"The Question: Is Arkham City's 'Catwoman Pass' too much?"

[kane_magus]

I'll answer the questions posed here (though my answers should be easy to predict for anyone who has been paying attention).

Comments

[hikarugenji]

One thing that's tough about boycotts for video games is that the video game industry doesn't really seem to work like other industries because of the (relative) uniqueness of each product. That is, boycotting Starbucks might not be so hard because there are a lot of other places to buy coffee, and even if you like Starbucks coffee a lot, coffee is coffee. Gamers, on the other hand, don't usually just want "a video game", they want a specific game in a series or of a certain type, etc.

I think that's one reason why companies are able to continue successfully increasing the amount of DRM, annoying DLC, and other things like that. If your "upsetness" factor isn't greater than your desire to play the game, it's tough to avoid buying it.

[hikarugenji]

BTW I'm probably going to buy Hyperdimension Neptunia in the near future; I remember that both you and Mord were pretty pissed off at that game. I'll probably even buy those DLC characters that just get unlocked off the disc...

[owsf2000]

Boycotting is easy for anyone who has the willpower to do so. It doesn't matter if it's a generic product like coffee or specific AAA hit titles. If you don't like what they're doing, you don't give them your money or your time. If enough people actually did this, you'd see the game industry turn around within half a year.

If they liked their jobs it would anyway. There are economic suicidal CEOs out there that would prefer bankruptcy I'm sure.

We live in an age where there is far more things to consume for entertainment than you could potentially enjoy in 100 lifetimes. Choice is there for those that care to look for it.

[hikarugenji]

The main issue is just that the things the companies are doing aren't enough to push most people to boycott, since a lot of the ire is based on principle and slippery slope.