Recently, I've written a slew of reviews on the state of the game industry, whether console, PC or mobile. What I've primarily written about are developers and microtransactions - how they are ruining gaming and focusing on profits so much that fun is a secondary factor.
But what if WE are to blame for the subpar gaming experience we are facing recently? Yes, developers do manipulate what they can so they can stay alive (See how EA has acquired so many gaming companies and destroyed virtually all of them due to hiring staff members from the company, cutting budgets and forcing their hands: here), but what if we didn't buy the games they put out?
I know you're thinking that we could lose our favorite franchises, but we typically lose them anyway due to a publisher buying them out and changing their company structure. Besides, would you rather keep playing a game that is only moderately fun, getting increasingly stressful because they add in grind mode or pay, or have a fun game even though it's a new IP? I'll take the latter and I think most gamers are with me on this.
I have booted up my NES and Sega systems and played those games. Man... I could play them for hours and still have fun, even if I lost a few times on a specific game I played. But let me boot up my XBone or PS4, and I'll be frustrated with even my favorite games - glitches, lag, inconsistent gameplay, GRINDING to get something very small as a reward, and then to add insult to injury, the games want you to buy upgrades or pay your way out of the grind when the older versions of that same franchise didn't do that.
Have games changed that much that we should be paying for passes to not grind so the company can make a quick buck? No.
Us consumers are to blame. The only way to fix it is to not buy those games the same way consumers refused to buy DMC because of various reasons (I thought it was a VERY fun game, but others disagreed and the publishers will not be making a sequel). Tired of COD's gameplay, stop buying it... Who cares that your friends are playing it. Have them play another game with you, and / or make new gaming friends in a new and FUN game. Don't like Destiny 2's or NBA 2K18's pay walls? Don't play them anymore if you bought them or just don't buy them if you read the reviews.
We have a simple solution to this. Don't buy their games and they will QUICKLY change their tune, because they want and need money to keep afloat. Spread the message.
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Photo credit: HERE