Submitted 1 day ago by simple@lemm.ee to games@lemmy.world
https://www.ign.com/articles/ea-cancels-black-panther-game-closes-cliffhanger-studios
I really wish gamers could unite in a way that they buy out sufficient ownership stakes in these terrible publishers that they force them to treat development studios better, and not push out half-finished slop filled to the brim with predatory monetisation.
EA, Konami, Ubisoft would all be ripe for a renaissance if that were to pass.
I’ve been hearing it for years, the same as outright boycotts. It’s not that people don’t care, it’s that not enough people care for it to make a difference. For every person pissed about getting burned on a $60+ purchase for a dogshit game, there are 99 more who’ll eat it and move on without caring all that much. You’ve got to improve the content at home, where it counts without worrying about the drek getting turned out by large companies/studios. Invest in indie, or shop around is the best bet IMO.
Realistically yes, you are correct.
I’m sure we all (at least those old enough) to remember that Boycott Modern Warfare II Steam group screenshot.
Idealistically, imagine that for every release - instead of giving EA that $80 dollars, 10% of gamers put that money towards a share instead.
So that would work out to be ~$200m in lost upfront sales, and up to $540m in lost recurring spend (microtransactions, battle passes etc.).
That would only be enough for gamers to own 0.5% of the company after the first year, but keeping this up for multiple years could have a downward pressure on EA’s stock price long-term as they miss their financial forecasts - increasing gamer’s buying power on shares.
Within a few years, these “Gamers United” would begin to have sufficient stake to influence board decisions (for the better).
The best part being that, the entire time, EA would continue to pay dividends to them (currently at a rate of ~$3.10 per share, per year), while they still technically own that money - almost like a corporate savings account.
Its capitalism. Individuals will not change this. Systemic problems need systemic solutions. First step is outlawing centralization of capital and putting back legislation against large corporations. But good luck doing that in the US.
EA and Ubisoft I can see happening in theory.
Konami is an entirely different beast. The Japanese industry is so ingrained in a different ethos altogether, I just don’t see any public-backed push for change working the way it would with a Western publisher.
Just look at the direction Nintendo is heading. Do we have any actual chance of stopping that train?
Damn, was this the Christopher Judge project?
Fuck black panther make another game like battlefield 4 or nfs most wanted
Oh yeah, let’s make another shitty battlefield game cause there aren’t a million of those in the bloated and fetted catalog of shooters.
Battlefield 4 isn’t shitty lil boi
MyDarkestTimeline01@ani.social 1 day ago
On the one hand I hate hearing about people losing their jobs. I dislike people not being able to have an opportunity to support themselves. On the other hand any and all trouble for EA makes me happy. I long for the day they have to sell off their studios and their CEO has to try and not be remembered as the guy that killed the golden goose for investor capitol.
It’s time that investors stop looking at video games as a get rich quick opportunity. And trying to turn it into the new cubicle farm. Sandfall and a lot of other smaller devs are proving that a small team of generalists are able to do better work than these huge and bloated monstrosities that EA and its kind have become.
Also they pretty much show with this and several other cancellations that they cannot fathom a business model that doesn’t rely on predator monetization.
Katana314@lemmy.world 1 day ago
I’d really rather gamers focused their energy into showing support for the developer groups making cool projects, than specifically deriding any works made under publishers they dislike.
Once every few years, EA and Ubisoft produce something that’s really cool; and much as we’d rather the publishers were replaced with better ones, at the least we can be happy that developers got to put out one or two good games through them.
Quetzalcutlass@lemmy.world 1 day ago
The thing about EA is they have a long history of acquiring the developer groups you’re talking about, then mismanaging them into the ground before dissolving them entirely. I know just as many if not more only exist because of EA and their funding, but it’s hard not to feel bitter when many of my favorite studios no longer exist due to their incompetence and greed.
DeathsEmbrace@lemm.ee 1 day ago
You underestimate just how much they treat this like a business and take advantage of passionate people. Nobody does game dev for a career without a passion.
MyDarkestTimeline01@ani.social 1 day ago
Devs, yes. Publishers, not so much.
HuskerNation@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
Damn I was looking forward to this, Marc Bernardino was a writer for it, in fact I believe the lead writer. Love his stuff, found him by following Kevin Smith
Thassodar@lemm.ee 1 day ago
Yeah and the trailer they put out, if this is the same game, looked like a mostly complete game. And it looked good!