Unfortunately in
any industry, to borrow the name from the title, nothing is sacred. Ours is no exception. If it sells, they’ll make more of it. And by them, I mean everyone. Book publishers, Game Developers, record labels and Simon Cowell. They'll exhaust any good and original idea until the consumer is bored and it doesn't make the delicious money it once used to. It's business at it's most simplest.
Why waste spend pennies on a new and untested idea, when you can borrow someone elses that’s already proven to work?
For every Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, there's an Eragon and Twilight. For every interesting horror movie with a strong female lead, there's every Hollywood film made in the last ten years. For every band that writes good music, there's a Coldplay. For every commercially successful game like Guitar Hero, there's an unnecessary sequel every six months and a million clones in tow. Repeat when necessary. Copy and Paste. The minimum of work required for maximum profit. Why worry about artistic credibility when you can have an indoor heated pool and a wife with breast implants?
No sole party is to blame either. Sure you can point a disparaging finger at someone like the CEO (of) Activision, but the average consumer is far from blameless and dare I say it, an idiot. (Not you mind. You’re awesome and by awesome, I mean sexy and by sexy I mean I’d like to have sex with you. What say you put down this blog and we have an early night?)
If there wasn't a big enough market for these games, people wouldn't make them. Simple as that. Companies care not for our criticism or complaints, they care only for bar charts, profit margins and money. It’s the only language they understand.
Before you get any perverted ideas, dibs. That's now my woman you're now looking at.
For example; The Nintendo Wii. I don’t
need to tell you how fantastically well it sold, but I will anyway. This is because I’m a right patronising bar steward. It sold well, very well indeed. Not only did they manage to ensnare their existing demographic, they successfully managed to target a new market altogether. Non gamers. People like Ma and Pa and that attractive lady at the checkout with the ample bosom. Besides a brilliant marketing campaign, arguably the reason for the Wii’s success was it’s main selling point/gimmick; the motion controls. It helped make Nintendo Scrooge McDuck rich and a household name.
Three to four years later, Microsoft and Sony announce their own equivalent of go go gadget motion control. This is because they want a slice of Nintendo’s sugar mummy and daddy market. We the existing gamer aren’t going anywhere and they know it. I fear we’re going to be left standing in the club holding onto their purse whilst they chat up some rich entrepreneur in front of us. Sure, at the end of the night we get to go home with them, but their mind is elsewhere.
The market is evolving in ways I’m not comfortable with, and we the gamers are just too accepting of it. I’m not just talking about motion controls either.
“Modern warfare 2 is selling for the extortionate rrp price of £49.99 because Activision knows it’ll make a lot of money? I don’t mind paying the extra because I’m a f**king mug. I wonder why games are still so expensive?”
“What do you mean the DLC was already on the disc? Oh that’s ok, the game itself was worth the fee I paid in store alone. This isn’t just an excuse to milk me of further money. Moo.”
“£40 quid for an Xbox live subscription? That’s disgusting. What the hell am I paying for exactly? SWEET! A set of 'reasonably' priced dumbbells and a telescope for my avatar!”
“I don’t mind if generic sports simulation 2010 only has a few minor stat updates and a couple of new features. I’ll happily pay full price because I really really like generic sports simulation.”
And so on and so forth.
You can yell from the rooftops, dressed up in your best spandex and blog on sites like this complaining that Mr fat cat is urinating on your rug again, but how many of you actively spray him with water, hit him where it hurts (the wallet) and tell him what a bad kitty he is? Not enough clearly. Too many of us are willing to just ignore the mess he’s made and let someone else deal with it. He’ll learn his lesson eventually you tell yourself. Well when he starts emptying his bowels on your bedroom floor, you’ll have no one but yourself to blame.
Please, just stop paying for this rubbish. You’re feeding their habit and making it worse.
Every cloned sequel with a fresh coat of paint you purchase, every pointless and overpriced micro transaction you make, every original game ip you illegally download is effectively telling these companies that this business practice of theirs is ok. If you think it’s bad now, it’s only going to get worse. You’re the sort of fellow who’d happily egg my house because it’s the norm, whilst companies like Activison, Capcom and THQ use my bathroom without flushing afterward.
As this youthful market of ours gets more and more mainstream, the more original and interesting games, ideas and concepts are going to drown under a landslide of excrement. I’m not saying everything fresh and exciting will completely disappear, but their number will certainly decrease. Both the movie and the music world have already fallen prey to a similar disease. These days, the only things worth investigating from either media are typically independent, away from public eye or just long forgotten about. Whilst it helps fuel the superiority complex of snobs like me, it is overall a little depressing and dare I say it, sometimes a little lonely.
“No I did not see who won pop idol last night. I wasn’t aware Saw 12 was out no. Hannah Montana is Miley Cyrus? What in gods name are you smoking!?”
Instead of moving forward, it feels like we’re taking a step back. This form of entertainment and escapism I love so much is slowly becoming alien to me. Dim lit bedrooms with cheeto stained T-shirts are
out, whilst minor celebrities, playing alongside their families in brightly lit living rooms are
In. I’m not sure we can see each other anymore. I’m sorry, we’ve just gown apart. Of course we can still be friends.
So to summarize. Class open you books to page 11 of "I told you so".
The gaming industry is my temple and you’re shitting on it.
Nothing is sacred. Please change your ways now before it’s too late. If you do, I’ll put a good word in for you in heaven. I know the fella at the door.
If that made any sense, thank you. You’re now my new best friend. If it didn’t, then I’ve finally snapped. I knew this day would come eventually. I’m going to die in a home aren’t I? I’m orf to listen to some Morrissey records. That should cheer me up. He's the only one who truely understands me. I guess I’m deeply disturbed. (Deeply disturbed with a fantastic taste in music?)
Cheers my dears, I love you all in my own special way. Even you, yes you, the ugly ones.
Lots of mad monkey love and kisses,
Uber Mashu.
x
Personal note: I should learn how to edit.
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Welcome to art within a capitalist paradigm!
Consider the following:
*Consumers are presented with a thing they may like and a price, and it certainly up to them to decide its real value. If I think a silly avatar bobble is worth its price, then I'm a winner for getting something I think is worth it, if frivolous.
*If a game's good, its good, no matter what company's doing the publish/develop deal. Despite the assumptions I can make about the nature of Activision, DJ Hero looks pretty interesting as its own new idea within the rhythm game genre.
*The sales of games you consider artless/trite/for idiots only, bankroll new game ideas that are coming out of very large publishers.
*Sure, maybe you're paying for whats on a disc. Maybe that's foul play, maybe that's not. But DLC, and any direct proceeds from a game can accomplish just what you're talking about: sending a clear message with your wallet. Whether do or don't buy minutia DLC, you're sending a message: This is how much your IP is worth to me.
*Ultimately, a seller sets a price and if they're the only one pushing that ware, that's how much it costs. Pay it or not. Again, if people honestly want it that bad, it'll be paid and the same principal will apply: the consumer will mandate what the product is worth.
Cool blog. I like your style. I get what you're saying, I've heard it before, ad-nausuem, and I think your heart's in the right place. However, I think the game industry puts everyone in a more direct and powerful role than most people give it credit for AND I think the industry as a whole, with all release platforms considered, is more amenable to independent/new idea proliferation than any other industry.
Also, cocks.
You delightful young scamp. I want to put you you in a matchbox, carry you around in my pocket all day and feed you a variety of yummy treats!
You're right and that's what hurts the most. This is the world we live in, the world we've always lived in. It's just less subtle about it. Maybe that was my point? Who knows. I can't remember. I guess I miss subtlety. Subliminal messaging at it's best. Now I can't check my gamerscore without being greeted by a chance to buy a set of gamerpics. It's just so goddamn... sterile. Factory sealed and ready for dispatch.
Game nerds like ourselves do have more power than I give them credit for. Like you said, "poor purchases" do provide that extra money, allowing these companies to experiment or even bring back a fan favorite that maybe wasn't commercially successful. A good example of that is Okami DS and maybe beyond good and evil 2. Not every company is like that though, but then again it's their money not mine.
Goddamn it, I hate it when you're right. Coming into my blog, raiding my cupboards, picking holes in my argument! XD
I think my problem is, I'm getting old and with old age comes that need to whine and exaggerate. I'll start using phrases like "Back in my day" when really nothing has changed.
Now, as you rest your weary head tonight sad that another day has passed, remember this. I love you. Thanks for the feedback. Peace my brother.
"You delightful young scamp"
Flattery will get you another comment.
I will add, there used to be a frontier like simplicity to "the old days". Anytime you can buy a magazine and type multiple pages of code into your computer to "download" a free game, you're truly in a wonderous, pro-consumer age! I never actually did that, but I had that option.
Snoopy Flying Ace on 2600 was pretty righteous.
I gots mad Rainbow BASIC mags for programming my TRS-800s. For real. I remember DAT shit!
I believe that people buying filler instead of real meat will cause the decline of our industry, if not the collapse of it, all over again.
Great read, if a little manic.
Actually I rarely complain about sequels or using the same ideas in games... not if the ideas are good ones that I like. "Original and interesting" games are often boring. I liked Flower... for a few hours. Would I play Flower night after night like I did with Killzone or Warhawk - no.
I think you are quite simply wrong. I think you are living in a hippie mentality of "big business is bad... small independent business is good". Small independent businesses grow into "big business" if they have the right concept and it becomes popular, creating sequel after sequel.
There are lots of new ideas out there... and like good ideas of the past, they get copied and refined. Resistance 2 had the idea of having "objectives" in online multiplayer... but Killzone refined the idea and made it workable and fun. MAG takes it a giant leap forward with having people set the objectives... in a massive scale of 256 players online. Resistance 2 and Left 4 Dead had the idea of co-op play online against enemy A.I. - personally I can't wait to see where they go with this concept, further refining it, making it more fun, more addictive. Brutal Legend combines the music and adventure genres... Borderlands combines FPS and RPG - old ideas, executed in new and interesting ways.
I don't want to play an original game if it's boring. Like most other consumers I want decent graphics, a solid game that money has been spent on and it shows. I want companies to make money... so they'll continue supporting the game, fix the problems, maybe produce another game of high quality down the road. I really don't understand why people can't see that there IS originality in the mainstream games... just as much as in those "original and interesting" games that often recycle old ideas but often appeal more to those who remember the games of their youth and often incorporate retro aspects.
I guess the end result is that if an interesting and original game does come along and becomes popular... it will be copied. That's fine. It's often copied, refined, made more interesting and more fun... until the next big idea comes along. Many of us are ok with that and don't mind spending the money on it... we vote with our wallets.
Nice blog... but I have to say that I disagree completely and think it's all a matter of perspective.
I really don't think that the games industry is becoming saturated.
I know that there have been over 5 Guitar Hero games, and I dont care. Why? because each one is enjoyable, and I never feel bad about supporting Activision with it's games. I don't care if Kotick is Satan (he is), he still runs a company that releases many, many good games.
Oh and games are expensive. Yes I know. It's because they know that if they charge to little on their game, they wont be able to pay back the publisher, and they will go into debt.
I doubt i'll change my habits as long as mainstream games continue to be fun. If you think the market has been mainstreamified, go ahead and support smaller teams.
Me? I'll support anyone, including EA Sports
I love the writing style and you make good points. And you seem like a wonderful person.
@Lovely Elsa: I'm not completely against things like sequels or "borrowing" of ideas per se, I just wish it wasn't done so heavily.
Take the "first" Metal Gear Solid on the playstation for a rather random example. It was a fantastic game, though it did have it's flaws. People wanted more of it and Konami listened.
It took special K two-three years to put a sequel on our shelves. They chose to perfect, differentiate and fix any problems people had with the original there and then. There was no "We'll do it later" attitude. Sure, MGS2 wasn't quite their magnus opus, but it had the shine and polish a lot of games are lacking these days.
Compare that to a game series like Guitar Hero. That series is 4 years young and there are 9 different entries already and more are on the way. I'm not saying they suck, I'm quite partial to a bit of fret fondling. My point is , do we really need so many of them and from just the one company? The market is getting saturated. Just how many issues are they fixing and extras are they adding to justify charging us £70 every six months? I'm all for paying that cash, if I'm getting value for money. In this case I don't believe I am. But like you said, it boils down to personal perspective.
This is of course one the most extreme examples. But how long until the rest of the industry follows suit?
Back onto the borrowing of ideas. Like you, I too don't mind when people expand upon them and make them even better. Sometimes the results are fantastic. The point I poorly tried to make in my blog is, why does EVERYONE have to do it at the same time? This industry reminds me of those sad little kids at secondary school, trying desperately to fit in and be cool. Following whatever trend is hot this week. One minute it's 4 player co-op, the next it's a limited hud, then it's regenerative health, now it's motion controls.
Sure people vote with their wallets, I just wish they thought it through before they did. A ignorant vote is worse than no vote at all.
All this said, I a just being a little melodramatic. We'll be fine. Right? I don't think my Morrissey records playing the background are helping!
Thanks for the comment Miss Elsa.
You are (and I think I've said this before) the ying to my yang. The Mr to my Mrs. The strawberry to my boot lace. It's always a pleasure conversing with you. Even when you disagree you're very civil! :)
PS. A hippy attitude!? That's cold. XD
LOL Mashu! The "against big business making profit by churning out consumer garbage" 'tude just made me think of hippies! :)
(and if I was stoned enough I probably could play games like Flower for days on end! LOL!)
Your complaint is a common one... but I still don't quite get it. Yeah GH churns out various new games every couple of months, but this just offers the consumer some choice. Maybe I love country music (I don't... but let's pretend) and wouldn't it be nice if they put out a GH that had nothing but great country music on it? The GH/Rockband games are really nothing more than song packs with a theme that offers the consumers choice.
You make your point well... but I would be curious as to what newer (current gen) games you think fall into the "innovative and different" category (if any)? It seems to me that there are a quite a few of these out there, but again, it depends on perspective!
(and yeah, I do like "conversing" in interesting blogs and this is a topic that seems to come up a fair bit, but you have outlined your position well and I wouldn't mind exploring the topic further).
Upon reading your blog I've decided that the reason I don't buy many (any) games nowadays isn't because of my new family responsibilities or my debilitating lack of spare money. No, it is because I love this damned industry too much to see it suffer at the hands of copycats and sellouts. Thank you for giving my life new purpose. I shall go forth from this day on and continue to not buy games, but now I have a less pathetic reason to not do so.