Blog:Grust's Top 5 Game Companies I'm Boycotting.

Western gaming is in a really bad state. Whether it's SJW pandering, defending monetization of a fully priced game, or being jerks, these are the top 5 game companies that I no longer wish to support.

5. Bethesda: While many of you may think that all it took was Fallout 76 to make it on the list; being one PR disaster after another, what really cemented Bethesda on my boycott list was the fact that Todd Howard knew the game was buggy and not ready and had it rushed out anyway saying they'd patch it up later. It got even worse when Wolfenstein: Youngblood was released and was already met with a negative reception from fans (the fact that a physical release only has the code has got me super damn pissed). Rather than work on fixing the game, I heard the first major patch was more about adding microtransactions to the game. While I lost a ton of faith in Bethesda for Fallout 76 alone, this killed 99% of any hope for the company as they caved into greed. I don't even give a damn about the Elder Scrolls 6. It's still high as most of this is rather recent and there may be a slight glimmer of hope for them to redeem themselves.

Update: After seeing their $100 subscription for Fallout 76 with nothing to justify a high price range, I now give up. Bethesda is now dead to me.

4. 2K Games:  These jerkwads have become greed incarnate. Their sports games are pure pay to win and focus heavily on lootboxes. And they are so goddamn stupid they released a trailer on their upcoming NBA2k20 to focus on the lootboxes. Loot boxes are the most hated thing in modern gaming. As the Nerd would say, "What were they thinking?" They want loot boxes unbanned in Belgium and want gamers there to help them do it. I want nothing to do with this company, it's just disgusting. They aren't just greedy, they're fricking morons if they think gamers like lootboxes and P2W.

3. Activision/Blizzard: While I respect Activision for being the oldest third party publisher in the world, they most likely played a role in Blizzard siding with SJWs. Blizzard is now working with Twitch to police what gamers say online with the risk of PC gamers losing an entire library of games. And not long ago, they fell for the bait 4chan made about the Okay hand gesture being a symbol for "white Supremacy and banned it in an Overwatch Tournament. And to think I only quit WoW for good when I've been getting into my backlog but this ensured I would not only never return to Wow, but I wont be supporting their products ever again.

2. Konami: The only Japanese company to make the list and at number 2. Well let's start the reasons: the Orwelian style workplace where every employee is monitored, treating Hideo Kojima like shit despite the fact he singlehandedly kept them afloat and made them a juggernaut in the games industry in the 80s to early 2000s, heavily monetized Metal Gear Survive after Kojima left, canceled Silent Hills, made their best games into pachinko machines, and hired a president that knows absolutely nothing about video games. They went from one of the most beloved Japanese game companies to well the Japanese equivalent of....

Before we get to number 1 a few dishonorable mentions:


 * Epic Games: The only reason they are a dishonorable mention is because I am not a PC gamer.  However even I'm aware of how full of crap these idiots are.  The store is full of spyware from the Chinese government, they've stated the developers will determine the store instead of gamers, you know the ones actually buying games and are the ones that should truly determine the industry with our wallets.  I know I'm only a console game but even I'll say this, boycott this store immediately.  Actually they have a few games on Playstation Store and the instant I saw the name, I refused to download.
 * Glumberland: Again I'm a console gamer, not a PC Gamer, but by God, these guys are living proof that separating art from artist can not only be difficult but at times impossible. I do not give a crap if their Ooblets game is amazing, there is no way in Hell I would buy it to support such rotten people.


 * Square-Enix: I love the Final Fantasy series which keeps them off the list. However ever since they decided not to release a mobile game in Belgium due to the ban on Lootboxes (I want to live there), they come across as gotten much too greedy to ignore.  So while my love of Final Fantasy keeps them off the list, I am nevertheless very wary of them.


 * Every Mobile Game Period: Incredibly mictrotransaction heavy and probably a big spot for shovelware. The iPhone came out around 2007 when I was 21 years old and I never owned one.  Most of what I usually see on mobile games are empire building games and I've heard a few horror stories on the P2W games.  I just stick with handhelds like Game Boy or PSP.


 * Any developer that insults gamers or sides with SJWs: The very instant any developer anywhere does this, that's an automatic game over, do not pass go do not collect $200.  Examples include any studio or developer that sides with She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, any studio or developer that decides that a political agenda must be in a game.  Right now I'm seeing quite few talking about how "brave" Zoe Quinn is for standing up to abuse when all was made was a tweet that provided no evidence of any wrongdoing and yet ruined a developer's life so bad he took his own life.  Developers and studios, SJWs are not your audience.  And until you get that, don't expect me to buy your games.


 * Any indie developer that can't take criticism: Look up Phil Fish or this article to see what I mean. This is, as far as I'm concerned, proof that separating art from artist should only be done when the artist isn't a jerkass or when a jerkass artist can't profit from art.

And the number 1 company I'm boycotting is...

You all know what it is. It's so painfully obvious that for once I'll wait for someone to make a comment and guess what it is. Update: Congrats to Gene0129 for getting it right wit the very first commenting.

Correct the answer is EA or Electronic Arts. Literally everything wrong with modern gaming, they've done it.
 * Siding with SJWs? Check with Battlefield V. Added bonus, they doubled down on their stupidity and praised the game's flop.
 * Encourage Loot boxes and Pay To Win Games? Check with Star Wars Battlefront II.
 * Defending their actions with Loot boxes? Check when they called them surprise mechanics.
 * Buying smaller studios only to close them. Check
 * Releasing the same game over and over and somehow making them worse?. Check with Madden, which along with FIFA are the only reasons I can think of why they stay afloat.
 * Rushing a game: Check with Mass Effect 3 as in the ending.
 * Insulting single player games because it's not easy to infect with micro-transactions? Check
 * Horrible workplace? Check with employees having to work 100 hours a week.
 * Firing a developer from a franchise he created over a criticism? Check with firing George Fan who didn't want micro-transactions in Plants Vs. Zombies.

I'm astonished that anyone anywhere would still buy a game from this company. They are now so bad for the industry that even if they did a complete 180, it wouldn't matter to me as the damage is done. In fact, with modern gaming the only shelf I have left to fill is my Switch and not one single game will be from EA EVER!!! They are a cancer to the industry and until they finally go bankrupt, they are the number one game company I'm boycotting.

