The so called hardcore "gamers". We have helped wound the industry so much that it has changed, and we bitch about this change. The industry is now focused on hitting the bottom line rather than providing quality entertainment. It has evolved into a similar form like that of the movie or music industries. Where shit sells and innovation is tossed aside in favor of making profit. One of the multitude of reasons of this is our own ignorance.
We bitch and whine about the decisions of the gaming industry, but this is an industry where they listen to BUYERS, not WHINERS. So many games desperately try to appeal to this group on ALL SYSTEMS (before you think I am SLANTED in my OPINION this applies ACROSS THE BOARD), but we do not buy them. They sit on shelves as we wait for them to fail and drop in price or go on clearance. Do you really think that the industry does not notice this? ESPECIALLY in this age where one failed game can kill a developer or several can kill a publisher?
The cost of production has increased to a ridiculous level. Publishers cannot take chances anymore. I hear people bitch about how niche franchises should get made. You know WHY? YOU DIDNT BUY IT THE LAST TIME IT CAME OUT ASSHOLES!!! I hear people bitch about the lack of new IPs in gaming. You know WHY? YOU ARE NOT GONNA BUY IT FUCKOS!!!!
Let me paint you a picture, an analogy if you will.
WE ARE KILLING THE CURRENT GAMING INDUSTRY.
BUT we are killing it SILENTLY. We are sitting in the car, but its parked in the garage going nowhere, pressing the gas thinking we are getting somewhere by making a lot of pointless engine noise but in reality are doing nothing but filling the garage with carbon dioxide and wonder why our version of gaming is dying.
We complain loudly about how causal gaming is killing the industry. Its not killing the industry, its making money . A FUCKTON of money. WHAT it is killing is what we enjoy in gaming. OUR gaming industry. This new industry that it is slowly mutating into is what we do not want.
Oh yeah everyday I hear a certain brand of stores tell me that "Casual gaming does not sell" "It will go away because no one buys it at MY store"
Yes, in your tiny fishbowl that caters to our kind, the new stuff does not sell. In the rest of the godforsaken ocean in Big Box stores and this here INTERNET. IT SELLS. The people who BUY this stuff DO NOT GO TO YOUR SPECIALTY STORE. And its NOT KIDS as you mistakenly think. Nope they are too busy pissing you off in the flavor of the month First Person Shooter spawn camping you and calling you several unsavory names. DO YOU REALLY THINK KIDS WANT CASUAL GAMES???? SERIOUSLY???? They WANT the M-Rated games they are not supposed to be playing. HELL they are the BACKBONE of the M-Rated game industry along with ignorant parents.
Its the NON-GAMERS that buy all this new accessible stuff from ALL THREE CONSOLE MANUFACTURERS! They avoid the specialty store at all costs because of our elitist attitude and snobbery at their purchase. Who are we to TELL THEM what they don't like. I know I DID THAT when I worked at the specialty store. Its that attitude that has kept them from gaming all these years. They bought the heck out of the previous generations "winner" because it was a cheap DVD player and they are buying the hell out of this current generation "leader" because it is accessible FUN.
OH YEAH! REMEMBER THE FUCKING REASON WE STARTED THIS DAMN HOBBY IN THE FIRST PLACE.
In the 8 bit era, games had to be FUN for us to give a damn. We had to give a shit about BLOCKY PIXLES moving slowly across the screen. Somewhere in the last 10 years, THIS FUNDAMENTAL FACT HAS BEEN ALL BUT FORGOTTEN!!!! "oooh pretty" and "boom headshot" have become the draws for this era of gaming as far as our ilk are concerned. On occasion we do get some smart and fun games here and there because somewhere in the industry people who "get it" somehow sneak by these gems by the corporate overlords of moneymaking. Instead of pushing creativity and fun, its "branding" and "franchises". A certain CEO of a major publisher does not give a shit if annual versions of his games eventually KILL said franchises as long as people keep buying them.
WE have helped allow this to happen. Most of the time, the good fun games do not make money because we do not buy them. We beg, borrow or even steal (piracy) to play these games. BUT these non gamers buy the casual stuff and the terrible annual franchises in BULK. What do we do?
WE HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO COMPLAIN ON THE INTERNET ABOUT WHAT WE DO NOT HAVE AND WHAT IS OFFERED IN PLACE!!!!
That is all I SEE NOW! "Respected" gaming blogs WHAAAAAAAA. Fellow Nerds online WHAAAAAAAA. Nerds at retail store WHAAAAAAAA.
WE GAVE UP THE RIGHT TO BITCH THE SECOND WE STOPPED CARING ABOUT THE QUALITY OF GAMES.
WE GAVE UP THE RIGHT TO BITCH THE SECOND WE LET NON GAMERS TAKE CONTROL WITH THEIR WALLETS.
WE GAVE UP THE RIGHT TO BITCH LONG AGO.
and now it is too late.
Its out of our hands.
It has passed us by.
E3 2011 was a stark reality of this. I felt out of place. I was more excited to see my friends than to see what the booths had. In fact, certain booths just made me sick.
Its not our gaming industry anymore. I know for a fact its not for me. Maybe a game here and there, but it is lost to the "gamer".
The person who played every genre. Who was open to new games. Who didn't care if a game was made in Japan or America. Who played because it was fun. Who played regardless if it was single or multi-player. Who didn't care how "pretty" a game was as long as it was good.
Now, it has splintered. The term "gamer" is misused, misappropriated or even abused. The douchebag who only buys FPS games is not a "gamer", they are just homicidal maniacs kept under control by technology. The "bro" who only buys sports games every year is not a "gamer", he is just a wanna be who never made the team in real life. The recluse who only plays MMORPGS is not a "gamer", they just hate real people and human interaction. I can go on to each genre, but you get the point.
The "gamer" is going extinct. Hell. They are probably all already gone. Lost and forgotten.
Its these new people who have mutated from the "gamers". They make me hate the industry that I once loved.
-end
