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Annoyed at Blizzard: Downvote Their Livestream.
umcorian
Member UncommonPosts: 519
I've seen a few threads this morning on various forums asking WoW players and former WoW players a simple question: If they're so mad, why don't they do something about it? Bioware received cupcakes as a protest over the ME3 ending - the note being: 3 colors of cupcakes, all taste the same. GG.
It got me to thinking: what is it that the WoW community could do to protest the way WoD has been handled and the seemingly genuine apathy Blizzard has for their playerbase?
The answer is simple: respond in kind.
The reveal trailer from the next expansion should be opening tomorrow and will appear on Youtube quickly. Watch it with as open a mind as you dare... maybe even a shaker in your hand so you can take it with a few grains of salt. No doubt, it's gonna look cool. Blizzard's CGI folks are top notch. I'm sure this reveal is going to be suitably epic. Relish it, enjoy it...
... and then downvote it.
The downvote is one way you can show your displeasure over what Blizzard has done. It's a way to say: 'Thanks for showing us this - we'll believe it when we see it in game." It's a way to show that, no, not all is forgiven. You don't get to burn your customers and then release a few flashy trailers and placate us. The trust can be rebuilt, but it's going to take work.
So, yes - tomorrow, I look forward to the reveal. Council of Glades? The Dark Prophet? Something else? All sound like solid premises. I'll even eat a slice of pizza while watching, not do anything to repress my nerdgasm and excitement as I'm blown away.
And then, I will say: "Thanks for showing me this - I'll believe it when I see it" and downvote.
Just a suggestion if you're as annoyed with Blizzard as I am.
The link for the live stream is already up and accepting downvotes. I was happy to be the first in the world to dislike it.
Comments
Epic Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAigCvelkhQ&list=PLo9FRw1AkDuQLEz7Gvvaz3ideB2NpFtT1
https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos?&sort=-downloads&page=1
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"
That's fine. Have a great day!
So you are telling me I should get it in my head to down vote even before I see what they are offering? And if there are enough down votes, and they restart things all over from scratch, should I download the next video?
imho, If you don't like something don't buy it. I don't like the new iPhone but I'm not going to vote on changes, I just don't purchase it.
Death is nothing to us, since when we are, Death has not come, and when death has come, we are not.
Not really - upvoting and downvoting, at this point, are mostly just symbolic gestures and tie minimally into any of Youtube's algorithms. It's views that Youtube tracks as well as links from other sources. And, let's face it, I'm gonna watch the stream anyway because their CGI team is amazing.
I'm not out to damage Blizzard and am well aware, even if I were, this isn't the way to do it. If anything, it'll draw more hype to the stream. That being said, if that like bar is about 50/50... or even 75/25... it sends a symbolic message.
"What you've shown is cool, but it's gonna take more than a flashy trailer and promises to get me this time."
I'm cool with symbolism.
The number of dislikes will pale compared to the likes and so, even if they noticed the dislikes, your stance would be lost on all but you so I have to ask, why bother? You aren't making a point, you're not taking a brave stance saying "I don't accept this anymore!", you're basically only doing this to make yourself feel as though you're doing that... I feel that is a little pathetic, especially if you do end up liking what they show.
That's just not true.
MoP reveal trailer - 40/60 likes/dislikes. The people who watch these reveals aren't blind to what they're seeing and who's showing it. Will it be cool? Probably... but to forecast the dislikes to likes ratio before the reveal even happens is a big leap of faith.
And if you aren't annoyed at Blizzard... by all means, click on the link and LIKE it. That'll show me.
Boobs are LIFE, Boobs are LOVE, Boobs are JUSTICE, Boobs are mankind's HOPES and DREAMS. People who complain about boobs have lost their humanity.
The 1.5 million that unsubscribed last quarter even though they could pay their subscription with gold sent far more of a message, blizzard cares about money not downvotes, if you want to send a message then just unsubscribe.
Sure, if you've already unsubscribed and it makes you feel better to downvote their video then have fun but don't be deluding yourself into think you're sending a message.
Also in the unlikely scenario that you do manage to generate enough downvotes to get Blizzard attention they're far more likely to think people don't like the content/features presented than they are to think that people are downvoting because they don't trust Blizzard to be able to deliver on what was presented.
How many of those were after MoP came out? After it ended? Actually given by people who disliked the direction WoW was going vs people who just hated wow/mmos/popular things/life... You simply cannot make a specific point with a yes/no vote as you have no idea what the motivations that people had when they clicked on it. I mean look at the results of that same video and now see how many people bought MoP at release.. they sure showed Blizzard! -_-
Give up you can't win, you don't like it then feck off and play something else.
I don't remember the total number, but the reveal was split 50/50 hours after the release - I watched it.
MoP box and digital sales were the worst of any expansion. Only about 900,000 resubscribed and it was never higher than that, with just a gradual fall from the peak of its release... content patches provided small spikes, but never hit that level again.
You just don't have enough information to intelligently speak on the impact of the release video and neither do I. So let's stop trying to guess what things mean and what they don't mean and see what happens.
Good thought, unfortunately it won't work.
1) Blizzard has too many fanboys. There are still a LOT of people who basically think 'Blizzard does no wrong, if it has the blizzard name ima buy it!". The company is one of the best at marketting, and it shows. They know how to play to their audience, and can even deliver sub-par products and have people freak out about it (i.e. D3).
2) Downvoting the trailer isn't going to do much. At best, it might cause Blizzard to create an alternate version of their trailer (which they may do anyways). A lot of that stuff is often outsourced to other studios who do top of the line CGI work, so that's even unlikely. They know the trailer is going to be good before they ever show it.
3) The protest is too anonymous. As with #2, you send a vague message of 'no to this trailer'. It says nothing about the actual game, or what exactly you are protesting. By contrast the Bioware cupcakes provided a clear message of "your game promised an ending w/ choices, all those choices are exactly the same!"
So good luck trying to get the Blizz fans to mobilize. My bets are on them not doing anything but throw money at that company.
Hmm, it seems you stopped the thinking part a little early.
People have responded in kind, they unsubbed. That's the biggest response you can give.
Another possibility is that a downvoted trailer/release sends a message to them that the hype won't work this time.
If they're gonna want $$$, they're just going to have to develop a quality product. It's a pity they didn't know about that last expansion, they might have taken money from things like Azeroth Choppers or building that ridiculous statue in China and put it toward hiring a developer or two who knew what they were doing.
For the chance that message gets through, I'm happy to make a few posts on the Internet during slow time at work.
For all you know the expansion could be awesome but you've already decided it's crap and you're on a crusade to get people to downvote a video that doesn't even exist yet. Really? I haven't touched WoW since BC but come on Blizzard is not that bad of a company. I'm sorry you don't like WoW anymore but guess what? For almost 30 years Blizzard has made really good games. I grew up on Lost Vikings, Blackthorne, WC: O+H, WC2, D1, D2, etc etc.
WoW has been out for 11 years. Sorry if they can't keep it as good as when you played it the first time. They've also shown some dedication to improving their flops - see: D3 today vs release. I don't think the problem is so much WoW as it is that you've already had your fill of it and stayed longer than you should have.
Who plays a game for 11 years and expects it to remain fresh, innovative, and entertaining?
Steam: Neph
It's not a crusade - it's a peaceful protest. As so many people have pointed out, the risk of doing any damage to Blizzard is nonexistent. Consider it a downvote for the hype. After WoD, an expansion that was deemed extremely heavy on hype, very light on content... it feels right to me to downvote their attempts at hype this go around after how much trouble overhyping got them last expansion.
If others feel the same way, cool. If not, power on. I do hope Blizzard turns it around, but I'm not going to forget WoD just because they flash a new shiny CGI in front of me that gives me a nerdgasm. Not this time.
Hey now. Don't go spouting rational things on this site!
@the OP, good thing I'm not annoyed with Blizzard. Have fun with your little boycott, they likely won't even notice it.
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
You want to punish Blizzards next expansion because the last one sucked?
It did suck but the cupcake thing were way more clever.
If you really want to make your point you should boycot WoD until the new expansion releases instead as many others already have done. Losing 44% of the subs in 9 months is a way clearer way to show Activision and Blizzard that you wont take crap like this.
Downvoting the livestream while still subbing just shows that you don't like things but you will keep paying for it anyways.
Interesting... this is like the downvote equivalent of giving a game a 0 on Metacritic. OP doesn't care at all about the content of the stream, he's just pissed and will give it a 0 regardless.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED