A couple of weeks ago I watched a Jim Streling video which criticised how games consumers are being taken advantage of and exploited by games publishers and retailers.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/3565-Accountability
Jim?s argument pivoted on the notion that we have little choice if we want to get the best computer games. This provoked a question, naturally ? is this claim true?
I was not convinced by Jim?s assertions because we all have freedom of choice where buying of games is concerned and if we are opposed to being exploited, there are many methods of buying games. And additional ways of acquiring games depending on your principles and how closely you chose to adhere to copyright laws.
Jimquisitor?s video reminded me of an advert I had seen a few weeks earlier. Surprisingly, I had to take several looks at the advert because I was sure that for the first three or four times of looking at the cardboard cut-out, my eyes had deceived me. This was in late May but disturbingly this eye catching silhouette of a man holding a gun displayed the release date of, 08/11/2011.
I was perplexed by this advert, were there expected to be a severe shortage of discs nearing the end of the year when the game is due to be released? No, this does not sound plausible. Maybe Activision had some reliable info that the game?s distribution would be disrupted? Surely by having a set release date several months away ? Activision is able to adequately react to such hiccups and find a solution to circumvent this obstacle.
What was I thinking? with a fury that can only be provoked by righteous indignation, Lady Pessimism gave me a wakeup call in the form of a metaphoric right cross that David Haye only unleashes in press conferences.
Dude? get real, this is unabashed, naked opportunism, born from an insatiable greed.
Activision is capitalising on the successes of previous Call of Duty games, and intends to take us for as mush as they can get.
After my quiet outrage, (if there is such a thing) I came to my senses and admitted that if I were in Activision?s position ? I would probably do exactly the same.
Why should they recoil from exploiting gamers?, gullibility, stupidity, enthusiasm and loyalty (even thought I am still baffled as to why anyone would be loyal to a commercial organisation that is out make as much money as possible in the shortest amount of time).
I can only speculate at the amounts of interest Activision will make from the pre-order monies earned from MW3 but I suspect it will be enough to satisfy their greed, if only in the short term and be enough to warrant serious consideration of making another two CoD games, at least from a business perspective.
To get back to Mr Sterling?s argument and my rejection of it, we get exploited because we allow ourselves to be fleeced by these ram raiding games companies. I use this term because although Activision has been around for decades, portions/shares of the company do change hands from time to time and usually when share holders believe they have made sizeable amounts for profits and now want to take on other challenges.
This usually translates as ? I know I can make a lot more money with a different greedy company.
CoD games are a lot of fun but for those of us who want to reduce the extent to which we are exploited ? we should seriously consider if it is necessary to pre-order this game.
There will be enough blank discs so everyone who wants a copy to easily get one, even extraterrestrials.
The power is with us because chose when and if to buy games. Don?t believe the hype.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/3565-Accountability
Jim?s argument pivoted on the notion that we have little choice if we want to get the best computer games. This provoked a question, naturally ? is this claim true?
I was not convinced by Jim?s assertions because we all have freedom of choice where buying of games is concerned and if we are opposed to being exploited, there are many methods of buying games. And additional ways of acquiring games depending on your principles and how closely you chose to adhere to copyright laws.
Jimquisitor?s video reminded me of an advert I had seen a few weeks earlier. Surprisingly, I had to take several looks at the advert because I was sure that for the first three or four times of looking at the cardboard cut-out, my eyes had deceived me. This was in late May but disturbingly this eye catching silhouette of a man holding a gun displayed the release date of, 08/11/2011.
I was perplexed by this advert, were there expected to be a severe shortage of discs nearing the end of the year when the game is due to be released? No, this does not sound plausible. Maybe Activision had some reliable info that the game?s distribution would be disrupted? Surely by having a set release date several months away ? Activision is able to adequately react to such hiccups and find a solution to circumvent this obstacle.
What was I thinking? with a fury that can only be provoked by righteous indignation, Lady Pessimism gave me a wakeup call in the form of a metaphoric right cross that David Haye only unleashes in press conferences.
Dude? get real, this is unabashed, naked opportunism, born from an insatiable greed.
Activision is capitalising on the successes of previous Call of Duty games, and intends to take us for as mush as they can get.
After my quiet outrage, (if there is such a thing) I came to my senses and admitted that if I were in Activision?s position ? I would probably do exactly the same.
Why should they recoil from exploiting gamers?, gullibility, stupidity, enthusiasm and loyalty (even thought I am still baffled as to why anyone would be loyal to a commercial organisation that is out make as much money as possible in the shortest amount of time).
I can only speculate at the amounts of interest Activision will make from the pre-order monies earned from MW3 but I suspect it will be enough to satisfy their greed, if only in the short term and be enough to warrant serious consideration of making another two CoD games, at least from a business perspective.
To get back to Mr Sterling?s argument and my rejection of it, we get exploited because we allow ourselves to be fleeced by these ram raiding games companies. I use this term because although Activision has been around for decades, portions/shares of the company do change hands from time to time and usually when share holders believe they have made sizeable amounts for profits and now want to take on other challenges.
This usually translates as ? I know I can make a lot more money with a different greedy company.
CoD games are a lot of fun but for those of us who want to reduce the extent to which we are exploited ? we should seriously consider if it is necessary to pre-order this game.
There will be enough blank discs so everyone who wants a copy to easily get one, even extraterrestrials.
The power is with us because chose when and if to buy games. Don?t believe the hype.