Poll: Voting with your wallet

[CaitSeith]

I tend to vote with my wallet more with an attitude of support than of boycott. If I want to support something, I buy it new, donate to KickStarter, and even pay DLCs or microtransactions (the latest very rarely, as I'm not a fan of MCs). When I don't support a publisher/developer, but I still want the game, I get it used (developers and publishers get nothing from someone buying an used game).

The same amount of money affects much more a game with low sales than an over-hyped AAA game one.

 

[Gamerpalooza]

Some of the biggest names in the business are included there. Nintendo's one of the most antiquated, anti-consumer companies on the market right now and all they need to do to smash sales records is release a new Mario Kart or Zelda game. In fact, this is another large problem with voting with your wallet. It tends to get drowned out when the consumer is so quick to say SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY.

It does but Nintendo is solely realizing that it's console can't survive on just mario kart and zelda. We have seen this gen, even though the work has been mediocre at best, how they have sought to bring back franchises they ignored for 2 generations. Such as with Donkey Kong, Kirby, Yoshi's Island, and Star Fox. Yet since they didn't sell 10's of millions you see Nintendo throw a fit.

 

[chadachada123]

No, because the average consumer has more dollars than brain cells, and it is the average consumer that provides most sales for most games. People with intelligence and/or dignity are too rare to make a difference unless the game is sufficiently niche.

Inside those niches, however, voting with one's wallet works quite well, I've been told. Either way, I don't contribute to horrible practices like censorship and always-online, even if I know it won't mean much.

 

[Gamerpalooza]

No, because the average consumer has more dollars than brain cells, and it is the average consumer that provides most sales for most games. People with intelligence and/or dignity are too rare to make a difference unless the game is sufficiently niche.

Inside those niches, however, voting with one's wallet works quite well, I've been told.

It works with certain genres and certain games but those instances are very isolated.

Blizzard thought that way with WoW because of how the subscription numbers didn't coincide with the community backlash until they finally crossed the line and their numbers started dropping with their 4th(?) expansion and they just kept dropping and they thought they would come back with false promises and it never happened.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Can't say how much it affects the system of consumerism, but i vote with my wallet every second of every day the pocket of anthrax does wonders for crowd dispersal by not buying the latest slices of hitman being piecemealed out, though one dreads how well that tactic is working for Squeenix. I daren't look. But not buying something that annoys me on multiple levels is just something that comes naturally, no agenda required. Also have bought multiple copies of terraria and Dust:an Elysian Tail (multiple platforms, not like bulk hoarding copies) in the vain hope that i am supporting their ideas and, in the former's case, much free post release support and content.
Just doin' my bit for the ol' community 'ere!

 

[Igor-Rowan]

Snip

That was pretty much the argument I was kind of looking forward to see, but as of the individual "meaningful influence over the outcome" I know for a fact it's not true. Even if it was, one individual should not represent an entire audience, focus groups are something that should end for good.

I made this topic mainly because of those large groups/fanbases that are willing to get their opinions heard by any means means necessary.

 

[Ambient_Malice]

CD Projekt Red listened to fans and pleased them and The Witcher series is an incredibly successful franchise.

With notoriously crappy combat mechanics the developers have refused to "fix" for two sequels, and a third game that was shockingly buggy and had terrible framerate issues on consoles. CD Projekt Red aren't really any more "listen to the fansy" than any other developer of their type.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe listens to it fans and the MCU films are some of the best comic book films to date.

Whether they're good or not is really not relevant. Personally, they're bland, samey entertainment with very few original ideas. I may like Ant-Man, but let's not pretend it's not a knock-off of The Rocketeer with the remaining plot points stolen from the first Iron Man film. They're safe and formulaic, backed up with clever and well funded marketing campaigns.

The counterpoint, of course, is that Transformers movies gleefully ignore "the fans" and make billions.