You want non-Steam exclusive games?

Offer a better deal. That's the whole shebang.

Either organize enough people to NOT buy the game that it overcomes the benefits of Steam, or convince Bethesda in some other way that Steam exclusivity is detrimental.

Saying "I won't buy a game if it uses Steamworks DRM exclusively" is not enough unless enough people actually follow through. And that means risking giving up on TESV entirely if necessary.

Just a guess, but maybe they were too small for Valve to make any kind of competitive exclusivity offer to them? Nothing says Valve has to try to purchase exclusivity for every game that is released.

That is my goal, yes. But at this point I don't know what "the deal" is; meaning I don't honestly understand why Bethesda or any other publisher would choose to go with Steam exclusive distribution.

I am via PMs attempting to start a revolution among some of the more clearly displeased Civ5 folks over at CivFanatics. In spending my morning going back through recent threads and picking out guys who clearly were displeased with the game (although granted not necessarily based primarily on Steam exclusivity) I was able to identify 60 prospects to whom I forwarded a PM this morning.

I suppose I could start a petition/poll with the title "Join the Boycott of Skyrim (subtitle: Unless they DO NOT make it Steam Mandatory)." But my guess is that the mods might not support such a thread? I am honestly a bit skeptical about how much difference it might make, given that (a) it seems there are large numbers of users and developers enamored with Steam, that (B) the publishers are not exactly seeking out feedback on this, and seem very much leaning toward alienating those of us who will not buy Steam mandatory games, as well as © the fact that such a poll would not be representative of the total market, and could easily be dismissed if Valve or someone else claims to have some fancy pants marketing research data that contradicts it.

ADDIT: can a moderator please tell me? If I start a thread poll with the title

"Boycott Skyrim Unless it is NOT Steam Mandatory"

and a one-choice radio-button saying "Yes, if Skyrim is only available via Steam, I proably will not buy it."

and additional text: "Please Bethesda. Do not make Steam mandatory for Skyrim. Steam should be one option for buying and playing Skyrim, not the ONLY option. Please also make Skyrim available via the Bethesda online store and other options."

Would such a thread be left open or would it be locked?

Oh, don't get me started on CIV5. My girlfriend had bought and installed CIV5 AND Steam on my computer when I came home one day. :swear:

I was way more excited about New Vegas than I am about Skyrim, and I have yet to break down and buy New Vegas. If I can up on my favorite CRPG of all time, then losing my second favorite won't be that hard to deal with. At least I still have the prior games, and nobody is ever going to deny me those.


Edit: Wrong post

Thanks Showler!

Petitions and Boycott threads are prohibited by the forum rules. http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/724862-forum-rules-and-general-information/

I'd assume boycott requests are considered petitions.

edit: Lockpicking? Edit the wrong post?

as was I. I was fully ready to pre-order new vegas collector's edition & I have yet to get the game and doubt I will now

making beth games Steam exclusive only hurts beth in the long run because it alienates a portion of the fanbase.

I suppose instead of being a petition or boycott thread, it could just be a poll.

Subject: What If Skyrim is Steam Exclusive?
Sub-subject: Will you still buy it?

Text of the thread:
The intent of this poll is not to show Bethesda how many TES fans _will_ buy Skyrim if it is Steam exclusive, I don't think anyone will dispute that there will be plenty of sales, indeed the majority of TES fans will likely buy it no matter what.

The intent of the thread is also not to pose as sound sampling of the TES market; hopefully they actually have good data on their markets. However, the question of whether Steam exlusive distribution alienates a certain portion of their fan base is, I speculate, not something on which they have any numbers. Showing them with a forum poll like this that there is an otherwise quiet segment of us who they are likely to lose both as customers and as fans might provoke them to acquire the numbers they would really need to judge if the tradeoffs between Steam-exclusive and Steam-optional compare and contrast. If Beth stands on a clear empirical case that they are likely to make plenty of profit by virtue of the advantagees of Steam exclusive distribution, and irrespective of losing some of their customers and fans, then I will concede that they should do what is best for their business. I am guessing that they do not really have the sorts of market research data they would realy need to have such a sound empirical case. This poll is intended to pique their interest in actually thinking it through, and considering both the short-term and long-term costs of alienating some fans by virtue of making Skyrim Steam Exclusive.

The intent of this poll is to see how many of us are not likely to buy TES V if it require Steam. The goal here being, not to try to get Bethesda to not distribute with Steam at all, but to convince them of the merits of distributing by Steam as one option, including for example, the Bethesda online store as well.

In the interest of transparency, I will acknowledge my own bias in this respect. I have no desire to be involved in Steam and will not buy the game if it is Steam exclusive. I already refused to buy Civ5 and New Vegas for those reasons, so I have no fear of my ability to 'resist' the temptations. Rather, I am thinking that there is a trend forming here, where lots of the best games are increasingly going to become Steam exclusive. I would hate to see that happen, and I guess if it does, I'll just stop gaming or only play those games that do not require it.

Having said all of that, I would ask all of you to _please_ be civil, avoid using any inflammatory language. I would really like to see this thread not get locked so that we can have dialogue to go with the poll results too.

I would point out that, if Steam is exclusive, we "Steamophobes" who are resolved not to particpate in Steam, simply don't get to play the game(s), whereas you "Steamophiles" lose nothing. If Steam is one option for distribution (similar to Mount&Blade Warband being available by Steam and by the Gamersgate online store) then we Steamophobes have the opportunity to enjoy the game, and continue to be engaged and non-disaffected members of the fan community, and again, you Steamophiles lose nothing.

This is NOT about whether Steam is so good that it should be the only means of distribution, nor about whether Steam is so bad that it should be scourged from the planet. It is simply about how many of us would prefer to have the option to buy the game by other means besides Steam. Our reasons for this I think are probably legitimate topics for discussion, but there is no need to turn this into a Us vs. Them among us fans. We all share the love of the games, it is just that some of us don't care to participate in a particular distributor.

The results of this poll will not be able to tell Bethesda about the actual numbers of sales they might lose, because for one reason, we forumites are not likely to be representative of the total market, particular the total market that is networked to Steam. But what it can show is, if there is a non-trivial fraction of us who have either reservations about/prefernces against Steam, else a true commitment not to participate in Steam. IMO as a social scientist, Bethesda should take an interest in a poll like this one. If 10 or 15% of the respondents to this poll say that they "will not buy" the game because it is Steam exclusive, then that suggests a potentially very important marketing mistake from going with Steam exlusive distribution. While the proportion of Steam users who will buy the game might be increased by it being exclusive, the loss in the long-term fans, and other who we as a population might reasonably represent could add to to losses that exceed the gains achieved by Steam exclusivity. These are numbers I do not pretend to foretell; but if Bethesda is going to make a marketing decision that alienates me and many of my friends who are brand loyal customers, then I would like them to be doing it for smart reasons, i.e., they are going to make even better profits.

-=-=-=-The Poll-=-=-= (Choose one of the three options)
It doesn't matter to me how I have to get it, I'll buy Skyrim no matter what.
I'd prefer to have a non-Steam option for buying Skyrim, such as the Beth online store, but might buy it via Steam anyway.
I won't buy Skyrim if it is only available via Steam. I've made a commitment not to participate in Steam.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

So what do you say Mods? Can I post this poll or not?

Any suggestions from you guys on improving the poll?

Such a thread would be against the rules of the forum, locked and warning issued.



Polls are ok if you don't encourage boycotting or petitions in the body of the OP. We have a thread like that around somewhere already. Not sure if it's open nor how old it is.

I think you mean to say "why Bethesda or any other publisher would choose to go with Steam's DRM protection." (The PC version of New Vegas was available for purchase via various channels, but all required activation via Steamworks.)

The answer to your question is simple. Steam has either persuaded these publishers that their DRM provided the best value, or there was some additional financial incentive. These large publishers are not simply arbitrarily selecting DRM solutions without carefully researching all of their options.

are you referring to ( http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1155984-skyrim-steam-and-you/ ) ?

OK, everyone needs to lighten up and take a look at this vision of the coming Steampocolypse :whistling: :nuke:

http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/42/42731.jpg