What trend in the gaming industry do you find the most troubling?

[Lynk Former]

Admin edited one vote down for me in DLC... it's soooo stupid.

 

"Let's make an incomplete game! Yeah, people will love that and then we'll get them to pay more for parts of the game we release after launch!"

 

 

 

 

Also, just to finish off the console thing. Consoles make more money for developer/publishers faster. There really isn't any thought of the long term in this, rather, how much money they can make the quickest to please investors who want high returns quickly. It sucks, but unfortunately that's just the way things go in this business. Of course, through all of this no one has mentioned all of the good things PC gamers get that console gamers don't get... which I find interesting.

[mimartin]

Of course, through all of this no one has mentioned all of the good things PC gamers get that console gamers don't get... which I find interesting.

 

Can't speak for all console gamers, but I've been known to buy games for both the console and the PC if the game has more good things for the PC gamers. That is if it isn't mucked up with spyware. I own both ME and ME2 for both the 360 and the PC, ME3 I will only get for the 360.

[Working Class Hero]

Online activation will make me refuse to buy. Games like Civ 5 have no business requiring steam.

[Sabretooth]

How exactly does DRM protect their games? DRM is cracked mostly before or on the day the game is released. And in the end, the legitimate consumers are the ones who have to deal with it, while the pirates play the "normal version". Is it really worth it? I don't think so.

As a representative of the Pirate Worker's Union, I'll have you know that pirates do not play any "normal" version. The pirated versions of modern game have to be manually patched, and that is IF a pirate group is kind enough to put up a game's update on the Internet. In 98% of games, there is also no multiplayer on pirated games. A Call of Duty or a Battlefield game could hardly be called "normal" without its multiplayer.

 

DRM helps protect games. It isn't the company's fault that the DRM ends up cracked by talented pirates. Piracy is a major concern for video game companies and while they can't shoot lawsuits at every torrent site like MPAA, they try to make sure they're trying their level best at the product-end.

 

 

On the short run, yes. And as I said, I understand why they want to focus more on the consoles. I only think PC shouldn't be ignored either. And no, they are not charity organizations, but that doesn't make the plea any less valid.

 

Major companies maybe, but there is actually a very, very large mass of indie games that get released for the PC. Especially thanks to distribution models like Steam, where pretty much anyone with a good game on their hands can get the same platform as Valve or Activision (except in marketing). Then there's companies dedicated to the PC, like Paradox Interactive, who profess to making games that hearken back to the 90s.

[Lynk Former]

And that's one of the good things about PC gaming as a platform... the fact that it allows smaller and indie developers to do their thing.

[Alexrd]

DRM helps protect games. It isn't the company's fault that the DRM ends up cracked by talented pirates.

 

Well, it certainly isn't the legitimate consumer's fault that pirates crack their games. And yet they are the ones who have to deal with DRM every time they want to play the game.

 

Piracy is a major concern for video game companies and while they can't shoot lawsuits at every torrent site like MPAA, they try to make sure they're trying their level best at the product-end.

 

I agree that companies should try to protect their products, but not at the expense of legit consumers. In fact, these should be the priority, not the pirates.

 

Why does a company obliges someone to have an internet access (which is paid), to install a software that doesn't benefit the game, to create an account of said software, login every time they want to play the game, all in order to finally the person who paid the game can enjoy the product (s)he paid for? All this for a single player game like Skyrim and many others. In the end, the pirates are the one who get the "DRM free version", and the consumers are left to deal with all this crap.

[Red Hessian]

What trend in the gaming industry do you find the most troubling?

 

1. Online activation and online requirement to play (DRM). 3rd party requirement (Steam to play Skyrim or Origin to play Mass Effect 3).

 

2. Along the same lines. Digital distribution the move towards no longer having a physical copy and only being able to purchase the game from certain digital distributors (exp Origin)

 

3. Streamlining games in an attempt to make them more attractive to a wider audience.

 

4. More and more games being made with consoles in mind and PC just being a ported after thought.

 

5. More games trying to add multiplayer/co-op

 

 

How about: "6. All of the above"?

 

What happened to the days when you could just go to a store, buy the game on a CD/DVD, install it quick and easy, and play to your heart's content without being angry with the poor consol porting and not worrying if you'll have the money for the multitude of DLC's already announced by the time the game was released...

[mimartin]

How about: "6. All of the above"?

Nope, because the question is "What trend in the gaming industry do you find the most troubling", not Do you find these trends in the gaming industry troubling. In that case the "All of the above" would be a valid option, but I wanted to know which one everyone found the most troubling, not if they found them all troubling.