Boycott Activision?

[Captain Obvious]

I'm completely boycotting Activision now for the obvious reasons. A game with AI with the IQ of dead fish, buggy engine, and customer support Satan would be proud of.

I recommend you all complain. To make it simple for you, I have the url. http://www.activision.com/support/email.asp

Tell them what you think, if you don't get a reply, or don't like the reply, complain again. Give them at least some repercussions for making such a total piece of ****.

[CapTVK]

Email doesn't work for this sort thing, all those emails will supply be filtered out and never reach the upper echolons. There's only one way to reach them and that is by snail mail (real letters). Complaints by email are simply never read and deleted, real letters of complaint are actually read and sometimes you get a response. I believe there's also some sort of legal stature for acknowledging formal letters of complaints, but i could be wrong on that.

So if you want to file a complaint, look up the official business adress of Activision (also look up the names of some of the senior staff members and adress it to them if you know who's in charge). Write a polite, but critical letter stating that you'll be boycotting them from now on and they'll start to take notice.

Just believe me, they will...
[This message has been edited by CapTVK (edited January 20, 2001).]

[Ioannes]

I am in favor of a boycott. In fact I will never buy another Activision product. Time to let Activision wither on the vine of their own vice.....greed.

[kormer]

This is a direct slap in the face of gamers everywhere. There are crappy unfinished games released all the time. However to get this kind of response from a well-established company, and for a game that has such potention is appalling. If I bought a crappy game from some upstart company, with a new game concept thats been untried before, I would give them the benefit of the doubt. This is ridiculous however, activision has the resources to fix the problems, they just don't want to so they can increase the bottom line. Well I won't be personally responsible for ever increasing their bottom line ever again.

[D4everman]

I'm with you Kormer.

Ok, Activision, you don't want to try to resolve the complaints that your customers have? I don't mean little dinky things, for me its the lackluster AI. Fine. But know this...I will never buy another activision product. I will go out of my way to stop others from buiyng them. I will make a giant ass complaint to AAFES about carrying your products. (Army & Air Force Exchange Service) AAFES usually takes that kind of thing seriously so locally, at least at this base they'll listen. (They took CTP1 off the shelf when people complained, and only had a small order for CTP2....because a few people ordered it...and yes, I was one of them...I had hoped Activision would put out a game that was fully finished!)

So you win, activision. And you can laugh at my complaints. But I'll still do whatever I can to block your products form where i shop. Its my fervent hope that NO ONE buys your next game.

I'd enjoy that much more than I did CTP2.

D4

(Yes I'm angry, and if anyone feels the need to flame me about it, so be it. I ain't changing my mind without the unlikely event of Activision changing theirs.)

[kormer]

I'm a military brat too and buy a lot of my stuff tax-free at the local PX I never knew they would stop carrying stuff if you complained, I think I'll write a letter to them too.

[John-SJ]

I fully support a boycott of Activision! I will not buy another Activision title until they have shown themselves to be a CUSTOMER oriented company.

I heartily recommend that all of us support those companies that produce quality games and provide excellent customer support by buying their games. I also suggest that if Activision continues on it's current path that it deserves to die a slow and painful (financial) death. As long as we continue to purchase their products that won't happen.

Bye bye Acivision! I wish I could say it's been fun, but you've made that impossible.

John-SJ

[Mike the Nuke]

Let's do it. Send letters (snail mail and email). They may delete the emails, but it will sure clutter things up for them. You never know. If there were enough (easy to send) emails listing all the problems/faults of the game, thye may take notice. If the emails, as well as the 'snail mails' are politely and respectfully written, they could be answered. I would suggest stating the positives, then the negatives, and then closing the letters/messages on a positive note (ie game has lots of potential, etc).

[Babayaga]

How about someone writes up a nice letter to Activision and then post that letter on this forum.
That way, we may copy this letter, print this letter out, and then put it in an envelope to be mailed to Activision from many different people.

Not many of us have the time to write a nice lengthy polite letter and I am sure this would be the best way to express our concerns.

[Simpleton]

It's obvious that Activision could give a rat's ass what the consumers think! I will definitely boycott them. Even if their next game gets great reviews there's no way I would buy because they obviously won't support it. You can say what you want about SMAC but Firaxis stood behind it! I think they put out 4 patches addressing many of the fan's concerns.
In the perfect world word of the boycott would spread and Activision would feel the hit in the pocket book, perhaps even go out of business. I'll have to wait to see if in fact we do live in the "perfect world" or not.
As for me I have returned to Civ2 and probably will try a game or two of SMAC in the next little while. As for CTP2, it sits in its box in a bag in my basement and there is shall stay.


G.

[MarkG]

quote: Originally posted by Simpleton on 01-20-2001 11:07 PM You can say what you want about SMAC but Firaxis stood behind it! I think they put out 4 patches addressing many of the fan's concerns.

firaxis did good in smac, but not perfect. they should(and had promised to) do a patch for smac(-x) but they never released. in fact it was probably ready, but it took them several months to come and say that there were problems with EA not doing the (expensive) QA for it(if i remember correctly)...

btw, firaxis actually did 2 patches for smac(not talking about smacx): v3 and v4. there was never a v1 patch, the "first" one v2, which came out 2 days after the release. a bit difficult to call it a patch for me

[kormer]

All letters should be addressed to these people: If you address it to them, at the very least it will get to their executive secratary instead of some customer service rep that will just throw it in the "unhappy" pile.

Robert Kotick
Chairman, CEO and Director

Brian Kelly
Co-Chairman and Director

Ron Doornink
President and COO

William Chardavoyne
Executive Vice President and CFO

Lawrence Goldberg
Executive Vice President, Worldwide Studios

Daniel Hammett
Executive Vice President, Activision and President, Activision Value Publishing

Michael Rowe
Executive Vice President, Human Resources

Richard A. Steele
Executive Vice President, Distribution

Kathy Vrabeck
Executive Vice President, Worldwide Publishing and Global Brand Management

Corporate Headquarters
Activision, Incorporated
3100 Ocean Park Boulevard
Santa Monica, California 90405
(310) 255-2000

[deleted]

I own Activision stock. So I'll kick your ass if you boycott Oh that's right I sold it when I went back to school, never mind go ahead.

But in all seriousness ATVI did a cost/revenue analysis, and decided that the expense of patching the product was not going to generate sufficient revenues, and they probably factored in ill-will that would be generated by the decision, and decided that it would not be sufficient enough to decrease future revenues on other titles by a proportional ammount. So when you send them mail, I mean mail not e-mail, state what other products of theirs you have bought in the past 12 months as well as how many games total; if it was your only purchase, don't say that. State when you bought CTP2 the earlier the better, earlier buyers are opinion leaders or suckers. Im not sure what they're considered in CGames .

Well that's what I learned in marketing, and my guess is that it will be a marketeer (PR guy) who reads your letter. Most important is volume tho.

Cheers and good luck.

[KhanMan]

I for one will never buy from Activision again. Yes, you can say "we delivered our product, and we have no interest in expanding on it". However, with the case of CtP I (which I own), they delivered a game that, despite all patches, DOES NOT WORK.

In many sales industries, you are given a 30-day money back guarentee during which, if the prodcut is proven to be defective or unsuable, you have a right to return it for a refund.

My gripe is not that the ai is weak, or that it lacks this or that feature, but simply that Activision delivers, simply put, defective merchandise that fails to work. This may or may not be criminal, but it is definately unprofessional.

As to Mark's point: Activision delivered patches that failed to make CtP I a working program (by any definition), whereas Firaxis may have skimped on some additions. I'll support the working programs of Firaxis over the defective ones of Activision from now on.

-KhanMan

PS. I have every respect for the programmers that put their time and effort into CtP 1 and 2 (both inside Activision and outside), but I cannot support a company that sells defective merchandise.

[wittlich]

Here! Here!
A boycott of Activision is definately in order!

You guys may be right and Activision may not notice our "small sector" boycott....However, word of mouth is a powerful tool.

Yes, Definately everyone who can email or "snail mail" their complaints do so...I will on both the express email and standard USPS!

The bottom line is this: Activision advertised a game that in reality was unplayable (on the muliplayer side). I am not a Harvard Graduate, but it looks, smells, tastes, and feels as a bold face LIE!!!
False Addvertisement. Activision are criminals and should be treated as such - in a court of law....Any Lawyers out there???

Boycott Activsion?????? AT LEAST!!!!