Editor's Note: State of the Industry

[Imp_Emissary]

Well that's just.....even more fitting. I just read the new PSN news and just
barely didn't become suicidal.
So the whole industry is fucked then? Well at least that could change...maybe.
Until then, at least I`m not alone. Misery loves company, right?
There is always Hope....until death.

 

[Loonerinoes]

Though the argument is made for DLC, really...when I think of the 'average consumer' of just about anything (even outside just videogames) I can't help but think of this clip.


Fucked is about right, yep.

 

[Jamalam]

Glad to see I'm not the only one who was confused about the level of sarcasm or non-sarcasm in this.

 

[Verrenxnon]

Kick ass, Russ. Kick. Ass.

 

[Brainst0rm]

We can tell Russ is being serious because he said "fuck". Just like Aria in Mass Effect 2! There is no more mature way showing you fucking mean business than by saying the naughtiest of curses. As soon as you hear "fuck", you know - yeah - he's hardcore. You shouldn't fuck with Russ Pitts.

You can tell I'm not being serious because I'm making a positive comparison with BioWare writing. I'm sure they agonized over how to communicate to the player how much of a bad-ass Aria is. Then someone made the fateful realization that bad-asses say "fuck", and the rest - as they say - is history.

Comedians in the 90s also realized that people get a thrill form hearing words they weren't allowed to say as kids.

So can we move past this now?

 

[RA92]

The videogame industry is utterly screwed, and it's all your fault.

No it's not my fault! It's your fault!

Blame it on Russ people!

And run away, 'cause he's angry.

 

[Vault101]

We can tell Russ is being serious because he said "fuck". Just like Aria in Mass Effect 2! There is no more mature way showing you fucking mean business than by saying the naughtiest of curses. As soon as you hear "fuck", you know - yeah - he's hardcore. You shouldn't fuck with Russ Pitts.

You can tell I'm not being serious because I'm making a positive comparison with BioWare writing. I'm sure they agonized over how to communicate to the player how much of a bad-ass Aria is. Then someone made the fateful realization that bad-asses say "fuck", and the rest - as they say - is history.

Comedians in the 90s also realized that people get a thrill form hearing words they weren't allowed to say as kids.

So can we move past this now?

(inregards to ME2) oh come on...it was like one time and it was just for a little impact its not like she was throwing f bombs around and it was acceptible for her charachter (and I thourght it was kinda funny)

I mean the word was only said like....5 times (or less?) in the enitre game

 

[Meggiepants]

Many of these reasons are why it is now my life goal to become decadently wealthy and start up a not for profit gaming company that throws millions of dollars at video game production with the sole goal of making a fun game.

Screw the profits, no shareholders or greedy CEOs allowed. I'm going to be in it for the good of the game.

I can dream, can't I?

 

[Chaoswin1]

I would have to agree with your point about Steam. Steam is a really good service mind you because you can get really good games for a low price, take Magicka as my point. However the biggest problem I have is the ridiculous DRM they've got on the games. I've got a 10 year old brother who really loves the game (thanks to Yogscast an Totalbiscuit) and would love to play multiplayer with me.

What gets me is that even though I own the game I can't play it on multiple pc's whereas if I was to buy a game from a retailer I could install it on multiple pc's and play multiplayer on LAN. Also it means making a second Steam account if I want to play games like Magicka online which is a pain in my opinion so yeah...it's pretty fucked!

 

[Imp_Emissary]

Many of these reasons are why it is now my life goal to become decadently wealthy and start up a not for profit gaming company that throws millions of dollars at video game production with the sole goal of making a fun game.

Screw the profits, no shareholders or greedy CEOs allowed. I'm going to be in it for the good of the game.

I can dream, can't I?

( weeping ) : ( Thats beautiful.
But according to this article,
your F@#ked out of luck.
: ) Still, its a nice dream. I hope you can.

 

[Irridium]

Many of these reasons are why it is now my life goal to become decadently wealthy and start up a not for profit gaming company that throws millions of dollars at video game production with the sole goal of making a fun game.

Screw the profits, no shareholders or greedy CEOs allowed. I'm going to be in it for the good of the game.

I can dream, can't I?

Well, CD Projekt Red seems to be doing that. At least according to this little message hidden in their first trailer:

Spoiler

Seems they're using money as a means to make great games. While most of the other publishers are using games as a means to make money. Yes they need money to survive, but its not their main goal.

After all, humans need food to survive, but you don't live solely to eat, do you?

 

[MajorDolphin]

Pretty good letter.

"They're wedged in between publishing companies that are essentially lending banks with their hands on the controls of all distribution, consumers who don't give a rat's ass who made the game so long as they're good and cheap and journalists who alternately want to make names for themselves by crapping all over their hard work and applying for jobs at the developers they're crapping on. "

Pure Gold ^^^

 

[manythings]

This article is so angry I'm not sure if it's sattire or not. Great read either way.

Satire is usually angry. Very few satirists are pleased with the things they are satirising.

I'll say what I said back when Jim wrote an article like this: the industry can suck it. If the only way the video game industry survives is by my paying hundreds of dollars a month buying crap I don't like and never expected to like, then the industry can crash and burn for all I care.

In all likelihood it would herald a new golden age of independent developers and a whole new reason to spend more money on good, interesting and innovative games (with lower graphical standards, sure, but probably more fun).

Or the end of the industry forever. Also "New Golden Age"? I'll wait for a Golden Age to be a Golden Age while it's happening. Every Golden Age is a Golden Age in retrospect which simply means people only remember the best parts and ignore everything else.

And why should games be considered different than every other piece of intellectual property? Why is it morally wrong to sell second hand games, but perfectly ok to sell second hand books or second hand CDs? The only reason I can think of is because the games industry got so spoiled that they want special treatment constantly.
I suppose now I'm also a prick just because I choose to play my old games once in a while instead of buying new ones.

For every dollar it takes to make a book or album it probably takes 100 for a game. Are you that deluded that you think one guy creating a book is the exact same as an entire company making a game?

 

[Bostur]

So this crowd of millions of players are all identical and should commit ritual suicide for our crimes against gaming?

And why should games be considered different than every other piece of intellectual property? Why is it morally wrong to sell second hand games, but perfectly ok to sell second hand books or second hand CDs? The only reason I can think of is because the games industry got so spoiled that they want special treatment constantly.
I suppose now I'm also a prick just because I choose to play my old games once in a while instead of buying new ones.

I am so sick of being blamed as a customer for lousy quality products. Who made those products? I certainly didn't and it's not like I have much of a choice in terms of the selection. If the store only sells junk, don't blame the customer for buying it.

 

[Nimcha]

I gotta agree with you there Russ. Gamers today (yes, all gamers) are a bunch of entitled twatdonkeys (this includes me).

Nah not everyone is like that. You can easily identify the entitled twatdonkeys though, they live off throwing around the phrase 'dumbed down'.

 

[gorfias]

Russ is doing his Jekyll and Hyde thing again eh? Just like with with New Vegas.

I really am starting to feel bad for the guy as I type this. But since I don't agree with hardly anything he's said here, I'll get over it.

Great post.

I agree, quite a rant. For anyone that spent their limited, hard earned cash on something like Witchaven 2, and found it was broken, it is hard to feel sorry for developers that there are reviewers out there to warn us when something is bad.

And, I have a friend that is a die hard Fallout 3 fanatic, and hated New Vegas stating that the bugs were so bad as to make it (like Witchaven 2) unplayable. People need to be warned of that sort of thing.

And this rant differs little from the problems Hollywood is having.

So, why is the industry not "f'd"? Because there is:

1) Money to be made in it;
2) Fans that are getting increasingly great and diverse games.

I recently went on vacation bringing a PS2 with me for double duty as gaming station and DVD player. I was somewhat surprised to be reminded. This gen is not only much better looking, but they really have tweaked gameplay something fierce. While some of Vice City is fun, the shooting is horrible. Glad to know fan demands are forcing developers to improve.

 

[Redd the Sock]

Well said. The gaming industry has been bending over like a cheap prostitue to try and give the fans what they want while still being able to make a buck, only to the endless wails of people to whom nothing but perfection is ever good enough.

WE don't try new francises (though we complain endlessly about endless sequals)
WE support the used game market
WE demand both digital and physical distribution regardless of financial feasability
WE let metacritic do too much thinking for us.
WE demand every sequal be a million times better than the last, but still familiar enough to not scare us.
WE are so spoiled we can't even tollerate a decent game because it isn't a blockbuster.

Okay an oversimplification, but it's basic capitalism: you have to respect the right of the other side to make a buck, and that you can't just demand "improvement" as a generic term. (FYI, the reverse is true for hiring and wages for employees, so don't think I'm a corporate sellout.

 

[Bostur]

For every dollar it takes to make a book or album it probably takes 100 for a game. Are you that deluded that you think one guy creating a book is the exact same as an entire company making a game?

One guy making a book needs to get lucky to sell a few thousand copies, and the cost of printing them are greater. And even the price is much lower than that of a game.
If game companies can't make a profit, maybe they should consider lowering their production costs a bit.

 

[koroem]

Is this where I can blame COD and Guitar hero for the new sales precedents and targets publishers seem to aspire to with EVERY release now? Is this where I can blame reviewers for creating the problem in the first place by being marketing devices? If reviewers had stayed honest from the beginning it probably wouldn't have created an issue with trash like metacritic.

But because so much emphasis and control was put on reviews, the publishers put the screws to the developers, and ultimately the gamers. The honest reviewers now are the ones in the hard spot and I have sympathy for them.

While I don't disagree with most of the points above, I don't think the blame ultimately lies with the gamer (aside from the idiots buying ripoff DLC, COD yearly updates, Madden yearly roster updates, and the like).

Its a vicious cycle with no real way out until publishers loosen their death grip on developers and stop buying them up and spitting them out when their IPs don't sell 5 million copies on release day.

But ultimately you are right, the gaming industry is seriously fucked.

 

[manythings]

For every dollar it takes to make a book or album it probably takes 100 for a game. Are you that deluded that you think one guy creating a book is the exact same as an entire company making a game?

One guy making a book needs to get lucky to sell a few thousand copies, and the cost of printing them are greater. And even the price is much lower than that of a game.
If game companies can't make a profit, maybe they should consider lowering their production costs a bit.

You're going to tell me that creating a million copies of a game and shipping them world wide is going to be cheaper than 10,000 copies of a book and transporting it in one country?