This is probably going to be attributed to my bleak and pessimistic views, and considering I just haven't gotten any enjoyment out of games for a while, but hear me out.
Does any of this really matter?
Sure, we have games that challenge us intellectually or provide decent stimuli that requires the use of our thought process, but it is severely outnumbered by games where little to no thought is involved. Extra Credits nailed it where they discussed different approaches to problem solving. In today's society, people's attention spans have been drastically reduced, and being able to convince them to think of anything more than 'follow the arrow' seems to be nearly a miracle.
The industry's only motive at the moment seems to be profit for most companies instead of a mix between profits and providing the end-user with the most entertainment. And companies refuse to listen to their prior userbase, it seems sad. We have Dante's new look which looks absurd, and they keep defending it. Would it really be that hard to reconsider it? Sure, give him a new look, but keep in line with the character. Don't remove iconic features unless you have a damn good reason to. Keep controls the same, but make sure the story is interesting. Give me a god damn reason to care about this game.
While I'm at it, is it really necessary to have so many different consoles? Honestly, this is going to sound stupid. Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo work on a handheld console and a home console together so we only have to buy one console rather than me taking up an entire wall with consoles (honestly, it's amazing my room isn't considered a fire hazard). Combine technology would create for large benefits for the userbase and you won't have this stupid competition of who can give the player a still better image (I don't know about you guys, but my eyesight is pretty damn terrible, I still can't tell the difference between SD and HD much less Blu-Ray), or a larger sized hard drive in it. In the end doesn't this fight seem trivial? The 3D TV has really no selling point so why would people use it or pay the ridiculous amount of cash that's asked for it? Also Nintendo needs to stop using "Squares/Cubes/Whatever" and just switch to the byte system that everyone outside of Nintendo uses. 400 squares means, what? I don't know how many damn games I can fit on it! It's easy enough to tell A+B+C+D Games Memory Total is Memory_Max. It's a simplistic concept.
Corporations have isolated people by segregating games as if they were different, it's a medium, but haven't we learned throughout the course of history that segregation in any form is useless, simply a procrastination technique which allows people to project their own flaws onto a target that is easily exploitable by the media because the media can't be half-assed enough to do an actual report. Hell, I can't remember the last time I read an accurate article from most "official" publications (Wall Street Journal, NYT) that actually explored all possibilities. There's no science to say that ludicrous claims against video games causing problems yet the media harps it up and people like sheep follow it. If I did an analysis of a decent sized group here, and people that went berserk which was by the media attributed to games, would it really be the sole cause? I highly doubt it, could it be the trigger after other events? Probably.
Then we have regional exclusives to Japan and I honestly have no bloody clue about the US or Europe. Why? (To be honest, I get the whole different voltage part), but some games would it honestly of killed companies to release their equivalent? That or stop cutting out parts of games - Final Fantasy X (Dark Aeons,Penance), Kingdom Hearts (Final Mixes), Arcana Heart series (only the first one was released state-side). Especially when it doesn't matter to some of us - if the option exists I try to listen to the game in it's original language (I honestly don't care if it's Swahili or Greek, I can't stand either) because it sounds more natural. Some games need little translation (Arcana Heart) so while there wasn't a lot of interest with the original release I'm guessing, you could at least make it available to be bought in a different region on your website. Count the requests up after a month, and send them out, it still brings in a profit although you're cutting out a middleman, but if you're afraid it would be wasteful to go through retailers on a product like such, don't.
And for hacking. I really don't get the problem companies have with homegrown/homebrew games. It seems kind of stupid to get mad at something you overlooked, otherwise why not just give people the ability to create a game for it from the start? Hell, some good ideas for games never make it because people can't do graphics, music, or even ever write their story down because they feel it will never get anywhere? Wouldn't it be beneficial to encourage people to make homegrown games so people may be more interested in the industry and it gives you an idea of who has extraordinary talent?
Just a collection of my thoughts while I'm on the verge of passing out and tipsy.
Does any of this really matter?
Sure, we have games that challenge us intellectually or provide decent stimuli that requires the use of our thought process, but it is severely outnumbered by games where little to no thought is involved. Extra Credits nailed it where they discussed different approaches to problem solving. In today's society, people's attention spans have been drastically reduced, and being able to convince them to think of anything more than 'follow the arrow' seems to be nearly a miracle.
The industry's only motive at the moment seems to be profit for most companies instead of a mix between profits and providing the end-user with the most entertainment. And companies refuse to listen to their prior userbase, it seems sad. We have Dante's new look which looks absurd, and they keep defending it. Would it really be that hard to reconsider it? Sure, give him a new look, but keep in line with the character. Don't remove iconic features unless you have a damn good reason to. Keep controls the same, but make sure the story is interesting. Give me a god damn reason to care about this game.
While I'm at it, is it really necessary to have so many different consoles? Honestly, this is going to sound stupid. Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo work on a handheld console and a home console together so we only have to buy one console rather than me taking up an entire wall with consoles (honestly, it's amazing my room isn't considered a fire hazard). Combine technology would create for large benefits for the userbase and you won't have this stupid competition of who can give the player a still better image (I don't know about you guys, but my eyesight is pretty damn terrible, I still can't tell the difference between SD and HD much less Blu-Ray), or a larger sized hard drive in it. In the end doesn't this fight seem trivial? The 3D TV has really no selling point so why would people use it or pay the ridiculous amount of cash that's asked for it? Also Nintendo needs to stop using "Squares/Cubes/Whatever" and just switch to the byte system that everyone outside of Nintendo uses. 400 squares means, what? I don't know how many damn games I can fit on it! It's easy enough to tell A+B+C+D Games Memory Total is Memory_Max. It's a simplistic concept.
Corporations have isolated people by segregating games as if they were different, it's a medium, but haven't we learned throughout the course of history that segregation in any form is useless, simply a procrastination technique which allows people to project their own flaws onto a target that is easily exploitable by the media because the media can't be half-assed enough to do an actual report. Hell, I can't remember the last time I read an accurate article from most "official" publications (Wall Street Journal, NYT) that actually explored all possibilities. There's no science to say that ludicrous claims against video games causing problems yet the media harps it up and people like sheep follow it. If I did an analysis of a decent sized group here, and people that went berserk which was by the media attributed to games, would it really be the sole cause? I highly doubt it, could it be the trigger after other events? Probably.
Then we have regional exclusives to Japan and I honestly have no bloody clue about the US or Europe. Why? (To be honest, I get the whole different voltage part), but some games would it honestly of killed companies to release their equivalent? That or stop cutting out parts of games - Final Fantasy X (Dark Aeons,Penance), Kingdom Hearts (Final Mixes), Arcana Heart series (only the first one was released state-side). Especially when it doesn't matter to some of us - if the option exists I try to listen to the game in it's original language (I honestly don't care if it's Swahili or Greek, I can't stand either) because it sounds more natural. Some games need little translation (Arcana Heart) so while there wasn't a lot of interest with the original release I'm guessing, you could at least make it available to be bought in a different region on your website. Count the requests up after a month, and send them out, it still brings in a profit although you're cutting out a middleman, but if you're afraid it would be wasteful to go through retailers on a product like such, don't.
And for hacking. I really don't get the problem companies have with homegrown/homebrew games. It seems kind of stupid to get mad at something you overlooked, otherwise why not just give people the ability to create a game for it from the start? Hell, some good ideas for games never make it because people can't do graphics, music, or even ever write their story down because they feel it will never get anywhere? Wouldn't it be beneficial to encourage people to make homegrown games so people may be more interested in the industry and it gives you an idea of who has extraordinary talent?
Just a collection of my thoughts while I'm on the verge of passing out and tipsy.
