I do care about human rights and all that crap, but when it comes down to it, if the game is good, me = happy

No, people don't even boycott work done by slave laborers in third world countries, why would they for this? LOL

Pay cuts?  In this day and age?  Something must be done!  I will not be buying the game because of this outrage!  And it totally isn't because of my  complete lack of interest in old west-themed stuff!

Yeah, I can't boycott this game sorry :(. Sucks to these people for working long hours to complete a project but I see it was paying into their hard effort! That and this game is gonna freakin rock, Red Dead Revolver was awesome.

I think that boycotting this game would sort of be a disservice to the fine people who worked on it, as if it didn't get enough sales there could be some financial repercussions. And an unfair job is better than no job at all.......so yeah.

These people's jobs rely on you buying the game, if you're interested in it. Fewer sales will only mean they get shitcanned immediately. Organizing a walkout is incredibly hard to accomplish, as well, especially when you take into consideration that the industry has already suffered millions of lob losses with not enough positions for everyone who has been laid off to refill. When you've got a family to feed, as many game developers do, you don't really have the option. You *need* a paycheck coming from somewhere, even if it's a blood-sweat-and-tears earned paycheck. It's terrible, but I'd rather see a big ole' lawsuit slapped on them by the collective workforce.
 
Where I used to work (not talking about a game-related place), they'd refuse to allow you to work beyond 40 hours a week so they wouldn't have to pay you overtime, and would get pissed off at you and cut back your hours if you did. There was also an almost 2 year long pay freeze (no raises for two whole years and I hear it's still ongoing). People put up with it either because they don't know any better or because they really don't have a choice. It's a tough job market out there. Although I did end up doing my own personal walkout...

A lot of you people are real ethical geniuses.  Oh, they don't pay their workers enough.  I'll keep buying their product.  Hell, I'll buy *more* of their product in order to make sure the poor guys can keep their jobs.  So yeah, maybe you're right that that works, but if mistreating employees becomes an effective business model, it's one that will spread to other companies, ultimately becoming a problem for a lot more people than the ones you were trying to help out in the first place.  The one thing I'll grant you is that boycotting on its own isn't likely to cause any changes unless it's accompanied by lobbying for changes to labor laws.

" @ADTR_ZERO: So you're happy people being forced to work 16 hours a day and 6 days a week with no extra pay to make a damned game? "

How bout no? The game seems interesting and I want it, if reviews come out and it is terrible then I wont buy it, but if it is awesome then I'm buying it ASAP 
 
That is all

So you're going to reward their hard work with a boycott?  I think just the opposite would be in order to secure them more funding and employees for the next game.  

nope  

I don't see what boycotting would do.

I would want it to sell better to make these people feel better about all the time they've spent. How bad would you feel if you had to miss out on all sorts of social experiences, birthdays, R&R, and so on, only to have the game you spilled blood and tears over fail commercially?

so you boycott the game so the guys who been working on this game will have a bad resume because the game wasn't a success?

" @ADTR_ZERO: So you're happy people being forced to work 16 hours a day and 6 days a week with no extra pay to make a damned game? "

" @Sathan: I e-mailed a Rockstar Toronto employee, and he said that we should expect layoffs at San Diego regardless of the game's performance. And may I remind you that the game is  "an organic disaster of the most epic proportions ", that probably means the employees aren't statisfied with the game. "

Ok let me clarify: If anyone else has an option that they think will help stop such enethical practices please do share. Stop with the bullshit "But if you boycott it that means the developers wasted their time" messages. You can't just pretend shit like this didn't happen. Something needs to be done...

I wasn't buying the game anyway and I hope it is a an Epic Fail so they don't profit from their behaviour.  A world of full employment would be so good, then greedy arseholes wouldn't take advantage of desperate people.  Just because some countries have long hours is never an excuse for change to their way.  We should lead by example and a fair days pay for a fair days wage should be the norm, so people can have time for important stuff like friends and family.

I'm going to quote a commentor from Gamasutra:

" There seems to be an ethical need to do something or history will keep repeating. "  
 
Boycott or not, let's do something.
 
And I recommend this link for some industry-insider insight on the quality of life for game developers.

" @Sathan: I e-mailed a Rockstar Toronto employee, and he said that we should expect layoffs at San Diego regardless of the game's performance. And may I remind you that the game is  "an organic disaster of the most epic proportions ", that probably means the employees aren't statisfied with the game. "

No

"How about you boycott all the other products you probably buy that have an extremely shady backstory to them?  I assure you, there are tons.  And this is not unheard of, especially in the video game industry and especially during Crunch Time. "

Regardless of the game, I don't think boycotting it would do any good. If they did not like their work situation they have to do something about it. Hell, if this game never sells they won't be able to go anywhere else with their video game programming career. I say that we just let this play out however it happens to play out. If those guys don't like working like that, then they can quit and try to go somewhere else. Heck, it is a hard industry to move around in, but I would say it is up to the employees to get free of their situation. If enough of them do, change would have to happen in that company anyways.

If you have not been forced into conscription you should have no complaints

How?

Nah dude.  I don't know what happened but it's not my job as a consumer.  If it's a good game, as it seems to be, I will reward it with my hard earned money.

"
 Uh, no.  I routinely work 12-14 hour days in a physically demanding job for jack shats worth of pay.  Today I worked 13 and am only getting paid for 8!  Some days I work 12 and get paid for 18. " 
 
isnt that your fault for choosing a shitty job and not getting educated

" @Toxic:  I agree completely, lets kill the sales of this game so we can help add to their problems by getting them laid off as well. "

" @Sathan: I e-mailed a Rockstar Toronto employee, and he said that we should expect layoffs at San Diego regardless of the game's performance. And may I remind you that the game is  "an organic disaster of the most epic proportions ", that probably means the employees aren't statisfied with the game. "

I personally don't believe that they would get away with these practices for four years. A disgruntled ex-employee would have ratted them out or someone responsible for monitoring the companies' labor regulations would have picked up on this.

" In January of 2010, a blog post published on Gamasutra written by the "Rockstar Spouse" pointed out the unethical practices used at Rockstar San Diego during this game's development, including 12 hour days and 6 day weeks, with and lower than the inflation rate salary increase.
 
That sentence took me awhile to comprehend. Overall, though, that seems very iffy. I doubt all of the people hated the hours. A few of the people probably said some things and they were taken completely out of context. Don't really think that people would let a big-name company push them into slave labor. Besides all that, it is just plain dumb to willingly deny yourself the possible enjoyment of a video game. Hell no I won't boycott this game. Also, I hope all of the kids who wanted to boycott MW2 get 60 bucks stolen from them.

No sir, I will not.

Such is the way of the video game industry.  You put in long hours to get a game out there.  Whether it's ethical or not doesn't matter.  If they really had an issue with it, then they would've had a mass walkout.  They would've quit.  They would've done something about it.  Instead, they let it happen, so in turn, who is the real bad guy?  Rockstar for wanting to get this game made under whatever means necessary...or the employees, who continued to allow such practices and succumb to this? 
 
Moreover, you want us to boycott the game so that the people who put in those hours aren't getting the royalties they deserve for it?  That's an ass-backwards idea!!! 
 
AND...at least they are working!  Shit, there are people that would LOVE to have a job right now, so the fact that they even HAVE a job should be something they are thankful for.  By all means, if they felt they were being treated unfairly, they had every right to report it as abuse.  They had plenty of options, but instead, they decided to stay.  How many people are coming out and talking this kind of shit about it all?  Is it everyone, or just a couple of people?  I can almost guarantee that there are plenty of those people that are going to say "man, I really wanted to make this game". 
 
So shove your boycott ideas and wait until there is an honest-to-goodness confirmation of anything severe...rather than relying on a gaming blog with some comments.

Boycotts are so 2009.

Fuck that.  This is my most anticipated game of 2010.

Can we boycott bad threads instead?
 
As many have already stated, and the original poster has conveniently ignored -- there are plenty of things they can do if they feel they are being wrongly treated, unlike in other countries such as Mexico or China. If they feel like the sword of Damocles is hanging over their head while they work, chances are good they would have been sending out their resumes already and looking into new employment at the first opportunity. Crunch time for most big games requires long hours of the developers, this is nothing new, so I have to wonder like many others, if this merely the case? I'm not familiar with the intricacies of United States Labor laws, but I'm sure you guys have an agency that investigates companies that partake in questionable practices, like we do up here in the great white north.
 
Honestly, your post comes off as Fox News-esque propaganda. "Organic disaster of the most epic proportions"? Come now. That term would make more sense if used when a massive earthquake strikes and decimates cities.
 
Here's a thought -- seeing as you have family that works at one of Rockstar's studios, why don't you suggest they and their coworkers walk out on Rockstar to send them a message that they don't approve of how things are going in the San Diego studio? Not that they would, but that would send a bigger message than a handful of consumers not buying the games based on some hearsay on forums.

" @baconbits33: But we're talking about valuable and educated artists and engineers who could be working 8 hour days and make as  much money in other computer development businesses or graphic design businesses. "

After reading this I'll but 2 copies out of spite.  If your job is that bad THEN QUIT. 

" @baconbits33: But we're talking about valuable and educated artists and engineers who could be working 8 hour days and make as  much money in other computer development businesses or graphic design businesses. "

"@ScreamingFist said:

"
 Uh, no.  I routinely work 12-14 hour days in a physically demanding job for jack shats worth of pay.  Today I worked 13 and am only getting paid for 8!  Some days I work 12 and get paid for 18. " 
 
isnt that your fault for choosing a shitty job and not getting educated

"

" @Symphony:
The "organic disaster" quote is straight from a developer's mouth who commented on the original Gamasutra blog post. I don't want to come off as anything that can be compared to Fox News, but 16-hour crunch mode does not sound ethical to me, and can be avoided with good management of resources and hiring the right number of people at the right time. I don't want people's health and quality of life to be damaged for making a fucking video game, that's why I'm taking a stand against those who advocate it. I can't think of another way to send a message to Rockstar's upper management as a consumer.  And I'm not going to ask people from Toronto to walk out because of shit that went down in San Diego. And in this economic times, with all these companies shutting down and downsizing, it is not really wise to walk out on a job; but that does not grant a permit to abuse the employees. "

" @Symphony:
The "organic disaster" quote is straight from a developer's mouth who commented on the original Gamasutra blog post. I don't want to come off as anything that can be compared to Fox News, but 16-hour crunch mode does not sound ethical to me, and can be avoided with good management of resources and hiring the right number of people at the right time. I don't want people's health and quality of life to be damaged for making a fucking video game, that's why I'm taking a stand against those who advocate it. I can't think of another way to send a message to Rockstar's upper management as a consumer.  And I'm not going to ask people from Toronto to walk out because of shit that went down in San Diego. And in this economic times, with all these companies shutting down and downsizing, it is not really wise to walk out on a job; but that does not grant a permit to abuse the employees. "