What companies do you actually refuse to buy from?

[RuinThyMass]

If you applied this Idea to all aspects of life, not just purchasing games (e.g. food, furniture, electronics, etc) you would have to dramatically change your buying habits, most big companies have done something bag or still are to compete in modern day competitive companies, most common is electronic companies produce electronics with cheap labour, Apple is guilty of this (even though I bought a Mac recently), so is Nokia I believe.

Also Hating Steve Jobs is so old, he is a amazing spokesman and a pretty good CEO, I think he is better in both aspect compared to Bill Gates, and not buying from Apple for such a reason is petty when compared to other reason you could use.

As the saying goes, Absolute power,corrupts absolutely.

 

[Suicida1 Midget]

Ill keep it simple, EA and Ubisoft. Crappy games, focused on sports, which ppl should go out and play. Crap+Crap+turd polish= The next polished shit someone sports fetishest will buy.

 

[Iwata]

This makes no sense. How is barring myself from buying games because a certain company attached its name to it going to help anything? It's thinking like that that helps kill good games merely published THROUGH dickheads, such as "Singularity" or "Brutal Legend". The developers get shafted, you block yourself off of a good gaming experience, and Activision doesn't care in the least.

As so many people here have mentioned, I base my purchases based on the games' merit, rather than clump in all in one big basket.

Edit: Also, forgive me for saying so, but having read through the entire thread, it's somewhat clear that the OP has an amazingly high opinion of himself, as well as a particularly aggressive and insulting stand towards those who disagree with him. To each his own, of course, but he strikes me as someone particularly insufferable to be around.

Sony. Everything they make is poor quality. I have been through 3 PS1s, 4PS2s, a sony laptop, 2 PSPs multiple sony phones and a sony TV. All broke within 2 years of having them. Sony's answer to warranty? 'Give them a reconditioned one!'

That is unfortunate. My PS2 is by far my longest-living console (I bought it on release, it all still works beautifully, console, controller, memory card and games), and my PS3 has outlived 3 broken 360's.

 

[Zaverexus]

In most cases my buying decisions are based on the product, not the corporation, but there's still:
Apple.
Constantly releasing the same product, overcharging, never innovating, omitting information or lying to consumers, and ensuring my fury at the stupidity of the community at large.

 

[runnernda]

Oh...game companies? I was going to say Exxon and Walmart because they're evil corporations, (search "vivoleum" and read "Nickled and Dimed."). I honestly just buy games I think I'll like. The company doesn't matter to me so much.

 

[Panorama]

I try to buy games from smaller retailers, instead of the big companies, but minus that not really.

 

[Ghostkai]

I generally judge a product on it's own merits, and how it benefits me, rather than judge it on the company behind it.

So... None.

 

[James Crook]

Holy bloody goddamn bananas Batman. If you refuse to buy anything from these companies, then what are you playing? Indie games? Mobile phone games? A select few Ubisoft, THQ and Microsoft titles?

 

[DannyJBeckett]

Game companies? Activision, unless it's one of their really old games.

Companies in general? McDonalds, Kraft, Trebor and Cadbury's

I don't buy from Cadbury's & Trebor because they let themselves get bought by Kraft, and I don't by from Kraft because they bought Cadbury's & Trebor, then closed down a British factory even though they promised to keep it open in their initial buy-out less than 2 months earlier.

 

[lumenadducere]

Bungie, im sick of them reproducing slightly updated copies of the same dead franchise.

So were they. Which is why they sold the Halo IP to Microsoft in order to regain their freedom and are now working on an entirely new IP. The only reason they made as many games as they did was because they were under contractual obligation to produce a certain number of Halo games for Microsoft.

 

[Vault Citizen]

None. If I like something I buy it and if I don't... I don't.

This sums up my feelings about the topic.

 

[Flying Dagger]

Stephen Dubner, of Freakonomics fame was asked why people didn't vote, he replied "I'm amazed they do, the benefits of doing so in no way account for the minuscule power exerted."

By the exact same logic, you deciding not to play the game is completely powerless. At the end of the day, a game will be bought or not on whether people enjoy it. However people oppose their business practices, if people enjoy the games, people will buy them. And if companies want to act like dicks, but still release really good games, people will still buy them.

And if you are looking for companies actually worth boycotting, look to the shoe and clothing industries.

Alternatively if all you were doing is trying to make friends on the internet, you were most sincerely doing it wrong.

 

[Mid-Boss]

Walmart and EA. As long as they continue to generate the profits they do then other companies will follow in their practices. Then people whine about companies using consumer and employee screwing business practices but then give those companies their money. Any argument that it's not your problem or it doesn't matter what you do is BS. It is your problem and it does matter. These people are just trying to justify their laziness, apathy, and ignorance so that they don't have to be inconvenienced.

Can't find a full time job because Walmart put everyone else out of buisness?

Is your job at Walmart making you work off the clock?

Is the latest game coming out with used game killing features, draconian DRM, or over priced DLC?

These things happen because consumers let it happen. If consumers actually started caring, all these things would go away.

 

[standokan]

Geox the shoe brand, hate those guys. Don't know why but I never wanted shoes from them.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

Walmart and EA. As long as they continue to generate the profits they do then other companies will follow in their practices.

I really try to avoid shopping at Walmart. I may cave on that 1 to 2 times a year because I'm still under a mcjob and they have clothes for hellacheap.

Hell even if I wasn't on a mcjob I'd still buy my clothes there. 80 dollars for a pair of pants at Macy's is fucking insane.

 

[Josue Rodriguez]

ACTIVISION. I DONT BUY ACTIVISION, I just checked the games I have and I dont buy from Activision lol

 

[Jaythulhu]

I refuse to buy anything from Blizzard as they still owe me money that they've admitted to fraudulently accepting after my wow account was hacked, and Bethesda for continually releasing crap software that uses a shit engine that so full of bugs, memory leaks and other issues it's just not worth the money.

I've got the collector's ed of fallout 3 sitting in a cupboard gathering dust, as no matter what tweaks and mods I use, I can't get the game to run for longer than 10 minutes without crashing on any of my multi-core cpu pc's.

Oh yeah, that bobblehead was a really crappy piece of work too. Designed by a drunken, blind hobo and made using plastic scavenged from old milk crates, methinks.

 

[Skops]

Activision and Ubisoft. Well at least since the start of this generation at least, I used to have a lot of Activsion games like Guitar Hero 2, Tonk Hawk Series, and a few others.. I have only ever had two ubisoft games (Prince of Persia SOT, and XIII) and the only one I still have is XIII.

It's not like I hate the companies, they just haven't pumped out anything remotely interesting this generation, imo.