Jimquisition: The Unholy Trinity Of Blind Greedy Bastards

[DragonWright]

So apparently the only games that exist are a game I know of but don't care about, a game I don't care to know about, and a game I've never heard of. Lovely.

 

[Adventurer2626]

I also have no idea wtf Clash of Clans is. I only know of King Candy Crush from Jimquisition. So the only game that apparently is confirmed to exist is CoD. Big shocker there. All this time I thought I was playing video games, oh well. I'll have fun doing whatever it is that's not what I think it is. Who needs labels anyways.

So yea /Webby'ed. Hail Hydra for Jim.

 

[JET1971]

I want to know how this happened. How is it that people who know nothing about video games ended up running video game companies?

Two words "Share holders".

@Jim Sterling,
I don't think all studios that are infected with these idiots running the show have the same three games to base everything off of. but the idea of seeing only three games that exist is a sound one. Different studios may have a different set of 3 games. But at the end of the day it is still a bad way to run a game studio.

If shareholders of the publishers were to actually go and play games and visit game conventions, game stores, use steam for a month and try out many different games they may be able to get a clue and hire a CEO that has some first hand knowledge of the industry. If that were to happen then maybe just maybe they will get their shit together and make us want to give them all our money.

 

[Aardvaarkman]

This is just very cursory, basic delving into the amount of the franchise's popularity. I thought of trying to make a poll for this site, but the sample size would obviously be tainted due to the fact that this is a forum primary for videogame afficianados, which means a mostly younger userbase, and if you hadn't heard of Pokemon before being here, you would've very, very quickly.

But you claimed it to be the third-most recognizable fictional franchise of all time.

Yes, it is quite popular among young people. But that doesn't prove the point. More recognizable to people than James Bond, Sherlock Holmes, Moby Dick, Robin Hood, or the Bible? What about The Simpsons or Family Guy? How about Law & Order? Game of Thrones?

Hell, I don't even know how you even manage to put Star Wars at the very top of recognizable works of fiction of all time.

 

[Redd the Sock]

I hate to be that guy, but most employees think their bosses have their heads up their asses, especially in creative fields where they get to find out they aren't going to be given a blank check to create what they want, but rather stringent demands and restraints.

That doesn't stop a lot of that from being true. A great Canadian comedian once said most men would rather earn big bucks doing something they hate than a comfortable living doing something they love, and it shows just about everywhere. Capitalism is a game to be won, not a lifestyle about maximizing utility (enjoyment) from our actions.

 

[RicoADF]

I generally hate them too, especially when used in news stories. However, I've seen enough frustrated devs to feel I needed to give them catharsis, even if I can't name names. All I can say of the person I quoted is that they're an acquaintance of many years and I most certainly trust their word on any industry goings-on.

I went back and forth on whether or not to make an episode based on anonymous sources. In some ways, though, the fact I never CAN quote many of the agreements I get from developers is further damnation of the environment games can get made in.

And this is why I'm personally getting sick and tired of the pathetic excuse of the AAA industry and why I have no problems in waiting for a sale or just not buying EA's games, Activision's games etc, because they have no idea what their doing. I think I'll just give up, focus on the smaller publishers like Paradox and 2K (relatively speaking) and leave the monoliths of Activision/Blizzard, EA and Ubisoft in the $10 bin if their lucky. Although credit to Ubisoft they have atleast had some variety of games, unlike EA and Activision/Blizzard.

Jeez. This explains so much. It's worse than I thought, though.

I figured it was 2 or 3 games, just not the 2 or 3 I had in mind. I figured it was CoD (dur), WoW and some f2p game, which I guess I kinda of got correct.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

Your new backdrop.....
um...
How should I say this...
um...
It's very.....
National Socialist....
>_>
<_<
...
You might want to adjust... something... so that the boxy symbol can be more displayed... but then.... I wonder if raising it slightly will induce the same effect that the National Socialist Party's flag and symbol was meant to project onto Hitler... ie: a halo.
But then the irony in that might be worth doing...
And also the irony that I'm pretty sure 99% of anyone who reads my post won't realize that NAZI is a shortening of National Socialist until I mention Hitler.

Anyways... just thought you might want to adjust it abit... (the boxy symbol doesn't help being obstructed... cause in pieces it's close enough to a swastika that it illustrates my NAZI comparison even moreso...)

Did you even watch the video? It's fervently anti-capitalist. I'm surprised Jim hasn't been accused of being a socialist by now, which, judging by the video, he is. It's only because he didn't say the "C" word once during the video that no one noticed the real target of his rant. So instead of accusing him of being an anti-American commie, everyone agrees with him. He's a clever guy. Socialists would be a lot more successful if they learned to do the same thing.

 

[conmag9]

The new (excellent) background makes me perceive you as some sort of pro-consumer super villain, taking control of the airwaves to deliver his demands to an unsuspecting world. Why can't we have more of those?

"And now Mr. Bond, I expect you to listen to my analysis of the sorry state of the video game industry!"
"You fiend!"

I would have liked a bit more discussion on the specifics of why those particular three are the only ones percieved. Or rather, why Clash of Clans is on there. I mean, I get CoD and Candy Crush, but I don't know anything about the industry's image of Clash of Clans.

 

[Thanatos2k]

I've seen commercials for Clash of Clans, but never actually checked it out. I had no idea it was actually popular.

If you see commercials for a game, it's either disproportionately popular or has a massive marketing budget behind. Since few mobiles games have the latter....

See the reason so many people here claim they've never heard of Clash of Clans is because none of us care at all about mobile games.

However, there are certain mobile games we hear about because of something awful they've done. All of us know about the disgrace that was Dungeon Keeper Mobile because it shat all over a real gaming franchise we care about. All of us know about Candy Crush because their loathsome developer sued people who made a real game we care about, and threatened others. All of us know about Angry Birds because the brand has gotten pathetically invasive in other media.

Clash of Clans hasn't done anything objectionable though. They didn't ruin an existing franchise. They didn't sue anyone. They're not trying to make a movie, or sell toys. They're just quieting bilking dumb people out of their money with an uber popular free-to-wait mobile game.

 

[Nurb]

They got this power because gaming developers sold themselves and their games' rights to people who have no idea what video games are over the course of 15 years.

Well intentioned, but screwed thmeselves and the industry over

 

[DoctorImpossible]

1) You aren't "saying things I like to hear" so much as "informing me of things I'm unaware of" and "articulating the things I can't". That's where phrases like "Thank God for Jim" come from. Eff the critics.

2) Go see Captain America 2 right now.

3) The new backdrop is GLORIOUS.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I want to know how this happened. How is it that people who know nothing about video games ended up running video game companies?

Two words "Share holders".

Interesting. Is that some sort of slang term for "idiots?" (That's a rhetorical question BTW)

 

[Strazdas]

your new forum avatar- just godly.

and im afraid you may just did more damage than you anticipated. namely that person who you talked to could not be named, but the publishers wont give up there, they will punish anyone you talked to since they cant find one guy to blame. Im not saying you shouldnt have exposed the info, merely that this may have some unintended consequences.

I want to know how this happened. How is it that people who know nothing about video games ended up running video game companies?

hiring based on CV and "past experience" rather than actual knowledge. There is a reason they say that CEO positions are a revolving door.

That almost seems like some twisted April Fools joke, not reality. It's frankly maddening to think that this is the thought process for these people. I mean, can't they see the numbers for any other game like XCOM: Enemy Unknown or Amnesia and think "if we do that we'll make all the money?". Square Enix did, right?

well, there is a shit ton of "Were like amnesia and were on youtube" clones there too. so obviuosly somone is doing that as well.

As far as Xcom goes i do not know other games that are trying to copy it, but to be honest i never actually looked as i havent played the Xcom itself (not due to lack of interest but due to lack of time. the backlog, its so big).

I've never even heard of Clash of Clans. Is it a big mobile title or something?

I never played it but from what i read it looks like Travian on steroids and ipad.

Long time watcher, first time poster, what piques my interest in this episode is why these 3 & only these 3 games grab marketeers attention and no others.

I'm sure I could play devil's advocate and come up with a couple of half baked ideas as to why but I'm fairly sure there are some nuanced arguments beyond the all or nothing motivation put forward in today's episode.

Many thanks for a compelling episode.
Love the new banner, but please don't start making the set too nice, I appreciate the skeezy under & overtones of the show.

Its all about the money, its all about the ding ding ding.
Profits. Candy Crush and Clash of titans are the msot profitable games ever on their respective platforms (mobile and ipad). Meanwhile call of duty is probably the most recognized gaming brand that sells massive numbers despite quality and is actually built on a rather small budget in comparison. like Jim said, they dont want some money, they want ALL the money and these three are the games that are taking it.

 

[leviadragon99]

So... wait, I understand why CoD is one of those things that triple-A developers can't seem to get over, and even the Candy-crush/Zynga/Popcap matching game thing, but what's this third one? I haven't even heard of this Clash of Clans thing, much less what type of game it is or why it'd occupy so large a space in the mind of those marketing departments...

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

May it be the finest shoe in the land.

(I didn't realise it was actually so narrow that they literally attempt to emulate one of those three games, but a lot of things make sense in light of it).

 

[Strazdas]

I just pictured a scene in my head...
Asking a room of these executives to list their top 10 favourite video games, and if they can't even think of 10 to list, telling them to get the fuck out.
Remember, they're not allowed to use the internet to help, so I'd expect this to be a real challenge for them.

i never bothered with making top lists myself. i would need to think real hard to list top 10 movies and i saw literally over 3000 of them. I only played 125 games (yes, i count) so the list to pick from would be shorter, but still coming out with top 10 instantly would not be easy, unless i would just be stating random games that i remember first, which i guess would technically work for situation, but wouldnt be fair. not everyone is obsessed with listing their things as favourites.

Candy Crush - Pay to win and pay to progress free to play mobile game.

to be fair, its perfectly possible to complete the game without paying a cent. its more of a pay to win faster than anything. In fact id say its one of the rare mobile pay to win games where you can actually win without paying. Or at least it was so in the past, i deleted it once KING started making trademark trolling.

And also the irony that I'm pretty sure 99% of anyone who reads my post won't realize ...

wow, and just like that, for a day, i got to be "The 1%".

But people who play games on mobile are not gamers. They just have a phone and play games on it. They did not make a conscious decision to game, they just do it when they have nothing better to do on the way to something else, waiting around, or in the bathroom.

if they play games, they are gamers. what you are talking about is game enthusiasts. also i know quite a few hardcore gamers that play on mobile.

But it's also a true statement. Getting people to play games on their phone is not going to get them to buy a console, or build a $2000 gaming PC. So this "expanding the gaming audience" is pointless in getting better games made for the actual gamers.

People who only play "bite sized" games are not like us. If anything, they'll bring their "I don't pay for games" mentality with them, ruining things even more.

only crazy people build 2000 dollar gaming PCs anyway. how about a 500 dollar PC? and there are many free to play games on other devices beside mobile as well.

I'm waiting for the inevitable game industry crash, at least the AAA crash. The indies will still make loads of good games and money.

Game industry will not crash. It is too dirverse to crash.

What I don't get is why none of the AAA developers has tried to copy Minecraft? It's made truckloads of money, it's on every platform. Everquest Next is sort of going there but how much remains to be seen.

Many many people have [http://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/lx5g3/complete_list_of_minecraft_clones]
Also: Roaming the paladin!

Throwing all the marketing shit out might be a good way to start. It's something a lot of sectors are suffering from atm.

It even takes on the form of self-fulfilling prophecies imo. Look at the stuff with female protagonists. "Games with female protagonists sell less copies", they say. So what happens? No mainstream games use female protagonists, only niche games that sell less by default do, further reinforcing their own beliefs while they aren't actually based on anything.

actually, the mainstream companies tried and actually did sell less copies. now, the quality of those games can be discussed of course, but the fact is that the female protagonist games do factually sell less.

Also: I must have missed the point behind the strawman mockery of Early Access. I don't know what imbecile suggested that criticism is null and void when something is in beta, but they could not get any further from the truth. Criticism is supposed to be encouraged during beta testing so the product gets better.

baiscally Jim was doing a lot of youtube videos with early acess games and the comments often told him he cant blame the game because its early acess and thus will be fixed, as in you cant criticize early acess, hence the retort.

Did you even watch the video? It's fervently anti-capitalist. I'm surprised Jim hasn't been accused of being a socialist by now, which, judging by the video, he is.

he was accused of being extremist leftist multiple times based on what he said on his podcast (the Dismal Jesters).

 

[MorganL4]

I want to know how this happened. How is it that people who know nothing about video games ended up running video game companies?

We live in a world of professional CEOs. If you were a great CEO of a shampoo company, and were able to double sales of X shampoo then it makes perfect sense (In the current world that is Corporate America) that you would be just as good running a company that has traditionally made RPGs. The idea is this, because you market shampoo, people like the ads for the shampoo and like the social stature associated with said shampoo, they buy the shampoo and use it. Thus if you market the game well, people like the ads for the game, and like the social stature associate with the game then you have done your job. The fact that shampoo is a bunch of chemicals put into a bottle and shipped out, whereas a game is a piece of art created by a collective group and then copied over a million times for resale doesn't really enter into the equation.

 

[gyrobot_v1legacy]

You know the funny thing is if you take the first initial of the trinity, it represents the worst credit rating you can have without been as a deadbeat, the CCC credit rating

 

[Eamar]

1) Incredible backdrop - congrats.
2) Captain America. See it. Now.

Your new backdrop.....
um...
How should I say this...
um...
It's very.....
National Socialist....
>_>
<_<

Spoiler: Seriously?

And also the irony that I'm pretty sure 99% of anyone who reads my post won't realize that NAZI is a shortening of National Socialist until I mention Hitler.

Oh, get off your high horse. What on earth leads you to that conclusion?

Did you even watch the video? It's fervently anti-capitalist. I'm surprised Jim hasn't been accused of being a socialist by now, which, judging by the video, he is. It's only because he didn't say the "C" word once during the video that no one noticed the real target of his rant. So instead of accusing him of being an anti-American commie, everyone agrees with him. He's a clever guy. Socialists would be a lot more successful if they learned to do the same thing.

It always catches me off-guard that Americans consider "socialist" (not to mention "anti-capitalist") to be an insult. Not going to lie, it amuses me.

 

[Rabidkitten]

What happened to Angry Birds, and World of Warcraft?