Comments on: Is Monetization Affecting Game Design?

By: Megan Crawford

Megan Crawford — Sun, 03 Sep 2017 02:53:45 +0000

Not bad at all great to see a new episode, Keep up the great work guys.

and relax with kizi games http://kizifan.com

By: Pablo1989

Pablo1989 — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 18:30:00 +0000

BTW!
PC gaming market lack of demo versions.
There still exist but not all have them.
STEAM had something called Early Access, it works much same like demo versions BUT!…there is catch you must purchase.
While demo was free.

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 13:40:14 +0000

Of course it is. Game design has increased in cost exponentially since the boom brought on by the NES and it has coincided with a decrease in cost to the consumer when adjusted for inflation. Developers are constantly searching for ways to boost revenue and things like DLC are now part of their pricing model to the point where if it fails they probably stand to realize a tiny profit or even a loss.

By: greedo

greedo — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 06:16:19 +0000

I would use the dreaded f word to say what a good discussion this was, but since I can’t, I won’t. 🙂 Seriously, though good discussion, and thought provoking. To answer your question, yes it has. I don’t mind DLC on some level. But it is time consuming, and a bit of a pain. Game developers must assume that people have this bottomless pit of money for which to buy games. When the truth of the matter is- they don’t. And as I’ve said once before, it is cool to buy additional stuff, but do I want to buy said stuff when there is another game I could get? This is the thing with DLC. It’s like a bottomless pit to sink your money into. Do I really want to spend all of that money on one game? Besides, it is tough enough to buy games when you’re single, and struggling to get by. Quite another, if you’re married, and have a family to feed. Videogaming is an expensive hobby, it is very difficult to buy so many games. This is why people do trade-ins at GameStop and the like. As for it affecting game design- h’yeah! When you have to spend money to buy something for segments, or a “seasons pass”, in order to get a complete game, you bet it does.

Sony and Microsoft have been parasites on the gaming industry, basically sucking all of the life and competition out of it. They are like two giant black holes that are sucking creativity out of the industry. I find many of their games bland, and uninspired. And that’s just the third party stuff! There isn’t an incentive for developers to improve, to be at their best. And the whole DLC thing is a symptom of that. To take a game and chop it up into bits, is exploitative, and unfair, not to mention poor value. For instance, Street Fighter V for PS4 and XBox 360 had chopped up the game! In order to get the “full” game, you had to pay for it in a few DLC packages. And even the games that don’t, where you have to pay for extra costumes, etc, is ridiculous. Some of it can even be unlocked in the full game!

I had thought that Nintendo was above this. Frankly, it seems a little absurd that someone should have to pay extra for a game like that. Zelda games are supposed to be complete adventures in and of themselves! And the main game is supposed to be pretty meaty, too. So why do this? This seems pretty un-Nintendo. One of the things that I liked about Nintendo is that they didn’t bow to stupid things like timed exclusives and paid online. (Speaking of which, I think you can have a “robust” online experience without having to pay for it. I don’t see what the big deal about that is. You don’t need to have a unified system to have fun. One of the things that I have always dreamed of is cross-platform online gaming, and that appears to be a reality now! There is a offroad racing game out now that has it for Nintendo Switch, XBox One, and PC.

Anyway, my point is that paid DLC is ruining gaming, along with these other changes have helped lead to the decline of gaming, because they lead to games that are less fun, and have less value. Games seems less about providing an entertaining product, and more of a cash cow. DLC itself has basically led to companies milking their customers for every ounce of cash they’ve got. The customer should be king, not the company. That is the problem with so-called gaming companies, these days, they take their consumers for granted, and act as if the fans owe them a favor!

For this reason, I will never, ever, buy a Sony or a Microsoft console. Ever. I hate those two companies with a burning passion. Both of them have sucked the life out of gaming, and had it not been for Nintendo, it would have collapsed a long time ago. Where is the innovation? Where is the creatiivity? Where is the value? And where is the fun?

P.S. Not saying that PC hasn’t contributed to this problem, as well. But the problem is mostly on the console side.

By: Ben Albright

Ben Albright — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 06:07:07 +0000

Mike, you are one of the LAST people I would ever expect to analyze the state of the game industry.

By: Butters Stotch

Butters Stotch — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 02:10:24 +0000

Monetization isn’t surprising, but it’s depressing. It’s hard to see game developers sink to the “free to play” or “pay for more features” rhetoric. I too want games to be released with everything included, if there is more to add make a new game. However, I will say the current framework of alpha development cycles can certainly help in a games improvement. I just don’t want all games to go down that path, it’s much more meaningful to have a finished “whole” game then a continually “improved” game.

By: mysterywolf

mysterywolf — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 01:09:14 +0000

In reply to Amidatelion. Seems kind of counterproductive considering you can buy energy for money, so for kids who don't have their own money, they get parents to pay for it, whereas if it were unlimited, it wouldn't matter.

By: Tickles

Tickles — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 16:39:34 +0000

In reply to Tross. +1 My thoughts exactly

By: Slapnuts

Slapnuts — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 14:24:53 +0000

DLC’s originally expanded a game to give it more replay value. Now, game developers are intentionally selling a game incomplete for the same price, and practically forcing people to shell out extra for the rest.

Capcom is pretty bad with this. I bought the Season Pass for both DR4, and Resident Evil, and so far their DLC has been awful.

By: Hanglyman

Hanglyman — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 07:35:01 +0000

In reply to calmLIKEaBOB-OMB. I really wish people would actually do this. Sadly, they instead gladly eat it up and pay through the nose for less and less.