Jimquisition: Why Boycotts Fail Where Whining Tantrums Win

[Jimothy Sterling]

Why Boycotts Fail Where Whining Tantrums Win

Continuing on from the argument that one can love games as art but hate them as a business, Jimquisition this week focuses on how gamers can best express their distaste for the latter while still supporting the former.

Watch Video

 

[Draconalis]

All I got from this Video was... "Man... I need to play War from Cybertron again"

 

[GenGenners]

I'm gonna post this video on every forum I know when the need arises.
Thank god for Jim.

 

[Dangit2019]

Has there ever been a VG boycott that worked, like, ever? I still go back to the old L4D2 threads just to have a laugh at the "boycotters" who have L4D2 on their steam profiles.

 

[GAunderrated]

Very good episode jim. I can't wait to see the 3rd part of this trilogy.

 

[scarab7]

So get mad to get even.

 

[Jimothy Sterling]

Very good episode jim. I can't wait to see the 3rd part of this trilogy.

It was going to be a three-parter, but I bundled two and three together because it seemed needlessly extravagant to dedicate one video to each. So, that's in on this subject for now, though I'm sure I can extrapolate on it more in future.

 

[Jimothy Sterling]

Where does not buying Mass Effect 3 fall in the case of not wanting to buy it somewhere other than Steam?

It falls under the "Do what you will" clause invoked at the end. By all means do not buy it. I don't think anything's going to stop EA from forcing Origin on the world, but while you might not change EA's business plans, you WILL have a life free from Origin, which might be its own reward.

 

[RaikuFA]

So any ideas on telling Capcom that I want AAI2 and MML3?

Should I make death threats, demand donations back and attack people who don't know what were talking about?

 

[Weresquirrel]

There's a great line fro "Going Postal" by Terry Pratchett that is rather apposite:
"When banks fail, it is seldom the bankers who starve."
I know the world of business well enough that when a product or service does well it's because of those clever people in head office, but if things go tits up, it's the floor level employees for not pulling their weight.

 

[Irridium]

So... who's up for throwing the biggest damn tantrum in the world to get Crytek to make a new Timesplitters game?

Or to make Lucasarts make Battlefront 3?

Because I'd be down for that.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

Has there ever been a VG boycott that worked, like, ever? I still go back to the old L4D2 threads just to have a laugh at the "boycotters" who have L4D2 on their steam profiles.

For me the big lol boycott was the MASSIVE "Boycott MW2" group on Steam; day one, roughly half of them were playing. And you know, I think that's the biggest part of where the whole "Quit whining, you know you'll buy it anyway" thing came from anyway. We all have this image of people proclaiming that they're going to boycott a game, yet when the chips are down, they're standing in line outside of Gamestop for the midnight release.

Speaking of, while I can agree with Jim's points about boycotts not being effective in the gaming industry, I'm still going to stand by my boycott of Gamestop. After-all, I can still get my games from plenty of other sources; which I think makes a point for WHY boycotting a game doesn't work. I can't buy the EA-published version of Transformers: War for Cybertron to send the message that I hate Activision; and like Jim said, if people just don't buy the game, then Activision (and other companies) will just take that as a message that it isn't the kind of game we want. Meanwhile, the MASSIVE horde of people who aren't really aware of the greater picture in the gaming world (I'm reluctant to call them "casual" gamers, because there's too much inconsistency with what the term actually means) will continue to snatch-up the latest Call of Duty, sending the message that that IS the kind of game we want; because it's what's selling.

In short, our boycotts tend to get silenced by the fact that not everyone who buys games knows, or even gives a shit, about which publishers are good and bad. And by "not everyone", I mean "the majority of people who buy video games".

 

[LordLundar]

While I can agree on the complaining, how the complaints are presented is important. Well presented concerns serve so much better premise than " is in the game now? RUINED FOREVER!!!!111eleventyone11!!!" To use Mass Effect 3 as an example again, it wasn't the "ruined forever" crybabies, or the threats to sue over the ending (which was stupidly over the top) that forced their hand. It was well worded complaints at how the ending was problematic for the game and subsequently the business (people won't buy DLC for a game they don't like after all) reaching Forbes writer's ears that caused it, as such publications just as easily dismiss petulant whining and empty legal threats just as handily as developers and publishers.

So yes, complain to get things change, but complain the right way or risk your complaints to be shoved into the round filing cabinet.

 

[itsthesheppy]

Where does not buying Mass Effect 3 fall in the case of not wanting to buy it somewhere other than Steam?

It falls under the "Do what you will" clause invoked at the end. By all means do not buy it. I don't think anything's going to stop EA from forcing Origin on the world, but while you might not change EA's business plans, you WILL have a life free from Origin, which might be its own reward.

I have lived this life you speak of, and have been the more enriched for it.

 

[Scrustle]

I think often the "boycotts" are just whining. Like Jim said in his episode on boycotting, it's usually a completely empty threat made by whiny little bitches. They say they're going to do it but they never do. If people actually stuck to boycotts then maybe they would hold more power, but they don't. Although I agree that even if boycotts did do what they were supposed to publishers would probably react how Jim says.

I'm not really convinced that publishers care about whining either. It can easily be ignored. A few have said that they have listened, but have they really? And does listening really equate to change? I think publishers are smart enough to realise that even though many people may ***** about something that keeps happening over and over again, people keep buying their stuff over and over again. Capcom saying that they're rethinking their DLC plans is an exception to the rule. Every other trend that gets people pissed is still continuing, even growing. And even if Capcom do decide to make a change, how do we know it'll be for the better? They might just replace their current system with something just as offensive. Take a look at how they have "honoured" Mega Man's 25th anniversary when people have been complaining how the franchise hasn't been given the attention it deserves.

Basically, you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't. In the words of Serj Tankian, the bottom line is money and nobody gives a fuck.

 

[Shadowstar38]

Devil May Cry. That is all.

Also, this video may impower people to ***** more about things that are inconsequencail. Like the color scheme thing in Diablo 3 earlier in the video.

 

[Deadagent]

Has there ever been a VG boycott that worked, like, ever? I still go back to the old L4D2 threads just to have a laugh at the "boycotters" who have L4D2 on their steam profiles.

The L4D2 boycott worked in my opinion, the worry was that Valve would focus their time and effort on L4D2 instead of supporting L4D(1). And they heard that message, or did you forget about The Sacrifice?

There were people who basically didn't let go of the boycott even when valve said they would keep supporting L4D, I was one of therm because I didnt belive them, but they put their money where their mouth is. The rest who are still boycotting are just stubborn, but it dosent change the fact that it did do something even if very little.

 

[Jimothy Sterling]

Devil May Cry. That is all.

Also, this video may impower people to ***** more about things that are inconsequencail. Like the color scheme thing in Diablo 3 earlier in the video.

As I said in the vid, I'll always reserve the right to call them whining pricks when they're doing just that.

 

[CManator]

Good vid Jim, and while I agree to an extent, there is a large detail missing.

WHERE you ***** can make all the difference. If someone decides to make a whine thread on the Escapist or Gamefaqs for example, it's going to go unnoticed by publishers, irritate fans, and just come across as attention seeking or flamebait.

Take that shit to official websites for the game/dev/publisher where it belongs if you want results, and most importantly be somewhat civil and explain yourself.
Otherwise it'll get dismissed as "Haters gonna hate"

Other than that, good show. I actually look forward to mondays now because of Jimquisition.

 

[XDravond]

snip

Great episode Jim! One of your best yet, Bravo sir, bravo!

I sincerely agree.

Bitching and whining is so annoying that it's one of the most effective way to (peacefully) get what you want. But please try to occasionally not just whine "this is bad.." try whining "this is bad so do this....", it works even better for me at least..