Legal Niches

Left 4 Dead 2 Sparks Consumer Protest

By gamepolitics

There is, apparently, a consumer protest of sorts bubbling up around Valve's E3 announcement of Left 4 Dead 2.

A user group which opened within the last few days on Valve's Steam Community is actively calling for a boycott of the game and has nearly 17,000 members as I write this.

So, what are the protesters griping about? Via Videogames Republic, here's the list:

• Significant content for L4D1 was promised, and never delivered
• Valve put little faith in L4D1 since they almost certainly started working on L4D2 right after release
• The fact that L4D2 is nearly identical to L4D1 will decimate the community for both games
• The announced date is not nearly enough time to polish content or make significant gameplay changes
• The new character designs seem bland and unappealing so far
• L4D2 is too bright to fit in with L4D1's visual aesthetic
• The fiddle-based horde music is extremely disliked, though the differently orchestrated music is otherwise welcome
• L4D2's release will result in a drop in quality and frequency for L4D1 content, even compared to before
• The community has lost faith in Valve's former reputation for commitment to their games post-release

The group also has requests:

• 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.
   

GP: To be honest, after EA's phony Dante's Inferno protest last week, I'm a but gunshy about declaring this one genuine and not another case of viral marketing. I'd like to hear more...

Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on June 08, 2009 (boomark / email).