Left 4 Dead 2 Boycott Ending Next Week

49 Comments Posted October 14, 2009 - By Jake Gaskill

Left 4 Dead 2 Boycott Ending Next Week

It has been a trying few months for a series of brave and levelheaded gamers who took it upon themselves to shun a highly anticipated title from one of the most revered developers in the industry, based on an in no way absurd sense of entitlement with regards to Left 4 Dead support. But as of October 21st, boycotters of Valve’s Left 4 Dead 2 will stop fighting the good fight, GamePolitics reports.

Given how reasonable the group’s arguments were for boycotting L4D2, it’s hardly surprising that in the disbandment announcement letter posted over at Steam, two of the group’s leaders (Agent of Chaos and Walking_Target) address their fellow boycotters with a tone that suggests some serious delusions of grandeur in terms of their effectiveness and relevance concerning Valve’s commitment to future L4D support. As Agent of Chaos explains:

“We have accomplished everything we can on our manifesto. We’ve been dealing with Valve ever since our group started, then we met them in-person and now we’re at the point of concluding our discussions. Our goal wasn’t to steer people away from L4D2, it was to get Valve’s attention and have them support original L4D. We succeeded and that’s where our mission ends; nothing more or less.”

There are several things worth noting about these statements. First off, take a look at the boycotters’ original demands:

That Valve honor its commitment to release ongoing periodic content for Left 4 Dead.
That Left 4 Dead 2 not be released as a stand-alone, full-priced sequel but as either a free update to Left 4 Dead or an expansion with full compatibility with basic Left 4 Dead owners.
That Left 4 Dead owners be given discounts for Left 4 Dead 2, should it be released as premium content.

As you can see, the only one of these that will end up happening is the first one, and that was something Valve was planning to do all along; it hadn’t provided any details on the recently released Crash Course (or future DLC for that matter), because it wasn’t ready to discuss it. So for the boycotters to suggest that they had anything to do with Valve “deciding” to continue supporting L4D is utter nonsense, and claiming victory for it is even more so.

What’s interesting about the other two requests is that if you go to the group’s original manifesto announcement, those requests are no longer listed. The page says it was “updated 10.10.09 for relevance,” which I guess is code for, “Now that Valve has released a fresh batch of L4D DLC as well as info about its plans for future content (which it has been planning all along), and considering the company was gracious enough to invite us for a studio tour despite our insulting criticisms of Valve’s design approach for L4D2, let's make it seem like we ‘won’ even though we clearly didn’t.”

The other funny part about the aforementioned quote is that the original manifesto clearly states, “Therefore, we - the members of this Left 4 Dead 2 Boycott - promise to abstain from the purchase of Left 4 Dead 2 until our requests are addressed.” Yet now, the group claims, “Our goal wasn’t to steer people away from L4D2, it was to get Valve’s attention and have them support original L4D.” Backtracking and delusion don’t really get any more hilarious than that…Oh, except they do, thanks to the following comments from Walking_Target:

“As a collective we have done more than achieve a few goals, we have paved the way for Developer-Community relations in the future. No matter what the press or other gamers say, we have made an indelible mark upon the future of this industry. You should all be proud, we certainly are.”

I could spend the next few minutes pointing out just how bat-s#*& crazy these statements are, but I think they pretty much speak for themselves. I mean…wow.

Any last thoughts on the L4D2 boycott? Am I totally out of line in thinking that these people are giving themselves way too much credit for something they had no influence on in the first place?

Source

Tags: PC Gaming, Videogames, Xbox 360

Comments

Oldest First

Displaying 1–20 of 49

12 3 2

pumathehero

people are dumb.

Posted: October 14, 2009 10:35 AM | Reply | Report

+21 thumbs up thumbs down

1 Reply
ChrisTilton

Wow, I had always thought they were just a bunch of ignorant, whiney fanboys with serious entitlement issues who have no idea how this industry works, but now I see that they are delusional, pretentious, hypocrites on top of that.

Posted: October 14, 2009 10:43 AM | Reply | Report

+21 thumbs up thumbs down

1 Reply
Havok05

No you are not out if line. as a matter of fact you can go ahead and say that they deserve none of the credit and should all go to me!

Posted: October 14, 2009 10:47 AM | Reply | Report

+4 thumbs up thumbs down

0 Replies
LarcenousLaugh

PS3 is better. No wait, 360 is better. Aw hell, at least my pointless ramblings and fanboy steadfastness to the quality product of the company I stand behind has helped you on your decision to purchase said system. Right? Right? Hello? Is anyon listening? Oh crap, I was talking to an empty room again.

@Jake - /sarcasm I don't know what you are trying to get at? You mean their protest (read as "screaming into the wind at the top of their lungs") really didn't accomplish anything. That in the end it only served as a nice self pat on the back. Obviously you are biased for the new game. L4D2 lover! /sarcasm off

Posted: October 14, 2009 10:47 AM | Reply | Report

-1 thumbs up thumbs down

1 Reply
Andrew Pfister

I think the real hero in this situation is me.

Posted: October 14, 2009 10:53 AM | Reply | Report

+14 thumbs up thumbs down

1 Reply
Lucifer6972

I'm just surprised they took it as seriously as intended. I like games and cherish them but I won't go as crazy to submit any objections regarding an insutry. I have faith in them and I think the companies do try their best, is not as easy as it sounds. But to showcase their displeasure and got a problem with how the game may look and feel than the original one is like saying you wanna have another girlfriend who is like your ex. Good luck on that.

I think it'll be a cool game and in the end, I'm sure enthusiast LFD gamers will be satisfied with the final result.

Posted: October 14, 2009 11:07 AM | Reply | Report

+4 thumbs up thumbs down

0 Replies
cmdluke

convenient that they end their boycott just weeks before L4D2 comes out.

Posted: October 14, 2009 11:09 AM | Reply | Report

+18 thumbs up thumbs down

0 Replies
Connor53

This whole boycott was just stupid to begin with. Valve has never ever gone back on their word when it came to free content, just look at all the free crap they are giving us on tf2.

Posted: October 14, 2009 11:16 AM | Reply | Report

+19 thumbs up thumbs down

0 Replies
dienicdie

Why all the BS over zombies, go play cod5, go watch zombieland, go dream about dead people. If the game is solid, it is always worth the wait.

Posted: October 14, 2009 11:20 AM | Reply | Report

+5 thumbs up thumbs down

0 Replies
Minuszero Show Hide(3 Replies)

Many people joined the boycott for many reasons. I joined the boycott because i was mad at valve for not having free content as they promised, then they release a new game with new content... everything that L4D was too have. I switched from the Unreal games witch comes with an editor for custom maps and mods, L4D was to have this feature and that was the main reason i purchased the game, but that was a lie. I am still not going to purchase any valve software anymore.
My PC - Steam = Uninstalled.
I might purchase Postal 3 if it ever get's released but i have lost interest in everything else with the valve brand on it.. I am purchasing assassins creed 2.

Posted: October 14, 2009 11:20 AM | Reply | Report

-24 thumbs up thumbs down

3 Replies
Fyzban

LOL at Boycotters , so you lose ? I agree 100% with this article , the only thing they won is a tour to Valve studios.

Posted: October 14, 2009 11:27 AM | Reply | Report

+18 thumbs up thumbs down

2 Replies
aztecyankee

5 million online boycotts = zero results.

Average Joe - Do you have the new Left for Dead 2?
Gamestop employee - Yes,it just came in! Would you like a copy?
Average Joe - NO!! I can make decisions myself! That's one of the great things about this country I DON'T HAVE TO BUY IT!! NOBODY IS FORCING ME TO GET LFD2!! (after calming down) I'll take a copy of Assasins Creed 2.
Gamestop employee - Awesome! would you like to reserve a copy of Hello Kitty adventure Island?

Plain and simple.....DON'T BUY IT!! I can never understand people like this. Suing Mcdonalds for being fat...Suing Phillip Morris for getting cancer for smoking...get a life you didn't accomplish anything the game is STILL gonna come out ....and IT"S GOING TO RULEZ!!!!

Posted: October 14, 2009 11:35 AM | Reply | Report

+9 thumbs up thumbs down

0 Replies
rochin

Yes, they made a big stink, got a tour and now with L4D2 almost here, they stop. Seems they needed a blanked and some warm milk. Not sure what part of the released DLC they missed for L4D, but there has been a good amount of it. Personally I think expecting DLC for every game is pointless, sure Valve did say they would have DLC, which they did, but not every game should have DLC. It just gives some devs an excuse to half-ass a game and then make it whole with free or charged for DLC.

Posted: October 14, 2009 11:35 AM | Reply | Report

+8 thumbs up thumbs down

0 Replies
Tryptamine Show Hide(4 Replies)

'Wow, I had always thought they were just a bunch of ignorant, whiney fanboys with serious entitlement issues who have no idea how this industry works, but now I see that they are delusional, pretentious, hypocrites on top of that.'

They just don't think it's worth $50 when most of the game was already made...a year ago, it's an expansion not a new game

Posted: October 14, 2009 11:52 AM | Reply | Report

-11 thumbs up thumbs down

4 Replies
SpookyPirate

I'm not boycotting but It's not going to be on the top of my list anymore. I hate it when a sequel comes out to fast and this was a prime example. the last thing we need is for shooters to be pushed out as quick as maddens.

Posted: October 14, 2009 11:55 AM | Reply | Report

+1 thumbs up thumbs down

1 Reply
d_dirdy

I didn't care about the boycott to begin with. I was going to buy L4D2 regardless.

Posted: October 14, 2009 11:57 AM | Reply | Report

+7 thumbs up thumbs down

0 Replies
rorschach1414

man i thought they were crazy to start. now i know that these guys were justs trying to be in the spotlight. now that l4d is coming out (cant wait!!!) they stop! damn crazys

Posted: October 14, 2009 12:05 PM | Reply | Report

+8 thumbs up thumbs down

0 Replies
tcs0

I knew all along it was a waste of time, but to have these bozos remark it like some damn victory over a tyrannical rule is as embarrassing as it is hilarious. Wow you guys, you really showed Valve...lol!

Posted: October 14, 2009 12:29 PM | Reply | Report

+3 thumbs up thumbs down

0 Replies
gambitjuggalo

those 2 are still probably first in line at gamestop to get their copies

Posted: October 14, 2009 12:37 PM | Reply | Report

+5 thumbs up thumbs down

0 Replies
Mr_Eko_73

WOW- nice spin. These guys are the Future of Fox News.

Posted: October 14, 2009 12:41 PM | Reply | Report

+6 thumbs up thumbs down

1 Reply