Do gamers have the balls to force a crash???

[Fonejackerjon]

Next gen games will cost upwards of $100, why? Microtransactions, in a word, and if you think they can be 'ignored' your playing into their hands more and more of the core part of the game will be behind paywalls as well as the $60 starting price, of course it always starts off small and easily ignored little 'extras' but if you keep bending over for the publishers you deserve it.

So my question is this, when is enough, enough? Do gamers have the guts to force what is so greatly needed, another video game crash?...discuss.

 

[kilenem]

If people are willing to pay for content on the Disc and defend it I don't think Micro transactions are going any where. Just support the games with out them. Also educate your friends not to buy a game until the game of the year version come out with all the DLC unlocked. Unless its Borderlands which released a DLC less then a month from the release of hte game of the year edition.

 

[MysticSlayer]

So my question is this, when is enough, enough? Do gamers have the guts to force what is so greatly needed, another video game crash?...discuss.

So, let me get this straight: You desire the job loss and livelihood loss of potentially hundreds of thousands of people all because the boss of some of those people decided to follow a business model you just assume is wrong because you, personally, don't feel like paying as much money as they are asking for for all the content? That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever and reeks of either complete inconsideration or just ignorance to the impact the crash will have for those in the video game industry and even those outside of it.

Why not just do this: Buy what you think is worth the money and don't buy what you don't think is worth the money and, in the meantime, let developers and publishers know what may make you a consumer if you aren't already one. That's what most gamers are already doing, and I don't see any point in refraining from getting something I want at a price I find acceptable just because of some petty grudge a few people decide they need to have for...er, you know...uh...reasons! Then, let the publishers weigh the options. Most of them understand business and economics much better than the vast majority of us, and they will change their practices if the buying patterns of consumers begins to show that something is unpopular to the point of being financially detrimental, and they are more likely to change to the desires of the consumers that actually engage in civilized discussion with them rather than the petty "I'm not buying your product because reasons!" campaigns.

 

[kilenem]

... Why should I want to force a crash? No really, why the hell should I actively try and destroy my hobby? Because that was what the console crash back then was. It was rather lucky that Nintendo managed to save the console market. I would rather not give a fuck about the games that do this. Oh wait, people had to preorder them in masses instead of fucking waiting.

But hey, since I'm mostly gaming on Nintendo consoles and my PC I don't deal with this problem.

In the last issue of game informer they interviewed one of the first employs at Nintendo and he said the video game crash prevented the Famicom from coming over for 4 years. So yeah a video game crash would probably set back gaming by at least 4 years.

 

[tippy2k2]

... Why should I want to force a crash? No really, why the hell should I actively try and destroy my hobby? Because that was what the console crash back then was. It was rather lucky that Nintendo managed to save the console market. I would rather not give a fuck about the games that do this. Oh wait, people had to preorder them in masses instead of fucking waiting.

But hey, since I'm mostly gaming on Nintendo consoles and my PC I don't deal with this problem.

It's going...going.....going......and GOOOOOOONE! A home run! Kasp knocks it out of the park!

OT: A crash would be not be a great idea (and frankly, I don't even think it'd be possible anymore with how mainstream gaming has gotten). If you don't like the prices they're at, do what I do;

Wait.

Seriously, gaming drops in price stupid quickly. I have paid full price for two games this year (Last of Us because FUCK YEAH!!! and Madden 25 because it came with a DirecTV Sunday Ticket thing). For fun, let's look at the big guns of this year and what they're selling at (using amazon.com for source; all brand new 360 editions):

Bishock Infinite; $20 (less than 8 months ago)
Grand Theft Auto V; $55 (less than 2 months ago; I've seen it much cheaper at Black Friday events however)
Call of Duty Ghost; $50 (less than 1 month ago; again, I've also seen it cheaper at Black Friday events)
Tomb Raider; $25 (less than 8 months ago)

I can probably stop now since I'm sure my point has been made...

 

[BrotherRool]

Yay lets make people unemployed? Lets make our industry look shaky and not worth investing in? I really hope we have less games on the market so my choice is more restricted. Gee whizz it sucks having all this competition around.


The good thing is, not only do most people not have the 'balls' to get thousands of people laid off, but you don't have the ability either. Do you think you're the people pumping billions into Call of Duty? Are you floating EA with FIFA? If you hate the games and hate the prices they're at, then you're already not a concern to them. The core gamer demographic isn't the money house that drives the industry and even if it was, they're exactly the last people to suddenly stop playing these games.

Also this is relevant
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/experienced-points/10503-The-Game-Crash-of-2013

The game industry crash was the equivalent of being charged $100 for Aliens Colonial Marines (incidentally game prices now are cheaper than they ever were. $60 is way cheaper than what games used to cost). We're not going to have a crash because the $60 best racing game yet made also has microtransactions

 

[BloatedGuppy]

(Buys another half dozen games for $20 during one of the near constant digital distribution sales, adds them to massive backlog)

"Oh noes, is video gaming too expensive again? If only I had the balls to stand up to The Man!"

 

[krazykidd]

Do we? Not a chance. However i don't think we need a "crash" per se but i think we do need some practices to change. I agree with you, micro-transactions and DLC has gotten way out of hand. But gaming is too big, there is no consensus. Gamers have trouvle banding together. But we can do wonders when we do, like the Xbone DRM fiasco. We can make a difference, just most of us don't want to.

So no, we don't have the balls to do anything. Gamers are like battered wives. Too scared to lose what little we have to risk trying to get help. We sit bare and take it.

 

[Aris Khandr]

If you don't like the prices they're at, do what I do;

Wait.

Seriously, gaming drops in price stupid quickly. I have paid full price for two games this year (Last of Us because FUCK YEAH!!! and Madden 25 because it came with a DirecTV Sunday Ticket thing). For fun, let's look at the big guns of this year and what they're selling at (using amazon.com for source; all brand new):

Bishock Infinite; $20 (less than 8 months ago)
Grand Theft Auto V; $55 (less than 2 months ago; I've seen it much cheaper at Black Friday events however)
Call of Duty Ghost; $50 (less than 1 month ago; again, I've also seen it cheaper at Black Friday events)
Tomb Raider; $25 (less than 8 months ago)

I can probably stop now since I'm sure my point has been made...

Unless you want to play Pokemon. Those games tend to hold their value pretty well. Pokemon Black 2 is still selling for nearly full price ($35) on Amazon, despite coming out over a year ago. White 2, as well as Black and White (Spring 2011) are holding strong at about $28.

 

[DoPo]

(Buys another half dozen games for $20 during one of the near constant digital distribution sales, adds them to massive backlog)

"Oh noes, is video gaming too expensive again? If only I had the balls to stand up to The Man!"

I'd say this is spot on. Also, I don't think it's a matter if gamers have the guts (or "balls", whatever your preference is) but probably what matters more if they care enough. Is paying for a gmae only to pay more preferable? Probably not most of the time. How much am I outraged? Not really - all those games that are apparently such a big offenders, I never found desirable even absent the microtransactions and such. So I just don't care. Maybe its a good advice for others - just don't long for them if you hate them so.

 

[shrekfan246]

Unless you want to play Pokemon. Those games tend to hold their value pretty well. Pokemon Black 2 is still selling for nearly full price ($35) on Amazon, despite coming out over a year ago. White 2, as well as Black and White (Spring 2011) are holding strong at about $28.

That's Nintendo in general. New Super Mario Bros. (the one that came out for the DS in 2006) is still ~$30 in the local shops.

OT: Wow, it's actually been like, a month since we had someone cynically cry out for the death of the video game industry.

I don't want a crash. Crazy to think, I know. Hey, I don't like some of these business practices publishers are trying to shove out any more than the next guy, but a "crash" wouldn't do anything positive for gaming at this point in time. People seem to forget the amount of sheer crap that released on even the NES, SNES, and Sega Genesis, and the amount of crappy games that tried and failed to emulate Super Mario or Sonic the Hedgehog. And right now we don't have another Nintendo waiting on the bylines to pull us out of an industry-wide crash, with the very slim possible exception of Valve, depending on what happens with the Steam Machines and SteamOS.

Besides, I have yet to see a $60 game where the core of the game was further walled off behind microtransactions. Doomsay all you want, but I'd at least prefer you use more realistic examples.

 

[A-D.]

Why should anyone want to induce another crash on purpose? For that matter, how would anyone do it? Its not simply a opinion or something, you literally have to explain just how it could be done and no the argument of "just stop buying" doesnt do that. It would take everyone, literally everyone to refuse to buy ANY game, from ANY company to literally kill the industry.

And even then, it would take months, if not at least a year for that crash to happen, which means every gamer has to stop buying any game, or anything game-related for that matter, for one whole year. A crash is not desirable nor is it necessary, voting with your wallet at this point already helps in the sense that if you keep supporting good things, more good things will be made, while if you refuse to support shitty decisions, they might stop doing that. Its already been proven that it can work. EA admitted that their always-online SimCity was a mistake and have taken steps to actually make it all offline playable, granted after a massive shitstorm and loss of sales, but thats how it works.

Does anyone here seriously think Microsoft actually listened to its customers when they decided to reverse their shitty policies? I bet it was the mass-cancelling of Xbone preorders that caused them to backpedal like crazy. Voting with your wallet actually works, as does bitching sometimes, but it isnt the same thing as "another videogame crash". Plus the industry is a whole different beast now than it was 1983, you have more console manufacturers, you got the PC, you got a ton of developers and publishers, it would take a long time to kill all of that stone-dead, you can mass-boycott one company until it goes belly-up, but can you do it for every company now involved in the game industry? Can you kill Microsoft, Sony, EA, Ubisoft, Activision, every small publisher, every single developer, in one single stroke? You can not.

This idea of "Lets crash the industry" is wishful thinking at best, it cant be done.

 

[Caiphus]

Sorry OP, I can't hear you over the sound of Batman Arkham City and The Witcher 2 being 75% off on Steam today. $7.50 and $5 respectively with no additional DLC to buy.

Your thread-making history is filled with doomsday predictions about the industry, so I'm afraid I'll take your opinions with a decent helping of salt.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

*Looks up from Steam Sales*

Oh yeah, games to expensive. Right. We should do som- wait are those the three BioShock games for 15? Gimme!

http://i.imgur.com/YGLL5ni.gif?1?3141

 

[FancyNick]

Uhh, rather than not having the balls I am pretty sure most gamers don't want a crash. I agree that micro-transactions suck and the whole idea is executed poorly but you don't have to participate. Heck, I just bought 4 games for like $20 and no micro-transactions involved. I'd say we can do pretty good if we just shop smartly

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Ahh, the ever-present "Lets fix this by breaking it" solution. I wonder why people think the only way to fix something is to tear it down and reset things... Guess revolution by scorched earth is the popular sentiment these days.
*heavy sigh of disappointment*