Johnnie Brambora:

00slash00:
THANK YOU! All these "im boycotting this game" posts lately have been absurd. that being said, i did boycott fallout 3 (and have stuck to it, i have no desire to ever play it). not because it looked different but because the gameplay had been fundamentally changed. i wanted a turn based rpg, not an fpsrpg

But that isn't a boycott. A boycott is not buying something to prove a point, you didn't buy it because you didn't like the looks of it. That is exactly what jim is talking about. "Boycotting" things for silly reasons.

um...no, not buying wind waker because its cell shaded is not buying it for the looks, not buying a game because it was an fps when you had been waiting for a turn based rpg, is not buying it because you dont like the gameplay. back when interplay was still developing fallout 3, it looked quite a bit different from fallout 1 and 2, but i was still excited to buy it. i felt betrayed when i read in interview by fallout 3 developers, saying they used halo as an influence. its the same as fans of xcom being mad that the sequel is being turned into an fps

magicmonkeybars:
My boycott of Valve until they release HL2 ep3 is still going strong thank you very much.

You sir I give props to for boycotting Valve, but your missing half the point. Yes they have said that Episode 3 is coming out and with nothing as much as a screen shot it is kind of irritating that they keep "making games" instead of focusing on their core game. What you be mad about is their business practices. Instead of building the game from the ground up they will buy the rights to a mod, recode itand put in new character models, and then sell it as their own game and people will defend it until the end because it has the Valve logo on it. And all these little side projects take up all their time instead of making the one game that they have actually made. Whats worse is that Valve refuses to say anything if the HL3 delay is cause by lack of funding, lack of man hours, Gabe has writers block, or even if they plan to release the game once the new Source engine comes out.

I'm pretty sure the hate for Jim is tied to his intro segment. >.>

Jim Sterling:
community's growing tendency to boycott, the tendency of others to dismiss consumer action

Here's the thing, I may boycott a game because of a business practice that I find abusive towards consumers ("Pass" schemes, Day 1 DLC, their games always launch broken only to be patched much later...if ever) but I may still rent the game. Does that still count as a boycott?

Or I might buy a game used: I plan on buying Mortal Kombat used because I don't like the idea of them taking out online play for those who (probably for financial reasons: that's why I used to usually) buy used, and when I want to play multiplayer for a game like that, I prefer it to be on the couch.

BTW - I also think that people have to stop over-using the word "entitlement."
I think that paying $60 for a game actually does "entitle" you to a complete (full length) game that works.

Muhahahah..... "Would only bought by neckbeards"

Thank you Jim, give it to the Fallout 1+2 Fanboys !!

Jim wins again!
Thanks for mentioning the Modern Warfare 2 boycott. I bought the game, thinking it'd fix the problems from World at War and the first Modern Warfare, only to be ultimately disappointed by a broken fucking game, and spineless bastards who have been "boycotting" it finding themselves all playing the damn game, and then went on to "boycott" Left 4 Dead 2.

the word and thing of boycott is in itself nonsensical
no one needs to "call out" a boycott
a boycott is only that a person won't do a thing
why would one have to rally people for that?
if people don't like a thing they don't do it... period
your boycott would reach people who weren't going to do it anyway...and people who don't care about your opinion will still not care

the only thing such a thing will do is to sway idiotic people with no own opinion or understanding of how to inform oneself
if i want to rally idiots for my cause i'd become a politician

Checking...yepp, still good this show. :)
Couldn't agree more about the theme in this episode. I'm not planning on buying MW3, but mainly because of their subscription model. But I wouldn't call it boycotting, as I feel I should be entitled to change my mind if the game just happens to be that damn good (Which, lets be honest, it wont).

Jim Sterling:
Snip

I do think the Diablo 3 boycott is justified.

Not because of the "it's to bight complaint" people are giving it, which just doesn't make any sense to me, but the in game store that is run by the players, uses REAL money (I.E. letting anybody buy power at the start of the game if they want it, and anybody could have their items not sold because somebody else made the price of their same item one cent cheaper), the lack of modability, the always on DRM even in single player, and the complete disregard for it's potential for Esports with the game's PvP on the part of Blizzard.

The only thing I would add is that I'm sick of people using the word boycott when they had no intention of buying the game at all. Example "I'm boycotting modern warfare 3, CoD sucks,m BF3 ALL THE WAY!!!1!"
Boycotting is wanting a good but choosing not to buy it because you have some moral dilemma with how it was produced or the company's practices. It isn't boycotting something when you don't like or want the game, and the escapist in particular seems to be notorious for using it in this fashion that in almost every other boycott thread I have to facepalm and point it out.

You sir, have raised a valid point in gaming. THIS is a good show. It was smart, snark, and well written. Thank you.

How about we start calling those kinds of histrionic outburst over minor issues something else like, say, FanBoycotts?
Let us all boycott Fanboycotts!

Jimothy Sterling:

intheweeds:

Genixma:
I honestly thought he was going to talk about people choosing sides and yelling for a Boycott of the Escapist for the leave of Extra Credits. Well I thank God of Jim to prove me wrong and bring me something good this monday. Awesome.

When i watched I heard the whole thing as a veiled speech about that. It may or may not be, but it is certainly relevant to that discussion. Notice how the most vocal Escapist BOYCOTT callers are still here signing in everyday just to continue posting about it.

It wasn't until the episode was finished that I realized the timing and worried people would think it was about that. I can only assure people it's not.

Also, thanks for the kind remarks. As much as I got off on the wrong foot with the community, I am glad that the show has become rather well received. <3

I think everyone (at least should) understand that these videos have more planning involved than can be done in such a short time frame. This couldn't possible have been done in regards to the EC fiasco. I knew it wasn't supposed to be about that, for the record. I'm pretty sure I only heard it that way because I'm sore about the people who feel the need to continue the argument on this site for this long, perhaps others are as well.

Regarding the opinions people have about your style: Please don't drop your style. I was actually disappointed there wasn't more of it in this one. I, for one, understand and really like the 'dictator' parody you have going on. It makes perfect sense to me when you put it against the many posts I have seen by viewers on this site about every video creators 'preachy' attitude, completely missing that they are opinion pieces. If they think all video creators are dictators telling them what to think, then give 'em what they want. It's your thing and I would hate to see it go. It's really too bad people seem to miss the point, but don't dumb it down just for them.

Boycott something that needs to be boycotted.

Like Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, or atleast get it preowned.

lol, has anyone seen the thread calling for a boycott, made today...

Another stunning rant from the internet's premier cool guy. And while I don't think Glen Beck is all that extreme at all in his arguments, I very much agree with Jim Sterling's stance on boycotts.

Other words that the internet has devalued to the point of being worth less than Austrian currency during the height of post-WWI hyper-inflation:
-Ironic
-Literally
-Any Racial Epitaphs

Plazmatic:
Im not going to read your response since this was not directed at you for you, or other wise anything to do with you. All I said was the reasons for the boycott which were legitimate. this was not an argument as this was not a matter of opinion.

So it's a matter of fact that the reasons for the L4D2 boycott were legitimate? Hardly.

From what I remember of the boycott, the major complaints were that their had been the promise of updates to the original game, and people assumed that this would interfere with that. This was by far the biggest complaint, and was also demonstrably wrong since L4D has seen updates since L4D2 was released.

According to Wikipedia, some people apparently complained about the characters and aesthetic in the original trailer that was shown, and that the game was going to be released about a year after the original. And while I would agree that not liking those may be a legitimate reason to not buy the game if you're a dick with an over developed sense of entitlement, it's not a legitimate reason to organize a boycott.

About the closest thing to a rational argument I've seen frankly was that releasing the sequel could fracture the community between the first and second games, but frankly, that would be the case with just about any sequel to a popular and widely played game.

So seriously, get over yourself. The boycott was at best some fans complaining about things that were either never an issue in the first place, or which could happen any time a company releases a sequel. I agree with Uber Waddles: you are wrong on this one. L4D2 made big improvements over the first, and saying it could have just been released as an update is silly.

As for the episode itself, I really liked it and have to agree that the videos seem to be improving. Well though out and well argued points on this one. I'm all for people voting with their wallet but agree that crying foul at every little thing and dismissing those who choose not to buy something outright tends to hurt the cause when legitimate boycott's arise.

Not G. Ivingname:

I do think the Diablo 3 boycott is justified.

Not because of the "it's to bight complaint" people are giving it, which just doesn't make any sense to me, but the in game store that is run by the players, uses REAL money (I.E. letting anybody buy power at the start of the game if they want it, and anybody could have their items not sold because somebody else made the price of their same item one cent cheaper), the lack of modability, the always on DRM even in single player, and the complete disregard for it's potential for Esports with the game's PvP on the part of Blizzard.

I don't think a full-blown boycott is justified in this case. Whoever is annoyed by any of this can simply not buy the game. To me most of the points made aren't very important:

1 - Real money AH: With D2 and WoW, Blizzard has fought a losing battle about gold sellers. Note that most gold sellers also sell power, i.e. "power leveling". Black-market gold selling is bad because it creates an incentive for account hacking, which happens a lot in WoW. With D3 Blizzard has taken the risky, but very worthwile road of regulating the market instead of trying to ban it.

2 - Mods: I don't recall ever hearing about or using a mod in either Diablo or D2. I don't think modding was very prominent in the Diablo series as it is in other series (like Starcraft for example). It's a somewhat valid complaint for some people, but something most players won't miss and won't even notice.

3 - Permanent internet connection requirement - This I think is a very valid complaint, but I don't think that it, by itself, warrants a boycott. Don't like the idea, don't buy it. I know some people who would like to play D3 may have problems because of their connection (however, I can't believe this is the case for most people; I live in a developing country and even here almost everyone has a stable internet connection at home).

4 - Esport: I don't think Blizzard has ever considered D3 as an esport game. I remember they specifically saying that PvP won't be balanced, because it's not that kind of game. It's a design decision, it's their call, so it's a very bad reason for thinking about boycotts.

Faux Furry:
How about we start calling those kinds of histrionic outburst over minor issues something else like, say, FanBoycotts?
Let us all boycott Fanboycotts!

I like this idea, it'd make it easier to point out when people are being foolish although I think it could easily add up like the word boycott, troll, hipster, and getting used anytime someone has a negative opinion.

xsoenx:
i am Boycotting EA because i canīt take there overpriced and massive packs of DLC, and the Online pass, and shutting down servers, and shutting down companies after 1 bland game.
and the way i do this is that i never pay for something they made directly. so i rent or buy used there games if i wanna try them and i donīt touch there DLC anymore unless it is free

First on the DLC. Activision set that trend in motion with MW. What? 3 maps for 1/4th the price of the game? If you bought that, you contributed to that problem. At least EA's DLC has content for the price.

Shutting down servers. They only do them for really, quite old games where the costs of keeping them running isn't worth it, as the player base is infinitesimally small.

Online Pass...oh geeze. I will never see this as a viable reason to boycott. Ever. Nobody has ever been able to explain it in an intelligent way, that makes sense. They all go that same, stupid bullshit used car analogy. Where they say it'd be like a used car having the brakes removed. No. Wrong. That'd be like removing your ability to use the left analog stick. It fundamentally ruins the product. Having extra features removed because you wanted to buy a cheaper product out of a combination of impatience and being miserly? I have no problem with that.

If you're buying a game used before it gets a price cut, what are you saving? $5-$10? So if you buy 6-12 games, you've saved enough to buy another one. And if you're buying that many games, you have the money for the new copy. So, no, there really is no argument for Online Pass being evil or out to get you.

I agree, but, as of yet, I have not found anything even remotely worth boycotting.

You made some good points, and its funny since currently I am boycotting a game. The game is rage. I also feel I have a good reason to boycott it too. They are cutting content out just because someone may buy it used. Devs should never cut content thats just not good on the community. Will I play Rage sure but when I do it will be used just so I can say, fuck you who ever cut the content out. But still enjoy the game. They need to find a better marketing way or else I'll keep doing that.

The reason the industry ignores the boycott's are because they happen all the time over every little detail thats released before a game is even out and they simply don't work most people don't follow through remember the MW2 boycott where a good 90% of those that signed a petition saying they wouldn't touch the game were still playing it, until a game tanks because it was boycotted I doubt the industry will pay much attention they seem far more open to reasoned discourse people complaining giving examples and asking why X was done. Your not doing anything noticeable by getting even a few thousand sales cut you'd need a good 10 or 20 k before people would really look into it. And from the industry side its understandable you can't cave to every angry post you can't let a vocal minority run the show and ruin the game for the rest of the audience so what do you do you ignore the crazies while trying to sort through it all and find real issues your audience has.

I do not like Always On DRM. I wont buy games with it... So far i haven't. If other people feel the same about this, they can join me in 'not buying it'. I'm not going to write letters. Or scream about it on the internet or cry "boycott!". I honestly think that this is the first time I've mentioned it online. Anyways. Game companies are more worried about my $ than they are about the noise i'm making. So i'll just let that do the talking. My hope that other people will do the same -- without having to organize a boycott -- is probably a little misguided. But hey, i'm optimistic.

He drops the golf ball, hits it with the club, nails it *perfectly*.

magicmonkeybars:
My boycott of Valve until they release HL2 ep3 is still going strong thank you very much.

Sorry to hear that. You're missing out on some really good games.

TheyTookOurJobs:
Has anyone made a joke about boycotting the Jimquisition yet? I hope not.

No. Not quite yet. Many people do however come watch the show, and say in the comments that they thought the show sucked and Jim is an ass. Then they say they will never come see the show again.
I haven't kept track, but I have a feeling they are not being so truthful.
If you see anyone say that kind of thing once, and then come back, I think we as part of the Escapist have the right to hound them for it.

I decided to give Jimquisition a second chance, after the first two left me distinctly unimpressed.

It's improved a lot.

I'm definitely tuning in from now on.

Monxerot:

pspman45:
I've been waiting all morning for this
thanks!
loved the opening btw

EDIT: I lol'd at the Deus Ex trailer footage, forgot to mention that

Morning o_O?
Its 21pm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_zone