The video game industry is going too far. They’re giving us less and less content and charging more and more for it, and we gobble it up like the retards that we are. There are four main issues here, and I’m going to go through them one by one and explain why it’s a bullshit deal. If we keep letting them do this to us we’ll only get less quality for more money in the future.

Issue #1: Downloadable Content
Map packs, extra weapons, new story arcs, and more songs for our music games. Why is this a problem? Because all of this should be included with the original purchase of the game. We’re paying twice for the same game. Most of the time, the DLC is already complete when the game hits retail shelves. The game companies just decide to release it when interest begins to wane, so people will start playing again, the game gets more media attention, and word of mouth will spread. In other cases, the DLC is done by an entirely different studio than the main game, well after the game has hit its peak in popularity. So here you’re getting a game pieced together by unrelated developers in a final effort to milk you out of every dollar you have. And even if the original studio starts the DLC well after the game releases, they’ve already got the game engine, characters, voices, and sounds done. All they have to do is decide when they want some more money from you and offer up some DLC at basically no cost to them. Again, the point of DLC is to get media attention and to get people talking about the game again. Don’t buy it, and don’t be fooled. Don’t pay for what they should have given you with the original purchase. If we don’t put a stop to it we’re going to see more and more parts of our games being split up and sold separately for more money. The biggest chunk of the game will sell for the standard retail price, and we’ll have to purchase multiplayer maps, new game modes, new sidequests, weapons, and characters separately. There have even been rumblings lately of GAME ENDINGS being DLC. So you buy the game for sixty dollars,  put 25 hours of gameplay time into it, and  don’t get to find out how it ends until you cough up another 15 dollars. Bullshit.

Issue #2: Digital Distribution
This ties in with DLC. Game companies are very upset about used game sales. As high speed internet connections become more and more commonplace, more and more game companies are going to be moving towards digital distribution. They don’t think that you should be able to sell your games, and they don’t think you should be able to buy used games. When you buy a game through digital distribution, you don’t actually own the game. You own the right to play the game, and it can be revoked from you for a variety of legal reasons (read the license agreement before you make your next digital purchase). You don’t own a tangible copy of the game. Collections will be displayed on your fucking gamertag or xfire page instead of your shelves and cabinets. No cover art, game boxes, manuals, discs, or cartridges. And this also makes it easier to fuck you with DLC. They can develop the entire game at once, then easily divide it up into convenient chunks and sell them to you piece by piece. It’s like buying individual LEGOS from a Star Wars set through the mail. After 10-20 purchases, you’ve got an entire Millenium Falcon!

Issue #3: Special Editions and other games that cost more than standard retail
Madden Special Edition, Halo 3 Legendary, WiiFit, Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Am I saying you shouldn’t buy them? Hell no, I’m not. Some of them are great games. But when you buy them, buy them used. When a developer sells a game for more than standard retail, they’re really just seeing how much they can get away with charging for a game. If no one had bought Halo 2 Special Edition and Guitar Hero last generation then PS3 and Xbox 360 games would still retail for 50 dollars. And no, throwing in a guitar peripheral that cost them 3 dollars to make does not justify a 30 dollar price jack up. Buy the game and the guitar used, and separately. With the sales of Wii Fit, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Halo 3 Legendary you can bet that Nintendo games next generation will cost at least 60 and Sony and Microsoft games will be 70, if not more.

5. Issue #4: Paying for online.
Does Xbox Live have some sweet features? Damn right it does. But you’re fucking retarded if you think they couldn’t offer the same quality for free. But since Xbox Live was revolutionary last generation, they charged for it and got away with it. PS2 and Gamecube let Microsoft have the monopoly, so there was no competition. And Wii and PS3 online are making strides right now, but they’re still behind XBL. But really, PSN is getting closer to XBL every day. XBL is not worth the money. And aren’t we forgetting a platform? Yeah, the fucking PC. You can get far, far better online features for PC games for free. Xfire, a teamspeak line, web cams, it’s all there. With Xbox Live you’re paying more for an inferior service. But I know that you all still want to play your Xbox games online. Solution? Xlink Kai:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XLink_Kai
If you have a fast internet connection and your game is LAN compatible, you can play it on the internet for free. Take advantage of this and tell Microsoft to take Live Gold and shove it. You can still use Live Silver with Xlink Kai, so you’re getting almost everything you get with Live Gold for free.

So there you have it. You see what needs to be done to keep our favorite hobby from becoming the biggest fucking money farm in the entertainment business. Fuck DLC, fuck special editions, fuck games with peripherals, fuck digital distribution, and fuck paying for online.

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