always have to pay for it.

Though i suppose more often that not that is exactly the case...
 

Urh

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Oct 9, 2010
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I've always had trouble with Jim's delivery - his tendency to be overly condescending and irritating has made him difficult to watch; even when I agree with him I've wanted to punch him in the face for being an annoying twat. I'm well aware that the substance of an argument should always take precedence, but there is something to be said for delivery.

This episode, however, is the first Jimquisition I've watched to completion and enjoyed. A well constructed argument with excellent delivery. Jim said something that has been on my mind for years - that game developers and publishers only engage in shitty business practices because they know that their consumer base is, for the most part, made up of weak-willed overgrown children, and thus they'll effectively get away with it. It's why we didn't get dedicated servers for Modern Warfare 2. It's why Diablo 3 will be always online. It's why Battlefield 3 won't have mod tools. It's also why Nintendo said "no" in response to Operation Rainfall's reasonable requests (because they secretly know that any serious attempt to boycott Nintendo will fail catastrophically). The dick moves of developers and publishers are getting bigger and bolder, and the orifices of most consumers have simply become more accommodating, as opposed to the more correct response of said consumers screaming "GET THAT FUCKING DICK AWAY FROM ME!!!!!!"
 

gunmun

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Sep 11, 2010
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Jim Sterling said:
BOYCOTT!

Jim Sterling (AKA the only reason to be alive on a Monday) has come to deliver some more delicious justice from his pantry of righteousness. This week, we look at the community's growing tendency to boycott, the tendency of others to dismiss consumer action, and the reason why both mentalities are at fault.

Watch Video
Hey Jim, what would you say to a boycott of Capcom's upcoming Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 to show them (and hopefully other fighting game companies) that in the age of DLC and patches, re-releasing a game with minimal extra features (what their offering is 12 more characters a spectator mode and some balancing tweeks) is annoying and ultimately pointless
 

Kirb Zero

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Jun 2, 2011
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Finally! Unlike Jim's last video of difficulty, Jim actually presented both sides of the argument, something he does so unbelievably rare that that alone is a hoopla. He should know that the Sonic 4 complaints extend far beyond cosmetics and physics and go as far as level design (which was still lacking in the end product, but could have been MUCH worse without the boycott).

I mean, Jim's difficulty video made it seem so cut-and-dry that a game can only have "real" or "artifcial" difficulty because Heaven forbid a game can do both (Devil May Cry, Megaman ironically given that he used it as a counterexample). It was so biased that I thought to end Jimquisition viewing right there. Hopefully, he continues to this more open minded approach and does a bit more homework first in future videos. The videos are rather niche already, no need to alienate people more with blatant bias, right?
 

Strain42

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The closest company I have to boycotting right now is Capcom because they aren't releasing AAI2.

But it's not really a boycott because A. They're not releasing any games I really want anyway, and B. I am gonna buy UMvC3 because of Phoenix Wright.

So yeah...that's the closest I've got to a boycott, and it's really not lol
 

blackdwarf

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Jun 7, 2010
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at this moment i'm in a argument about ultimate marvel vs capcom 3. i find the fact that is released so shortly after the original and the fact that owners of the original are getting nothing plain wrong. my friends have for some reason the idea that i want to boycott the game for those reason. i don't. i just won't support it by buying it in the store, but being a fan of the gerne, i probably will buy it second-handed. am i a hypocrite because of that? maybe.


when it was announced, i thought about to "do" something. but i find boycotting just too much. i already know it will be released either way and i don't have a problem with that, but i do have a problem how it is handled.