Trollish comment about anyone who disagrees with you being "thick" aside, I think you're missing the point I, and others, are trying to make. We're not saying that you should play cheaper games, or that the gaming industry is great the way it is. We're saying that if you don't like the way things are going, your options are:
A. Stop paying for them. Spend your money on the rare game that you think is really worth the price tag. The industry will respond to this over time.
B. Make your own.
Gaming companies are not obligated in any way to do what you want them to do. They're a business trying to make money. If they can make loads of money by releasing the same crap every year and possibly even making it worse in the process, they're going to do that because it's easy. Why wouldn't they? Because they want you to be happy? Why would they care if you're happy with the games as long as you keep paying for them? The one thing guaranteed *not* to change anything is to complain that you don't like it and call anyone who disagrees with you stupid.
This is complete and utter BS. Complaining is a totally valid way of changing things. (And telling someone to make their own is completely invalid.)
Of course you don't buy the games you don't like, and if you do and then complain that makes you a hypocrite. (Unless the game lied about itself somehow) But do you
really think that
less communication is better?
Yeah! Lets just stop buying titles and leave the company with no idea why! That will show them how to fix their ways! It certainly won't drive them further away from what we view as 'right'.
Complaints and ragey things just like this topic are valid parts of 'the market' that gives people the power to get the games they want, just like purchasing decisions.
Also, I just want to call a little attention to these lines here:
Also, I just want to call a little attention to this line here:
not everybody subsists purely on indie titles and F2P games
From dictionary.com:
1. to exist; continue in existence.
2. to remain alive; live, as on food, resources, etc.
3. to have existence in, or by reason of, something.
Really? You can't survive/exist without expensive games? Well if that's true, then I offer my sincere condolences on your medical condition and wish you the best of luck in scraping by until the gaming companies hear your plea and change their cold-hearted ways.
And you called his thick comment trollish? Unless you really are thick and don't understand him. In which case. Well. Sorry to hear about it. Good job on learning how to turn on your computer.
Things will never go back to the way they were. I could rant and rave for hours and hours about how unfair it is, or I could just go play my old games, or support the rare indie game that I really like.
You are right. Giving up is always the best way.
Or you could actually try. Games won't go back to what you said, but there are actual valid issues in the industry that talking about does actually help. Saying that one should give up on all issues because some issues are not solvable is completely ridiculous.
The thing that really confuses and frustrates me is this feeling of HOW DARE THEY DO THIS TO US. Everyone feels that they deserve lower prices and better games just because they're used to it. But they don't. We don't deserve anything we haven't earned. And unless you're a game developer, you haven't done jack to earn a better game. They don't owe you anything. We're all incredibly lucky to live in a world and a society where spending significant amounts of time playing games on a computer is even an option. Did you have to worry about where you next meal was going to come from today? No? Then what the hell are you complaining about? Our lives and our technology are amazing things and we'll all be a lot happier if we spend more time appreciating them and less time complaining about how much better we wish they were.
Oh yeah. I forgot.
People are starving in Africa! How dare you be less then fully content with your life. Also something something just because you buy games does not mean you should have any input into it something something.
Players are not owed anything. Devs don't owe anything. But players
want things. And Devs
want things. How is it not reasonable for them to try to get the things they want. Your relationship with your mother is hardly a necessity to your life, why the hell do you talk about it all up and down this board? Could it be you actually want something? Because holy hell maybe other people want things as well.
Just because you don't make games does not make it unreasonable for you to want things from games. You are still the consumer. You are still part of the process. The fact is, companies want your money, and they should have to do what you want to get it. And complaints is one way to tell them what is going on.
Spending money is another, but that is only positive reinforcement and it is still fairly unclear compared to something that actually lays out the issues.
To quote Louis CK in the video I linked earlier: Why do we expect it to be fucking perfect every time? You're not contributing. You're not helping it be perfect. You don't like it? Well make your own then. See how that works out for you. ... Why would it be perfect? It's as good as it is.
As daunted as I am by the staggering intellectual powers and insight into the industry of a 45 year old comic who was not even talking about it, let me try to handle this.
If it's not perfect there is generally room for improvement. It is contributing. It is helping. Just because you don't have the actual skills and don't want to devote your life to something does not mean you don't have any idea how something should work and nor does it mean that you should just throw your money away for nothing. and finally. It is good. It could be better. Why not try?