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[RipperGrim]

If you still want to enjoy the hobby, but these things bother you so much, you'll be happier if you just play games and stop reading about them all the time on the Internet. All the negatives get magnified and seem so much worse when you read post after post after tweet, etc about how shitty something is. I often reflect on how much more fun gaming would be if I just played what I wanted, without any knowledge of spoilers, or shitty practices, or rocky development, or graphical differences between versions, etc. We all love this hobby so it must still be fun, but it seems like a most of what we do online is bitch about the negatives and therefore it makes them seem so dominant.

I disagree, do you think people would not have been upset about the way Assassins Creed, Arkham Knight, Sim City, Diablo 3 and all the other games that were launched as buggy messes because they didn't read about it? There are Microtransactions in some of my favorite franchises that hampers the experience to manipulate you into spending more money than you already have, this isn't exaggeration these are just things that are so common and accepted by the masses in gaming that they are just things we have to deal with now. Arkham Knight is the only game I have ever seen that actually got the backlash it deserved and that's because Steam actually did something for the consumers and not the Publishers. Good luck getting the console companies to follow suit. While I agree that shit online does get tedious and overblown (Notice my list of grievances doesn't include any shit about parity between consoles or consoles at all) the issues I listed are ones I feel are harming the industry and are also ones that are completely out of my control to influence because apparently I'm in the minority.

Just get away from the AAA industry. They are the ones doing most of the annoying crap. Look at indies and kickstarted western crpgs or smaller team games like life is stange. The hobby is great once you step away from the major pubs.

Oh I do, Kickstarter is awesome because of the CRPG resurgence that has happened and there have been some awesome indie games but avoiding the AAA industry is kinda why I made this thread. We are told to avoid it because it's seemingly the only thing we can do in other words we are helpless to stop some of the more shittier practices. The advice that we are given while makes sense is also not actually that helpful, "Vote with our wallet" doesn't work when you don't spend any cash on Microtransaction but if 100 others spend money on it to buy points to get a brand new base in Metal Gear Solid you can bet your ass it will have a bigger role in the next game and next and the next. One of my favorite franchises in gaming is most probably going to end up like the FEAR series ( Another franchise I was a fan of that got killed due to the industries problems) a husk of it's former self as F2P piece of shit. Now I know that sounds far fetched but at the same time Konami has been showing a major disregard for it's customers and how it views it's games, just look at the whole PT saga and how they prevented people from even re downloading the damn thing.


EDIT:

Gaming is awesome now. Stop overthinking shit and stop overthinking the negative shit that happens. There's always negative stuff happening. Always. Forever. You'll always be upset then. Focus on the good, enjoy that shit.

Why the fuck is not being happy with way some things are done overthinking it? lol. So not being happy when games are launched broken. I can still remember the frustration I had trying to wait for the fuck up that is Mortal Kombat X on PC to get patched and where I eventually gave up on it and bought the game with a friend to play it on the PS4. But gaming is awesome now and shit like that doesn't matter!

 

[RipperGrim]

Double post.

 

[shiftplusone]

it's like every other industry. company who does a thing you like then does something shitty, some other upstart will hopefully take their place

I grew up playing SimCity. SimCity 2013 was garbage and ruined the series.

Cities XL is the SimCity I wanted. I can just play Cities XL

Bioware made baldur's gate and NWN and . BioWare then made Dragon Age and some other crap

I can play divinity or path of exile or blackguards and scratch the CRPG itch in a way that BioWare hasn't provided in almost 15 years


Gaming in 2015 is awesome. Gaming in 2016 will be awesome too.

The inner workings of the industry are sometimes way shittier but i'm not forced to engage with any of that shit

 

[Placiibo]

Lol it isn't outselling PS2, get that idea out of your head. But it'll probably do around 110-120 million over its lifetime (active and as secondary to PS5).

http://gamerant.com/sony-ps4-outsell-ps2-profits/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidth...l-become-the-best-selling-console-in-history/
http://techland.time.com/2014/02/24/outselling-the-playstation-2-isnt-a-pipe-dream/
http://www.gamesradar.com/PS4-on-track-beat-PS2-best-selling-console/
http://n4g.com/news/1766192/ps4-on-track-to-beat-ps2-as-the-best-selling-console-ever

It was a comment not without support.

 

[MUnited83]

As an exclusively PC gamer who mostly plays indie and kickstarted titles, I honestly think the industry has never been in better shape than it is today.

same

 

[akitaone]

The over-the-topic forum topics like these at NeoGAF are so hilarious. Like, step away from the controller dude. Based on the OP's mentality, everything in life that has negatives or things someone might not like is "turning to shit".

And let's stop with the GamersGate crap...like 1% of gamers even know what that is, and it is no different than general harassment and abuse the occurs all the time online. It's a shame that people here and involved with GamersGate think gamers are any worse than any other group of people that use the internet.

 

[akitaone]

Also, when has money not been a main motivator? What planet have you been living on?

 

[silvermember]

Gaming is a business, a fairly low ROI business. Companies exist to make money, that is how it has always been. Games are a product to be sold for money, nothing has really changed except we have more acess to information. We know some of the struggles that developers, publishers and players face.

That's the problem. Too many people who don't give a damn are voting with their money. We wouldn't have the shitty DLC system we have if it wasn't successful in getting money.

Almost like the people complaining are not the ones who are doing the buying.

Asking other people to vote with their wallets assumes that everybody feels the same way as you do. The ones buying the dlc are not here on gaf complaining about whatever issue you think it is important.

The only control you have is deciding to buy it or not. Gaming is a hobby, it is not a life or death situation.

That is not say I buy dlc, because I haven't bought dlc in ages, but I acknowledge that the population visiting forums like GAF are insignificant to the greater gaming pop.

The over-the-topic forum topics like these at NeoGAF are so hilarious. Like, step away from the controller dude. Based on the OP's mentality, everything in life that has negatives or things someone might not like is "turning to shit".

And let's stop with the GamersGate crap...like 1% of gamers even know what that is, and it is no different than general harassment and abuse the occurs all the time online. It's a shame that people here and involved with GamersGate think gamers are any worse than any other group of people that use the internet.

What great logic you got there. So we shouldn't care about something because there are worse people out there? It must be nice being you.

 

[Phoenix944]

The only thing that bother me are pre-order bonus. They're often items you can't get by playing the game and I kinda like grinding for some cool stuff in my games...

 

[MissDeviling]

I play mostly Japanese games, so I basically have to tolerate otaku-pandering decisions in the franchises I play, most notably Fire Emblem as of the 3DS games (beach DLC, a sexualized character with an underage body, face-rubbing, obviously impractical and sexualized armour, being able to bang anyone of the opposite gender to the avatar, bland self-insert in Awakening, worshipped self-insert in Fates, reduction in character design variation so that almost everyone looks like waifu/husbando material). Lightning Returns was also clearly catering more to the hardcore otaku who enjoy dressing Lightning up in out-of-character, skimpy clothing. The upcoming Star Ocean 5 features a witch with checkered holes in her clothes from head to toe. And many visual novels for women are reverse harems.

But clearly, this stuff sells well in Japan and is not going away any time soon.

 

[patapuf]

Oh I do, Kickstarter is awesome because of the CRPG resurgence that has happened and there have been some awesome indie games but avoiding the AAA industry is kinda why I made this thread. We are told to avoid it because it's seemingly the only thing we can do in other words we are helpless to stop some of the more shittier practices. The advice that we are given while makes sense is also not actually that helpful, "Vote with our wallet" doesn't work when you don't spend any cash on Microtransaction but if 100 others spend money on it to buy points to get a brand new base in Metal Gear Solid you can bet your ass it will have a bigger role in the next game and next and the next. One of my favorite franchises in gaming is most probably going to end up like the FEAR series ( Another franchise I was a fan of that got killed due to the industries problems) a husk of it's former self as F2P piece of shit. Now I know that sounds far fetched but at the same time Konami has been showing a major disregard for it's customers and how it views it's games, just look at the whole PT saga and how they prevented people from even re downloading the damn thing.


EDIT:


Why the fuck is not being happy with way some things are done overthinking it? lol. So not being happy when games are launched broken. I can still remember the frustration I had trying to wait for the fuck up that is Mortal Kombat X on PC to get patched and where I eventually gave up on it and bought the game with a friend to play it on the PS4. But gaming is awesome now and shit like that doesn't matter!

Once great franchises turning to shit is just going to happen. As long as there's new stuff to replace them i can't label that as the industry "turning to shit".

concerning avoiding AAA games: avoiding them won't change anything because these are the mainstream games for the masses, that's true. But so what? Not all games appeal to you, and the only thing an AAA game has over others is production values and marketing. If you don't like their game design or buisness model there's so much other good stuff out there, why would not liking a relatively small subset of games make you depressed? Then there's also the fact that a lot of people DO like AAA games in their current form. So i just play what i like and they play what they like.

And concerning shitty PC ports: I've been playing PC games for a long time and the time that's often considered a golden age for PC games was full of absolutely broken high profile games that needed to be patched - and we didn't have steam to do it for us back then. In terms of stability and quality of Ports and exclusive PC games I feel it's a lot better nowadays than it used to be.

That doesn't mean we should accept bad software but on PC specifically the bugginess of software is not something that has gotten worse recently.

 

[Death Penalty]

Mostly I feel like the gaming community as a whole lets negativity rule where it really shouldn't.

 

[CloudNein]

Yup. Terrible practices this last decade. But I don't care anymore. Only waiting on MGS5 and XV and I'm halfway there now and whatever comes out between them. Built my last gaming PC. Soon I'll be able to start up a much more adult hobby that I’ve been looking forward to a very, very long time. So long gaming, when we had good times it was the greatest.

 

[Tivor Tontomo]

By shit I mean trends that you don't like in the industry that you feel you have fuck all control over because it seems other people actually like them? Basically where the supposedly helpful tip of "vote with your wallet" does shit all.

So obvious ones for me is the rise of the pre-order incentives even though digital distribution has made pre-ordering completely irrelevant. This is only kept up because companies want the money as soon as possible which leads to some incredibly shitty developments like the whole Arkham Knight debacle and even more recently Deus Ex where they are straight up delaying the fucking game to punish those who are unwilling to blindly throw their money at them, and this is the crux of the issue I have, people who don't pre-order are punished for being sensible consumers. I have not pre-ordered a game since Colonial Marines came out and that has made zero difference in the grand scheme of things.

Micro transactions in full priced games. MGS V has Micro transactions that are expensive and due to this elements of the game have been made to be more of a grind to entice people to spend money. IN A FUCKING MGS GAME. I don't spend money on Micro transactions ever and I will most likely never will unless it's a F2P game but man does it feel shit to know that one of my favorite series is tarnished with so much negativity now because of Konami. That's just one example of them being in a full priced game, there's many more that is just infuriating to see get stuck onto games.

How the industry is becoming more and more corporate based where money is the main motivator above all else. Okay so making games is a business I get that but man is it shit to see the industry lose it soul bit by bit, where decisions like MS buying Tomb Raiders exclusivity can happen and they then have the audacity to tell us it was done with the fans in mind? Or Assassins Creed and CoD getting released to a point where I'm sick and tired of even talking about them because it makes more money to shit out a new game every year instead overhauling them to keep the franchise fresh and not to mention the shit ton of near exploitative conditions devs have to work to get games done, this is just the top of my head but I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who sometimes thinks wtf happened to the industry to sink so low.

Lastly shit like Gamergate. Honestly this kind of thing was a problem before gamergate as well but yea, all the god damn hate and fighting and downright EVIL things that people do with gaming tying them all together is just depressing. We all have an awesome hobby in common and yet it's a total crapshoot going online for games as you may end up with someone calling you a fag and describing how they fucked your mom and that's the light stuff, Lizard squad, Gamergate and those sick fucks who Swat others for fun are all connected to the gaming industry now is just something we apparently we have to deal with, with no actual way of stopping it.

I seriously enjoy this hobby, there's nothing else like it but man does it feel frustrating watching it get driven to places you don't want it to.

Spoiler

If this isn't thread worthy lock it up

Quite a few things you mentioned apply to other industries, the issues is, and I'm not trying to be mean, people like you say this and state or heavily imply this is a gaming industry thing only or something that one should expect over others more, this leads to people viewing the industry negatively when other industries do similar things.

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

I disagree, do you think people would not have been upset about the way Assassins Creed, Arkham Knight...

I'm not saying those things aren't a problem, or that they would go away. I'm just saying the oppressive negativity and feeling of industry doom is exacerbated by the constant bitch-fest that seems to dominate online gaming discussions these days. I get angry/annoyed with situations about games I would probably never have played anyway, yet because I hang out here constantly I am aware of all of them and it leads to this feeling of general industry shittiness.

 

[markofhavoc]

No, then I become my dad who talks about how he is watching everything become shit before his eyes. Stuff changes, and there is always a dark side, but don't let that paint the whole picture

 

[EmSeta]

I think the industry is in a pretty bad place at the moment, mainly due to the near death of Japanese game development. There's very few games today, outside of some indie titles, that focus on rock solid game mechanics instead of overall experience.

I love big budget experiences as much as the next guy, but I really wish there was a greater focus on perfecting mechanics over cinematic open worlds.

Even a lot of indies focus on creating unique interactive experiences instead of crafting rewarding and interesting game mechanics.

 

[m_dorian]

Some times i get to be very disappointed with people as i feel that they are exploited like drug addicts. But there are those times where a good company and a good developer shines which restore my hopes.

 

[Durante]

As an exclusively PC gamer who mostly plays indie and kickstarted titles, I honestly think the industry has never been in better shape than it is today.

I'm in the same boat (well, not exclusively a PC gamer, but predominantly). I mean, the D:OS2 KS is running right now!

My biggest issue with gaming for the past 2 years in particular has been not enough time.

 

[WonderCheese]

Nah. The positives massively outweigh the negatives you mentioned. Great time to be a gamer.

I agree with this. Just the fact that some great people and companies now have viable routes to release games without needing the backing of a major publisher is great. Just looking at the CRPGs released in 2014 shows that, despite some dumb crap in the industry, this is an amazing time to be a gamer. And 2014 won't be an anomaly, these great releases are continuing and there's no good reason they will stop. There's a lot of garbage going on, as there always will be, but there's so much fantastic stuff that's happening. There are amazing AAA games out now and on the horizon, and there are amazing smaller games coming out now on a regular basis. It's awesome overall.

 

[Petrae]

Sure. After being a big fan of the video game industry for decades, the last 5 years or so turned me into a cynic with all of the shitty practices that generally became the norm. Shit like MGSV microtransactions and the Deus Ex preorder scheme isn't surprising anymore; it's expected.

Not much you can do when the majority doesn't care, though. Preorder culture, microtransactions, retailer-specific preorder DLC, games that don't work correctly for weeks after launch... these are all things that the average video game consumer has come to accept-- begrudging as that acceptance may be for some-- and even actively support.

 

[Aikidoka]

Some aspects of the gaming industry are being improved - representation issues are being taken more seriously, for instance. But, I do see some regression in how a significant amount of major AAA games have just been releasing in completely broken states the past few years. But it still doesn't seem to deter people from pre-ordering and going in day one.

Hopefully, this will be turned around with Steam Refunds though.

 

[I'm Spartacus]

Some times i get to be very disappointed with people as i feel that they are exploited like drug addicts. But there are those times where a good company and a good developer shines which restore my hopes.

Yup, have to agree with this - rather than game designers designing gameplay, what we are getting more and more frequently are games designed by Psychologists and psychological theory (Skinner model/box), Gambling/Addiction specialists and other habit-forming experts. And, to me at least, that is a scary thought.

 

[Lucumo]

Yep, I feel like that all the time, especially as a PC gamer. Online activation DRM, always online DRM, micro-transactions/DLC in non-indie games are pretty much everywhere. Shrinking retail market (it's still fine here though).
These days, I have the money and I would love to buy games and collector's editions and such but the above mentioned is keeping me from it because it isn't worth it. PC gaming's golden decade for me was from 1995-2004. DRM was fine/non-existent, games were mostly released pretty much bug-free (no early access garbage or paid (from the consumer) beta-testing), the genres evolved in a meaningful way and developers/publishers tried things and took a risk (A and AA games).

 

[Anth0ny]

definitely. my interest in games almost non-existent at this point. I want little to do with the current video games industry. the state of the Japanese traditional games industry is the real killer for me, personally. i have no interest in mobile games and never will. same with AAAA dudebro "so realistic" games. that seems to be the direction everything is heading in, and I want no part of it.

 

[Aroll]

Oh I do, Kickstarter is awesome because of the CRPG resurgence that has happened and there have been some awesome indie games but avoiding the AAA industry is kinda why I made this thread. We are told to avoid it because it's seemingly the only thing we can do in other words we are helpless to stop some of the more shittier practices. The advice that we are given while makes sense is also not actually that helpful, "Vote with our wallet" doesn't work when you don't spend any cash on Microtransaction but if 100 others spend money on it to buy points to get a brand new base in Metal Gear Solid you can bet your ass it will have a bigger role in the next game and next and the next. One of my favorite franchises in gaming is most probably going to end up like the FEAR series ( Another franchise I was a fan of that got killed due to the industries problems) a husk of it's former self as F2P piece of shit. Now I know that sounds far fetched but at the same time Konami has been showing a major disregard for it's customers and how it views it's games, just look at the whole PT saga and how they prevented people from even re downloading the damn thing.

What's interesting is that you're raging about this now, especially in regards to MGS. We knew many months ago that this was Kojima's last MG game. That he was no longer with the company now a contracted 3rd party. Thus, we already knew this was going to be the last great MGS game. Does have some minor annoying micro-transaction BS. Sure. But it doesn't overly impact the whole of the experience. Will it get worse in future MGS games? Sure, but the entire franchise is about to take a nose dive if Konami decides to drag it forward. Without Kojima, the quality control for the series is gone. There is really no more reason to rage about with the game now out then when the game wasn't out months ago. We all saw this coming. Konami has been consistently destroying their franchises by removing the key people from them. MGS is next.

But, a lot of the complaints don't get to the core of the issue. Microtransactions are a solution to a problem. A bandaid. Games end up this way because as it turns out, making AAA games is expensive, and if games aren't selling a certain amount... it becomes not so profitable to do it. Thus, they make up for it with DLC and microtransactions. They are easy fix solutions to budget problems.

There are other ways to deal with this - such as NOT pushing the bleeding edge of the tech your on. Use a smaller budget for a smaller scale, but just as full-filling, game.

I know the Tomb Raider thing irked people when they said they did the MS deal "for the fans" - but how quickly we forget that Tomb Raider was listed as a sales failure despite the high number it sold (one of the best selling games in the entire franchise). because of the budget it had initially, there was a chance the game might not get a follow up without a partnership deal. Think Bayonetta to Bayonetta 2 - without Nintendo there is no Bayo 2, so it was a good deal for fans regardless because you got a great game you wouldn't have otherwise. Tomb Raider could have been a similar situation. That's what I got out of their remarks. In this case, these partnerships are GOOD for gamers, not bad. What is bad are exclusivity deals for ANYTHING that's multiplatform. Exclusive DLC, exclusive marketing rights (hello Sony with Destiny), etc. Nabbing a game for exclusivity only happens because that game may not really be around without it. You think a publisher wants to limit their audience reach? Of course not. They want to maximize profits, but if they aren't seeing the returns, exclusivity makes sense because it's less risky. Part of the bill is footed.

We've seen a huge resurgence in what I want to call the AA scene. I know there is a fine line between AA and AAA (often associated with budgets, but many of Nintendo's games have AA budgets, but are called AAA games) - but really, games are games and there is something for everyone. The big time plublishers are use to doing things a certain way with massive budgets the last 10 years, and now that those budgets aren't too profitable, they are trying to fix it with this sort of stuff.

They can go the other way. They just haven't.

 

[Kadayi]

To quote/paraphase William Gibson 'there are no maps for these territories'

Despite being around 30 plus years computer gaming is still a relatively new medium versus more established ones (literature, Film , etc) and one that is still evolving. Every game is for the most part building upon the lessons from its predecessors, and the same goes for the actions of the businesses involved in the production and publishing of those games.

Inevitably there are mis-steps. But generally what follows are course corrections, and ideas are either dropped, evolved or iterated on.

Personally I'm always excited to see whats new. I just can't subscribe to negativity. Even when something might not quite hit the mark, I always find there's something constructive to take away from it.

 

[see5harp]

I do the best I can do in order to vote with my wallet. Very rarely, maybe only twice a year, will I buy something brand new for $60, and I always do so by buying a physical copy. The rest of the time I will gamefly and buy used. The fact that these companies continue to bend us over for the sake of the walmarts and gamestops of the world will ensure that a minimal amount of money goes towards their bottom line.

 

[John Kowalski]

I don't give a monkey's butt about bad market practices, but games are just really terrible at important stuff and that breaks my heart.

But it's a changing time and i'd rather have my place in it than leave before the lights go on.

 

[SigSig]

Videogames have never been better and even the industry itself is getting better, slowly.
So, nah. It's just that I was oblivious to the video game industry's problems 15 years ago.

 

[Tertullian]

Ugh, the industry is so awful these days. It's been nothing but a downhill spiral since the Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device.

 

[Slixshot]

Ignorance is bliss. I stay away from shit like gamersgate -- don't even know what that is, to be honest.

Play the games that look cool and fun to you and then go do other things. Discuss them on here, of course, if you'd like. However, getting too wrapped up in anything can only lead to annoyance and anger when things don't go your way.

 

[UberTag]

AAA is shit.

Do what you can to spread that message to your peers and support indies and developers that appreciate their customers instead of seeking out new ways to exploit them.

There is a wealth of great gaming to be found out there. You just need to seek it out and reward those endeavors with your wallet.

 

[CosmicQueso]

Today's industry is diverse enough to where a guy can make a game like STASIS and put it up for sale to the world. You're ignoring the positives of the current market.

 

[Phoenix944]

AAA is shit.

Do what you can to spread that message to your peers and support indies and developers that appreciate their customers instead of seeking out new ways to exploit them.

There is a wealth of great gaming to be found out there. You just need to seek it out and reward those endeavors with your wallet.

I hear you, but most of the game I want to play are AAA :/

 

[Ashkeloth]

I don't really care about the bigger picture all that much when it comes to games. As long as they keep making good games that are fun or entertaining to play, I'll play them. it doesn't matter if they're doing stupid stuff with pre-orders or Kickstarter incentives or whatever.

There are certain instances where I'll boycott certain things if I hear about something I particularly disagree with, but generally the industry is evolved enough to avoid anything nearly bad enough for it to register now.

It's real easy to get cynical about everything if you keep focusing on every misstep an ever-changing section of the market makes.

 

[10k]

Most of the shit that annoys me can be avoided by not preordering or buying a game outright. The positives outweigh the negatives. What is bothering me is the drop in the Canadian dollar causing game prices to go up $20 since the launch of the PS4/XB1

 

[Dictator93]

By shit I mean trends that you don't like in the industry that you feel you have fuck all control over because it seems other people actually like them? Basically where the supposedly helpful tip of "vote with your wallet" does shit all.

I wrote a thread about that a while back OP. I agree with your sentiment ocmpletely.

 

[Trojan]

Nah. The positives massively outweigh the negatives you mentioned. Great time to be a gamer.

First post strikes again. My thoughts exactly.

 

[ArjanN]

I disagree, for me it's the opposite. That's why i didn't buy a console this gen (i didn't enjoy previous gen that much either) and i only play games on PC, mostly older games and very few modern ones.

1) Most AAA games simply don't interest me anymore, they are way too dumbed down for the lowest common denominator. The few exceptions like Alien Isolation just don't sell as well as they should.

2) Indie games try but most of the time they end up being shovelware (i mean look at all the garbage on STEAM you have to dig through) or something similar with what you used to play in newgrounds for free, 15 years ago. Again, the good games are the exception and you have to dig deep to find them.

3) My favorite developers/companies either die, become corrupted assholes or they just don't care anymore. Like how Konami trolls the gaming community lately and how VALVE only cares about Mobas. And Nintendo being underwhelming lately.

4) My favorite franchises are all pretty much ruined now or dead. Metroid, F-Zero, Halflife, Resident Evil, Silent Hill. There's nothing to look forward about these titles anymore.

5) There are a few things i look forward too in general like whatever Rockstar is working on and Dark Souls 3 but other than that there is nothing out there for me.

6) The focus and success of low quality mobile gaming and the cheap ass games that look worse than how flash games we used to play for free looked 15 years ago.


So yeah. Probably the worst time for me to be a gamer.

Nah.

I'm pretty much only gaming on PC now, and it's not even possible for one person to find the time to play everything good that comes out on PC alone.

The larger amount of schlock coming out doesn't change that the number of quality games coming out is also higher than ever, and anyone who disagrees with that IMO just isn't paying enough attention.

 

[rawd]

nah, everything is fine since I just ignore AAA games these days outside of the best ones.

Preach

 

[Kssio_Aug]

When I dont like where the industry is getting at, I don't support the game or system.

But videogames are still awesome. And just looking at Halo 5, Forza H2 and M6, Uncharted and some other games I realize we still have access to some AMAZING gaming experiences. Just choose wisely and ignore the huge ammount of shit is being released with the pearls.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

Sorry OP. The industry has never been this benign, rosy, wonderful Utopia you keep imagining it was. From the moment Pong was released, there has always been horrible, consumer exploitative aspects to the gaming industry to go with the good and fun of it. The only difference now is that you're older and the internet gives every voice a platform to project on, seemingly amplifying issues both big and small ad infinitum. Actually, any entertainment industry you throw a dart at will have a venn-diagram's worth of good, bad a and ugly to put on display. It's simply the nature of the creative beast.

 

[T-Dot]

Sorry OP. The industry has never been this benign, rosy, wonderful Utopia you keep imagining it was. From the moment Pong was released, there has always been horrible, consumer exploitative aspects to the gaming industry to go with the good and fun of it. The only difference now is that you're older and the internet gives every voice a platform to project on, seemingly amplifying issues both big and small ad infinitum. Actually, any entertainment industry you throw a dart at will have a venn-diagram's worth of good, bad a and ugly to put on display. It's simply the nature of the creative beast.

While you have a point that the industry has always been shit, you gotta admit, at least when you bought a game back then, you got the complete package. At least publishers weren't withholding content from you that was already on the disc just to fork over more cash. Exploitative DLC and micro transactions have made games less valuable.

 

[piratethingy]

I just wish we could go back to the good old days before "the industry is becoming more and more corporate based where money is the main motivator above all else" when games were explicitly designed to entice you to drop as many quarters as possible to make it through imbalanced nonsense oh wait

 

[Arion]

Video games have always been shit. I fucking hate video games. Except in the rare occasions when a good games comes out.

 

[roknin]

Yes and no.

I know it sounds a bit "pie in the sky"-ish but to be honest, I counteract it by trying to look more on the positive side of things in the industry, and look at games that previously I might not have given a chance, kick starters, etc.

The thing about internet and forums in particular, is that it can be a huge echo chamber of negative, since that's what tends to get trumpeted. But for all the things "gone wrong", there's a lot that's gone well, and things I never thought I'd see when I started gaming when I was like 5 years old.

A lot of that needs to be talked about, so for sure it shouldn't go unsaid. Especially the scummy business practices, Fee-to-Pay, the industry's love of billion-dollar budgets and imitating hollywood, all that stuff.

BUT.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with unplugging from it all and taking a look at it form a different angle, looking at the positives, and seeing how far its come and where its going.

I don't know if that really answers the question, but that's where I'm at personally.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

While you have a point that the industry has always been shit, you gotta admit, at least when you bought a game back then, you got the complete package. At least publishers weren't withholding content from you that was already on the disc just to fork over more cash. Exploitative DLC and micro transactions have made games less valuable.

Right, but at worst it's only a handful of AAA games that are really guilty of this. Even with it's inclusion, if it is executed properly you can ignore it entirely or earn it in the game fairly. Economics wise, it only makes sense that developers are turning to this form of revenue, since games have gotten more expensive to develop and they have never adjusted the prices for a new game to match the rate of inflation. Games are cheaper than they've ever been in history, while also more expensive to develop than they've ever been in history. Something has to balance out.

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[Shake Appeal]

I'm in the same boat (well, not exclusively a PC gamer, but predominantly). I mean, the D:OS2 KS is running right now!

My biggest issue with gaming for the past 2 years in particular has been not enough time.

I feel that.

I mean just this week Stasis and Satellite Reign came out, and I only just finished a first playthrough of Shadowrun: Hong Kong.

In fact, this year I'll replay not one but four CRPGs that are getting major overhauls, DLC or both (SR:HK, D:OS, PoE, W2).

 

[Raonak]

Nah. The positives massively outweigh the negatives you mentioned. Great time to be a gamer.

I'm in this camp. Microtransactions suck, but there are plenty of good forms of DLC out there. Stuff like Rocket Leauges free maps, or souls DLC.

There's just so many fucking games now, indie games to suit every taste, AAA games which are looking crazy good, middle tier returning, square making big games again, new IPs are getting lots of spotlight, mobile gaming suprisingly isn't killing tradional gaming, VR is coming very soon. etc.

Things are always evolving, always changing. Just because some stuff that you enjoyed before doesn't exist anymore- doesn't mean it's all bad, there's definitely new things out there that you will enjoy, but havent sought out.