The Corporatization Of The Video Game Industry — And Why It’s Bad For Consumers
In the past two decades, video games have become a significant player in the world of media. The “Global Gaming Market” has reached a value of USD 173.70 billion in 2021. It’s the fastest growing media sector in the world. We have dedicated livestreaming websites for games, huge conventions for companies to show upcoming titles and larger than ever audiences. It’s amazing to see how far it’s come in two decades as it sneaks into mainstream media culture.
But has this massive increase in wealth and attention in the video game world really benefited gamers? Are video games really getting better and better?
To put it bluntly: Mostly not. Massive video game companies are really just trying to squeeze all the money out of your pockets, and it’s become particularly egregious in the last decade.
Before we get into it, let me just say that there have been many positive impacts of this growing industry for consumers. One area I particularly enjoy is the rise of competitive video games, or Esports. Tournaments and competitions are exciting and fun to watch. On another note, more money means that developers have a bigger budget than ever before: better graphical fidelity, bigger game worlds, and more professional products. But in my opinion, that’s really the extent it.
My biggest concern is that the corporatization of the gaming industry has made the intention of for-profit maximization stronger and more glaringly obvious.
One area I find upsetting is the implementation of microtransactions and gambling in many recent games. Companies looked at the success of in-app purchases of mobile games and decided to try it out for themselves. Sadly, it was a major success. One of the most notorious examples of this is Rockstar Games’ hit title GTA V. GTA V is the single most financially successful piece of entertainment media in history, coming in at 6.4 billion USD worldwide since its release in 2013. The sales were only a fraction of the revenue; the game’s online feature allows players to purchase in-game items and cosmetics, which is what has been making them most of the money.
Why is this bad? Rockstar Games has only released two original games since 2010; compared to around 25 games from 2002 to 2012. Why would they spend money to make games if they’re making so much from microtransactions? Other companies have tried to replicate Rockstar’s success. It’s financially smart from a business standpoint but hurts consumers.
Another more ethically questionable practice has been the introduction of gambling into mainstream titles. Counter Strike: Global Offensive by Valve Corporation was the first game to really utilize gambling successfully in August of 2013. They added cases in an update, in which players could purchase keys and cases to open in which they could win various weapon “skins”. These skins varied remarkably in price and rarity, and players could purchase or trade these items on a digital marketplace. It’s essentially a digital slot machine. This was wildly successful for Valve, and soon other games followed suit with “loot boxes” as they are called. Games such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, and various sport games have all since implemented these tactics with positive financial results. Some have even gone as far to make it a “pay-to-win” scenario.
Speaking of sports games, remasters and re-releases are also becoming increasingly popular in the gaming world. Every year, the new Fifa, 2k, or Madden games come out, each time with significantly less improvements and more in-game purchases. Older, well received games are getting “remastered” with minor graphical and gameplay improvements sold at a full price. The most obvious cash-grabs are games that are essentially re-released for the new console generations. GTA V has been re-released two times with an upcoming third, and so has The Elder Scrolls Five: Skyrim. The success of this tactic incentivizes laziness and questionable business practices for these companies.
There has also been a growing trend of game companies overpromising on their upcoming games followed by disastrous releases. In softer cases it’s visual downgrades. In others they spend so much time and money on marketing and hype, that they forget about the game itself and release an incomplete, bug-ridden mess (Fallout 76 and Cyberpunk 2077 come to mind). Some have been so bad that lawsuits for false advertising were raised against them. The worst part is that many of these large companies reach a profit just from pre-purchases.
There’s so much more to talk about on this topic: Decreased fan service, independent studios being bought up by parent companies and discarded, the negative consequences of conglomeration, and modern games lacking a feeling of passion and uniqueness. For now, I’ll just leave you with this information.
Perhaps I’m speaking from a nostalgic bias when I say this, but I miss the days when you would unlock cool things from actually playing the game rather than paying for them. I miss when games were made by passionate nerds with no corporate overlords. I miss when games weren’t painfully overhyped.
At the end of the day, the actions of the consumers are what will change business practices. Vote with your dollar. Don’t buy in-game products, don’t pre-purchase, and don’t buy the same game over and over again. Looking at GTA V’s third upcoming re-release trailer on YouTube gives me hope. Seeing that dislike bar and reading the critical comments puts a smile on my face.
References:
https://www.statista.com/topics/868/video-games/#dossier-chapter1
