Why Boycotting Video Games is a Joke... & You're Falling for It by Nate the Hate and Modern Vintage Gamer.

[It’s Time To Go]

View: https://youtu.be/Z0JhSC51zkI

The call for a boycott of a video game or a game developer/publisher has been commonplace in recent years; yet, most boycotts have been utilized for clout, subscription gains & financial well-being. Boycotting video games has turned into a joke & we aren't laughing.

Click to shrink...

Nate the Hate and MVG have what I thought was a great discussion on why gaming boycotts rarely tend to work and end up being a joke because people want to play a game they like more than keep up a boycott long term, for example.

 

[GamerJM]

Haven't watched the video yet, but it's one of the only things we as consumers can even do. I know that for megacorps the effect to the bottom line is going to not be noticeable, but the idea that you can't and shouldn't vote with your wallet is just demoralizing. We can't do anything else, we might as well use what power we do have.

 

[Hollywood Duo]

It only really works if everyone does it which very very rarely happens

 

[Clay]

Haven't watched the video yet, but it's one of the only things we as consumers can even do. I know that for megacorps the effect to the bottom line is going to not be noticeable, but the idea that you can't and shouldn't vote with your wallet is just demoralizing. We can't do anything else, we might as well use what power we do have.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I'm not going to watch an hour-long video to see exactly what this person's point is, but if you don't like something a product is doing it, boycotting is a way to communicate that. Period.

From the summary in the OP, it sounds like the idea is "Some people make social media content promoting boycotts, and since they profit off them we shouldn't boycott anything." That's absurd.

Also, ridiculous to call other people out for profiting off causes in an hour-long video. There's no possible way whatever point they're making couldn't be communicated in a fraction of the time.

 

[Deleted member 10001]

I enjoyed this episode. Some good arguments from both Nate and MVG.

 

[Kouriozan]

I wasn't aware about a boycott campaign for Pokémon S/V, unless they're talking about the previous game, I'm just at the beginning of the video but will watch the whole thing.

 

[j7vikes]

Haven't watched the video yet, but it's one of the only things we as consumers can even do. I know that for megacorps the effect to the bottom line is going to not be noticeable, but the idea that you can't and shouldn't vote with your wallet is just demoralizing. We can't do anything else, we might as well use what power we do have.

Click to shrink...

Boycotts historically are one of the few things that consumers can do that will lead to change from companies. The effect may be small to the bottom line but that does not mean the effect doesn't matter.

Cyberpunk sold a shit ton despite many on here (like me) choosing not to support it. That doesn't mean companies won't change. Maybe next time they say well we did amazing but we could have done even better without the transphobic shit so let's leave it out in the new game.

That's progress and boycotts are our best chance. Deciding to support something that's awful just because so many other people are doing it already is pointless and will have the opposite effect of what we want.

Even if I was the only person in the entire world not buying that game because of what it had in it I would still do it.

 

[Teh_Lurv]

I'm reminded of that screenshot of the Modern Warfare Boycott group page with nearly all the members listed as currently playing Modern Warfare.

 

[alr1ght]

OBEY

 

[Pendas]

Boycott_Modern_Warfare_2_Steam_Meme.jpeg

 

[Morrigan]

I'm reminded of that screenshot of the Modern Warfare Boycott group page with nearly all the members listed as currently playing Modern Warfare.

Click to shrink...

Boycott_Modern_Warfare_2_Steam_Meme.jpeg

Click to shrink...

That screenshot was debunked years ago

 

[TheDarkKnight]

I'm reminded of that screenshot of the Modern Warfare Boycott group page with nearly all the members listed as currently playing Modern Warfare.

Click to shrink...

The most misunderstood image ever

 

[Volimar]

I'm reminded of that screenshot of the Modern Warfare Boycott group page with nearly all the members listed as currently playing Modern Warfare.

Click to shrink...

And whenever people posted it it really pissed people off because it kind of mischaracterized what was happening but my God the furor some posters would unleash if someone posted it. Calm down folks.

 

[Jade1962]

Boycotts rarely work in video games because most people aren't boycotting out of principle and merely going with the flow of anger. There's also a lack of consistency on when a practice is ok often depending on whether you like a company before hand.

Ultimately most of these boycotts are for trivial things as is, which most people would over look if not caught up in the internet outrage machine.

 

[loco]

Saw this the other day and it reminded me of the Cyberpunk boycott doing nothing really despite all of the negative reviews. I think the Harry Potter game boycott will fail too for the same reasons. People are just gonna buy it.

 

[AlgusUnderdunk]

I've had the problem where I try to boycott a particular person, but then realize I do want to support a studio. Sort of like Scott Cawthon and Steel Wool Studios.

 

[Kainazzo]

I'm reminded of that screenshot of the Modern Warfare Boycott group page with nearly all the members listed as currently playing Modern Warfare.

Click to shrink...

Boycott_Modern_Warfare_2_Steam_Meme.jpeg

Click to shrink...

For anyone else as well, Steam prioritized showing players who were in-game over players who weren't, and there were enough players in that group at the time playing MW2 to fill up that first page. What you don't see in that image are the pages and pages of players not playing it.

Only a minority of people in that group played MW2, but Steam pushed them all to the front page and inflated the perception. It persists all these years later because nobody ever digs deeper for context.

Edit: The Left 4 Dead 2 boycott was erroneously perceived the same way, though over time that boycott really did fizzle out.

 

[Musubi]

I find it hilarious that people still get so bent out of shape over that MW2 screenshot.

 

[teruterubozu]

Unfortunately we tend to think the Activision thing was a big story, but unless you, say, read Kotaku regularly then you probably have little to no info about it at all. Most people couldn't even tell you who makes Call of Duty.

 

[TaySan]

It's one of the only things we as consumers can do, but it rarely works unless everyone is doing it.

 

[Kyuuji]

What often irritates me is the amount of people that purposefully conflate some mass call to boycott, with people not buying a game out of their own principles and spreading awareness of its issues.

 

[Finiri6143]

I wasn't aware about a boycott campaign for Pokémon S/V, unless they're talking about the previous game, I'm just at the beginning of the video but will watch the whole thing.

Click to shrink...

That's what I want to know.

 

[Renna Hazel]

Boycotts are one of the few tools we have but I do agree that most of the time in gaming, it's done for clout and people are being super fake.

Obviously the Bayonetta thing comes to mind where everyone was pretending they were boycotting the game to be pro-worker and push for higher voice actor pay. When it turned out that the actress was in fact offered well above the industry standard, I didn't see that energy redirected to boycott other games for having such a low standard of pay. You can't boycott one game for something that impacts the entire industry. Ultimately though, I was well aware that it was never actually about paying voice actors and mostly about people trying to show off.

 

[asmith906]

Saw this the other day and it reminded me of the Cyberpunk boycott doing nothing really despite all of the negative reviews. I think the Harry Potter game boycott will fail too for the same reasons. People are just gonna buy it.

Click to shrink...

I don't remember there being a big call to boycott Cyberpunk. Most of the outrage came because people realized the game was busted on consoles. The rightly deserved the backlash they got from it and it did force them to spend a considerable amount of time fixing it. Despite the game selling a lot it did hurt their reputation.

 

[Rosebud]

What often irritates me is the amount of people that purposefully conflate some mass call to boycott, with people not buying a game out of their own principles and spreading awareness of its issues.

Click to shrink...

^^^

 

[Windu]

yeah I've found its not really worth doing. But to each their own.

 

[xyla]

What often irritates me is the amount of people that purposefully conflate some mass call to boycott, with people not buying a game out of their own principles and spreading awareness of its issues.

Click to shrink...

This right here, I got my own line in the sand that multiple publishers have crossed by now. Has nothing to do with a mass boycott, I'm just voting with my money.

 

[RedHeat]

When was the last time a boycott has worked? Be that as it may, I do agree that boycotting videogames is ultimately pointless but there's nothing wrong about speaking up if a particular dev or publisher does something scummy though.

 

[Rosebud]

When was the last time a boycott has worked? Be that as it may, I do agree that boycotting videogames is ultimately pointless but there's nothing wrong about speaking up if a particular dev or publisher does something scummy though.

Click to shrink...

PC gamers boycotting EGS worked

 

[Bionic]

PC gamers boycotting EGS worked

Click to shrink...

How so? Did Epic shut down anything or change its plans for EGS at all?

 

[Rosebud]

How so? Did Epic shut down anything or change its plans for EGS at all?

Click to shrink...

Their official numbers are bad and the exclusives are very rare. Ubisoft is coming back to Steam too after a period of EGS exclusivity

 

[Mikch85]

I think Mat Picastella tweeted during the TLOU2 "controversy" that everytime there's calls for a boycott, a series breaks its record sales...

The only sort of example that could work would be Battlefield V I guess. But that's more on EA for expecting too much from its fanbase ("oh God, a woman in my Battlefield! :'( ")

 

[heathen earth]

This just seems like a roundabout way of justifying buying games with hateful content and/or made by hateful people. Yeah, just go on and buy the bigot wizard game. We know you don't care.

 

[Starlatine]

Boycotts have very little effectiveness most of the time, true
But you know whats actually pointless? Shutting up about an issue and buying the product you have a problem with. Not only youre not helping changing anything, youre actually reinforcing the thing you dont like.

 

[weeman2412]

PC gamers boycotting EGS worked

Click to shrink...

Boycotting EGS for Steam is like boycotting KIA when you already drive a Toyota. It's very easy to "boycott" when you are already using a superior product.

 

[Merc_]

I like that they put Pokemon in the thumbnail since the outcry over Sword and Shield remains one of the best examples of how hard a internet boycott can fail.

 

[CrazyIvan1978]

Ehh, look, if I boycott a game, at least I get the satisfaction of not giving some asshole money. I will gladly "fall for it." Not experiencing some asshole's creation is not going to somehow "hurt" me, so whatever. I can't control what other people do, so, whether the boycott succeeds or not is irrelevant to me.

 

[Starsunder]

Boycotting EGS for Steam is like boycotting KIA when you already drive a Toyota. It's very easy to "boycott" when you are already using a superior product.

Click to shrink...

Yep

 

[vixolus]

Ehh, look, if I boycott a game, at least I get the satisfaction of not giving some asshole money. I will gladly "fall for it." Not experiencing some asshole's creation is not going to somehow "hurt" me, so whatever. I can't control what other people do, so, whether the boycott succeeds or not is irrelevant to me.

Click to shrink...

Which is pretty much their point, listening to it. "You not buying a game may not change the world, but it can change your world" is what Nate says. Not supporting something is a personal decision and unless you have a huge platform (like T Swift boycotting Spotify) it's not going to influence decisions. But it's in everyone's right to speak out even if they're just an individual.

Seems their biggest issue is with influencers or people knee jerking and calling for boycotts like with bayonetta at first but then not realizing they were wrong at first or someone speaking out against Activision but then playing mw2 because both speaking out and streaming or reviewing cod is profitable at the time to drive engagement.

Not saying i agree with them on all counts but that's the gist.

 

[Iron Eddie]

Fun fact, people will play games for enjoyment and most are unaware of any boycotts.

PC gamers boycotting EGS worked

Click to shrink...

Boycott is likely not the main reason but rather people will play where they are most comfortable/ familiar with. I tend to believe most people, even on Steam, are casual gamers. EGS got people to download free games but why would anyone switch unless they had to? You do this by exclusive content and eventually people will be forced to switch if they want to play the games.

 

[Pargon]

Is an 'organized' boycott likely to fail? Yeah, probably.
But that doesn't mean you should just abandon your principles and buy/support problematic games/media because "it won't matter."

That kind of apathy towards trying to make a change is how nothing gets done.
The success rate may be low, but it's not zero, and I sleep better knowing that I'm not giving my money to support some transphobic or otherwise problematic creators/companies.

EDIT: Image removed.

 

[bitcloudrzr]

Cyberpunk sold a shit ton despite many on here (like me) choosing not to support it. That doesn't mean companies won't change. Maybe next time they say well we did amazing but we could have done even better without the transphobic shit so let's leave it out in the new game.

Click to shrink...

CP2077 also fell off a cliff in sales after launch period and holidays.

 

[Lobster Roll]

Here's a great reason for boycotting a game: personal principles. Boycotts don't have to "work" and if somebody wants to boycott a game because they view it as problematic, that's about the beginning & end as to why somebody needs to justify their boycott.

 

[IMCaprica]

This probably isn't super helpful to the discussion, but I just don't buy games that would make me feel gross for owning. Do I wish boycotts would be successful to make bad things go away in the future? Sure. But it costs me nothing in terms of both money and emotional investment to just move on and forget about a game. I mean this sincerely: it's amazing how much your mental/emotional well-being improves when you just walk away from a toxic piece of entertainment.

 

[Musubi]

Here's a great reason for boycotting a game: personal principles. Boycotts don't have to "work" and if somebody wants to boycott a game because they view it as problematic, that's about the beginning & end as to why somebody needs to justify their boycott.

Click to shrink...

I have zero problems with whatever anyone wants to do for personal reasons. I do think it's shitty though when people start judging others over the media they want to consume just because they have decided to boycott a thing and someone else didn't.

 

[julia crawford]

honestly I'm really just gonna stop watching these things unless there is some text introduction or conclusion that goes over the arguments and what to take from the video

Anyway, i don't really boycott games I just don't buy games I don't want to buy 🤷 and I don't want to buy games that are sexist of transphobic

 

[Lobster Roll]

I have zero problems with whatever anyone wants to do for personal reasons. I do think it's shitty though when people start judging others over the media they want to consume just because they have decided to boycott a thing and someone else didn't.

Click to shrink...

Don't really agree or disagree with this. If somebody buys the next Harry Potter game or if they presently play Cyberpunk or whatever, they are knowingly playing something that others might take issue with them playing it. That's part of the deal of consuming media from problematic sources.

 

[Wil Grieve]

honestly I'm really just gonna stop watching these things unless there is some text introduction or conclusion that goes over the arguments and what to take from the video

Anyway, i don't really boycott games I just don't buy games I don't want to buy 🤷 and I don't want to buy games that are sexist of transphobic

Click to shrink...

IMO the Internet took a huge dive in quality when video took over as a format. There is absolutely no reason I need to watch a 10 minute video to learn two lines of information.

 

[TheEchosOfTheCyborg]

Yeah no, I remember when years back when the Activision Blizzard horror stories were new and fresh and their was a news story about the abuse trans employees were getting in the company. Several trans Users (including myself and still do) decided to boycott their games because of it and were repeatedly told off for doing so for "hurting the employees" and "People will buy it anyway!".

And? People don't buy games for many different reasons all the time, why is it suddenly absolute that I'm in the wrong for not buying a game for personal reasons and not the MANY number of reasons someone doesn't buy a game like reviews, money, technical issues, a genre they don't like etc?

We saw the same with Hogwarts Legacy and so many other reasons including this very thread. As a trans person, I will not support any devs known to be actively transphobic until actual and proven change has happened (and I don't mean some fluff piece PR statement that is likely a lie, I mean from the devs themselves) and in Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft's case, yeah no, the vile stuff we've heard from them is too much. And no way in hell am I touch anyway that gives J.K. Rowling ANY money (and given what've heard about that game, no way would I be touching that game anyway).

Have a problem with that? Shame me? Mock me because "boycotts don't work!"? Go right ahead, I will not and won't support transphobia, we have lines and that's a line I will not cross. A boycott is a personal thing, our principles are one of the few things we can truly own ourselves that capitalism cannot take from us and I will not be told by some YouTubers that I should throw those away because they think their silly.

 

[Weiss]

What often irritates me is the amount of people that purposefully conflate some mass call to boycott, with people not buying a game out of their own principles and spreading awareness of its issues.

Click to shrink...

Yeah that.

I don't want to buy Wizards from TERF Island because I'm a sensible person. Ideally lots of people also don't buy it so TERFs vs. the Underclass wouldn't exist in any capacity.

"The game is going to sell anyway" is just a way to acknowledge the problem but still get to play the cool TERF game with a clean conscious, as if "engaging with troublesome (to put it lightly) art" is a thing that's too deep to ponder.