Has "Vote with your Wallet" Ever Truly Worked?

[Vergil]

So many examples of developers who torpedo their entire studio by doubling down on awful decisions, ignoring fan backlash, being condescending to any negative feedback, and acting like their decisions are the right one all the way to bankruptcy.
I suppose in a way it "works" as in killing the studio but has there ever been an example of a studio starting down the wrong path and after fan backlash they do a 180 instead of doubling down or just dying outright?
Bioware is on it's like 5th flop in a row and yet if Mass Effect 4 comes out I almost guarantee it's going to be full of ******** ***** and ******** gorilla ****** **** autism as everything else they've made.

[asf]

i keep voting with my wallet in hq by not buying platinum, but the place is still infested with ****

[rusty_shackleford]

It depends on if the people supplying the money / at the top are the reason for the issues. If yes, then it won't work. If no, it may work by causing the people with the money/leadership to address the problem.

e.g., Lords of the Fallen studio CEO had no idea the game even had "body type" instead of sex, he stated there were developers keeping such decisions from ever reaching him and didn't know until fans told him.

[Magick]

It depends on if the people supplying the money / at the top are the reason for the issues. If yes, then it won't work. If no, it may work by causing the people with the money/leadership to address the problem.

e.g., Lords of the Fallen studio CEO had no idea the game even had "body type" instead of sex, he stated there were developers keeping such decisions from ever reaching him and didn't know until fans told him.

I do believe it, but it's not much of an excuse though is it. You'd think the CEO would be properly endorsing their own product by giving it a go, at least at some point during the multi year development cycle or upon release.
This is a good reason for them to get more involved. Also, if any subversive **** like that is found, they should be mandating an update to put it right.

[J1M]

No, because the government's and investor's wallets are too big.

[Maledict]

It works all the time IF people vote with their wallet.

[rusty_shackleford]

No, because the government's and investor's wallets are too big.

I don't know how to feel about this because even Microsoft is beginning to scrutinize their internal game studios(it's not a coincidence that people like Tim Cain are back at Obsidian again after such disastrous performances, I'd assume)

[J1M]

No, because the government's and investor's wallets are too big.
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I don't know how to feel about this because even Microsoft is beginning to scrutinize their internal game studios(it's not a coincidence that people like Tim Cain are back at Obsidian again after such disastrous performances, I'd assume)

It's possible that my own tastes are simply too niche for it to ever work. But if it did work, we wouldn't have been given the Mass Effect Andromeda that we were.

There are many examples of games funded largely with money allocated ideologically (directly or via tax deductions) by the government and activist investors. It doesn't need to be 100% funding to set the tone and direction. It just needs to be enough that people seek the funding. Kickstarter was the closest thing to guaranteed up-front money for something the fans actually want. But we've seen how that worked out.

[rusty_shackleford]

No, because the government's and investor's wallets are too big.
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I don't know how to feel about this because even Microsoft is beginning to scrutinize their internal game studios(it's not a coincidence that people like Tim Cain are back at Obsidian again after such disastrous performances, I'd assume)

It's possible that my own tastes are simply too niche for it to ever work. But if it did work, we wouldn't have been given the Mass Effect Andromeda that we were.

There are many examples of games funded largely with money allocated ideologically (directly or via tax deductions) by the government and activist investors. It doesn't need to be 100% funding to set the tone and direction. It just needs to be enough that people seek the funding. Kickstarter was the closest thing to guaranteed up-front money for something the fans actually want. But we've seen how that worked out.

The backlash andromeda got killed the DLC

[J1M]

I don't know how to feel about this because even Microsoft is beginning to scrutinize their internal game studios(it's not a coincidence that people like Tim Cain are back at Obsidian again after such disastrous performances, I'd assume)
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It's possible that my own tastes are simply too niche for it to ever work. But if it did work, we wouldn't have been given the Mass Effect Andromeda that we were.

There are many examples of games funded largely with money allocated ideologically (directly or via tax deductions) by the government and activist investors. It doesn't need to be 100% funding to set the tone and direction. It just needs to be enough that people seek the funding. Kickstarter was the closest thing to guaranteed up-front money for something the fans actually want. But we've seen how that worked out.
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The backlash andromeda got killed the DLC

The Mass Effect 3 backlash should have meant Andromeda was completely different.

[rusty_shackleford]

It's possible that my own tastes are simply too niche for it to ever work. But if it did work, we wouldn't have been given the Mass Effect Andromeda that we were.

There are many examples of games funded largely with money allocated ideologically (directly or via tax deductions) by the government and activist investors. It doesn't need to be 100% funding to set the tone and direction. It just needs to be enough that people seek the funding. Kickstarter was the closest thing to guaranteed up-front money for something the fans actually want. But we've seen how that worked out.
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The backlash andromeda got killed the DLC

The Mass Effect 3 backlash should have meant Andromeda was completely different.

Well, it was completely different from ME3…

[J1M]

The backlash andromeda got killed the DLC
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The Mass Effect 3 backlash should have meant Andromeda was completely different.
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Well, it was completely different from ME3…

Yes, but in the opposite direction that I wanted to see it go. Therefore, me not buying Mass Effect 3 did not have the intended effect.

[Vergil]

The backlash andromeda got killed the DLC

That's kind of the issue though. The best you ever get is cancellations and lay offs but no actual lessons learned. Anyone fired just finds another studio to join where they go right back to putting ****** niggerfaggot slop into it and the franchise itself doesn't ever get fixed.

[Vergil]

You look at a situation like Devil May Cry 2 which was (and possibly still is) the absolute worst game in the franchise but the following game was arguably the best.
This doesn't ever happen anymore. You never get a horrible game that fucks everything up and then a sequel that addresses and fixes that. You get fat woman posting sassy haters gonna hate gifs on twitter and then the studio shuts down in 6 months.

[Oyster Sauce]

"Vote with your wallet" has effectively been replaced by "hope the most popular streamers in the world all see a socially safe financial opportunity in dogpiling on something that's already quite unpopular" which has actually had real, tangible effects.

[Vergil]

"Vote with your wallet" has effectively been replaced by "hope the most popular streamers in the world all see a socially safe financial opportunity in dogpiling on something that's already quite unpopular" which has actually had real, tangible effects.

I love how everything in the world sucks and is gay and all ****** up and ******** like this

[rusty_shackleford]

Flipside where every time you try to vote with your wallet and support cool things you end up getting a knife in your back

[Pizza]

I don't think so, many idiots still buying EA garbage games.

[Stack of Turtles]

It can work but not really in the way you're asking. There's too much free money in the system. I'm not talking about government funding / ESG, which were never the main issue, I'm talking about... well, a certain friend of both of ours I don't want to call out by name who always plays all the slop, for example...

[Jordy]

It can work but not really in the way you're asking. There's too much free money in the system. I'm not talking about government funding / ESG, which were never the main issue, I'm talking about... well, a certain friend of both of ours I don't want to call out by name who always plays all the slop, for example...

Rusty?

[Jordy]

It can work but not really in the way you're asking. There's too much free money in the system. I'm not talking about government funding / ESG, which were never the main issue, I'm talking about... well, a certain friend of both of ours I don't want to call out by name who always plays all the slop, for example...

Oyster?

[Jordy]

It can work but not really in the way you're asking. There's too much free money in the system. I'm not talking about government funding / ESG, which were never the main issue, I'm talking about... well, a certain friend of both of ours I don't want to call out by name who always plays all the slop, for example...

Ok this is going to be my fourth to last guess.

maidenhaver?

[maidenhaver]

It depends on if the people supplying the money / at the top are the reason for the issues. If yes, then it won't work. If no, it may work by causing the people with the money/leadership to address the problem.

e.g., Lords of the Fallen studio CEO had no idea the game even had "body type" instead of sex, he stated there were developers keeping such decisions from ever reaching him and didn't know until fans told him.

I do believe it, but it's not much of an excuse though is it. You'd think the CEO would be properly endorsing their own product by giving it a go, at least at some point during the multi year development cycle or upon release.
This is a good reason for them to get more involved. Also, if any subversive **** like that is found, they should be mandating an update to put it right.

I can believe it. Leadership aren't always managerial and like to give department heads leeway.

[TKVNC]

Well it works for me, because I keep the money.

Which I can then use for sports betting and cigarettes.

[SpellSword]

If you're asking will it miraculously save a studio, causing them to pivote on all their activism and suddenly make them build non-**** games? Very unlikely. But they don't exist in a vacuum and other developers are watching. As their ship sinks, it serves as a warning. The market doesn't want this, at least not in the numbers they are budgeting for.

Besides it works great. I still have my money.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

High production value videogames are the most complicated entertainment medium to produce, and among the most complicated types of projects ever. You need lots and lots of people to produce them, but usually that means there is a breakdown in cohesion as rather than one unified team (as with a smaller studio), there are different groups working in isolation from each other. Dictator directors who are able to get everybody to follow his vision and do what he wants them to do are rare in the West. So if there is a problem, there is usually not enough will to steer the ship.

A couple years ago, Mihoyo CEO Da Wei had to come out on stage and apologize to fans for Genshin Impact's Fontaine arc and promise that they would be going back to their roots. I have never heard of any Western directors or studio heads doing that (and following through on it). After the backlash during Shadowlands, some WoW dev team leads and Blizzard higher ups gave lip service that they would change, but not much meaningfully changed about the way the game was played.

[The_Mask]

Yes, voting with your wallet does work. It always does.

[Maledict]

Games need to scale down and make better, more cohesive experiences. They should charge less for less but better quality and put out more games. Don't achievements show most gamers don't even finish games? I think this speaks volumes of the length getting ridiculous (inflated for the sole purpose of excusing the price tag).

Even **** low production value games want to charge loads now. I vote with my wallet by starving them.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Games need to scale down and make better, more cohesive experiences. They should charge less for less but better quality and put out more games. Don't achievements show most gamers don't even finish games? I think this speaks volumes of the length getting ridiculous (inflated for the sole purpose of excusing the price tag).

Even **** low production value games want to charge loads now. I vote with my wallet by starving them.

The AA game and the Japanese visual novel industries died and were supplanted by live service games because prices were not high enough for the size of the market. Contrary to how the games looked - even the "cheap" 2D VNs - they cost a lot of money to produce, and you need a comfortably large profit margin so that your company doesn't go under after one or two bombs.

[Acrux]

Voting with your wallet would work if a "free, open market" existed. There are too many other pressures for it to work consistently, though - like studios that would rather take a loss and continue to produce garbage than make the game you want to play.