Gaming Discussions
Current State of Gaming
Submitted by bored, 18-02-2019, 04:30 AM, Thread ID: 121764
Thread Closed
So, first of all, thank you for checking this thread out, I put a lot effort into it and hope you enjoy it. Feel free to give your opinion, and please correct me if I say something wrong.
The gaming industry nowadays is colossal, so many companies and games try their luck on this risky market, some being successful others not so much. It's hard to think about how things were a few decades ago. Games tended to focus on the singleplayer side of things, co-op multiplayer was only an afterthought. Yes, co-op multiplayer because online multiplayer was considered a niche thing, just like co-op is treated right now.
This might seem like a bad thing, and it is in some aspects but in others, it really isn't so bad. Industry titans, such as EA, have clearly taken advantage of the online system and capitalized it by flooding games with microtransactions, sometimes even going as far as making games P2W, meaning your experience is hindered if you don't pay, in addition to the game, for example, in-game currency to upgrade your stats to give yourself a chance to win against other players. The major issue here is that people still buy the game even though they complain about this. Companies care more about raking in money rather than public reception, unlike a few decades ago, where the public's opinion dictated where the gaming industry went.
Singleplayer and co-op games don't suffer from this issue, as often they don't have any dedicated servers which means there is no opportunity to implement microtransactions. Of course, there are always exceptions to this.
It is acceptable from a free game to contain some microtransactions since revenue isn't obtained from sales meaning there has to be another way to generate revenue, but having a game flooded with microtransactions is completely unacceptable, even if it is a free game. It makes for a subpar experience for almost everybody. And I think the core of the issue lies here. Companies don't care for customer satisfaction as much as they care for revenue. They are blinded by greed and will do unacceptable things for extra zeros on their bank account.
Gaming has evolved so much in recent years, all the way from the popularisation of digital platforms to buy games to the first hybrid console to ever enter the market, it is undeniable that a lot of aspects have improved significantly.
One of those aspects is accessibility. This is a very important one since it is one of the main reasons why gaming is so huge. You can pick up a console for an affordable price or use a PC that you already have, and play, through gaming platforms, a wide range of games that keeps growing every minute. Affordability paired with a wide variety of choices makes gaming much more appealing to a larger audience. Needless to say, this is excellent for companies and customers alike.
From a more technical side of things, there are fewer bugs and the graphics are better and the gameplay as well. All of these combined result in a more realistic and engaging playthrough. Add good story writing to the mix and you have a fictional universe which leaves the player in awe. Of course, it is easier said than done.
Besides game quality and accessibility, there is also online play, which is fantastic. Having the possibility to play with people across the globe is a dream come true. However, I think in recent times too much of an emphasis has been put in it, it's good to have a nice distribution of games across all genres, so the customers have more choice in what game they want to play.
Last but not least, there is the ease in which independent developers have of releasing their games. I quite enjoy these indie games because you feel the care that was put into the game. Furthermore, indie games are made by people who strive to make the best game possible, which isn't always the case.
Another bad characteristic associated with the current gaming industry is franchise milking, which leads to the over saturation of the gaming market. Franchise milking often involves exploiting expectations of fans of the prequel, which is really upsetting but it is the truth. All it takes is copying pre-existing mechanics, copying the level design, using existing characters, and make a half-assed story. Of course, franchise milking doesn't always follow this formula but it often does.
In my opinion, the gaming industry has taken a turn for the better in most aspects, the future of video games is looking bright for companies and gamers alike since the quality of games has improved and there are more and more people expressing interest in gaming. With the release of the Switch, a hybrid console, we may be looking at a future where portability means a lot.
On that note, I'm gonna end this post here. Thank you to those who read the whole thing.
The gaming industry nowadays is colossal, so many companies and games try their luck on this risky market, some being successful others not so much. It's hard to think about how things were a few decades ago. Games tended to focus on the singleplayer side of things, co-op multiplayer was only an afterthought. Yes, co-op multiplayer because online multiplayer was considered a niche thing, just like co-op is treated right now.
This might seem like a bad thing, and it is in some aspects but in others, it really isn't so bad. Industry titans, such as EA, have clearly taken advantage of the online system and capitalized it by flooding games with microtransactions, sometimes even going as far as making games P2W, meaning your experience is hindered if you don't pay, in addition to the game, for example, in-game currency to upgrade your stats to give yourself a chance to win against other players. The major issue here is that people still buy the game even though they complain about this. Companies care more about raking in money rather than public reception, unlike a few decades ago, where the public's opinion dictated where the gaming industry went.
Singleplayer and co-op games don't suffer from this issue, as often they don't have any dedicated servers which means there is no opportunity to implement microtransactions. Of course, there are always exceptions to this.
It is acceptable from a free game to contain some microtransactions since revenue isn't obtained from sales meaning there has to be another way to generate revenue, but having a game flooded with microtransactions is completely unacceptable, even if it is a free game. It makes for a subpar experience for almost everybody. And I think the core of the issue lies here. Companies don't care for customer satisfaction as much as they care for revenue. They are blinded by greed and will do unacceptable things for extra zeros on their bank account.
Gaming has evolved so much in recent years, all the way from the popularisation of digital platforms to buy games to the first hybrid console to ever enter the market, it is undeniable that a lot of aspects have improved significantly.
One of those aspects is accessibility. This is a very important one since it is one of the main reasons why gaming is so huge. You can pick up a console for an affordable price or use a PC that you already have, and play, through gaming platforms, a wide range of games that keeps growing every minute. Affordability paired with a wide variety of choices makes gaming much more appealing to a larger audience. Needless to say, this is excellent for companies and customers alike.
From a more technical side of things, there are fewer bugs and the graphics are better and the gameplay as well. All of these combined result in a more realistic and engaging playthrough. Add good story writing to the mix and you have a fictional universe which leaves the player in awe. Of course, it is easier said than done.
Besides game quality and accessibility, there is also online play, which is fantastic. Having the possibility to play with people across the globe is a dream come true. However, I think in recent times too much of an emphasis has been put in it, it's good to have a nice distribution of games across all genres, so the customers have more choice in what game they want to play.
Last but not least, there is the ease in which independent developers have of releasing their games. I quite enjoy these indie games because you feel the care that was put into the game. Furthermore, indie games are made by people who strive to make the best game possible, which isn't always the case.
Another bad characteristic associated with the current gaming industry is franchise milking, which leads to the over saturation of the gaming market. Franchise milking often involves exploiting expectations of fans of the prequel, which is really upsetting but it is the truth. All it takes is copying pre-existing mechanics, copying the level design, using existing characters, and make a half-assed story. Of course, franchise milking doesn't always follow this formula but it often does.
In my opinion, the gaming industry has taken a turn for the better in most aspects, the future of video games is looking bright for companies and gamers alike since the quality of games has improved and there are more and more people expressing interest in gaming. With the release of the Switch, a hybrid console, we may be looking at a future where portability means a lot.
On that note, I'm gonna end this post here. Thank you to those who read the whole thing.
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