Wednesday, May 11, 2005
If I had the money to run a television ad campaign...
I previously posted as a Slashdot comment. It was too much work for Slashdot alone. The story linked to this very insightful Grimwell Online article, concerned the excitement that game companies are feeling over the prospect of selling extra game content.
That's right. You've bought their $50 (likely, soon to be $60) game, you're playing along, and you're sort of bitterly enjoying it in that uniquely modern-video-game-experience way, but then you read that the kind of extra feature that you use to need to press Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right for, now you have to pay additional bucks to get.
Yeah, that's a winning business model.
Think about it: Back in the old days, strategy guides were completely optional things. Now, there are games where the guide is almost necessary to play (often because of lackluster manuals). How long before games are designed around the need to buy extra content just to play them well? Keep in mind that there are games out now that are almost impossible even without the ability to buy powerups to make it playable.
Is gaming full of empty promises? Are game companies acting like rampaging lucre-beasts? Will people buy access to fairly gimmicky and short-lived bit-content, like "tricked out vehicles" to make friends drool while they watch them play some racing game? (That's paraphrasing, fairly maliciously, the quote from the Grimwell article from some X-Box exec, excited about his new, precious revenue source.)
I don't think it'll last, and I'd accelerate the process if I could. If I had the money, I'd love to produce this commercial and see if I could get it inserted into network news broadcasts. I kind of doubt I could, for the same reason Adbusters has problems getting their own spots aired.
Gen Y Slacker Type #1: "Dude! Take a look at this new game! If I press this button, the guy does a backflip and slices through that monster like a buzzsaw!"
Gen Y Slacker Type #2: "That's nice, but-"
#1: "Oh, and when I win the game, it opens up an entirely new character who can play the game in, uh, a slightly different way!"
#2: "Interesting, except-"
#1: "Oh, and look at that other character, check out the polygons on her, huh? On that... fake girl, heh heh... heh..."
#2: "But why not-"
#1: "And I've collected everything I can collect, and I've found the secret double-plus-good ending, and I've max'd out everyone's stats, and I can play as the bad guy, and everything's unlocked... and I've... but... uh."
#2: "And you're now feeling kind of empty from the whole experience, right?"
#1: "Hm, now that you mention it, yeah."
#2: "Yeah. Here, take a look at this pamphlet. It should help to put the situation into better perspective."
(Hands over a pamphlet entitled: "Why You're Feeling Empty: A short essay on the meaninglessness of arbitrary accomplishment.")
- LATER -
#1: "Wow, that handout you gave me was right on the money! I've thrown away my game systems and got started doing something useful!"
#2: "Just like I did a month ago. What are you doing?"
#1: "Writing Sonic the Hedgehog super hot triple-X hentai fanfiction!"
#2: "Just like I started doing a month ago. Hmm...."
This is why I think that the success of video games is short-lived. As companies are producing strings of games that are successively less unique and fun, playing through them feels more and more like work, work with a very insubstantial reward at the end.
Once a majority of players have made that connection, everything falls apart. Again.
("And it's about time," sez Cranky Kong.)
I previously posted as a Slashdot comment. It was too much work for Slashdot alone. The story linked to this very insightful Grimwell Online article, concerned the excitement that game companies are feeling over the prospect of selling extra game content.
That's right. You've bought their $50 (likely, soon to be $60) game, you're playing along, and you're sort of bitterly enjoying it in that uniquely modern-video-game-experience way, but then you read that the kind of extra feature that you use to need to press Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right for, now you have to pay additional bucks to get.
Yeah, that's a winning business model.
Think about it: Back in the old days, strategy guides were completely optional things. Now, there are games where the guide is almost necessary to play (often because of lackluster manuals). How long before games are designed around the need to buy extra content just to play them well? Keep in mind that there are games out now that are almost impossible even without the ability to buy powerups to make it playable.
Is gaming full of empty promises? Are game companies acting like rampaging lucre-beasts? Will people buy access to fairly gimmicky and short-lived bit-content, like "tricked out vehicles" to make friends drool while they watch them play some racing game? (That's paraphrasing, fairly maliciously, the quote from the Grimwell article from some X-Box exec, excited about his new, precious revenue source.)
I don't think it'll last, and I'd accelerate the process if I could. If I had the money, I'd love to produce this commercial and see if I could get it inserted into network news broadcasts. I kind of doubt I could, for the same reason Adbusters has problems getting their own spots aired.
Gen Y Slacker Type #1: "Dude! Take a look at this new game! If I press this button, the guy does a backflip and slices through that monster like a buzzsaw!"
Gen Y Slacker Type #2: "That's nice, but-"
#1: "Oh, and when I win the game, it opens up an entirely new character who can play the game in, uh, a slightly different way!"
#2: "Interesting, except-"
#1: "Oh, and look at that other character, check out the polygons on her, huh? On that... fake girl, heh heh... heh..."
#2: "But why not-"
#1: "And I've collected everything I can collect, and I've found the secret double-plus-good ending, and I've max'd out everyone's stats, and I can play as the bad guy, and everything's unlocked... and I've... but... uh."
#2: "And you're now feeling kind of empty from the whole experience, right?"
#1: "Hm, now that you mention it, yeah."
#2: "Yeah. Here, take a look at this pamphlet. It should help to put the situation into better perspective."
(Hands over a pamphlet entitled: "Why You're Feeling Empty: A short essay on the meaninglessness of arbitrary accomplishment.")
- LATER -
#1: "Wow, that handout you gave me was right on the money! I've thrown away my game systems and got started doing something useful!"
#2: "Just like I did a month ago. What are you doing?"
#1: "Writing Sonic the Hedgehog super hot triple-X hentai fanfiction!"
#2: "Just like I started doing a month ago. Hmm...."
This is why I think that the success of video games is short-lived. As companies are producing strings of games that are successively less unique and fun, playing through them feels more and more like work, work with a very insubstantial reward at the end.
Once a majority of players have made that connection, everything falls apart. Again.
("And it's about time," sez Cranky Kong.)
