Walk Away

[ciderPunk1877]

This doesn't *just* apply to games, but it's a lesson I'm learning that can be applied to them.

It seems like what's been happening in games, almost across the board, has been:

1. Fans get excited for Next Installment
2. For one reason or another, Next Installment sucks
3. Fans get angry and throw endless rants around about it

Sometimes, I do look at some of these rants and think they've gone on too long. The reasons might be spot on, but after a point, it just becomes unhealthy to go on and on about it.

So what I'm learning to do is, per the title, walk away.

For an example outside of games (well, games are affected, too), look at Star Wars. If you liked TLJ, great, but just imagine for a moment that you didn't.

We can all spend a bunch of our energy talking about how it's being ruined or disrespected and repeat ourselves and call ourselves jaded fans, etc... or we can just leave. Abandon the fandom, and spend time on things that *do* serve us.

Let it go.

This is the way I plan to address Fallout. Yeah, I used to be a huge fan, but you know what? It's clear that Bethesda just wants to turn it into a MTX and merch cash cow, so... bye. There's a lot out there for me to spend my time on.

Look at it this way: it probably hurts them more to ignore them than it does to engage angrily with the fanbase for years.

[Mike]

It's hard when people become emotionally involved with what (in plain shareholder language) are just mere franchises or "IP". Ride the brand name until no one buys it anymore. It happens with absolutely everything unfortunately. It's up to the "consumer" to send a message to the company that it's not cool..and that's why people get angry and go on long rants on the internet. People DO remember and, as people become more careful about how they spend money, particularly in the west, they will think twice before rushing to pre-order the next thing, or go a movie on day 1 ... they'll wait longer for the real reviews from fans. Don't believe the hype!

[ciderPunk1877]

All I'm saying, is there's a difference between making yourself heard and sending a message and just shouting long after that message was delivered to make yourself feel better.

Like, okay, you made it clear that you're unhappy, and they haven't changed. Yelling more isn't going to change that.

So find a healthier outlet.

[Dub-Z]

ciderPunk1877 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE4vdzM6PHA

[isturbo1984]

It also helps to acknowledge certain games are only spinoffs. not only is it evident just by looking at it, but Bethesda has said Fallout 76 just just a spinoff and not their next game in the single-player RPG epic. The game sucks. But the idea of its concept is only what people have been asking for for years. there is still time to right the ship, but its still an experiment. There's nothing to walk away from. Pretty sure Fallout 5 will be great. If not, at least choose that point to "walk away." Am I the only one who sees this?

[isturbo1984]

@PriestTroit
I agree. Something changed. I think its a little bit of everything "information gating" the community. Both on the casual, consumer side and on the more core side of things.

[fenrif]

And they were only testing the horse amour idea, it's not like they'll do anything scuzzy in the future... Like paid mods. Ok paid mods. But it's really for the benefit of the modders themselves. Ok it's not, but it's not like it'll be exorbarantly priced content from the previous game in the series. Ok it is, but at least your collectors edition has some cool stuff. Ok it doesn't but at least it's only a spinoff. Or a beta. Or whatever.

[isturbo1984]

@fenrif
yes. that is right. because it is a spinoff. cut through the sarcasm. what makes it complete doom and gloom in this case? its not their main series and they are actively trying to do something new. would you like for them to test the current MTXs roadmap and multiplayer ideas out on their main games?

[Dub-Z]

Good taste, intuition and being informed even a little bit will guide you. I think I've only bought maybe a handful of games in nearly 30 years that I haven't enjoyed and regret buying. First game I pre-ordered was Chrono Trigger.... if y'all were buying shovelware, trash licensed games, edgy gimmicks, 'tude mascots and stuff that was barely worth a rental, that's on you.

[Baron Baldric]

I think you do not understand, if you don't punish Bethesda other companies will imitate their abusive methods, and you will not have anywhere to go, you will see Preston Garvey in each game for the rest of your life.

[PriestTroit]

eh... I hardly consider Bethesda as abusing gamers. Maybe if you consider the collector's edition thing, but just barely.

A game sucking doesn't equate to abuse.

[xadu]

If you love your wife and she mistreat you, you should just walk away? (well, YES)

You fist try to communicate.

When a corporation like Disney buys Star Wars, it is not just buying the intellectual property. There is much better unused and cheaper intellectual property in science fiction. Star Wars is really crappy science fiction. What Disney is actually interested on is the fanbase. That's what is actually been paid for. You are the thing sold to Disney.

Corporations don't like risk. They like to know that an intellectual property (IP) had been successful in the past, and it has a large public.

That's why we see so many remakes instead of new IP creation.

So, it is god for you to complain. Investors need to know your opinion. Is their money what they risk, and your money what they want. It is their business, and is your entertainment. Your voice matters. It has value. The client is always right. If they don't care, then walk away.


.... but why you do even care about other people complaining about it? Why you don't just walk away.
I infer that you have some vested interest, and so does the fanbase. They have a vested interest on a game franchise.

I had a vested interest in the Tomb Raider series, and in the Dead Space series. I complained when the corporations ruined both of them. I had a great time playing those games. I made levels with TR level editor. I was hurt when the franchise was ruined to reach a largest type of public. So I complained.

then, after seeing that I wasn't heard, then I walked away from TR. And I still have some hopes for Dead Space.

[PriestTroit]

You're pretending as if this is OP's 10th post on the subject or something.

Compare how many "walk away" posts there are to, say, Yong Yea's "Bethesda's Absolutely Disgusting Move." videos.

[Zeno]

If you are truly looking for something to change, you need to acknowledge when they do things correctly, and when they right their wrongs. Walking away doesn't facilitate any kind of correction, it is the abandonment of investment that places the burden and outcome of that product in the hands of the loudest voices.

We as consumers need to temper our frustrations about the direction in which the products we care about head down, so that we are able to succinctly convey exactly what causes us distress and what we believe the developers should do to remedy the situation so that it doesn't happen in the future.

I agree with you however that people tend to build up their own expectations so high, that the likelihood of a product to deliver on those expectations is essentially impossible. I think that is more about our mental conditioning, than it is about the games themselves.

[PriestTroit]

I can agree with that to an extent. The hype train is real.... but you gotta admit that FO76 did release as a complete mess from a big time studio.

Here's an example. I didn't expect much from Two Worlds which was created by Reality Pump and was their first console game. It sucked compared to anything else on the market and was competing with the likes of Bethesda's Oblivion.... but it wasn't made by a giant like Bethesda, so it was fine.

You've also gotta balance expectations with reality.

[MetroidJunkie]

Unfortunately, just walking away means that the company won't understand why their new entry tanked. They might not realize that the fandom is actually disappointed and might think that just nobody wants that franchise anymore period. While maybe we should level our temper so we don't come across as a bunch of kids screeching, we should be able to vocalize our concerns.

[ciderPunk1877]

Ugh.

I'm not saying that you can't air your greivances. I'm saying air them and be done with it.

Like those dudes who respond with some snarky comment on every single Fallout tweet. That's what I'm talking about.

[Zeno]

I believe that unfortunately comes down to what I had said in my reply "I think that is more about our mental conditioning, than it is about the games themselves." Society has reinforced the vindictive, tantrum mentality to the point where I doubt that the people who engage in those tactics even see a problem with their actions.
I think your plea to just walk away would fall on deaf ears, and you would simply concede ground to those same people by walking away.

[ethansito]

I think you do not understand, if you don't punish Bethesda other companies will imitate their abusive methods, and you will not have anywhere to go, you will see Preston Garvey in each game for the rest of your life.

Who is Preston Garvey?

[Baron Baldric]

It is an NPC that represents the worst in the video game industry. It is the one that assign missions of the type "go and kill this for me", in a fucking infinite loop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aOJ2KGUk5k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJqS1oBMSS0

[TelperionST]

Alternatively: don't play these big budget games that everyone is always talking about. Skip the hype trains, Internet drama, scandals and so on. Give your money to Indie developers trying out something at least marginally different and interesting. I'm willing to bet that to them every purchase actually matters. I'm willing to bet that there isn't a single Indie company out there going around shouting "Don't buy our games!" from a big stage.

I don't have a lot of love for Triple-A studios and the more gaming news I consume, the more reasons I have to never buy a game that costs more than 30 EUR. I make an exception for Paradox Interactive, because so far they haven't screwed me over.

I think that a lot of this comes down to the fact that people invest a lot of time and money into specific things. I don't, so if something doesn't work out, I can always cut my losses and move on to the next interesting thing. There's no need to contact the company who made the game to tell them that their product sucks. From my perspective doing so is a waste of time, because I don't care enough to take the time to start complaining. Instead, I'll give my money to someone else. Someone who appreciates every customer they can get. On average I pay 20 EUR per game, which doesn't even cover the cost of a dinner in a good restaurant. If it doesn't work out then I shrug and move on to the next Indie developer. No great loss.

[shoyu]

I go with the "X strikes and you're out" approach. I have franchises (like Battlefield and Street Fighter) and devs/publishers (like EA, Ubisoft and Activision) where they've disappointed or screwed me over enough times that anything from them is an automatic out for me. That's my way of telling the devs/publisher that I will no longer give them any more money AND they've lost me as a customer. I miiiight give them another chance... if they bend absolutely backwards and do something absolutely crazy. To date, NONE have managed to turn around to the point where I would remove them from my auto-ban list. Sure, I'm just one person and in the grand scheme I'll make little to no impact. But having as little time/money to play games these days, I just don't feel like hanging around to get screwed over while these devs/publishers try to pull it together... and that's assuming they even do try.

Some people want to give more chances. Some want to try to talk to the devs/pubs. Hell, some are happy with the whole "separate the art from the artist" approach even if said artist wants to insult their audience. If that's what you want to do, then hey more power to you. But me, I'm not interested in communicating beyond opening/closing my wallet. You get a few chances and you either do it right or I'm out. Simple. No anger. No venting on twitter etc. Just out. Plenty of other games from devs/publishers that want to work hard for my money, and I'll gladly give it to them if they earn it and actually want me as a customer.

[Spect3r]

Wow, a person with good sense regarding this mather?
You sir is a very rare kind of person, i salute you for that.

For me the worst is the people making monitized videos on youtube complaining about micro transactions.
You want me to take you serious? Demonitize the video, dont make money out of something you are against. Then i can start to think about taking you serious.

[Garrett]

I'm pretty sure Youtube creators aren't making money by teleporting pennies out of the viewers pockets. And the viewers with no pennies in their pockets aren't getting deliberately handicapped video quality. There are accurate accusations of hypocrisy, and then there are... not.

[Spect3r]

Garrett We will agree to disagree

[Garrett]

Walking away doesn't work because the inverse burden of proof of software piracy dictates that lack of sales is caused by piracy. And the anti-meritocratic anti-principle of regressivism dictates that lack of sales directly following the alteration of a product is caused by not altering it enough combined with ideological bigotry. Only integrity can result in genuine course-corrections, and that has long since been lost.

[Musou Tensei]

Not a solution, eventually you will have nothing left to walk away from.