Game consoles' bleak future

UPSWeezer · April 2012

So I just read this article on Yahoo! and I can't help but get a little disheartened about the gaming future.

http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/hello-brave-world-console-gaming-003839870.html

What do you guys think about this? Is this really what companies are going to start doing?

Thrax · April 2012

The dark side of an insulated platform.

UPSLynx · April 2012

It's going to happen, and it's going to be ugly. Makes me happy to still be gaming PC.

Companies are delusional. They're obsessed with stopping piracy, even though none of them know how to do it properly. They don't realize that the key to stopping piracy is to be nicer to your consumers and make outstanding products.

When a developer like Capcom ships a game with completed content locked away on the disk for DLC purposes, they shouldn't be surprised when the consumers backlash and become angry. Of course, they say it's no different than downloading the DLC, it's just a means of data transport. But to consumers this looks (and is) manipulation to make an easy buck.

It's behavior like that that drives gamers to piracy. With this next generation of consoles, they're only making things worse. I probably won't be buying any of the next gen systems as a result. I don't want to support that kind of crap.

midga · April 2012

When a developer like Capcom ships a game with completed content locked away on the disk for DLC purposes, they shouldn't be surprised when the consumers backlash and become angry. Of course, they say it's no different than downloading the DLC, it's just a means of data transport. But to consumers this looks (and is) manipulation to make an easy buck.

Yeah...DLC was, and is, supposed to be a way for a developer to add content in at a later date that they didn't have developed at the shipping date. Asking you to pay for the benefits of their continued development on the game is perfectly reasonable, and not all developers even do it. Asking you to pay real money for content already included in the game you paid real money for already? That's like putting an extra color of game-pieces in a locked box with a board game, and then charging extra for the combination. An idea like that only comes from someone out-of-touch with the gaming community.

Canti · April 2012

An idea like that only comes from someone out-of-touch with the gaming community.

i.e. most of the big name developers today.

I just don't get it. Anti-piracy measures aren't working, haven't BEEN working and show no sign of working in the future. Not only that but there is plenty of evidence over several years that suggest what they're doing actually encourages more people to pirate games. Despite this they continue to do things that treat all their customers as potential thieves. What's more, at best some of them don't even understand why people are upset about their choices or at worst have the gall to basically say they don't care if customers like it or not and will do it regardless. http://www.gamespot.com/news/capcom-defends-on-disc-dlc-report-6369371

The only reason they would want to do these things is if they believe their customers will continue to take their shit indefinitely or if they want to go out of business and sadly for their long time customers the former is what appears to be happening.

Also relevant,

trooster89 · April 2012

This ^

primesuspect · April 2012

Everybody says things like "It's not working".

Where are you getting that data from? At the decision-maker level, at the board level, profits are up, up, and up. The decision makers see that things are working. Video gaming is growing at an insane pace, despite fans and people on the internet bitching about things like the ME3 ending, and despite "boycotts" and despite /v/ and reddit coming out to make EA the "most evil corporation of 2012" and whatnot.

primesuspect · April 2012

Guess what: If there is absolutely ABSURD DRM, anti-piracy, no-used-games on the PS4 and Xbox next, THEY WILL STILL SELL

Canti · April 2012

^ The sad truth.

Thrax · April 2012

It's easy to see how DRM is not working: www.thepiratebay.com.

These copies have less hassles and less hoops to jump through than the legitimate ones used by paying customers. By any stretch of the imagination, this qualifies as a system that is "not working."

primesuspect · April 2012

And does it matter if it's working or not? They're growing and making money. What are you going to do, convince Sony execs and Microsoft execs that if they just did something wildly different, they could make even MORE money?

Thrax · April 2012

That's a completely different argument, now isn't it?

Canti · April 2012

Well you probably wouldn't be able to convince them but I think it's reasonable to believe they could 1. Save money by not developing or implementing various forms of DRM. 2. Get money from people who are currently pirating games specifically because of the reasons Thrax pointed out (convenience). 3. Continue to get money from the people who are already paying for the games and will continue to pay regardless of what they do or don't do to stop piracy.

UPSLynx · April 2012

The growth and profitability of the industry has less to do with preventing piracy and more to do with the fact that gaming is more accessible than ever. With the Wii and casualization of gaming, massive new tracts of gamers have appeared. DLC , F2P and microtransactions have created ways for profits from individual consumers to multiply. It's easy to report high profits when everything today is aimed at making easy money out of the consumers.

Pirates haven't been slowed down, and the means of DRM will do nothing to stop them. The only thing developers are managing to do is hurt the legitimate consumers. It really is unfortunate that these companies are still making the money they are while screwing the good guys, but at least I know I won't buy from these companies anymore. With any luck, others will join me.