Why the Skyrim boycott is a waste of time and missing enjoyment.

[Epona]

Um, Zenimax owns Bethesda.

If you boycotted Wal Mart, would you be ok with people saying "what about those poor clerks that you aren't giving money to"?

But boycotting Bethesda is not boycotting Zenimax. Following your analogy, boycotting Bethesda is boycotting the makeup counter at Walmart and continuing to shop in the rest of the store. None of these idiotic posts say "I am boycotting Zenimax", they all say "I am boycotting Skyrim". As if Skyrim as an entity is responsible for a lawsuit launched against Mojang.

Furthermore, I'm willing to bet precious few people involved in the "boycott" have even the slightest understanding of copyright law, or the nature of the lawsuit beyond some press clippings they read on the internet. So they're boycotting from a position of ignorance, in addition to boycotting the wrong entity.

So forget for a moment that boycotting a video game to protest the ill treatment of another video game is ludicrous from the perspective of sound ethical priorities, almost no one involved has any real idea of what they're doing, who they're doing it to, or why. They just read an article and turned into keyboard warriors. Slacktivism in action.

I am going to type this really big for you:

IN ORDER TO AVOID GIVING MONEY TO ZENIMAX, PEOPLE ARE BOYCOTTING SKYRIM. IF PEOPLE BUY SKYRIM THEN THEY ARE GIVING MONEY TO ZENIMAX.

You know why gamer boycotts don't work? It's because of idiotic arguments like: "Why punish the poor devs at Bethesda for something their mother company is doing?"

People don't need to be lawyers to participate in a boycott.

 

[Epona]

Let them boycott if they want. If they feel it's a legitimate reason, there's no point in stopping them.

Boycotting boycotts gets us nowhere.

Exactly and it shows that gamers do have limits. That we aren't just druggies who will do/ignore anything for our next fix. That's what some gamers sound like to me, "I don't care about anything but getting my hands on ".

honestly, that's pretty much me. why should i care? i'm a consumer. i want quality product. i'm not a druggie. i'm just someone who at the end of the day wants the game that appeals to me most.

if minecraft doesn't survive this legal battle (i really don't understand how, it's no longer some little game- it's generated millions of dollars) it's simply natural selection in my eyes. if it survives (which it obviously will, i mean c'mon) well... then everything's back to normal then, isn't it?

the boycott can only hurt, and that's why i don't see the point of it.

That's the point of a boycott, to hurt sales, how can you miss the point of a boycott?

no. boycotts are to accomplish something good. in 1955 people boycotted buses in order to put an end to racial segregation. whats this for? to show bethesda that a small portion of their fanbase gets pissy whenever they do something the fanbase deems incorrect? what does this accomplish other than hurting people who put four years into making an awesome game?

it just comes off as childish to me. i dunno.

Oh, so your opinion is that boycotts should never be used for anything smaller than stopping racial segregation? Whatever.

Boycotts are a consumer tool to affect change and they do so by hurting sales of a product or a series of products.

i used racial segregation as an example.

we've explained that we want to hurt sales- why?

'cause we're mad? what does this change? nothing.

It's the consumers way of telling a company they don't approve of something. You can say "I don't approve of this Bethesda" but if you go out and buy Skyrim they won't care. It only matters when you speak with your wallet (ie, boycott).

Um, your boycotting zenimax technically in fact I don't think I've seen many gamer boycotts against actually developers.

Um, Zenimax owns Bethesda.

If you boycotted Wal Mart, would you be ok with people saying "what about those poor clerks that you aren't giving money to"?

It's worth separating one's reputation for the other, Bethesda is still a pseudo independent entity. If Bethesda leaves Zenimax any smear their reputation has carries along with them unlike a Wal-mart employee.

They haven't left Zenimax so buy paying Bethesda, you are paying Zenimax. Simple.

But if your boycott Bethesda for Zenimax's actions your taring Bethesda's name for something they had no control over even if they end their connection to zenimax their still going to be connected to it likely instead of Zenimax. Blame to whom it is due.

Do you not see that they are the same damn company? Zenimax OWNS Bethesda and this case is about a Bethesda IP but you're trying to tell us that Bethesda isn't really involved.

 

[No_Remainders]

Bethesda aren't bad people, their legal team are just being assholes who won't do the Quake 3 match.

Their legal team never played Quake 3, they'd be at a disadvantage. See, I'm always looking out for the litte guy. Don't blame me for my pure brilliance and handsome good looks, God gave me those gifts and many more.

He challenged all of Bethesda though, didn't he? Not just the legal team?
And Bethesda is a lot bigger than Mojang, there'd definitely be more Quake players there than in Mojang.

 

[lokiduck]

I'm not buying Skyrim because I don't buy videos games or have a console.

A it doesn't appeal to me

b. I like my money.

c. Manga is my money stealing crack thank you.

d. I want to buy some video games one day but only when I can afford the games and consoles and all the other stuff needed.

e. I have a mac so really computer version isn't an option usually.


HOWEVER. I do have Minecraft... Why? Because I tried out the free version and 21 bucks sounded awesome to me for it. Sure right now I can't play 1.8 because macs have the wrong graphic card, but it's the one game I have actually purchased and liked a LOT (I tried sims back in the day but hated it)

So really. Yeah I'm not buy Skyrim, but because I have no reason to, and if I do it will most likely be used because I'm a cheapskate.

In fact heres an idea. If your pissed at Bethesda, buy the game USED play the game and teach them a lesson you have to insist on doing so

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I am going to type this really big for you:

IN ORDER TO AVOID GIVING MONEY TO ZENIMAX, PEOPLE ARE BOYCOTTING SKYRIM. IF PEOPLE BUY SKYRIM THEN THEY ARE GIVING MONEY TO ZENIMAX.

You know why gamer boycotts don't work? It's because of idiotic arguments like: "Why punish the poor devs at Bethesda for something their mother company is doing?"

People don't need to be lawyers to participate in a boycott.

You didn't need to type that big to convince me you didn't understand what I wrote.

Let's jump in my wayback machine, where you can look at my first post in this thread and see I have no issue with people not buying Skyrim if they want to express displeasure with Zenimax. See? Good! Let's move along!

People making THREADS and trying to organize BOYCOTTS and patting themselves on the BACK for specifically not buying Skyrim are being absurdly specific with their consumer angst. Skyrim is not the culprit here. Again, do you boycott Walmart by storming into a thread and saying "I AM BOYCOTTING FRANK FROM WALMART!"

Finally, no, people do not need to be lawyers to participate in boycotts. They should, however, at least be moderately educated on the subject of their boycott. Are they boycotting Skyrim because of flaws with Skyrim? No, they are not. They are boycotting Skyrim because of some tangentially related lawsuit launched by the parent company of Bethesda. Do you think if you're going to boycott a lawsuit you should at least have a reasonable understanding of the lawsuit in question, and/or copyright law in particular? I think you should. Perhaps I'm just not a champion of making a big hue and cry from a position of UTTER IGNORANCE.

PS - Read through this thread. Read through any of the "SKYRIM BOYCOTT OMG MOJANGZ!" threads. Read all the people sighing and saying "Bethesda fucks it up again!" or "Those greedy bastards at Bethesda!". People do not get it. You are applauding the tantrum of a pack of frightened apes. When people undertake logical, informed, intelligent consumer action...by all means, get up on your soapbox to support them. This, by all the evidence we have available to us, is anything but.

 

[pwnzerstick]

How long do you think its gonna take for the people boycotting skyrim to start playing the game after launch? I give it 2 to three days at most.

 

[esperandote]

Really, seems like two sides of the same coin to me.

Alright, you've won me over. OP, you're being silly. Go do something constructive with your day.

Like, constructing something in a mine universe in a crafty way?

 

[Normandyfoxtrot]

Let them boycott if they want. If they feel it's a legitimate reason, there's no point in stopping them.

Boycotting boycotts gets us nowhere.

Exactly and it shows that gamers do have limits. That we aren't just druggies who will do/ignore anything for our next fix. That's what some gamers sound like to me, "I don't care about anything but getting my hands on ".

honestly, that's pretty much me. why should i care? i'm a consumer. i want quality product. i'm not a druggie. i'm just someone who at the end of the day wants the game that appeals to me most.

if minecraft doesn't survive this legal battle (i really don't understand how, it's no longer some little game- it's generated millions of dollars) it's simply natural selection in my eyes. if it survives (which it obviously will, i mean c'mon) well... then everything's back to normal then, isn't it?

the boycott can only hurt, and that's why i don't see the point of it.

That's the point of a boycott, to hurt sales, how can you miss the point of a boycott?

no. boycotts are to accomplish something good. in 1955 people boycotted buses in order to put an end to racial segregation. whats this for? to show bethesda that a small portion of their fanbase gets pissy whenever they do something the fanbase deems incorrect? what does this accomplish other than hurting people who put four years into making an awesome game?

it just comes off as childish to me. i dunno.

Oh, so your opinion is that boycotts should never be used for anything smaller than stopping racial segregation? Whatever.

Boycotts are a consumer tool to affect change and they do so by hurting sales of a product or a series of products.

i used racial segregation as an example.

we've explained that we want to hurt sales- why?

'cause we're mad? what does this change? nothing.

It's the consumers way of telling a company they don't approve of something. You can say "I don't approve of this Bethesda" but if you go out and buy Skyrim they won't care. It only matters when you speak with your wallet (ie, boycott).

Um, your boycotting zenimax technically in fact I don't think I've seen many gamer boycotts against actually developers.

Um, Zenimax owns Bethesda.

If you boycotted Wal Mart, would you be ok with people saying "what about those poor clerks that you aren't giving money to"?

It's worth separating one's reputation for the other, Bethesda is still a pseudo independent entity. If Bethesda leaves Zenimax any smear their reputation has carries along with them unlike a Wal-mart employee.

They haven't left Zenimax so buy paying Bethesda, you are paying Zenimax. Simple.

But if your boycott Bethesda for Zenimax's actions your taring Bethesda's name for something they had no control over even if they end their connection to zenimax their still going to be connected to it likely instead of Zenimax. Blame to whom it is due.

Do you not see that they are the same damn company? Zenimax OWNS Bethesda and this case is about a Bethesda IP but you're trying to tell us that Bethesda isn't really involved.

Ultimately yes, I'm assuming Bethesda like the vast majority of developers still exist in that shady half realm between being a sub-division and a contracted company.

 

[thublihnk]

"They have the right to sue"

Yes. Everyone has the right to sue.

Everyone also has the right to boycott. I, personally, was never going to buy Skyrim because I couldn't give less of a fuck about it. But I strongly support activists trying to make their voices heard, and I don't support bullies and trademark-hounds.

So keep up the good fight, boycotters!

(EDIT: I cannot fucking believe how many of you people are actually on Zenimax's side on the actual lawsuit. It's a frivolous lawsuit on shaky grounds that is going to be tossed out, even in the ridiculous intellectual property legal system we have now)

 

[Ragsnstitches]

Can people at least try to see the issue from both sides before making ridiculous decisions?

Notch is not innocent in this... He knows exactly what he wants and is playing dumb and pulling the sympathy card from his loyal little fanatics.

Zenimax are not in the wrong to pursue this lawsuit, especially when Notches compromise is almost insulting.

Zenimax SHOULD NOT, bend over and let themselves be fucked by Notch, just because a few clueless fans put on their rage face and Q_Q to sleep at night. If they did, then I would boycott Zenimax myself for being fucking retarded with handling an extremely profitable product.

Those of you who think this trademark dispute is just gown men bickering over a word, tend to gloss over the currently accepted legal system AND HOW IT CAN ROYALLY FUCK YOU IF YOU IGNORE "POTENTIAL" THREATS TO YOUR IP.

By all means, Boycott the game... but christ above, at least wipe your mouth off first as I can still see notches pubes clinging to your skin.

 

[Bakuryukun]

Boycotting is easy. Wait until the game is a decent price used. Developer doesn't get any money, you get to play the game, and save money.

I think that Notch is in the right here, Bethesda is overreacting to the situation greatly...it would be like if Blizzard sued him for the name "Minecraft" because they think that anything that ends in the word "Craft" all belong to them.

Unless Bethesda can PROVE that it holds the rights to the words "Elder" and "Scroll" individually (which I sincerely doubt) I think Notch will do fine.

 

[Epona]

I am going to type this really big for you:

IN ORDER TO AVOID GIVING MONEY TO ZENIMAX, PEOPLE ARE BOYCOTTING SKYRIM. IF PEOPLE BUY SKYRIM THEN THEY ARE GIVING MONEY TO ZENIMAX.

You know why gamer boycotts don't work? It's because of idiotic arguments like: "Why punish the poor devs at Bethesda for something their mother company is doing?"

People don't need to be lawyers to participate in a boycott.

You didn't need to type that big to convince me you didn't understand what I wrote.

Let's jump in my wayback machine, where you can look at my first post in this thread and see I have no issue with people not buying Skyrim if they want to express displeasure with Zenimax. See? Good! Let's move along!

People making THREADS and trying to organize BOYCOTTS and patting themselves on the BACK for specifically not buying Skyrim are being absurdly specific with their consumer angst. Skyrim is not the culprit here. Again, do you boycott Walmart by storming into a thread and saying "I AM BOYCOTTING FRANK FROM WALMART!"

Finally, no, people do not need to be lawyers to participate in boycotts. They should, however, at least be moderately educated on the subject of their boycott. Are they boycotting Skyrim because of flaws with Skyrim? No, they are not. They are boycotting Skyrim because of some tangentially related lawsuit launched by the parent company of Bethesda. Do you think if you're going to boycott a lawsuit you should at least have a reasonable understanding of the lawsuit in question, and/or copyright law in particular? I think you should. Perhaps I'm just not a champion of making a big hue and cry from a position of UTTER IGNORANCE.

PS - Read through this thread. Read through any of the "SKYRIM BOYCOTT OMG MOJANGZ!" threads. Read all the people sighing and saying "Bethesda fucks it up again!" or "Those greedy bastards at Bethesda!". People do not get it. You are applauding the tantrum of a pack of frightened apes. When people undertake logical, informed, intelligent consumer action...by all means, get up on your soapbox to support them. This, by all the evidence we have available to us, is anything but.

I get it and I already responded that people don't need to be lawyers to boycott a product. You think people should completely understand everything that is going on in order to boycott. I do not agree!

Think about what you are saying "You must buy the game because you do not understand all the legal BS".

 

[Epona]

Can people at least try to see the issue from both sides before making ridiculous decisions?

Notch is not innocent in this... He knows exactly what he wants and is playing dumb and pulling the sympathy card from his loyal little fanatics.

Zenimax are not in the wrong to pursue this lawsuit, especially when Notches compromise is almost insulting.

Zenimax SHOULD NOT, bend over and let themselves be fucked by Notch, just because a few clueless fans put on their rage face and Q_Q to sleep at night. If they did, then I would boycott Zenimax myself for being fucking retarded with handling an extremely profitable product.

Those of you who think this trademark dispute is just gown men bickering over a word, tend to gloss over the currently accepted legal system AND HOW IT CAN ROYALLY FUCK YOU IF YOU IGNORE "POTENTIAL" THREATS TO YOUR IP.

By all means, Boycott the game... but christ above, at least wipe your mouth off first as I can still see notches pubes clinging to your skin.

When you open a post with:

Can people at least try to see the issue from both sides before making ridiculous decisions?

You should cover both sides.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Yes. I realized which part of the post you were answering to now, nice lack of editing. Anyway, I answered above.

As did I, either way stop being so rude, I know you think it makes you look awesome or smart or a bad ass or whatever your aiming for but honestly It just makes you look juvenile.

I am not being rude, I am telling you that you sounds desperate. Are you afraid the boycott is going to kill Skyrim's sales? You say it's a waste of time so you clearly think the boycott won't kill Skyrim's sales in which case, why make a thread about it?

It's juvenile to try and convince others that their buying decisions should be the same as yours. You want to buy Skyrim, then do so but don't tell others that their decision not to buy Skyrim is a waste.

Just so you know, I am not boycotting Skyrim but I still respect those that are because I respect people who take a stand against an increasingly greedy and abusive industry. I don't respect people who try to guilt trip others into buying something.

I don't care if someone doesn't buy Skyrim because they honestly hate it or whatever but not buying it because its makers BOSSES believe that someone should be sued (when they should) is being stupid.

It is a waste a time because everyone gets hurt in the end, but find where I say that it wont hurt Skyrim's sales? Because it will and its a legitimate concern.

So you think it will hurt Skyrim's sales? Well, then it isn't a waste of time since that's the point of a boycott.

I don't think it will hurt Skyrim's sales but even if it does, I support consumers standing their ground.

Except they won't. I guarantee you, a good portion of that boycott will buy Skyrim and this Boycott will end up like every other major boycott in the last 3 years. Even if the Boycott has a legitimate excuse (See the Modern Warfare 2 boycott) it means nothing if the boycotters are willing to make the sacrifice and as much as I hate to admit it, we gamers find it really to do that.

Fact: The reason why video game boycotts are considered a joke in today's world is because no one is willing to stick to it.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Actually I think the most correct statement is: This is a waste of time because both parties neither know nor care who you are nor can your actions affect the outcome in any significant way. There neither side can accuse that of fanboyisum since it tells both sides off. Now go do something useful in the real world people.

 

[TheTurtleMan]

No, the Skyrim boycott is a waste of time because ALL video game boycotts are a waste of time. Name one successful boycott in the past and I'll name ten others that didn't succeed. All you are doing by boycotting a game is taking away entertainment from yourself, you aren't sticking it to the man or making the game companies take a long hard look in the mirror. That's of course assuming that half the people that say they're boycotting games actually boycott the games and don't just wait a week until they buy it.

I really wish that game companies wouldn't release information like Zenimax suing Mojang out to the public because it is strictly business. This isn't the big kid bullying the wimpy kid, it's an actual legal situation being worked out by two companies. Also, have people ever stopped to think that it isn't the game developers who are doing the suing? The actual people selling the game probably have nothing to do with these situations, it's just the asshole lawyer squads duking it out.

You know the trends in video gaming that are becoming really annoying. All those online passes and DRMs that screw you. Well your attitude is to blame. "No one boycott because it wont work" translates to "do what you want to us, we wont react" in publisher speak.

What does this or almost any other boycott have to do with DRM and online passes? I'm not saying that boycotts should be avoided because they are ineffective, I'm saying they're stupid because it's usually for dumb reasons. Even if there was an issue about drm or online passes, that's your fault for knowingly purchasing the game. You have a choice in what games you buy because like a lot of things in life, they are luxeries, not things that you have to pay for like taxes.

If there is some great injustice being done to customers, then fine, don't buy the game and don't support the company. Although there's no point in making it a public spectacle that you can pretend will have an effect. Developers don't pay attention to online petitions and boycotts for the most part, they pay attention to sales and consumer trends.

 

[Epona]

Yes. I realized which part of the post you were answering to now, nice lack of editing. Anyway, I answered above.

As did I, either way stop being so rude, I know you think it makes you look awesome or smart or a bad ass or whatever your aiming for but honestly It just makes you look juvenile.

I am not being rude, I am telling you that you sounds desperate. Are you afraid the boycott is going to kill Skyrim's sales? You say it's a waste of time so you clearly think the boycott won't kill Skyrim's sales in which case, why make a thread about it?

It's juvenile to try and convince others that their buying decisions should be the same as yours. You want to buy Skyrim, then do so but don't tell others that their decision not to buy Skyrim is a waste.

Just so you know, I am not boycotting Skyrim but I still respect those that are because I respect people who take a stand against an increasingly greedy and abusive industry. I don't respect people who try to guilt trip others into buying something.

I don't care if someone doesn't buy Skyrim because they honestly hate it or whatever but not buying it because its makers BOSSES believe that someone should be sued (when they should) is being stupid.

It is a waste a time because everyone gets hurt in the end, but find where I say that it wont hurt Skyrim's sales? Because it will and its a legitimate concern.

So you think it will hurt Skyrim's sales? Well, then it isn't a waste of time since that's the point of a boycott.

I don't think it will hurt Skyrim's sales but even if it does, I support consumers standing their ground.

Except they won't. I guarantee you, a good portion of that boycott will buy Skyrim and this Boycott will end up like every other major boycott in the last 3 years. Even if the Boycott has a legitimate excuse (See the Modern Warfare 2 boycott) it means nothing if the boycotters are willing to make the sacrifice and as much as I hate to admit it, we gamers find it really to do that.

Fact: The reason why video game boycotts are considered a joke in today's world is because no one is willing to stick to it.

Fact: You aren't helping matters by saying that "it won't work anyway".

 

[Lunar Templar]

informative snip

o.o would you believe i didn't know about this 'boycott'

however, while informative, my stance is still one of indifference, the developers/publishers are being dicks to each other, not the people buying the games so whys this matter?

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Yes. I realized which part of the post you were answering to now, nice lack of editing. Anyway, I answered above.

As did I, either way stop being so rude, I know you think it makes you look awesome or smart or a bad ass or whatever your aiming for but honestly It just makes you look juvenile.

I am not being rude, I am telling you that you sounds desperate. Are you afraid the boycott is going to kill Skyrim's sales? You say it's a waste of time so you clearly think the boycott won't kill Skyrim's sales in which case, why make a thread about it?

It's juvenile to try and convince others that their buying decisions should be the same as yours. You want to buy Skyrim, then do so but don't tell others that their decision not to buy Skyrim is a waste.

Just so you know, I am not boycotting Skyrim but I still respect those that are because I respect people who take a stand against an increasingly greedy and abusive industry. I don't respect people who try to guilt trip others into buying something.

I don't care if someone doesn't buy Skyrim because they honestly hate it or whatever but not buying it because its makers BOSSES believe that someone should be sued (when they should) is being stupid.

It is a waste a time because everyone gets hurt in the end, but find where I say that it wont hurt Skyrim's sales? Because it will and its a legitimate concern.

So you think it will hurt Skyrim's sales? Well, then it isn't a waste of time since that's the point of a boycott.

I don't think it will hurt Skyrim's sales but even if it does, I support consumers standing their ground.

Except they won't. I guarantee you, a good portion of that boycott will buy Skyrim and this Boycott will end up like every other major boycott in the last 3 years. Even if the Boycott has a legitimate excuse (See the Modern Warfare 2 boycott) it means nothing if the boycotters are willing to make the sacrifice and as much as I hate to admit it, we gamers find it really to do that.

Fact: The reason why video game boycotts are considered a joke in today's world is because no one is willing to stick to it.

Fact: You aren't helping matters by saying that "it won't work anyway".

Fact: It really, really won't and boycotting a game made by a developer that has no control over the legal actions of their parent company is not gonna help anyone.