Widescreen Gaming Forum

So most of you know that I have a beef with companies that just send out games to feed off the consumers. I've talked about DLC before and the like. But I have never really had my own rant, well here it is.

It used to be that games that were mediocre did not sell well. They were the games that we all knew would tank or do just above that. But somehow, in some way the gaming industry has found over the past little while to take the game that did exceptional well when it first started and milk it into oblivion, with a few upgrades here... nothing to innovate, nothing to improve, just enough to blind consumers and show them the way of the sequel (and from here on out we can not really call them sequels, but really semi updated... like 3%... games).

So I was reading this on Gamespot the other day and came across these comments (and given high marks by the readers). I suggest you skim through the article, but whatever. So we all know about the Activision debacle (see the recent news?) and how they succeed, where they should really be failing. But seriously... this is ridiculous.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/diablo3/news.html?sid=6266573&om_act=convert&om_clk=newsfeatures&tag=newsfeatures%3Btitle%3B2

"So, they treat their employees like crap?? They don't offer them food. They don't offer them exercise. They don't fix the peeling carpet, or the shoddy offices. All because we, the consumers, don't see these things??? You treat your workers like dogs because you don't want to spend any money making their working quarters up to standard??? That is sick. That is really, really sick. And he wonders why his company is hated.

He thinks Activision is the most hated publisher because they are number 1!? No, you are hated because of your greedy CEO. You are hated because Kotick has made it clear on more than one occasion that all he cares about is the money and nothing else. You are hated because you would rather fire and sue your own employees then pay them what they are owed. You are hated because you withhold your employees bonuses to try and force them to stay with the company. You are hated because you charge $15 for map packs that should have been $10 simply because the game is very popular. You are hated because you destoryed the music game genre with your own greed. You are hated because you are now going to do the same exact thing with the Call of Duty franchise. You are hated because all you do is create sequels and crush all that question you. You are hated because you deserve to be hated.

THAT is why you are HATED."

-EKGProd

I have to laugh at how so many people complain about how Activision thrive off cash and not their customers' loyalty. I do agree with you guys but for Christs sake. The reason why Activision don't care about their customers is because people keep buying their games. I can hear a load of people promising that they will never trust Activision again, heh. I'll do nothing but laugh once I log onto Wikipedia next year and find out Call Of Duty: Black Ops has sold several million units.

The secret is guys, if you want Activision to start caring again: Stop Buying Their Games.

I'm sorry if my criticisim sounds harsh but I'm merely stating the obvious. The Call Of Duty franchise is good but the fact that people keep buying them despite the fact that each title is a mere reproduction of the last is just mind blowing. Look at World At War. It has sold over 12 million copies despite that it is basically Call Of Duty 4 in a different setting with a few additions. That is not worth anywhere near $50. There have also been several warnings about the new Modern Warfare 2 map packs being of very bad value but 2 million idiots decided that paying for 3 recycled maps and 2 new ones that is worth more than a quarter of the game's price is a good idea. And yet I hear people complaining about Activision's overpriced pieces of tat despite the fact they are buying them. I'm sorry but it is ridiculous and I know that Black Ops and Bungie's new project will sell because of the communities inability to heed warnings. Activision will continue to reproduce titles to the point of irritation until people stop buying their games.

Oh and before people flame me about my opinion, please note that this is dedicated to Activision fans who are complaining. Those who are content with what Activison are doing do not need to heed this.

-Lionman363

How many of you agree? What will you do?

We have seen something of late with Apple too. They screwed up big time and Steve Jobs has to come out and "admit" (something he didn't really do... and if you need to see it the way I saw it... watch this Apple Debacle - FUNNY) that they messed up. This can happen with a phone, but will we actually see it with a game company? Probably not. Why? Because it isn't going to go on Good Morning America or the Today show like it was with apple... the general consumer is never going to really know about this type of thing, and it is evident with the way my little brother at home still plays the game, my little brother in law still plays games like COD and the way the world is blind to actual quality.

There are plenty of games that are going to reinvent themselves, going for quality, for story, for music, for gameplay and that don't rehash on the same thing (think percentages here people, a game that changes 25% is better than 3%). Don't get me wrong, I don't mind games that try the same principles with different twists and fail because they just aren't up to par, studios need failures in order to get something good sometimes. But when studios make a failure that sells SO MUCH, it just isn't right.

I for one will stand... but whatever, seems like this is one area where we might never win. And in truth... I think it will just get worse.

/rant off

_________________
Professional... well I'll figure that out.



"I sense something, a presence I've not felt since......."

Game sales are driven by the console gamers now and in general, they are a bunch of morons.

They don't read forums, they don't read gaming news. They sit on their couch and play their auto-aiming fps games with a fking gamepad. They don't care if the employees are being raped.

Consoles don't have game demos like PC, so they buy sight unseen or rent.

Us PC gamers get the scraps. We get bad ports and vert- shit with no FOV control. That is if we get the game at all.

What infuriates me about those sorts of posts (the 2nd one i think quoted by OP, the sarcastic one saying just don't buy activision if you don't like it basically which is true but a bit harsh) is that I do complain, I do send nice little helpful emails etc. to the game developers saying here's some suggestions to improve your game... get zero feedback... then i don't buy their products. Yet the games still sell.

-Have not purchased or played or anything'd COD:MW2
-Have not piurchased Assassin's Creed 2

etc. + whatever other controversial games/products that i forget about.

I think the problem is that the majority of gamers are totally unaware of what they're missing out on. If activision introduct subscription based online multiplayer they will collapse and only because that will be the point at which all the 10 yr old buying their map packs will be unable to get a credit card. So activision will finally realise they've pissed off all their original COD1/2 fanbase and sent them over to someone who actually designs fun and innovative games leaving them with an uncreative, unimaginative, pointless community. (I will say that COD:MW1 was FANTASTIC and had great support for modding and online FPS clans etc.)

I spend shitloads of money every year on PC gaming (probably $1500 easy... ) yet supposably it's "dying" which is completely BS. (Or at least outside of the US of A it is completely BS, i guess inside America they don't sell PCs any more of something??? :lol: Kidding...) Everything innovative that isn't "motion tech" is coming out of PCs yet we are completely stuck in Unreal Engine 3 world STILL, which is probably one of the worst engines to ever come out and destroy PC gaming in terms of engine compatibility, features, performance, ease of programmability for developers (as they always seem to screw stuff up). Anyway... i just have been waiting and waiting for someone to release a good dx10/dx11 engine that becomes standard and starts blowing every single console game out of this world and we can go back to actually reading PC-centric reviews rather than console reviews pasted in PC gaming sections with absolutely no information about the differences or unique bits or awesome graphics or using surround hardware or 3d or flight controls or 7.1 sound or whatever. Just everything in the last few years is pissing me off. Yet there's still the odd developer here and there producing brilliant games that keeps me loving PC gaming and keeps me sane but i think the last few years have been very dry for PC gaming and a lot more "consolized" in terms of features for blockbuster titles. E.g. the Crysis 2 looks terribly over simplified.... my god.

Haven't touched MW2 either. Even when Steam had the MP weekend available to all, I did not touch it one single bit.

I never played Assassin's Creed so I doubt I'll ever get the chance to really play through the series unless I happen to come across it by some off chance.

We all know that the console market is the one generating the most cash. It's no surprise that the publishers and developers are trying to cash in on this very thing. What stinks is that they are trying to permeate that into the PC sector, which has had, since the early days, free reign over how we want our fresh and new content. It used to be that back then we would get a huge patch/update and it includes one or two new maps. Or that the actual expansion pack is a real expansion pack that is worth the extra bucks spent. I still have the original Quake Mission Pack 1 which is probably the coolest "expansion" for the Quake series. And Quake itself is still the only game that has literally made me jump out of my chair into hysterical laughter.

Quality games are hard to come by these days. And I am finding that I am leaning more towards the ones from indie developers or from developers who are not bound by the big corporations/publishers. I have picked up TrackMania, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Trine, Serious Sam HD 1 & 2, and Braid simply because I liked them and they are quality stuff. Call of Duty? Well, ever since CoD4, Activision is pushing the game on a sportly and yearly basis. If that's what the franchise is turning itself into, then I want no part of it. I was given CoD4 and later quit after 1 to 2 months worth of play. I played WaW for just over a year and have enjoyed it over 4. WaW remains to be the only official CoD game that I have actually purchased myself. But sadly due to how things are heading, it's going to be the only CoD game that I ever bother with.

I'm no fan of DLC. I think DLC should be priced accordingly on the console market but remain free for the PC players. It's obvious that there's no central method or system in place to really make a front-end to paid-DLC on the PC platform. It's understandable that DLC should cost something or nothing on the console end since the hosting service is run by Microsoft or Sony. And they need the money in order to help maintain and keep the service up. The console players can pay all they want for their extra little things in order to make their gaming experience better. But why push that kind of market onto PC players? That's one thing that I do not understand.

The console platform is closed and fixed. There's little in ways of expansion other than maybe a hard drive swap. Still, everything else is controlled and maintained within the confines and restricted space set forth by the manufacturer (aka Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo). What about the PC? On the PC end, we got branded PCs and custom PCs. Parts can be swapped out. HDs can be added or switched. Memory can be added or switched. And our displays can be enhanced (aka Vision Surround or Eyefinity). We have a flexible input system -- keyboards, wheels, flight sticks, mice. We have superior audio subsystem -- from 2.0 to 7.1, analog or digital, HDMI or SDPIF, coax or optical. If the PC platform has this many variables and the sky's (or money) the limit, wouldn't that make the PC platform that much more superior to any consoles regardless of how advance it may be?

It's mind-boggling mind you. I know that some people do not have the luxury of a current-gen or mid-range system offered today. Yet you'd think games on the PC platform should be 2-5x more superior to what console players get. But nope, developers and publishers just don't see the big picture these days. All they see are the dollar signs. All they seem to care about is how fast can they do it and with the least amount of financial burden. Features and uniqueness gets thrown out the window sadly.

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t3h bl0g | Old Warriors Soceity | my BFBC2 stats

You are hated because you charge $15 for map packs that should have been $10 simply because the game is very popular.

I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

I tolerate mediocrity because otherwise I would only buy one or two games a year and would have nothing to play. I would pay double what I pay now for games and not give a crap if I am getting quality, exorbitant DLC prices and all.

I don't give a crap about how they treat their employees as long as they are not doing anything illegal. You treat people like crap and you get crap. And in the long run your business will die.

There is a reason game designers have so much crunch time and a lot of it has nothing to do with not being given enough time to do what is needed.

What can I say? It is all about me.

So All I want to say is "You mad?"

But on a serious note, we've been in this rut since the end of the last console generation imho.
There's been absolutely nothing that's really grabbed my attention for years now.
Games I play now don't feel right, they aren't smooth, they aren't fun, and they don't bring me the joy I once had.

Any game that been released int he last five years can easily be run through in several hours, not days, or weeks.
It's not because "...games are becoming more refined...," it's because games are touting prettiness, and ease of use.
You can mindless get through these short little dumps easily, and generally they'll have the most odd bugs.

I want a solid experience in my games. I think people have forgotten how good games used to be.
It's like gas prices, they get terribly high, then they inch down back to tolerable, but never back to good pricing.
Games got terrible, then got a little better, and that's where it stayed.

But alas, unless you never want any new experience, you have to buy this crap they call a game.

I want my hobby back. I used to spend hours pressing buttons, moving joysticks, clicking mouses, and doing it all with a smile.
Now I touch a game maybe twice a week, only when I'm bored with everything else.

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System Core: | Intel Core i5-2500K + ASUS P8Z68-V + 16GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1333 MHz | Win7 x64 | MSI R7970 Lightning 3GB [1105/1400] |
Display: | 3 x Dell Ultrasharp 3007WFP-HC @ 7680x1600 | Dell u3011 |

But on a serious note, we've been in this rut since the end of the last console generation imho.

Makes sense, this is the first generation where graphics parity is quite similar between PC's and consoles.

[quote]But on a serious note, we've been in this rut since the end of the last console generation imho.

Makes sense, this is the first generation where graphics parity is quite similar between PC's and consoles.

Only because PC versions aren't getting high resolution textures and hardly ever are they actually coded in dx10/dx11. I simply just blame the Unreal Engine 3. Hands down worst thing to happen to PC progression.

People, calm down, it's all very simple.

Question: Why do companies keep their customers happy?
Answer: Because happy consumers may buy more.

If happy consumers do not buy significantly more than unhappy consumers, then there is no reason to keep consumers happy.


Companies don't care about their customers. If they did, they'd be out of business before long. The same goes for quality. It does not matter what you sell, just as long as it does.
It's called 'business'.
Thriving companies do not care about their customer's wellfare. They will buy the products anyway, because 'the people' are nothing but petty slaves, doing whatever society tells them to. And who tells society what to tell its slaves? That would be the thriving companies, right there. The few 'gifted' people that have 'ascended' above the slavery, free of the tempations of the day, free of 'social pressure', free to abuse the worldwide system for their own benefit.

I'd do just the same, if it weren't for my concience. Thus I am not in business, but an employee at a certain company in my area.

What we can do about this? Nothing. Except ascending as well and becoming what they are. Not to the benefit of all, but only for yourself. You'll have all the money you can dream of. The downside of it all is that despite all this money, you'll be poor, so very poor indeed...

Notice how I didn't mention 'gaming' in there, or something of the sort? That's because it doesn't matter which franchise it is. They're all the same.


Remember kids:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFv6aQNnmzc