Bethesda Is Nuking Its Goodwill

Bethesda has joined the ranks of Ubisoft and Activision as a developer that has nuked its goodwill with the Bethesda Fallout 76 controversy.

[PhoenixUp]

After this so called nuke of PR, Bethesda will have to whether through the fallout of their actions

[CaptainOmega]

Cringe.

[Kornholic]

Whether?

[mmofanatic]

Yes, I saw this on Reddit. I was thinking of buying Fallout 76 but not anymore.

[-Foxtrot]

I heard something on the Angry Joe Fallout 76 extended review video something that rings true

Bethesda, because of this shit storm, are going to be under a microscope with their next games making the job 50 times harder. Things which might have passed people will be more openly criticised now they've let the flood gates open.

[LucasRuinedChildhood]

Although a minority of people on this site dislike him, this debacle shows that AngryJoe is a way more reliable reviewer than most game "journalists".

They couldn't even criticize the game without praising and endorsing the goddamn card system. They had to find some artificial way to be "balanced". AngryJoe is right about this issue as well. I'm not saying it has no value but it's obvious that Bethesda is slowly preparing players for micro-transactions in future games with these cards. In a real Fallout game, randomized perk packs would be unacceptable. They would COMPLETELY lose the right to call their games RPGs.

[TheSaint]

I like AJ, say what you want about his 'act' but he speaks true.

[rainslacker]

I doubt that's going to be true. A full Elder Scrolls or Fallout release will get all the adoration that every other game in the series do, along with all the bugs which barely get a mention in the reviews.

I think you give too much credit to the press and much of the community. They would have loved this game with all its bugs if its content wasn't as lackluster as it was, and we'd be hearing for a couple years until their next game released that they made an excellent game, and how the bugs weren't that big of a deal.

[Elwenil]

I don't know. More and more gamers seem to be "in the know" and are paying attention to news like this. A few years ago I would still see gamers mindlessly running into Gamestop or Walmart to buy whatever new fad was coming out. These days things are a little different. The juggernaut known as CoD took a big hit to sales for a while, Battlefield V lost a lot of preorders and I assume sales due to their controversy and let's not forget Destiny 2 and Battlefront 2. The whole "loot box/gambling" thing has made worldwide news with major outlets reporting on it. To me it seems as if more people are paying attention these days, are speaking out against trends they don't like and are not buying games they feel have issues too big to ignore. When I preordered Fallout 76 through Amazon, the Power Armor edition was already sold out. But I clicked to be notified if it ever came back in stock and I got several of those after the beta ended, I assume from people who cancelled their preorder. The previously sold out Power Armor edition is on sale at Amazon now, and when was the last time you saw that from a "limited edition" from such a beloved developer?

[rainslacker]

I think that people are being made aware of it by more trending social media that highlights the problems that people are having. The same thing that causes non-issues to become issues, is what makes issues become highlighted among the general populace. Double edged sword and all that.

I think that these things can have an effect, but only so much in that they cause sales to not live up to expectations. Even though these sales aren't living up to expectations, they're still making money on these bad practices, so all that's really happening is that the publishers are trying to find ways to make it more acceptable. It took a long road to get to where we are today...although in a relatively short amount of time, and it'll probably be just as long a road getting to where everyone is at least agreeable...but I see publishers not trying as hard to remove their practices, as I see consumers trying hard to get them to go away.

The power of the free market is still a thing, and unless games actually fail because of this stuff, it's not going to really turn around. That puts me in a place where I kind of wish that a game would fail, just to make positive change, despite really not wishing any game to fail, as it's harmful to the industry.

[SegaSaturn669]

I don't understand the context of the spongebob image here.

[hobbesenero]

To symbolize how cheap Bethesda are!

[SegaSaturn669]

ohhhhh I get it! https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[foster426]

People let them get away with broken games for years and Bethesda got arrogant and thought they would eat this garbage up

[MasterCornholio]

And yet there are still people who defend them. Thats something that i dont understand.

[Armaggedon]

Because it takes two to tango. Bethesda has messed up but that doesnt change the fact that alot of people were inducing unnecessary hatred on the game. This backlash this game got made Mass Effect Andromeda look like a masterpiece by comparison, despite the fact that ME:Andromeda was a broken game at launch as well. Heck Ark charged $60 as well and was super buggy, but did much better than 76 critically.

[MasterCornholio]

I played it over at a friends house and the game was just unplayable to me in my opinion. Already encountered around 5 game breaking bugs and plenty of other minor issues. The frame rate was terrible as well. I know that Bethesda has a bad history with PlayStation but this was just unacceptable in my opinion. Now that I’ve seen the game 1st hand I understand why many publications gave it an extremely low score.

As for the hatred after launch well Bethesda (especially Tod Howard) did break many promises then there’s the issue with false marketing and refunds as well. I can understand why it’s a hot topic right now on the internet because nobody likes Anticonsumer business tactics.

[Armaggedon]

Bethesda did some messed up stuff in regards to this game, including lying to customers and deceiving them. However, I cant say that warrants the game consistently scoring 2/10 and even 1/10. 5/10, sure, but not 2/10. I have seen some bugs, and have fortunate enough to only crash once, but other than that I find it fun. The truth of the matter is that the performance alone is definitely not why people are scoring it so poorly, its because of the gameplay.

[pinkcrocodile75]

The way I see it. Bethesda, have released a game that clearly needed more time in the oven. Then of course we have the "Dumb C@nt" internet response.

Me I'm taking a back seat while Bethesda sort themselves out and will do my to drown out the pointless angry "Dumb C@nts" until sense returns to the discussions.

[Lionsguard]

Fallout 76 may be a lukewarm disaster but no one is going to really care when Elder Scrolls 6 drops. However with that said, other companies who have been riding the consumer's good graces like Blizzard for example need to take notice and realize that they're not "immortal" to fan backlash. Although the situation between Blizz and Bethesda are different, it just goes to show that one is safe from nerd rage.

[rainslacker]

EA, Bethesda, Activision, and Blizzard have been on a lot of people's sh*t lists for years now. It's only in the past year or two that we've seen appreciable push back towards their actions. Mostly because they can't address the community in a way that hides their disdain for those that would actually criticize them. Activision actually gets less push back though.

Every single one of these controversies could have been averted if they had just been respectful towards the community, and the topic would have died off. People asked why Activision isn't held under the same microscope as these companies when they have these same crappy things come up....and its because they don't respond, or when they do, they don't disregard their customers concerns in a way that is hateful.

But these other companies decided to try and call out gamers, and historically, it's never a good thing to blame your customers, even in the instances where they might be unreasonable. Just look at Activision. As crappy as they are. As much as we complain about them. Have they ever really just pissed off the community by saying something completely stupid and arrogant about their users?

[Armaggedon]

You make a good point. Well put.

[Knightofelemia]

Bethesda and Ubisoft are no where near as bad as EA and Activision

[DreadGara]

But they are trying to be buddies now.

[rainslacker]

Good thing their nukes crash the server then...that way their good will can be rebooted for the next real game they release which will likely be buggy as all hell.

[Smokehouse]

They are fine whether this game fails or not lol.... Bethesda’s lifeline isn't hanging on 76s success. Their consumer base can’t be boiled down to few Twitter comments. There is no structural breakdown going on lol. I feel that this reaction was fairly predictable early on. That first trailer told me I had to skip it.

[Armaggedon]

I dont know. I love Bethesda, but the crap they just tried to pull was basically theivery. Are they as financially stable as we are led to believe? Remember, they have God Howard:Lord of Ambition, and ambition costs alot of money. Kojima will tell you.

[Smokehouse]

Thievery how? It was just another experiment like fallout shelter. Only this one wasn’t as well received. Ideas fail all of the time and it’s nothing personal lol. To call someone a thief or crook for releasing a game below your standards is a bit harsh. I’m not even trying to make excuses either, 76 didn’t even sound good on paper imo. The execution was predictable.

[Armaggedon]

Think about it my friend, the tactics they pull. Hey, I like the game and I'm playing it so if anyone could be labled a " defender" of the game, its me;However, Todd did lie his rear off at the Bethesda press conference. Also, this whole situation with the canvas bags, a bait and switch tactic if I ever did see one. Something is going on,and alot of people should be able to see it.

[MAULxx]

All this could have been avoided if Bethesda would have been honest & addressed the bag issue for their super fans. That's assuming these fans are mostly happy with the game itself. If you spent $200 on FO76 I consider you a super fan. Treat your fans well & they will forgive alot. When you fail to do that they tend to take notice. Especially your superfans that shell out to you regularly.

[Armaggedon]

True. Take care of your people, and they will take care of you.