So I think by now everyone knows I hated the story, but what about gameplay?

[ragnarok]

The prophecies of "He Who Shall Ruin Computer Gaming Forever and Run Away with Vast Sums of Money"? I've heard that one. It ends with him getting bludgeoned to death by nerds with obsolete computers.

That's how it is with plenty of companies: it's all about money in your pocket, nothing more...

[Nissa]

That's how it is with plenty of companies: it's all about money in your pocket, nothing more...

While I don't necessarily disagree with your statement, I have a hard time believing that this sort of thing will last forever. People will get scared off from games that have no substance. I won't pay for Starcraft 2 (or much any game at this point), Econ up there has given up on WoW, and really only the younger people who don't know any better are the ones that buy games....huh, which may explain why game companies aren't trying anymore. Their target market has switched to those who have undiscriminating tastes, and haven't grown up with the stuff we did.

Anyway, my main point was that this is going to bite companies in the butt sooner or later. Like the American Auto industry 60 or so years ago. Our car companies started making lower quality cars that needed maintenance more often -- and that's what introduced the American public to Japanese cars. The Japanese were trying, so they got the money.

In other words, this seems like a more cyclical thing of endeavoring to coasting to laziness, then back to endeavoring.

[DemolitionSquid]

... and so the cycle repeats itself once more... the Xel'Naga of business are returning...

- - - Updated - - -

... and so the cycle repeats itself once more... the Xel'Naga of business are returning...

[NikoMyCousin]

Compared to EA, Bethesda/ZeniMax, and even Riot, Activision hasn't been that bad.

I swear it isn't stockholm syndrome

[DemolitionSquid]

How dare you insult Bethesda.

FUS ROH DOH!

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How dare you insult Bethesda.

FUS ROH DOH!

[TheEconomist]

Our car companies started making lower quality cars that needed maintenance more often -- and that's what introduced the American public to Japanese cars. The Japanese were trying, so they got the money.

A common misunderstanding that carries on today in the Germany vs PIIGS arguments of today. Without going into complex economic thought, I'll just say that these things were a symptom of things completely outside of the auto industry that, in the end, resulted in the stagnation and ungodly amounts of debt that Japan now has. A problem that China, Brazil and somewhat India, have now taken to an even ungodlier amount and will soon be paying out the ass for it.

The rest I'll somewhat agree with though. For one thing, things like kickstarters and indie games are getting more and more popular by the year and getting more and more funding and complexity. As time goes on they'll be competing more and more directly and successfully with AAA games. That being said, "dumb" games have always been taken the lion share of profits. The only difference between now and the past is that the "dumb" games of the past now have special places in our hearts (Mario, Sonic, Megaman, etc.) and the new ones don't. Call of Duty, for all the dumb-assness of it is far more complex than the vast majority of SNES classics.

The biggest loss was in the smaller genres of PC games (RTS, RPGs, etc) which required more and more funding but reached a limit in the max selling price a long time ago. For me, though, I find hope in kickstarters and other things for these genres. Half the time I'm more exciting for an indie game or a kickstarter than a full retail game.

There will be a rebalancing though. I assure you that games today are not raking in the dough like some of the people here thing. Just because a game sells millions and millions doesn't mean it make a lot of money. It could have even been a loss like with Tomb Raider which sold 5 million copies but was still a disappointment. Gamers have demanded more and more technology in their games, which is incredibly expensive, but refuse to pay more than 60$ (understandably, I never pay more than 20$). The reconning was delayed with things like DLC, and could be extended a bit further with new models like F2P, but, some day, there will be a rebalancing as there always is. You can see a lot of parallels between the video game industry of today and the movie industry before its first big bust.

[NikoMyCousin]

[QUOTE=DemolitionSquid;193921]How dare you insult Bethesda.

FUS ROH DOH!

I'm still really salty about the metacritic contract. Obviously Obsidian agreed to those terms, but including that in the first place just seems really unsettling me.

[ragnarok]

While I don't necessarily disagree with your statement, I have a hard time believing that this sort of thing will last forever. People will get scared off from games that have no substance. I won't pay for Starcraft 2 (or much any game at this point), Econ up there has given up on WoW, and really only the younger people who don't know any better are the ones that buy games....huh, which may explain why game companies aren't trying anymore. Their target market has switched to those who have undiscriminating tastes, and haven't grown up with the stuff we did.

Anyway, my main point was that this is going to bite companies in the butt sooner or later. Like the American Auto industry 60 or so years ago. Our car companies started making lower quality cars that needed maintenance more often -- and that's what introduced the American public to Japanese cars. The Japanese were trying, so they got the money.

In other words, this seems like a more cyclical thing of endeavoring to coasting to laziness, then back to endeavoring.

That's true, but at the same time it depends on the laziness of the audience.

This is something I've seen in working companies all the times. You can have bosses who abuse their power, no one denies that, but you can only go so far before your employees will call it quits. There's a line you can't cross.

[TheEconomist]

How very insightful.

[ragnarok]

How very insightful.

You know it's true, Deckard. You can argue the "rule through fear" concept all you want, but that DOES have its limitations. Even the most cruel dictators know they're only human, and therefore there's limits to what they can do....