RpgN said:
I think gaming fans are too naive and loyal. With the emergence of online distribution and constant online connection, this has openend a whole new opportunity to experiment different business models and see how far they can get away with it. With that, you have seen many decisions that don't make sense in the eyes of consumers. Some figure heads are comparing gamers with criminals if they buy used games. I hope a lot of gamers wake up and stop being so loyal all the time, don't throw your money just to 'support' a developer. Think more before you do that.
The used market doesn't kill singleplayer games and shouldn't, same can be said about multiplayer games. And saying how prices can be cheaper? They really know gamers are naive, but they're not stupid. What a load of bullshit.
Trouble is, your argument is stupid. Its stupid because you are personalizing a matter of business as some kind of assault on your rights.
I hate to break it to you, but for the most part
gamers don't directly fund developers.
You need to have a product to sell before the actual sales can be factored in. Meaning that the question becomes how can developers support themselves, their families and employees over the time required to make something.
You need somebody to believe sufficiently in your idea to invest a large lump of capital into it. And because this isn't a humanitarian endeavour its not unreasonably that these backers expect a positive return on their investment.
If market figures show that single-player only games return less on average than those with a multiplayer component, given an investor having a choice between one or the other, which one do you think they will decide to back?
Remember we're talking about large sums of money here, so there's no room for sentiment especially if the backer specializes in the field (i.e. is a large publisher) and relies on hitting the numbers for its own survival. Its that simple.
This need to justify production budget affects every aspect of the development process, edgy ideas get cut, "safe" and/or materialistic stuff gets shoe-horned in, and there's nothing the makers can do as they are beholden to their backers far more dependently than their audience.
Because if they can't afford to make the product, there's no audience to disappoint.
What this means to the end user is that the range of products given the opportunity to succeed/fail is already shaped by market trends, and the effect compounds itself over time.
When you have a phenomenon like used-game sales that affects certain types of game more than another, the effect migrates back up the chain and only manifests itself in what gets greenlit in the next commissioning cycle. You only feel the result after the die is cast.
An example of this is the "B-tier" game, which without fanfare or explanation, practically died out over the course of this generation.
This is very bad thing because there is a world of difference between a micro-budget title and a full-on AAA blockbuster. The B-tier was important because it existed between these two extremes and allow teams to elevate themselves through ingeneuity and innovation even if the production values weren't all there.
Creators need space to succeed or fail.
Without the mid-point you have two almost completely separate industries, and never the twain shall meet because there's no way to fund the transition. You can't expand from 2 guys in a bedroom to a team of 60 in an office without growing pains.
And here's the thing: Its all very well saying "games are too expensive, I'll wait for BOMBA or second hand", and "4 hours for $60 dollars, fuck you!", but the very real consequence is that you are only fucking yourself over in the long run.
If these things stop making money, they will stop being made. Period.
This is because the money men only care about money, but the sad fact is that as developers and gamers we need these guys support or its all over.
Its easy to point your finger but honestly how many Gaffers would get a second mortgage on their house to support a game based purely on its artistic worth?