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[kirby_fox]

None, in principle.

But I usually don't buy EA or Activision titles. I bought my first COD game since probably the GCN last year. Usually my tastes in games don't overlap with what they make, so I don't buy them. And though I enjoy Madden every so often, I can't bring myself to drop $60 on the game when I know it's going to have another one out the next year and so on. It just does not seem worth my money for as much as I'd like to play it- which is once in a blue moon. I actually wound up buying MLB The Show instead because I wanted to play a sports title, just to avoid supporting the Madden franchise. Also because it cost me like $20 on sale.

Ubisoft might be joining them shortly. I enjoyed parts of AC:U but some of the stuff I found overly annoying. Seeing chests on the map that I can't get because I have to get on my phone to unlock them is crap, and I don't remember how awful the DLC being shoved in your face was before. I feel like the next game is gonna do it again and it's enough of a turn off to the franchise and to everything they make because it might be the same. But in principle, anyone has a shot at the money in my wallet if it's a good title.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

I'll say that first post nails it. While there are companies that have given me little reason to support their products, there isn't a case where they are permanently written off. It's purely on a software to software basis.

Now, if this was about preorders, sure, I have a huge list with EA and Ubisoft (and now 2K thanks to their treatment of Evolve). Not that I preorder much at all outside of CEs of a near-guaranteed solid game, or deals like Amazon with Uncharted 4 earlier this week.

 

[FLD]

They all do bad/stupid shit at one point or another. I won't deprive myself of enjoyable video games over it. I will wait until I can get their games for dirt cheap, though.

For example, I haven't really felt like giving money to Gearbox ever since the whole A:CM debacle. I only got around to buying Borderlands 2 a couple weeks ago. 10 bucks for a real complete edition, i.e. the GOTY + whatever non-cosmetic DLC isn't normally included with it. Was just too good of a deal for me to pass up.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

I've been considering it with Bethesda/Zenimax. I'm sure this happens elsewhere, but it's hard to just write this off after reading about it.

 

[Matrix XII]

Ubisoft would be the only one really.

I still buy some of their games but stay away from the asscreeds and farcry series.

 

[Altima]

I done have that black list but I have no-preorder list. (Ubisoft)

 

[Bold One]

I've never heard black book used in this context before. Did you mean black list, OP?

.

Yeah, Black book is usually used for social/sex contacts

 

[Pizza]

Its not a grudge per se, but Peter moluneux's word means very little to me. He can't not overpromise

 

[Yoda]

Any major publisher has too much PR for me to get an accurate picture of the quality of the product near launch so I usually wait a few weeks before I decide whether its worth my rather limited time I devote to gaming.

 

[lord_of_flood]

I don't really have a "black book" per se but I tend to not buy titles from EA, Activision, Bethesda, WB, or Rockstar since most of their games don't appeal to me at all. In contrast, I buy most of Nintendo's releases for the opposite reason. Most of the time though I just take games on a case-by-case basis because every single one is different.

 

[mrpookles]

None. I really don't give a shit.

 

[Denton]

Only Activision kinda disgusts me, but they don't make any games that appeal to me either, so it's fine.

 

[Gilly]

Activision but not necessarily voluntarily they never made a game a really liked so its not very hard

 

[jax]

Capcom because Megaman
343i because Halo
Ubisoft because Ubisoft

 

[gogosox82]

None.

It's video games; I don't hold grudges like a child.

Why exactly is it childish to not buy a product from a company when you don't like their products or the way they do business? Seems completely rational to me. When people complain about dlc, season passes and the like, the response is always "vote with your wallet". So why is it that if someone decides to "vote with their wallet", they are being childish?

Anyway, to the op, I don't have a "black book" but I do have a shit list of publishers where I usually wait until the game has been out for 6 months or a year and can buy it for $10. I feel like this is the best way to handle it. At least this way then its only $10 I've been screwed out of if they've made a shit game.

 

[Converse]

Warner Interactive is on my black list since Arkham Origins -- I won't buy from them again. I also don't buy from EA, and if I want an Ubi game, I buy second-hand or wait until it's absolutely dirt cheap.

 

[Mr.Pig]

I wish I had some pretty game developers in my black book. ;-)

 

[Mononoke]

Nope.
I'm all about the game and not who published/developed it. So if it's good or to my liking I am getting it. If I blacklisted I would have nothing to play. Ever Dev/Pub has pissed me off at some point.

I agree. But I do think certain series/Devs or publishers can have a history of anti-consumer practices, and thus you can be weary of them.

It's not on the consumer to keep companies in check with the money they spend. If that was true, we wouldnt have laws, regulations and gov agencies based on protecting consumer rights. The majority doesn't always keep companies from doing anti-consumer things. The vote with your wallet argument doesn't hold up as a solution as the majority almost never boycots enough to make an impact.

So my point is, black listing a company across the board regardless the game -- isn't the best solution. Instead, focus on each individual game. Don't pre-order. Wait. If the game is broken or has shady anti consumer practices, don't buy it. If it does, use your voice and make noise. Bad press and PR has made companies change more than people not buying games.

 

[redcrayon]

It's easier just to be cautious and not blindly pre-order everything in sight, if a game still looks and sounds good two weeks after launch, I'll consider picking it up. Don't buy into hype and don't buy broken games 'till they're fixed. Easy. At least that way you are sending the right messages, rather than encouraging AAA devs to spend the money on marketing rather than testing.

 

[Necromanti]

I have a whitelist instead, if anything, since I always assume the worst when a lot of publishers have a long history of pulling anti-consumer stunts. (I'd still almost never pre-order and wait for reviews in any case, though.)

 

[John Caboose]

The genre of fighting is in my black book. I really tried but it is just not for me. Never again.

 

[Sayter]

Until EA, 343, and Ubisoft release fully finished, polished games that are full of content at release I won't be buying from them.

 

[Arion]

Fuuuuuuuucccccckkkkkk Hi-rez after what they did to Tribes Ascesnds. That game was one of the best shooters I played during the beta. But just before release they made some devastating changes the game mechanics and added some offensive F2P bullshit and the game was ruined. They had an amazing game in their hands and purposefully ruined it for god knows what reason. And then when smite came along all support for Tribes vanished overnight. I am never going to play anything from them ever.

 

[CryptiK]

Black List:
All COD Devs

On Notice:
343i
DICE
Ubisoft

 

[StarVigil]

I don't have a black book.
I use a floppy disk.

 

[omonimo]

Ubisoft starts to give me some temptation.

 

[EGM1966]

None as such but Ubisoft are damn close and Valve kind of but simply because the bastards left HL2 narrative hanging after EP2 which is simply shitty. They started and abandoned a series without a resolution and that always pisses me off.

 

[Stilton Disco]

Having an absolute no buy rule is stupid. Ultimately even previously bad entertainment producers can produce excellent work, change poor work conditions, or halt anti consumer actions.

Saying that, I do have a 'shit list' of untrustworthy publishers and studios, so make it a rule to never preorder Ubisoft or EA titles for instance, and wait for both good reviews and sales before purchasing if it does look ok.

 

[vocab]

Ea, any ubisoft game unless its another might and magic, se, and capcom.

2k games and Bethesda are borderline.

 

[JimmyRustler]

None, but I'm certainly never preordering an EA or Ubisoft game sgain but always wait for reviews.

 

[Mass_Pincup]

None, I buy games I want to play no matter where they from.

 

[Springy]

Not a black list, but I might pause before buying the next thing DICE puts out on the good chance it's a broken mess.

Edit: For context, I've bought every main line Battlefield game on release day since 1942. They've all been broken; Vietnam was a shitshow on launch, 2 had a cacophony of CTD issues, Bad Company 2's server browser was more akin to a bingo hopper of servers. BF4 surprised even my jaded ass with how much of it was on fire for an extended period of time. I'm not buying a BF5 until it gets a clean bill of health.

 

[Lettuce]

Gearbox. Aliens: Colonial Marines.

True dat!......fucking Randy Pitchfork

 

[MegamanPoweredUP]

Activision and EA.
Also I usually don't buy games from western developers.

 

[Nanashrew]

Ubiosft has done a lot to make me not want to purchase anything from them that I can barely muster excitement for their smaller games.

EA has a long history of bad business practices, glitchy games and so on. I don't really buy anything from them for multiple reasons due to problems I have with the company and I lack interest in most of their IPs. There's Star Wars but I'm not excited for it with them behind the wheel.

Activision, same as the other two.

That's all I got. Just those main three that have persisted in doing the same crap for years now.

 

[Sakujou]

None.

It's video games; I don't hold grudges like a child.

this.

but on the other hand, all yearly updates of games disgust me, so i dont buy these.
(fifa,cod,ac...)

 

[dc89]

None but I'll think twice over buying another Bungie game now.
The pure bullshit they span around Destiny during its development and then for them to pull a stunt like offloading the games entire story to an iOS app and a website. That's some bullshit right there.

 

[MCN]

Never say never. If someone releases a game that I enjoy, I'll buy it regardless of who they are or what they have done in the past.

 

[DSix]

EA is still not out of my black book, and Ubisoft is about to enter it.

It's fairly easy to keep EA out of my gaming, none of their games strike me as very good.

 

[Yoshi]

Nobody in good conscious can say Sonic team will put together a great Sonic game when they never iterate and toss out games that can be refined.

I say, in good conscious, that I believe, Sega will put together another great Sonic game. They did so with Sonic Colours and Sonic Generations and they will do it again.

I don't really have a blackbook, but there are developers where I am not too positive I'll ever play a game by them that I like:
* Bioware: I have played Sonic Chronicles. Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age Inquisition, none of them were any fun to me whatsoever. A few friends are bugging me to try out Mass Effect 1, but since I completely abhore both, game and world design from Mass Effect 3 (oh and as a huge Science-Fiction fan, I also hate the story) and see absolutely no saving grace for that game at all. Nothing that even remotely interests me.
* Traveller's Tales: The last game they made that I liked was Sonic R. It also was the only one. Numerous Lego games, Sonic 3D Blast and SMB Adventure all were supremely lackluster and shallow experiences for me, I highly doubt they'll put out something I like in the future.
* EA: Not a developer, but a publisher. They did publish Portal 1 (through Orange Box) and Portal 2, so obviously, they are not all bad for me, but their main output, consisting of sports games, a bad aproximation of arcade racing (open world shit), Sims and shooters, is uninteresting for me just by genre. They could be the best games ever in their respective fields, I'd still hate them.
* Blizzard: Diablo 1 & 3 felt like mindless skinner boxes to me (wander around, slash some enemies and collect random stuff that's good hopefully), WoW I've only played for a short amount of time, but found abysmal for similar reasons as Diablo, and StarCraft / WarCraft just are not my type of strategy game (I don't like building stuff)
* Media Molecule: I hate the floaty physics in LittleBigPlanet, I don't like the focus on gimmicks and narrative in Tearaway. They work in a genre I like (platformers), but if they don't seriously change their approach towards optimizing gameplay & mechanics before anything else, it's unlikely I'll like their output (Though Tearaway was at least playable, as opposed to LBP).
* Shooter-only teams like 343 industries, Infinity Wards, now Neversoft, Treyarch, Sledgehammer, Guerilla Games and so on produce shooters. I don't like shooters....

So a lot of developers where I highly doubt I'll like anything they do

 

[Yagharek]

None.

It's video games; I don't hold grudges like a child.

This is the worst first post in a long time.

 

[joey_bone_bomb]

I can't say I hold a grudge against them, but I will never buy another Gearbox game with confidence again, and certainly won't buy any of their output on day 1 or without some serious review research.
Fool me once (A:CM) and all that jazz.

 

[Thrakier]

Ubisoft

 

[Khaos_Knight]

None.

If a game is shit then I just won't buy it.

No harm, no foul.

 

[fhqwhgads]

Ubisoft, EA and Telltale.
Granted, a lot of the replies in this thread are a little worrying. No wonder devs keep making broken/bad games.

 

[pa22word]

Bioware and ea in general. Ubisoft mostly.

Usually if I get burned twice im done. Bioware released two completely unredeemably shit games in a row followed by a totally banal game, so I'm done with them. I'm tired of wasting money on their pretentious, shallow, and dlc ridden products on the hope they put out something more than an overly ambitious slog without a spark of innovation.

 

[Nemmy]

I don't blacklist entire companies, but rather look at their games and whether or not I want to buy them.
So I don't buy anything EA as I can't remember when was the last time they released something I wanted to play. Similar deal with Ubisoft, I loved From Dust, but their yearly bar fillers like AssCreed are of no interest to me so I don't really buy their games. Some franchises like The Elder Scrolls are on my sorta-blacklist right now - I won't buy another TES until Bethesda fixes the combat system and actually makes a worthy Morrowind successor (which will probably be never, so I'll never buy a TES game again - but not because of a grudge, just plain disinterest).

 

[sade]

Bungie, they scammed me 60 bucks with Destiny, they will get another penny from my cold and blue hands (I mean after killing me, do not mind my avatar).

 

[Caronte]

It's not that I hold a grudge against them, it's simply that I don't buy many games and I prefer to support some developers in particular.

That said: EA.

 

[Brashnir]

EA on all platforms, Ubisoft on PC, and closing in on an all-platforms.

Honestly though, the entire AAA sector of the industry is pushing closer and closer to being written off completely with the proliferation of psychologically-manipulative feelgood dispensers that can barely be considered games anymore.