eulogize_my_baked_goods

Glad to read this follow-up. I hadn't realised the comments had reached those kind of numbers but the points raised in this article echo my own reading of many peoples responses yesterday. Which is a shame but sadly an accepted reality in such discussions.

There is a mentality with some gamers that says that anything that dares cut accross their chosen form of entertainment should be stamped on in the name of 'their own fun'. It's just much easier to turn the other cheek. However, I feel in many respects this is the same mentality that also makes it easy for publishers to saturate the market with lazy, lowest common denominator products that exacerbate the situation even further. It's a cycle that will eventually be broken - as it has been in other more mature fields of entertainment - but it will take time and the persistence of people who want to see change happen.

As for commenting on Twitter, Facebook, or whatever else; if it is good enough for the national press (the BBC quote Twitter all the time nowadays) it is good enough for GB.

And I'm sorry to say this PK but please, please, please proof read before posting. I love reading your stuff but the many errors could so easily be solved by going a second time around the block before clicking submit.

This will be* my first MMO since a years worth of WoW a while back. The adventure game-like ideas have been the real selling point and I hope they build on that aspect over time.

* Also downloading ATM

Ok, I take the hint. I'll only use online stores from now on!

Seriously though, I went into my town centre over the weekend to grab a copy of ME3 and have now learned that I cannot buy PC games ANYWHERE. Granted, the picking had gotten pretty slim already over the last few years but what with a couple of independents shuttering their doors and now this news that GAME (and by proxy GameStation) are for the chop I'm pretty much stuck for options. Of course you can always get the better deals by going online but that doesn't fulfil that desire to delve through shelves of boxes in search of that one obscure title, or sate that impulse purchase you just must have. Sad day indeed.

@blacklab said:

Good, it doesn't make any sense. Consoles are a loss leader which enable the real revenue on the software side. Valve already sells a metric fuckton of software and to all appearances that's not going to change anytime soon.. Why sink capital into hardware? Makes no sense.

This

Valve is comprised of some very smart people and this never sounded all that smart. There are plenty of ways they can expand their strangle hold on the PC downloadables market without the need to produce custom and extremely niche hardware that is only of interest as a novelty to people who would never actually buy one if it really existed.

Pleasemakethishappenpleasemakethishappenpleasemakethishappen...

Dude, that is one tough job and either way you spin it you're likely to piss someone off. The 'tired' comment is telling I think. I guess at some point you say to yourself enough is enough, and reaching 40 is as good a time as any. I wish him luck with whatever he does next and don't envy the next in line for that role.

I really hope that someone does challenge this (and similar) in court. It just can't be left to that AT&T ruling to be the final word on the matter.

As far as I understand it this is exactly what class action suits are designed for - to provide a way of getting recompense for minor claims that would otherwise not have the momentum required if handed on an individual basis. It's the classic case of fighting the larger foe with raw numbers. I'd also argue that they are of particular importance in the entertainment industries because most claims consumers are likely to bring are just that - mostly of minor import financially but inevitably effecting a large number of people all at the same time.

People have a tendency to roll over when it comes to issues like this, particularly when not connected to 'life or death' activities. That is until the next time the NextGenXBox red rings or the PS4 gets hacked and all your details get stolen and it becomes _very_ important. At that point fighting a behemoth like MS or Sony on a one-to-one basis won't look quite so favourable, and class action suits not that bad an idea after all. Shame. By then it'll be too late.

Oh dear...

This is a really good article and puts into writing some of the things previously voiced by the guys on the Bombcast - that they are painfully aware that games journalism is still essentially just trade press for the most part and that for the medium to grow up the industry (and those commenting on it) need to open up the discussion to something beyond "this is good" or "this is bad."

To be blunt DA2 was a rush job and the end result showed it. Compare that game to Origins which may have had its flaws but was deep, atmospheric, and engaging throughout its near 100 hour play length and it really is a case of apples and bananas. In short I really hope these comments mean that Bioware realise that Dragon Age fans will not be fooled by a weak new game baring the same brand name. They can 'cherry pick' from the first two games all they want as long as the final product actually feels like they spent some real time honing it.