The idea of boycotts

[BidetoftheDead]

So this is a sentiment I see a lot throughout the internet, people think boycotts are useless which is fine but they won't even recognize personal boycotts or the reason behind them. For instance I have a personal boycott of Nintendo for a various amount of reasons from seeing Amiibos as nothing but over priced micro-transactions to their contract they force LPers and Streamers to sign in order to take a rather large portion of their ad revenue.

 

The whole reason behind personal boycotts is you personally will not in anyway financially support anything the game company does, you'll go out of your way to make a point that they won't get your money. It's not about hurting a company it's about taking a stand in protest to what a company does.

 

Does anyone else feel the same about this or rather do you disagree and why is that?

[BTGBullseye]

I have several personal boycotts going... One is against the majority of the big name Hollywood studios. (one of the many reasons I am a Pirate)

 

Horrible game/software companies I also boycott. (like I did with Microsoft as soon as they 'released' W10 without removing the keylogger they said wasn't going to be in the release version) Good ones, I find ways to fund. I refuse to purchase products advertised online, if the advertisement is intrusive.

 

Personal boycotts do a LOT when you look at it from a business perspective. They cause a significantly bad reputation, and spread in an uncontrollable fashion. (word of mouth)

[Heliocentrical]

I've personally boycotted all games with any kind of DRM. It needs to be either DRM free or on GOG which is also DRM free for me to buy it. I want to ensure that my purchases say "DRM is unprofitable". I also don't pirate because I see it as the primary fuel source for the "We need DRM to protect our IPs" think tank. I understand if people literally have no other options. But if they have other options then they should avoid it IMO. GOG has grown considerably over the years. They've got the Witcher series and a few recent AAA titles too like Dying Light. I'm confident that if we keep pushing we'll get the Dark Soul series on GOG in no time.

[DrEvilBrain]

Personal boycotts are important for ideological reasons like any other boycott, but they won't make any impact on changing the issue, which is also kinda the point of a boycott. It doesn't mean we should not have personal boycotts, but at the same time we can't completely rely them for effective protest.

[AlanMor]

Boycoott, I think, connects with our principles and has ideological reasons may be

[GolfClubNinja]

One is against the majority of the big name Hollywood studios. (one of the many reasons I am a Pirate)

 

your a pirate!

[Heliocentrical]

"Do what you want because a pirate is free, you are a pirate."

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Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

[BTGBullseye]

Why apologize? I think of that song every time I say "I am a pirate". lol

 

And this one as well:

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[GolfClubNinja]

and this is why serious discussions do not happen on the internet. Your Welcome.

[Heliocentrical]

and this is why serious discussions do not happen on the internet. Your Welcome.

Well, what kind of serious discussion were you expecting? There isn't a whole lot of substance on offer by simply announcing that someone's a pirate. Don't be afraid to ask questions or write whole paragraphs if that's what you're after. That's what you'll have to do that if you want a serious discussion otherwise short and tangential questions will be met with short and tangential answers.

[BTGBullseye]

Don't be afraid to ask questions or write whole paragraphs if that's what you're after. That's what you'll have to do that if you want a serious discussion otherwise short and tangential questions will be met with short and tangential answers.

Also, don't be afraid to use capitalization, and proper grammar... They won't get you made fun of here.

[Psychotic Ninja]

and this is why serious discussions do not happen on the internet. Your Welcome.

Well, what kind of serious discussion were you expecting?

 

Well there's the fact that this is under Serious Topic Discussion, so one would expect the discussion would be, well serious, as in no funny business at all.

[BTGBullseye]

You can throw humor into serious discussions... It's doesn't stop being a serious discussion just because there is humor. Levity breaks are a standard practice of the best serious orators.

[Wabdit]

Even if it doesn't have the immediate effect of causing a company to go under, enough people boycotting can at least grab some attention, perhaps couple with re-direction to a company that is more respectful of the demands of the disenfranchised buyer base.

 

So, absolutely boycott as you see fit. Whether it's against Hollywood or EA or some food company performing shenanigans.

[Fric]

From what I see boycotting generally does not work... I mean, it could work with some small business - e.g. he does something really stupid and cannot continue, because his revenue was already small and he could barely make it.

 

Just a few examples:

everyone was up in arms about the shit move about react video licensing - Fine bros are still very much in business;

EA or anyone else big makes a shitty game - guess what, still going forwards, probably made money from that shitty game as well;

loads of people are talking against G2A (which they deserve imho) - still in business and will be;

 

more locally: few years ago we had a terrible accident when a supermarket collapsed - 54 people died (including rescuers), the supermarket chain CEO came out with such bad attitude - it was a PR suicide (he was later fired) and the ongoing legal proceedings are filled with bad press and both the supermarket chain (who reportedly deactivated fire alarms like 30 times that day and didn't evacuate) and the architects/builders are just looking for legal loopholes and ways to get out of this without any consequences. Guess what - I recently read in the news, that this supermarket chain's turnover last year was growing.

 

 

Even bad publicity is publicity... I mean I bet even if e.g. DICE started publicly murdering puppies and kittens and putting it on youtube, Battlefield 1 would be a bestseller hit this autumn...

[Psychotic Ninja]

Sure the companies are still in business, but boycotting has had an impact. Fine Bros did drop React World.

Ubisoft's taking a break from Assassin's Creed, and didn't add multiplayer into Syndicate. Infinite Warfare pre-order sales are low. So yes, boycotting does help, but not necessary ending companies.

[Fric]

Sure the companies are still in business, but boycotting has had an impact. Fine Bros did drop React World.

Ubisoft's taking a break from Assassin's Creed, and didn't add multiplayer into Syndicate. Infinite Warfare pre-order sales are low. So yes, boycotting does help, but not necessary ending companies.

I mean, yeah, It might impact a bit sales and stuff but 1) its seems to be only temporary; and 2) they still make a lot money, so they don't really give a fuck about your boycotts....

 

 

 

Another example Tmartn and prosyndicate and their gambling shit - even though their gambling business is probably done for (and they might actually get some fines/compensation if not jail time IRL) their youtube channels are operating as if nothing happened. Even though at first people were like up in arms and calling to boycott them and dislike all the videos etc. The "detective work" made a huge blow, but the boycott part afterwards was with little significance.

[rairii]

Sure the companies are still in business, but boycotting has had an impact. Fine Bros did drop React World.

Ubisoft's taking a break from Assassin's Creed, and didn't add multiplayer into Syndicate. Infinite Warfare pre-order sales are low. So yes, boycotting does help, but not necessary ending companies.

Ubisoft's case is a business move, once sales start to reach the dipping point they move on to another IP (in this case, watch_dogs and far cry)

Low sales are the direct result of a boycott and it doesn't mean or imply that a business is really doing anything about it, but Activision's case is competition rather than boycott

The case of react world is a result of direct protest and not boycotting

 

Boycotting by itself does little to nothing and serves mainly as a moral act, heavy protest is what gets people to listen