12 replies to this topic

[Anarchy_Balsac]

I've had plenty of time to contemplate things when my PC was gone.  One thing I put a lot of thought into is the state of gaming, and how we got here.

And the reality is, that too many of us will cave in given enough time, no matter how determined we are to not buy anything until these microtransactions/Disc-locked-DLC/AlwaysOnDRM/SJWCaterings stop.  At some point, we can't just keep blaming these companies, we have to blame ourselves and our community for failing to pressure the market.

 

Maybe this doesn't apply to YOU specifically, but no doubt it applies to a significant chunk of the gamer population.  If you don't like the Capcom refuses to make Mega Man games, ask yourself if playing the new Resident Evil is more imporatant than seeing them start making your favorite franchise again.  If it is, go ahead and indulge, but if it's not, resist, and don't think launching a plastic rocket within the troposphere will do ANY good, it won't.

 

Don't like EA in general?  Avoid games like Mirror's Edge and Dead Space then.  Don't like Disney giving them exclusive Star Wars rights?  Avoid Kingdom Hearts then, hell avoid going to see episode 7 (you can always watch it on a USED DVD/BluRay later).  Speaking of used things, that's a great solution in many cases.  Not all games have DLC, and for at least these, you can just buy the used copy.

 

If it has DLC or is digital only, well, I probably better stop short of suggesting a solution there, but they do exist.  My point is, we need to stop directing our anger at the industry, and start directing it at ourselves and our friends.  It isn't easy, granted, but we can't just keep shaking our fists only to cave in, because that's exactly why companies won't take us seriously.

 

[Kite]

What one person considers bad can be the best thing ever to someone else. Maybe you don't like that Capcom is focusing on Resident Evil instead of Mega Man. But there are people that like Resident Evil and they are going to play it if they like it and support it if they want to. Maybe you don't like that EA is a company that sells games, but other people do like their games and they are going to play them and enjoy them if they want to.

 

Also, what you're suggesting isn't really market pressure so much as making people miserable in an attempt to shake up the industry. I know that's probably not really your intention, but I think that'd be the end result if people seriously did this since they'd basically be avoiding things they like to try and send the message they want more things they'd like.

 

There are terrible things happening in the video gaming industry, but I just don't think this is the approach to take with attempting to fix them. I don't have the magic fix for it myself, but I feel like making myself and others miserable isn't the way to go.

[Anarchy_Balsac]

What one person considers bad can be the best thing ever to someone else. Maybe you don't like that Capcom is focusing on Resident Evil instead of Mega Man. But there are people that like Resident Evil and they are going to play it if they like it and support it if they want to. Maybe you don't like that EA is a company that sells games, but other people do like their games and they are going to play them and enjoy them if they want to.

 

Also, what you're suggesting isn't really market pressure so much as making people miserable in an attempt to shake up the industry. I know that's probably not really your intention, but I think that'd be the end result if people seriously did this since they'd basically be avoiding things they like to try and send the message they want more things they'd like.

 

There are terrible things happening in the video gaming industry, but I just don't think this is the approach to take with attempting to fix them. I don't have the magic fix for it myself, but I feel like making myself and others miserable isn't the way to go.

Well that's why I included this little gem:

If you don't like the Capcom refuses to make Mega Man games, ask yourself if playing the new Resident Evil is more imporatant than seeing them start making your favorite franchise again.  If it is, go ahead and indulge, but if it's not, resist

 

Because I know full well not everyone will agree on what is bad or such.  My point is, too many can't resist the urge to buy the game anyway,

[Kite]

But is that really a problem? If they want to buy the game and play it and they can afford it, they should be able to do that.

[Anarchy_Balsac]

But is that really a problem? If they want to buy the game and play it and they can afford it, they should be able to do that.

 

If they're okay with things like microtransactions, disc-locked DLC, Always Online DRM and the like it's not.  But the problem is that the companies see the numbers, they see few if any sales lossed, despite overwhelming complaints, and conclude, rightfully, that they need not accommodate their customers.

[Orithan]

Your heart is in the right place, but you are going about this issue the wrong way. The way you are asking people to completely boycott companies who they don't like (even if they like some of their franchises) in the videogame industry in the OP comes off as very pushy, especially given that you are also telling people to turn on their friends for buying those games, and overall overkill for what you wish to accomplish. As Nick described, this translates to making gamers miserable in order to try to shake up the industry; which would lead to a lot of damage done to even franchises these people like.

 

A more effective approach to accomplish what you wish to accomplish would be this:

If you hate the way a company is producing a game (eg. general bugginess, stripping away important features, Always Online DRM), don't buy that game or next game in a franchise if it is going to be like the current game and take your hate to the fanbase to try and downplay the hype. Fanbases play an important role in promoting a game, as they hype the game up for themselves and the average customer. If you downplay hype, less of the hype will reach the average customer and therefore the game will not sell as well. And the sales the game gets matters, as I know of several franchises within larger companies (eg. F-Zero) that have stopped being produced because their games have sold poorly.

The same can be done with stuff like Microtransactions and Disk-Locked DLC. The reason why gaming companies produce these DLC is because they make money off it. If people don't buy into it, they will stop producing said DLC. There is no need to boycott a franchise over it alone.

 

While the way I mentioned this above method is also pretty pushy and I don't advocate doing some of those things in that method (especially the part about attempting to downplay the hype other people have), it would at least be more effective in telling the companies to produce the games you want and telling them to remove the things you don't like. This is also not a magic bullet solution either, so it won't work under all scenarios.

Edited by Orithan, 17 December 2015 - 09:21 PM.

[Koh]

The saying "Speak with your wallet" really only works in relative large masses.  You see endless amounts of articles online about how Microtransactions are the devil of gaming, but sales will show otherwise, which is why companies continue to do it.  People often "cave in" because they know their wallet alone isn't enough, but they're also interested in some other aspects of whatever it is.

[LikeLike on fire]

it is hard not being heartbroken when they dump a series. moreso if the makers say the series is supposed to go to a number and end.  like how there is supposed to be a Suikoden 6 and 7. it's not like how Final Fantasy's go, their first has nothing to do with their 12th

 

or to a lesser extent that Ecco the Dolphin might have no place in the world anymore.  and I keep forggeting to be an annoyance and ask the owners stupid things like buying royalties/permission/rights or however it works so my hypothetical company can make another.

[Gleeok]

You're angry because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you here. Do you know what I'm talking about?

The industry is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very thread. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work... when you go to church... when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth; That you are a slave, Anarchy_Balsac. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind.

DRM is a system. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. All so reliant upon micro-transactions, consuming and clouding reasonable and rational thought, destroying themselves and their own existence in the process. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to understand the truth. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.

Unfortunately, no one can be told what the free-to-play model is. You have to see it for yourself.

[Anarchy_Balsac]

Your heart is in the right place, but you are going about this issue the wrong way. The way you are asking people to completely boycott companies who they don't like (even if they like some of their franchises) in the videogame industry in the OP comes off as very pushy, especially given that you are also telling people to turn on their friends for buying those games, and overall overkill for what you wish to accomplish. As Nick described, this translates to making gamers miserable in order to try to shake up the industry; which would lead to a lot of damage done to even franchises these people like.

 

A more effective approach to accomplish what you wish to accomplish would be this:

If you hate the way a company is producing a game (eg. general bugginess, stripping away important features, Always Online DRM), don't buy that game or next game in a franchise if it is going to be like the current game and take your hate to the fanbase to try and downplay the hype. Fanbases play an important role in promoting a game, as they hype the game up for themselves and the average customer. If you downplay hype, less of the hype will reach the average customer and therefore the game will not sell as well. And the sales the game gets matters, as I know of several franchises within larger companies (eg. F-Zero) that have stopped being produced because their games have sold poorly.

The same can be done with stuff like Microtransactions and Disk-Locked DLC. The reason why gaming companies produce these DLC is because they make money off it. If people don't buy into it, they will stop producing said DLC. There is no need to boycott a franchise over it alone.

 

While the way I mentioned this above method is also pretty pushy and I don't advocate doing some of those things in that method (especially the part about attempting to downplay the hype other people have), it would at least be more effective in telling the companies to produce the games you want and telling them to remove the things you don't like. This is also not a magic bullet solution either, so it won't work under all scenarios.

Are people not making themselves miserable by caving in to things they don't like?  Either way you're miserable, true, but one way does save you more money.  And I'm not proposing we turn on our fellow gamers, merely that we encourage them to make the right changes.

 

In fact, I'm proposing we use alternative means of entertaining ourselves such as buying the used copy, or just playing games of old that we already own, that DON'T gouge the consumer.  Or perhaps turn to tried and true freeware games, or cheap indie games that don't have anti-consumer measures and the like, or abandonware.  

[Mani Kanina]

Wow, this entire thread is stupid, like, all of it. As long as shit sells, it will be made; It's really that simple.

Sure if you don't want support something, whatever~
But do we really need a thread where we bitch about others what they should be doing with their money? But no, clearly, it's ALL OF YOU GUYS FAULT that the video game market looks like it does today, god damn, can't everyone do the right thing like I do?!

[Eddard McHorn Van-Schnuder]

I bought the 10$-DLC for The Witcher 3 and spent 30 extra hours (on top of the 300 I spent on the main game) going through a series of amazing main quests and a freakish amount of other content. How could they? I feel so cheated, this crap has to end!!

Edited by Robin, 18 December 2015 - 02:48 PM.

[Anarchy_Balsac]

&

Wow, this entire thread is stupid, like, all of it. As long as shit sells, it will be made; It's really that simple.

Sure if you don't want support something, whatever~
But do we really need a thread where we bitch about others what they should be doing with their money? But no, clearly, it's ALL OF YOU GUYS FAULT that the video game market looks like it does today, god damn, can't everyone do the right thing like I do?!

The problem is that many who complain about what the industry does continue to support it. As I said, if someone is okay with it, they can do what they want, but if they're not, they should resist.

Edited by Anarchy_Balsac, 18 December 2015 - 06:49 PM.