Jimquisition: Buyer Beware

madstork

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Hmm, this has me wondering how much of Jimquisition's popularity can be attributed solely to Drill Queen.
 

vgamesx1

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QuicklyAcross said:
I can definitely sympathize on a few levels with the people who do say things like buyer beware and: If you made an uninformed decision you "deserve" whatever consequences and shit you get for showing such a lack of responsibility with your own resources.

In not just video games but with all things you SHOULD beware, that goes for all commodoties.
Its healthy for a consumer in the long rong to actively seek out information that they can base certain choices on, because companies all over the world will stretch the truth on what their product does or doesnt do and yes while that is utterly disgusting practices that we've somehow just become apathetic towards with a "thats just how it is", its still something i believe can be changed and that you for now still have to adapt somewhat by being a responsible consumer in anything you do.

On the other hand just like this video points out: You shouldnt need to always at all times have to tread through a minefield or dig through a pile of dung just to find a hidden gem or the genuinely trustworthy and good companies and products that are upfront and transparent with their practices and who has the interest of the costumer as their primary priority, providing all the necessary information upfront to the consumer and being honest with their products or services.

Steam is in dire need of quality control and so are a lot of other things, you shouldnt need to become a brittish cynic in order to see that undeniable fact.

On a last note i believe the responsibility falls partially on both parties, not equally though, but enough so that one side definitely can do something about this kind of disgusting lack of quality control going on, every bubble will burst eventually but we can speed that process up severely as consumers, even though we shouldnt need to because this is a problem created by the industry in the first place but being held up by uninformed costumers so the sad truth is: Vote with your wallet.
^ this.. I was thinking the exact same things... sure it would be nice in a perfect world to be able to trust everyone and be happy about giving your money away, however that isn't the case, at least least few times I've checked.. so yeah "buyer beware" should apply to almost everything, because its just being a safe and responsible consumer, as most people don't have a money printer to give them an infinite money supply they should use it wisely... (I only wish..) that said, yes steam should have more quality control and more information on the games' page, heck maybe even reviews/videos of the game right on the sales page, that metacritic score that only half the games have anyway means absolutely nothing.
 

TheMadDoctorsCat

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Jimothy Sterling said:
Buyer Beware

Caveat Emptor is the "get out of an argument free" card for people who want to defend shoddy business practices. It's friggin' bollocks, though.

Watch Video
I agree with everything you say Jim... but there's an element that you're overlooking IMO.

We need a strong gaming MEDIA to highlight the unfair business practices and bring them to light.

Gaming controversy rarely enters the mainstream media as a consumer rights issue. Even when it maybe should.

And the specialist gaming media, although it has its highlights (of which the Jimquisition is one), all too often uses "hype pieces" that come across as being paid for by big gaming companies. When those same companies are also the ones who've been criticised for consumer-unfriendly practices, it's not hard to see that there's a problem there as well.

So yeah... I absolutely agree. Buyers shouldn't HAVE to beware. But the misinformation isn't just coming from the publishers.

Oh... and regarding the "Grange Hill" music... which I recognised immediately by the way... you say it was to make one man laugh. Well, assuming that man is not me, and that man also laughed, you did at least TWICE as well as you intended, 'cause it made me giggle in a way that got me a few strange looks!

EDIT: in case it's not clear above, I meant that the Jimquisition is a highlight. Not that it contributes to the culture of "hype"!
 

Atmos Duality

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Trust is a two-way street. And trust can only be maintained through vigilance.
If that requires the average consumer to stop being a naive, impulsive little sheep, then so be it.

You can try to demand better quality from producers. You can ask producers to stop with these bait-n-switch scams, less-for-more gambits, freemium honeypot schemes, and all that jazz. But until the average consumer acts on that and stops trusting those companies with their money, nothing will improve because those companies have no evident reason to believe you.

They think you, me, hell everyone with complaints are either bluffing or are some insignificant "vocal minority".
And they probably won't until (if) the bubble bursts.
 

Mosesj

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josh4president said:
Wait, Jim, didn't you mock Mass Effect fans when they expected what they were promised back with Mass Effect 3?

That doesn't sound like something a consumer advocate should do.

He showed in later episodes that he changed his mind about the whole thing.

probably got a lot more information on the subject
 

Oskuro

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Lt. Rocky said:
Oooh, what was that vehicular combat game the video showed? It looked intriguing to me ..
Search Youtube for "Jim Sterling" and let your jaw drop in amazement at the bounty of sweet sweet Sterling there is to peruse.


Or search for "Hard Truck Apocalypse" if listening to Jim's voice proves too taxing.
 

Lt. Rocky

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Oskuro said:
Lt. Rocky said:
Oooh, what was that vehicular combat game the video showed? It looked intriguing to me ..
Search Youtube for "Jim Sterling" and let your jaw drop in amazement at the bounty of sweet sweet Sterling there is to peruse.


Or search for "Hard Truck Apocalypse" if listening to Jim's voice proves too taxing.
I'll be extra saucy and search "Hard Truck Apocalypse Jim Sterling". Thanks for the info!
 

loc978

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While I agree with the sentiment, this isn't a problem with just the games industry, and it's not something that can be fixed from within the games industry. Instead of effectively "zooming in" and imagining the video is about EA, try zooming out and imagine it's about the entirety of the multinational entertainment industry, through all media, consumer electronics, even to snack foods. The shoe still fits. Zoom out further to necessities... still fits. For better or much much worse... Caveat emptor is just a fact of life now. This shouldn't be our job, but it is.

Mind you, I'm absolutely with you. We need to show some solidarity, hold large corporations to account, demonize the shit out of them when they put one toe out of place, inform one another and commiserate rather than mock... and folks like you, Jim, are the kind who can get more people to do that. No matter what corner of the media you're a part of.
 

Vault101

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Sep 26, 2010
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josh4president said:
Wait, Jim, didn't you mock Mass Effect fans when they expected what they were promised back with Mass Effect 3?

That doesn't sound like something a consumer advocate should do.
I don't remember that...that might have been movie bob...and if jim did I think he backtracked on that

also cool theme song can we keep it?
 

AvangionQ

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Aug 22, 2012
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This current video games market is so utterly broken that I'm glad that I only buy used games on Amazon, after they've been thoroughly peer reviewed ... there's no trust anymore, sellers don't care about reputation and how it'll affect their brand or its next game's sales, professional reviewers have become corrupted systematically, and buyers can't tell what's good without the most thorough of research ~ frankly, I'm amazed people buy new games at all ... there's gotta be a way to fix this system ~ lemon laws and automatic refunds for dissatisfied customers might become necessity to turn things around ...
 

Tono Makt

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josh4president said:
Wait, Jim, didn't you mock Mass Effect fans when they expected what they were promised back with Mass Effect 3?

That doesn't sound like something a consumer advocate should do.
You might be getting Jim and MovieBob a bit mixed up; both of them did come out against the players as a knee jerk reaction, but Jim actually took the time to look at our complaints and then backtracked on a bunch of the stuff he said.

I don't remember MovieBob doing anything of the sort. (If anyone has a link to MovieBob backtracking on his knee-jerk reactions, I'm quite open to revising my opinion of him upwards.)

re: Buyer Beware

I mostly agree with Jim's points, but I think that it might actually be best for the industry if this practice continues to get out of hand until the industry crashes, and huge companies like EA are forced to lay off dozens of the upper management because that's the only way that they might possibly - POSSIBLY - get the point that metaphorically strip mining an industry for as much revenue as possible in the short term is a terrible idea.

Unfortunately that's the mind set of Corporate America, and a distressing amount of Corporations worldwide, so even if the industry did crash and the executives found themselves unemployed, they would find employment in other industries quickly enough to have no need to reflect upon their mistakes. So what's more likely to happen is that the gaming industry will crash and burn, new companies will come up in their ashes, we'll have a few years of awesomeness and then the old Executives (both literally and metaphorically) will come back to destroy the industry again. Wash, rinse, lather, repeat until our current form of Capitalism implodes upon itself.

With some luck, someone, somewhere will find a way to replace our current model without destroying it entirely, so things won't go entirely to hell before they get better again. Fingers crossed.
 

MeChaNiZ3D

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I know with absolute certainty that one man, somewhere, has died of laughter.

As for the rest, pretty spot-on. Although I think customers should be a bit more aware than they are (preordering for fuck's sakes, that has got to be the epitome of naivete from any studio you don't trust with your life), there is so much misinformation, oversight and censorship that it's difficult to get reliable information if you don't go to the right sites.
 

aelreth

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Dec 26, 2012
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I have to disrespectfully disagree with Jim, in that vein I am not going to give him the extra view on his video as he requested.

Voting with your wallet is a two part action. You have to withhold money from the entity that is doing something that you disagree with and part with your money with the business model you agree with.

When the culling begins. You have to ensure that your herd is the one that survives.
 

2xDouble

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I would like to raise... not really a counterpoint, but a relevant side-point, Mr. Sterling, and that is: consumers are fucking stupid. You need only read this very thread for more than enough evidence of your own consumer base doing what consumers do best: being fucking stupid. I do include myself in that, by the way. I fully accept that as a consumer, I too, am fucking stupid.

Why is that? one might ask. Well, hypothetical person, stop being so fucking stupid for a second and listen. It's a problem of communication. Buyers and sellers have different types and qualities of information available to them. Sellers have access to copious logistical information, allowing (but not guaranteeing) effective management of available resources (including and especially their human resources) and overall control of their product or service. Consumers, on the other hand, want nothing more than to consume, and all they will ever see is things related to consumption or preventing their consumption.

The problems arise, not from the consumers being fucking stupid - how could they be anything else with so little information? - but when the sellers cannot be trusted. Consumers who refuse to trust a seller will make decisions based solely on their need, even to their own detriment. Conversely, sellers who abuse their consumers' trust quickly lose it, to everyone's detriment.

In short, you're absolutely right, Jim. The gaming industry is doing the exact same bullshit that nearly killed it 30 years ago - almost exactly 30 years ago, if memory serves.

...and I say we finish what they started. It's the only solution, the final solution. We must destroy this old world that refuses to learn from itself and allow it to regrow anew, fresh and vibrant, as it did before. It that shall not be spoken, the anti-game, the title that so very nearly destroyed the industry in its infancy, must be reborn to wipe this world clean with bile and flame and eye-bleeding 3D. They must make... ET: The Extra Terrestrial 2: Reclamation.

[fade out, echoing evil laugh]
 

Pogilrup

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Jim you say that consumer trust is not infinite.

I say that so long as there are new fans, there will always be people who don't mind being exploited as a consumer because to them such poor practices are considered baseline.