8 Videogame Trends that Need to Die

[Canadamus Prime]

Yes, can we please go back to the days when single player reigned supreme?

Also pre-order culture and microtransactions can go die in a fire.

 

[Headsprouter]

For your support? What support...? You were promised a product and you paid for it. That's not 'support,' that's a transaction. And since you're not paying any extra for the game, and you've guaranteed yourself a copy on launch, I'm curious as to what 'something extra' you're entitled to that other paying customers are not.
A game's success is, in the publishing industry, measured on its launch day sales and that includes pre-orders, hence their popularity. They're getting shadier and shadier and it's just not something we should be in support of. How many bad launches will you endure before you call the whole thing off?

I haven't endured any bad launches. I don't often pre-order games. Well I guess there was one game which could be considered a "bad launch" that I pre-ordered, that was Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. That was a good game, but it wasn't any sort of sequel to Amnesia, so it left a good amount of the fans disappointed, including me. But hey, I didn't even get a bonus. Sadly steam refunds weren't a thing back then.

"Something extra". Nothing big. Just a little something to boast my confidence in the developer and love of the franchise, which would be why I pre-ordered in the first place. As a general rule, I never pre-order from franchises I'm not familiar with, and I'd never pre-order a reboot.

As for my use of the word support...something-something confidence in developer...I don't really know. I think you're right on that one.

I don't think pre-order bonuses are a bad concept, just handled as you say "shadily" by devs and publishers, but naturally, the world's not a perfect place and gamers need to use discretion as well. Actually, come to think of it, is there a reason people who get bad games at launch don't just refund?

 

[RealRT]

I don't really mind mini-games, but I agree with the rest of this list wholeheartedly.

 

[Thyunda]

I don't think pre-order bonuses are a bad concept, just handled as you say "shadily" by devs and publishers, but naturally, the world's not a perfect place and gamers need to use discretion as well. Actually, come to think of it, is there a reason people who get bad games at launch don't just refund?

Steam's refund policy lets you get a refund if you've played less than two hours of the game, while Origin's states that you have 24 hours from when you first launch the game, or seven days after its release, whichever comes first. So, basically, if you try to give the game a chance, you'll screw yourself out of a refund. The point was that in the past pre-ordering ensured you got a copy of a game that would pretty quickly go out of stock, but now it's pretty unnecessary. The publishers seem to have done a pretty good job, though, of ensuring the audience needs the game on release day because, as we both know, games have a sell-by date and go stale if you leave them on the shelf for a day.

 

[Naldan]

The point was that in the past pre-ordering ensured you got a copy of a game that would pretty quickly go out of stock, but now it's pretty unnecessary.

Spoken from a consumer perspective only, yes. But just two words for probably the whole reason why pre-ordering still exists from a company's perspective:

Quaterly Figures

 

[Thyunda]

The point was that in the past pre-ordering ensured you got a copy of a game that would pretty quickly go out of stock, but now it's pretty unnecessary.

Spoken from a consumer perspective only, yes. But just two words for probably the whole reason why pre-ordering still exists from a company's perspective:

Quaterly Figures

I was speaking from a consumer perspective because that's the only perspective that's worth a damn. Quarterly figures can screw off.

 

[Naldan]

I was speaking from a consumer perspective because that's the only perspective that's worth a damn. Quarterly figures can screw off.

I don't object that, but you can say this as many times as you want, it won't change until there is a 'better' replacement. Maybe being such a huge shift in consumer behaviour that it is more profitable, but this would have to be a tremendous change that probably never ever will happen. So something else must happen that is more profitable.

 

[CaitSeith]

The point was that in the past pre-ordering ensured you got a copy of a game that would pretty quickly go out of stock, but now it's pretty unnecessary.

Spoken from a consumer perspective only, yes. But just two words for probably the whole reason why pre-ordering still exists from a company's perspective:

Quaterly Figures

I was speaking from a consumer perspective because that's the only perspective that's worth a damn. Quarterly figures can screw off.

Ok. But when publishers evidently demonstrate they think the exact opposite, how can you trust them? Nope. Fool me once, shame on you, dear publisher; fool me twice, I am an idiot for trusting you.

 

[CaitSeith]

I like the idea of buying something day one to get a little something extra for my support. And I don't like the idea that it's my fault that developers take the mick. Isn't it kind of victim-blaming? Shouldn't there be an inherent trust- a mutual respect between developer and consumer?

I know that this just isn't how the world works, but come on. I don't care if you make me wait, just don't screw me over and shrug. And I don't want my fellow consumer acting like it's "all my fault" that I expected some decency.

Fool me once, shame on you, dear publisher; fool me twice, I am an idiot for trusting you. The only thing you support by buying day-one is their bad practices. When game A is broken but made lots of money with day-one sales; nothing stops them from taking the easy route and repeat the same with game B. And they have done it. Too many times for not knowing it by now. No one likes to make mistakes, and much less to be blamed. But as much it hurts, the truth is that as long as buyers keep falling on the same scheme over and over, publishers will keep thinking the former know no better.

 

[MeisterKleister]

DRM needs to not exist, especially Always Online (unless it's an MMO of course).

This.
I have a legitimate copy of GTA5 on my laptop, which I can't play in my internet-less appartment.
I couldn't find any warning that it couldn't be played offline and when I asked on Steam someone even told me that he remembered being able to play it offline.