sigh. ok boomer, that wasn’t the conversation but sure, pipe in with a story about the old days, we care
Comment on How Greed Ruined Gaming
alilbee@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I disagree with the premise. Nothing has “ruined gaming”. On the production side, it’s a booming industry increasingly making footholds in popular culture. On the consumption side, players have more choice now than they have ever had. Nobody can go load up the front page of steam or even better, the top 100 most played from last year, and tell me with a straight face that we’re worse off than in the 90s or early 2000s without making an appeal to quality that will be heavily colored by their own nostalgia.
Now, are there a lot of games with greedy decision making, loot boxes, etc? Absolutely, nobody disputes that. I personally think there is nuance even there, because I genuinely am not bothered (as a player) by some forms of loot boxes or season passes. Even if you discount every game with those options though, you still have more choice than I did as a kid.
unreasonabro@lemmy.world 2 months ago
alilbee@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I think this is the first time I’ve ever been called a boomer lol. All good if yall feel a different way. I just think if we have BG3, Helldivers, and Elden Ring in the span of 3 years, it’s hard to say we’re at a loss for good games.
Moneo@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Maybe watch the video lol? She acknowledges games are better then they’ve ever been, she’s just pointing out how corporate greed has created a trend of publishers forcing half-baked games out the front door and fixing them later (or not).
alilbee@lemmy.world 2 months ago
But that’s my point, how is that “ruining gaming”? Her words in the video do not support the premise. Just don’t play those games, and you have a larger backlog than ever of games that she admits are better than they’ve ever been. The presence of bad games does not ruin the good ones. This video is just rage bait for upset gamers.
FontMasterFlex@lemmy.world 2 months ago
In other words: “Because I’m not bothered by X, neither should you be”.
alilbee@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I don’t think that’s a reasonable paraphrase of my argument. I think you’re perfectly entitled to be bothered by things like loot boxes in gaming. I am more than troubled by their implementation in a lot of games aimed at children, like I imagine a lot of us are.
That is a far cry from saying “gaming is ruined”, and that’s really my entire point. One or even several things you’re bothered by existing doesn’t mean that the entire industry or state of gaming is in any way “ruined”.
FontMasterFlex@lemmy.world 2 months ago
you’re defending the indefensible. Modern gaming is largely shit. games are boring, with little to no replay value other than “seasons”. Games are regularly released in total shit show conditions only to be patched later. Your argument of ‘we have so much more’ is a bad one as it doesn’t matter how many games we have available, if the large majority of them are garbage or in a garbage state. of course the more shit you throw at the wall, the more will eventually stick. Baldur’s Gate is a once in a generation game.
alilbee@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I just don’t agree that the majority of games are garbage or in a garbage state. There are plenty of good games coming out. I’ve listed several in this thread. Baldur’s Gate is a once in a generation game. So is Elden Ring. So is Outer Wilds. Not being exhaustive here, just some of my favorites. How many “once in a generation” games are required before we can admit that there are good options out there? The state of gaming should not be defined by its lows, but by the whole.
Hey, listen though, I’m just here to have a discussion, not trying to change your mind. There is a lot of bad going on in video games, and I don’t like it either. This is really a matter of perspective at the end of the day, so there’s no right or wrong answer here.
EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Totally disagree. The homogenization and enshittification of AAA games has meant that there is less choice than ever. More and more established IPs are tanking in quality and there aren’t enough new ones to replace them. There are certainly “more games”, but the problem with this quantity of quality style of production means that there are fewer standouts and unique experiences to actually choose from. This has resulted in entire genres collapsing under their own weight. There are still unique, standout games but I’d hardly say there are now that 10-15 years ago. And the ones we do have are more often than not made by indie and AA studios.
Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I’d argue that the indie and AA studios are making games today that are as good as or better than the pre-enshitification AAA games of the 90s and 00s. Maybe not quite as high in production value for cinematics, but on par or better for game content and play.
Like I’ve been largely ignoring AAA options and still have a huge backlog of games and generally have fun with new ones I try out, including finding new gems to add to my favourites.
So I guess if you have a base assumption that great games need to be AAA to even be contenders, the gaming situation looks worse than it did in the past, but IMO that assumption is flawed.
EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world 2 months ago
The problem is the AAA games are what prop up gaming consoles, which are the only reasonable way for the average person to afford gaming. All the best AA and indie games have predominantly been on PC. All my favorites are still PC only.
In the year like, 6 months to a year I’ve seen what looks like maybe start of many of them coming to consoles, but we’re still years out from seeing what becomes of that. As for right now, AA studios and indies can only afford to port things to consoles due to the large console adoption, and large console adoption is due to AAA games. If consoles stop being worth it for Sony and Microsoft to make, people will have to buy PCs. And PCs are expensive even to those with the experience to build things themselves and know how to shop for what they need to have a good experience.
Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 2 months ago
The Steam Deck is priced similarly to consoles and gives access to a lot of AA and indie games. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the divide between consoles and PC gets fuzzier and fuzzier as time goes on and consoles eventually just become specific PC configurations that games can optimize for.
Plus, on that note, if you look at overall cost, buying AAA games can add up pretty quickly to outpace the cost of building a PC. If you buy enough games, a console + AAA game collection can surpass the cost of a high end PC + AA and indie game collection, especially if you’re a patient gamer and can wait for good Steam sales. Every month or so, I’ve been buying a handful of games on sale for on average less than half the price of a single AAA new release. Building a PC just has a higher up front cost (though patience can help there, too).
Drewelite@lemmynsfw.com 2 months ago
The only way PC gaming is not affordable to the average person is if they’re playing AAA titles. I have a GTX 780 worth ~$60 that I still use to play many indie titles like Party Animals, Planet Crafters, Stardew Valley, Lethal Company, Content Warning, etc.
alilbee@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I don’t think what we’re saying is at odds though. Thinking that AAA games are in a terrible place is a totally valid opinion to have. You get at my point in the tail end of your comment though. It has never been easier for AA and indie studios to make solid games, and there has been an explosion relative to the past. I do not personally think “gaming is ruined” as a whole by AAA games sucking the same way movies aren’t ruined by Marvel and food isn’t ruined by McDonalds. Good games still exist, good movies still exist, good food still exists. Dig a little past that outer layer of the latest CoD or Assassin’s Creed and there’s a plethora of amazing, unique, non-exploitative games available. To me, that’s an argument that gaming is better than it’s ever been.
Your point in there about there being less standouts is really the one that gets at what I’m saying. I do disagree though. If we look at prior eras of gaming, it was almost exclusively AAA making sales and driving the direction of the industry. Even just releasing a game on a major platform was insanely prohibitive. Now, I have a massive laundry list of totally awesome indies. Outer Wilds made me cry, Return of the Obra Dinn was a concept I have never seen before, Baldur’s Gate ruined a month of my life. What series of indie or even AAA releases was able to do a run of games like that in the 360/ps3 era? We barely had xbox arcade on consoles and steam was still in bare infancy, more associated as being an orange box launcher than as a marketplace for indies.