Saw this on Escapist earlier - it's pretty much all true. It's particularly frustrating for some places you not only have to make accounts, but sub-accounts just to play those publisher's titles that you bought and paid for!

I'm loving the direction you've taken this series, and IMO, it has usurped RevRants. You not only do a better job calling out the actual root of the problem rather than simply posing a philosophical question, but you also give more pertinent reasons on how to fix it.

As I've said before, it's refreshing to see someone who not only cares about games themselves, but the current state of gaming as an entity.

::clap::

You will also have a Nintendo account if the rumors are true about Nintendo ditching fried codes, although I hope Club Nintendo accounts will act as the account.

I agree

On a side note, I too have found the amount of accounts i posses to keep up with it all is so high in fact that I actually don't know how many accounts I own.I just use the same username and password for every account, which in hindsight might lead to a major butttfucking by a hacker if one is ever hacked.Oh well.

*will actually be fooled again, just deluding myself.

What do you want from the industry? Its so goddamned bloated that they need to do everything they can to make more money off of existing product, including shackling you with chains thicker than the dildos in this video. Not to mention it is all amazing PR spin. Take away features that were not only standard last gen but thoroughly expected, ask gamers to pay for those features on top of buying the game, then add these subscription services that add a ton of useless shit on top of everything so it looks like you're going above and beyond.

Its whatever though. The core gamers, the gamers that were gaming before it was vogue to game; the gamers that played a dozen different genres and weren't afraid to try something new constantly are vastly outnumbered by the hardcore gamers. When your primary market has a religious reverence for you, then you can do whatever the fuck you want to them all the time. These guys would give up their medical records if Activision made it a requisite for playing CoD, then these braindead morons would tell you you weren't a real gamer if you didn't go with it.

"Hardcore" gamers: making sure the publishing monoliths dodge accountability since 2002!

I'm just glad there's at least one person in the media that seems to mind that consumers are getting fucked with DLC, retailer exclusives, day one DLC, and EA's bullshit log-in system. There are no consumer groups more abused than gamers. No one else would put up with it.

You made me chuckle with that First Templar bit.

I like how a lot of The Escapist peeps actually think Jim is new to this kind of stuff.

This shit is gay

Thanks Jim, I will now forever see Publishers as the Glukkons

@JohnApocalypse: Well, yes and no. To be fair, I'm sure there exists a fair number of players who buy used that might have bought new, just like there are many players who pirate that might have bought the game as well. But since there's no actual numbers for this, used buyers/Gamestop claim it costs publishers 0 dollars and publishers claim it costs them trillions of dollars every day.

Both are clearly bullshit. Suffice to say used game sales aren't the apocalypse that game makers claim it is.

@Shinta: The difference is that if you need to get some paper towels, you don't have to buy Brawny or whatever. Not only are there competing major brands and knock-off brands, but these knock-off brands will actually clean up shit you spill on the floor. And your ability to clean up spills with said off-brand isn't diminished because your friends are all using Brawny. And this is the most tortured-ass metaphor ever.

If the publisher of your favorite game is trying to screw you, switching to the off-brand is less of an option. I hesitate to say it, because you never have to play a video game, but the term 'captive audience' springs to mind.

i agree.

this reminds me of 'escapist gold' memberships and subscription fees

ye, ye... and how are you planning to say "fuck you" to publishers that they would care?

Radiation destroys DNA?! D:

As i only really play games on consoles, this doesnt affect me too much but god it was annoying popping mass effect 2 in for the first time sign in to live, fine, make an ea account, then sign it in, then put in the code for a game that doesnt even have multiplayer it sure made you jump through hoops.

Console wise its mostly ea who fuck you about, even the need for speed:hot pursuit demo wanted you to sign in to an ea account, for a fecking demo.

pc wise i have steam and onlive, nice and simple. mostly.

Wait, is Battlefield 3 going on EA's store instead of Steam? Shit.

I think you're overreacting Jim. The point about "requiring" credit info is in particular bogus, at least for all the services I own.
EA Passcodes are ridiculous, I grant, especially when you consider how overpriced they are.

Side note, I agree with Tristrix (almost) 100%. I'm still trying to find out exactly what publishers are still around for; in this day and age, and with things like AAA Indie going on, I think making the jump to fully customer-driven games is a good plan. Maybe a little tougher, but we wouldn't have publishers axing good games (I'm looking at you, Activision), and consumer funding is just as good as publisher funding ininit?

@The Sama
publishers are usually funding the game development. they're the "producers" from the movie industry in the game industry.

Digital services like Steam do help a lot of indies with lower budget games sell games. Thing is, if the remnants of Infinity Ward are suddenly left without Activision (which miraculously disappeared in some portal to Hell) and with rights to make CoD games they will be probably unable to fund it in a way so it's the same CoD game everybody expects it to be (overpriced linear action movie-like FPS). Even if they cut out the PR campaign.

So most AAA games need publishers. And there's the retail part of each AAA release. Even Valve use EA as partners for releasing their games in retail.

I dreamt of some kind of a "gamer fund" helping fund big games, but this kind of system would require a lot of trust between the members and members and developers. So i don't think it's possible. But that would've made "publishers" side of business much less important.

Yeah, that's exactly what I said, mate. I totally didn't suggest that individual games and publishers don't need accounts at ALL.

Your ability to misread me is starting to get a bit convoluted.

One thing I like about the xbox live service is that MS pushes back against a lot of these shenanigans. Although they already list against EA, but I stopped playing EA games.

Yeah Jim, I dont even think you needed to make a video at all, you said it perfectly well in the short write up under it.

I can't stand the amount of accounts and passwords I have to remember even having, lest my balls get stolen right out from under me from some account I had to make for some bullshit thing I never use from 6 years back. Its a huge pain in my.. well.. balls.

I think this is really the major reason why people get so pissy at companies that try to do something like Steam, and this is why I stay out of that fight if I can. Personally I don't use Steam, I don't PC game much past whatever MMO I maybe playin (Rift atm, waiting on The Old Republic) but I'm so old school when it comes to PC shit I rather have a disc in my hand then even let Valve do their super-awesome thing in handling that crap for me. But I can totally understand a person wanting all of their shit in one, *hopefully* secure, place that hopefully won't go defunct in a years time. And this is possibly the only situation I feel a monopoly isn't such a bad thing (specially since there really isn't one, theres plenty of choices, people just happen to choose one choice over everything else.)

I like you you say 'VITE-amins' instead of 'VIT-amins' Great conformity :D

HEAR. FUCKING. HEAR.

I love how an advert for The Escapist's subscription service showed right after the episode.