The Death of Gaming - Page 13

**Seahawk** · 10-12-2011, 07:03 PM

As much as I would like to sympathize with this guy, having worked in a tech support role before I would have lost interest in his ticket immediately at his condenscending and rude replies, and would have started passing that stuff around the office for laughs. What a complete and utter douche. Tech support staff around the world love toying with obsessed noobs like this.

When all is said and done, EA still has his money in their pocket. EA wins.

That being said, that was some uncool lying on EA's part.

**Dudebro** · 10-12-2011, 07:15 PM

I agree with SH on this. EA isn't right but having an attitude like that will get you the worst tech support possible.

**Slime Slayer** · 10-12-2011, 07:39 PM

For the record that conversation is only documented after the point where it was getting ridiculous. He talked to them for awhile and then decided it would be best to document it. I'm not taking either side in this case though, I just thought it was a interesting read.

I found this online and think it is right on the money:

"...when the industry - and by extension, your hobby - is gradually chipped away at with stupid bullcrap, "play something else then neenerneenerneener!" ceases to be a viable alternative.
This hasn't become an all pervasive problem yet - there are still titles to be enjoyed, particularly indies as have mentioned - but the trend is getting worse all the time and anyone who doesn't see it is either ignorant or doesn't care.
I can see a point in the future where I could actually say to hell with gaming as a hobby if it continues down this path. Some would say "that's extreme, bro! Moar for the rest of us!" - and all the power to you, but at a certain point it just becomes an absurdity... and I want nothing to do with a community that willingly lubes up its anus more and more every year merely because they need to get their fix."

**Seahawk** · 10-12-2011, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevencassidy13

"...when the industry - and by extension, your hobby - is gradually chipped away at with stupid bullcrap, "play something else then neenerneenerneener!" ceases to be a viable alternative.
This hasn't become an all pervasive problem yet - there are still titles to be enjoyed, particularly indies as have mentioned - but the trend is getting worse all the time and anyone who doesn't see it is either ignorant or doesn't care.
I can see a point in the future where I could actually say to hell with gaming as a hobby if it continues down this path. Some would say "that's extreme, bro! Moar for the rest of us!" - and all the power to you, but at a certain point it just becomes an absurdity... and I want nothing to do with a community that willingly lubes up its anus more and more every year merely because they need to get their fix."

I really wish that people who constantly bemoan this fact all over the internet would stick to their guns and actually stop playing so that I wouldn't have to read this tripe anymore. It really is tiring listening to it over and over again.

Good god, it's like every critic seems to think that consoles and PCs come with a mind-control device that compels you to buy all the crappy games you don't want, or causes money to magically fly out of your pocket.....

Don't like online services? Don't use them.
Don't like downloadable games? Don't download them.
Don't like "X genre" or "X game series"? Don't buy them.
Don't like "Company X"? Don't buy from them.

Something, anything you don't like? Don't support it with your money!

There is no in between or a middle ground here. Either the developer gets your money, or they don't. You make that choice.

There are SO MANY GAMES to buy or get for free, moreso than any other point in the lifetime of this industry. Across more successful platforms than ever before. PC, Xbox360, PS3, DS, iPhone, iPad, Android, PSP.
And so many ways to play. Online, offline, singleplayer, multiplayer, motion controls, touchscreen, controllers, keyboard/mouse.

The only limiting factor is yourself and your preferences, or some notion of a time when games were just "magically" better.

If you cannot, and I mean absolutely honestly CANNOT find games you want to play in this current era, then you need to take a long hard look at whether you really enjoy video games at all.

**Slime Slayer** · 10-12-2011, 08:52 PM

I've got faith in the gaming community, I think that things are starting to turn around already. The whole "don't like then don't buy" thing is starting to catch on. Word about how crooked some of the companies are is getting around, it will be interesting to see how it develops.

---------- Post added at 01:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:49 AM ----------

@SH Was your comment about this topic or just what that guy said? Because the topic is supposed to be about awareness, to discuss the various questionable acts of the industry and help each other make decisions about what they want to support.

**Seahawk** · 10-14-2011, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevencassidy13

@SH Was your comment about this topic or just what that guy said? Because the topic is supposed to be about awareness, to discuss the various questionable acts of the industry and help each other make decisions about what they want to support.

It was about what that guy said. It's a good point, but I've read it way too many times on the internet. And more often than not those people are still buying the games they claim to hate, from the companies they claim to hate. Words do nothing if you're not keeping that money in your pocket.

To be clear, I'm of the same mentality as far as how the industry is tipping toward the wrong ideals. I tire of long winded cinematic experiences. I don't buy DLC and I don't buy first person shooters, and it sucks that that is the dominating genre right now to the detriment of all others. Not my type of game, yeah? What I WILL do though, is buy the games I DO like, and play them and enjoy them.

And I'm also glad that customers resist and raise a stink about shady practices in the industry (if they're not buying into them anyways in the first place anyways). To some limits of course, sending off jerk emails to tech support isn't a solution.

I can't stand people who throw blanket statements around about how there are no more good games anymore. That is completely false. There is more quality content on the market right now than there ever has been.

---------- Post added 10-14-2011 at 02:18 PM ---------- Previous post was 10-12-2011 at 08:59 PM ----------

Relevant article posted for discussion. I'm at work so I haven't read it yet.

Why DLC is a Good Thing - IGN

**Slime Slayer** · 10-14-2011, 08:22 PM

Wow, judging by the comments nobody likes dlc.

**Dudebro** · 10-14-2011, 08:41 PM

More like people don't like paying for anything.

**Seahawk** · 10-14-2011, 08:43 PM

The IGN comments boards are pretty much 100% trolls. Pretty much every article about anything degenerates into a mess.

It's why you can get beautiful contradictory statements like this:

Quote:

"The ONLY DLCs I have bought were the Alan Wake, Heavy Rain, Fallout, Oblivion, L.A Noir, and GTA 4 ones, since they set the standard for what a DLC should be like, expanding the game with high production value added content.

Paying for maps, costumes, and alternative chars is a pure ripoff and a disgrace to loyal gamers who are misled into thinking that the developers care about the fans. (I did buy the Halo map packs since I play very competitively) but other than that DLC is mostly useless."

Sounds like a lot of DLC buying. All talk, no show.

**Dudebro** · 10-15-2011, 01:58 AM

I'm way more legit than him I didn't buy any of those DLC. To be fair I only own 4 of those games but still.

**Slime Slayer** · 10-20-2011, 01:08 AM

Another Star Wars one:
NSFW:

( Click to show/hide )

**Seahawk** · 10-21-2011, 02:32 PM

"Eff privacy! I want to play that game."

Some hilarity right there XD.

But honestly, most of the buyers probably have all of their info out on Facebook or something already, so that doesn't really matter to them.

---------- Post added 10-21-2011 at 02:32 PM ---------- Previous post was 10-20-2011 at 01:15 AM ----------

New topic: Future of subscription based online games

Judging from the past year or so Blizzard seems to be having a rough time getting new people playing World of Warcraft lately. They made it free to play up until level 20. Today I found that they're giving out free digital copies of Diablo 3 to anybody who subscribes for a full year.

Commit to a Year of WoW, Get Diablo III for Free

So what do you guys think is happening?

**Dudebro** · 10-21-2011, 03:09 PM

Well the game is pushing like 6-7 years old now, that's a big part of it's problem. At this point the dedicated community is very heavily in the end game and new players are treated to empty lower zones and nearly dead towns. The game is supposedly very easy to level and catch up but I think that works against them. Why would you care about your character if you can max it out in a week or so? Plus once you catch up in level you still have to catch up in gear, which means grinding out instances with people who probably wanna be doing stronger instances that drop better gear. It's not a very welcoming environment to newbs. I never played the game but that's exactly what happened with FFXI. The first couple years were awesome and full of life but after that everyone and their mother stay in the end game zones and newbs were left to fend for themselves and lots never bothered to get to the end.

On top of that MMOs are having trouble in general. All the ones I hear about having a subscription end up going free to play with a cash shop because they can't get enough people to sign up. WoW, EVE, FFXI and a few others are exceptions because their community is old and dedicated.
Star trek online is doing pretty poorly I hear. I wonder if the new Star Wars one will end up with the same fate. It's iffy because it has a built in rabid fanbase and it's milking the KOTOR sequel thing.

**Kugyince** · 10-21-2011, 07:14 PM

The MMORPG fad seems to have had hit it's high mark a few years ago. It was good for the industry though as it brought a lot of new gamers into the hobby. A lot of them moved on to other PC titles such as Minecraft and Terraria. I think it had the same positive affect as the Wii, DS, and Pogo did and Facebook, Apple, and Android are doing now.

I also agree with what DB also stated.

**Slime Slayer** · 11-10-2011, 09:52 PM

**Demon-Mask** · 11-10-2011, 11:03 PM

Don't worry, nobody will care about this one. It only matters if it's Sony, who's popularity was already in decline.

**Seahawk** · 11-10-2011, 11:41 PM

**Slime Slayer** · 11-10-2011, 11:49 PM

That's like getting 3 teeth knocked out and being happy it wasnt 4, anyway this isn't about Sony, it's about Steam.

---------- Post added at 05:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:44 AM ----------

And your infographic is wrong, it says forums only, where if you read the message from the fat man, he says they also infiltrated the Steam database.

**Dudebro** · 11-11-2011, 01:10 AM

It's big news but how is this the death of gaming?

**Demon-Mask** · 11-11-2011, 01:14 AM

By some wild leaps of logic.
First, it means that Steam is untrustworthy.
Second, that means that all online distributers are untrustworthy by association.
Third, we assume that gaming will soon only be online distribution.
Fourth, we assume that Steam and its competitors do nothing to increase security after that.
Therefore, all online distribution is basically giving your credit card to hackers, and soon there will be no option.
/sarcasm

**Slime Slayer** · 11-11-2011, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dudebro

It's big news but how is this the death of gaming?

Maybe because it's an excellent example of how the industry is going to crap?

**Dudebro** · 11-11-2011, 01:28 AM

I don't see that, it's just criminals targeting a new hot market. I think the companies will evolve to fight it better because of the breaches. The sky is not falling.

**Slime Slayer** · 11-11-2011, 01:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dudebro

The sky is not falling.

Not to you because you don't mind the direction gaming is going, to me it's going to crap. It's already to the point where I just shudder thinking about the current state.

**Seahawk** · 11-11-2011, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevencassidy13

That's like getting 3 teeth knocked out and being happy it wasnt 4, anyway this isn't about Sony, it's about Steam.

It was more of a reply to Demon-Mask, demonstrating how the two scenarios are vastly different, resulting in vastly different customer response.

But I suppose you'd prefer all your teeth getting knocked out.

**Dudebro** · 11-11-2011, 01:35 AM

How much less could I care about it? But seriously why do you think I don't care about the future of my one hobby?