(rant START)
I feel if you're gonna protest, you gotta do it all the way or not at all to drive the message home. The most famous people who fought for change all risked something, or otherwise inconvenienced themselves to prove they're serious about going without whatever they were protesting. I don't mean to equate online pass boycott with civil rights movements, but those successful revolutions? Hell, most if not all successful revolutions, big and small? Won by complete commitment.
I often feel that, if you show me someone who says "I don't support DRM/Online passes and I'll boycott this game to prove it," I'll turn around and show you a fake who's gonna buy it Used cause he couldn't go without to prove he's serious. All that shows is that no matter what you say, they have your number. You're gonna eventually cave because hey, if you loved Amalur 1, you're gonna wanna get Amalur 2 ASAP, DRM be damned. I don't imply here that Used gaming is the devil and should be done away with, but it's common knowledge that Used games = not a dime for the devs, and it truly only works in their favor when it leads to New sales for future titles in the long run. What happens to the support the devs who worked hard for the game you love deserve when you don't buy any of their games New just because their publishers suck?
If you're gonna buy Used, and your sole reason is to boycott, then instead of showing they still have you by the gonads while NOT supporting the devs, show that you're serious by inconveniencing yourself and truly sending out the message that you care more about yourself as a consumer than you do about having sex with aliens.
TL; DR:
You buy used, no one gets a dime. Not the greedy publishers, not the hardworking devs who may not have had anything to do with the decision. While you get to have a nice gaming experience all the same? That's never sat right with me, in terms of protest.
Ever since SOPA just about every word that comes out of everyone's mouth is akin to a Muse or Rage Against The Machine song, but I feel like I've yet to see some smoke to go with that fire in everyone's belly. Just a bunch of people who ultimately still care more about fucking blue aliens in deep space and killing kobolds or whatever than about truly sending a message.
(end rant)
So I guess to answer the OP: No. It never affected me that much. I dislike the practice, but I wanna play fun videogames at the end of the day, not protest every small thing every day, or else I'd be living naked in a cave.
Also, there's no point in me doing anything, since I already *very, VERY rarely* buy games from people who practice it, so it's something I don't even have to think about 99% of the time. I'm talking, grand total, I bought Arkham City brand new and that is it, so far. Unless the Cerberus Network and the Shale DLC for ME2 and DA1 respectively counts, too. Then up the count to 3. None of the Ubisoft games I have require a code or a connection either.
I honestly do most of my gaming from third parties.
