There doesn't seem to be a single inch of the gaming scene that isn't a total mess right now. Putting aside the fact that I can't think of anything exciting to look forward to at E3 (or should I say the event that was once E3) gaming has become a rather depressing hobby.
GAME the UK retailer shuts down, and as much as you American people might not think this effects you, I hear this is how many if not most people in the UK were getting their games. Regardless of the game or console, that is an awful lot of sales lost and it will hurt every franchise in the end.
Speaking of GameStop, in a recent article at GameInformer they mentioned that GameStop will no longer be taking Gamecube stuff (even though they still accept PS2/original Xbox trade-ins). At the bottom of this article they remind people in a disclaimer that they are owned by GameStop. They had put that disclaimer there because they knew the mere mention of that store would immediately cause people to become irate. I would like to say something negative about GameStop, but I think that says it all right there...
Then we have Mass Effect 3 and regardless of which side of the fence you stand on, one thing rings true: I have not seen so many people vocally disappointed with a game since E.T. for the Atari. What's worse, this game has countless campaigns against it, yet still somehow is receiving perfect 10's, which makes the entire 'Online Videogame Review' system more suspect then it ever was before, particularly at IGN who has a staff member in the game. At the very least, this situation has shown who can be trusted and who can't.
Sony removes an advertised feature from their console people already bought, which starts an attack from Anonymous, which in turn made the consumer rights of gamers a HUGE political subject from here on. That happened a little while ago, but it's effects can still be felt to this day. Microsoft recently followed by making sure you cannot sue them for any wrongdoings they might decide on. What's worse, they felt they had to do this which means they may already have some bad business practices in store for us (oh boy).
Some people in the industry start to become a tad too vocal about their opinion on used sales, then start saying if we buy used or rent (or even borrow from a friend) we are thieves and pirates. As small as this may seem, the actions of the industry have shown it to be abundantly clear this is how many people feel. This is why endless rumors of new consoles one day being all digital have started. While they may be just rumors now, I don't see why this can't happen. It seems a lot more likely then some of the other things we have put up with recently, so I won't be surprised if it does happen.
Speaking of which, DRM has become more obstructive then ever and instead of fighting piracy it has essentially become a punishment for buying PC games legitimately. The problems this has caused have actually forced some gamers to search the net for illegitimate copies of the games they just purchased, just so they can play their purchase.
Origin set a new standards for spyware; attach it to Triple-A titles. Now that EA has proven we will allow game companies to come into our personal space and rummage through our things, expect it to become a fad. Then expect companies to "defend" this behavior by saying they were trying to get to know you better, so they could send you the "right advertisements".
Konami is falling apart, but I don't think I could say that better then Jim Sterling did:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/5524-Konami
Capcom is falling apart:
Putting aside both the failings of Konami and Capcom, both companies have surrendered some of their biggest franchises to western developers who clearly can't deliver the same quality of product (particularly with Silent Hill). This is odd, considering these companies want our money and they need it more then ever right now.
Nintendo decides the casual market was unsustainable and makes a promise to appeal to 'The Gaming Crowd' again, then immediately shows us they won't keep that promise. Much to the disappointment of fans, Nintendo refuses to bring over the newer games that would appeal to this crowd. This starts operation Rainfall which was a semi failure. To add insult to injury, they claimed their reasoning had to do with localization costs. The thing is, Xenoblade was already in English, so it's quite preposterous to think there was ever a reason to withhold it from American to begin with. Eventually Nintendo caves and we get Xenoblade, but it takes an entire movement to make it happen. All this while they are on the verge of trying to get us to buy their new console, a console they are marketing for "gamers".
All of this combined just seems to be a flesh wound on gaming, and certainly isn't the mortal one that will end it. I wonder however, just how bad some of these things will fester and carry over into the next gen. So what do you people think? I am afraid of just how much worse things can get. But more importantly, how bad do they have to get before we have to worry about a crash? What do you think it would take to achieve that?
GAME the UK retailer shuts down, and as much as you American people might not think this effects you, I hear this is how many if not most people in the UK were getting their games. Regardless of the game or console, that is an awful lot of sales lost and it will hurt every franchise in the end.
Speaking of GameStop, in a recent article at GameInformer they mentioned that GameStop will no longer be taking Gamecube stuff (even though they still accept PS2/original Xbox trade-ins). At the bottom of this article they remind people in a disclaimer that they are owned by GameStop. They had put that disclaimer there because they knew the mere mention of that store would immediately cause people to become irate. I would like to say something negative about GameStop, but I think that says it all right there...
Then we have Mass Effect 3 and regardless of which side of the fence you stand on, one thing rings true: I have not seen so many people vocally disappointed with a game since E.T. for the Atari. What's worse, this game has countless campaigns against it, yet still somehow is receiving perfect 10's, which makes the entire 'Online Videogame Review' system more suspect then it ever was before, particularly at IGN who has a staff member in the game. At the very least, this situation has shown who can be trusted and who can't.
Sony removes an advertised feature from their console people already bought, which starts an attack from Anonymous, which in turn made the consumer rights of gamers a HUGE political subject from here on. That happened a little while ago, but it's effects can still be felt to this day. Microsoft recently followed by making sure you cannot sue them for any wrongdoings they might decide on. What's worse, they felt they had to do this which means they may already have some bad business practices in store for us (oh boy).
Some people in the industry start to become a tad too vocal about their opinion on used sales, then start saying if we buy used or rent (or even borrow from a friend) we are thieves and pirates. As small as this may seem, the actions of the industry have shown it to be abundantly clear this is how many people feel. This is why endless rumors of new consoles one day being all digital have started. While they may be just rumors now, I don't see why this can't happen. It seems a lot more likely then some of the other things we have put up with recently, so I won't be surprised if it does happen.
Speaking of which, DRM has become more obstructive then ever and instead of fighting piracy it has essentially become a punishment for buying PC games legitimately. The problems this has caused have actually forced some gamers to search the net for illegitimate copies of the games they just purchased, just so they can play their purchase.
Origin set a new standards for spyware; attach it to Triple-A titles. Now that EA has proven we will allow game companies to come into our personal space and rummage through our things, expect it to become a fad. Then expect companies to "defend" this behavior by saying they were trying to get to know you better, so they could send you the "right advertisements".
Konami is falling apart, but I don't think I could say that better then Jim Sterling did:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/5524-Konami
Capcom is falling apart:
Putting aside both the failings of Konami and Capcom, both companies have surrendered some of their biggest franchises to western developers who clearly can't deliver the same quality of product (particularly with Silent Hill). This is odd, considering these companies want our money and they need it more then ever right now.
Nintendo decides the casual market was unsustainable and makes a promise to appeal to 'The Gaming Crowd' again, then immediately shows us they won't keep that promise. Much to the disappointment of fans, Nintendo refuses to bring over the newer games that would appeal to this crowd. This starts operation Rainfall which was a semi failure. To add insult to injury, they claimed their reasoning had to do with localization costs. The thing is, Xenoblade was already in English, so it's quite preposterous to think there was ever a reason to withhold it from American to begin with. Eventually Nintendo caves and we get Xenoblade, but it takes an entire movement to make it happen. All this while they are on the verge of trying to get us to buy their new console, a console they are marketing for "gamers".
All of this combined just seems to be a flesh wound on gaming, and certainly isn't the mortal one that will end it. I wonder however, just how bad some of these things will fester and carry over into the next gen. So what do you people think? I am afraid of just how much worse things can get. But more importantly, how bad do they have to get before we have to worry about a crash? What do you think it would take to achieve that?
