Video Games
How the Gaming Industry Failed Us
Game companies charge us more money for less game
Gaming has been a hobby of mine since I was very little. But as I grow older, I find myself slowly detaching from the media that was so important to me as I begin to realize less and less effort is being put into the games and series I love.
And when a game that is good comes out, I’m so used to viewing games in a negative light sometimes it’s difficult to enjoy it.
By perceiving everything as negative, I find that I’m missing out on games I actually would have enjoyed. The problem is that my faith in the gaming industry has been so shaken that I’m actually surprised when something is good.
And I’m not going to go all washed-up retro gamer on you and say that nothing good is coming out now. This is a flat lie and I think everyone knows it. With incredible AAA titles like Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Wonder, and breathtaking indie experiences like Rain World and Neon White, gaming is far from a dead medium.
However, this doesn’t absolve the industry from guilt. Gaming companies are pushing the envelope to see how much they can charge you with the least amount of content possible to see how fans react. And they are mostly getting away with it. For example, one of the biggest titles in recent years, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III was supposed to be a DLC for Modern Warfare II. But due to greed by the parent company, it was rushed into a full release for a price of $70 with basically no content.
Another gigantic title, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet released as one of the most buggy Nintendo games to date. This was due to a lack of playtesting to rush the games out for the holiday season and thus rake in tons of cash.
Nintendo is a prime example of my stance on the gaming industry as a whole.
As I’ve mentioned above, Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Wonder have been some of the best I’ve seen from the company. Super Mario Wonder breaks the stagnation that was the New Super Mario Bros. series and gives us some of the best Mario platforming in years. Meanwhile, Tears of the Kingdom follows up on a superb Zelda formula and shows us that things can still be done in the world of Breath of the Wild while ironing out its flaws and creating the most refined and fluid Zelda title to date.
But this is a double edged sword. As Nintendo kneecaps preservation of their games by shutting down emulation and taking down fan-made projects made as labors of love towards their franchises, Nintendo actively gives a giant middle finger to their fans. Many fans believe that the company hates them. This belief is completely justified based on what they’ve done to actively prevent fans from playing their games.
And this is the crossroads modern gaming has come to.
Fantastic games come out that I want to financially support so I can see more projects like them, but companies manage them so poorly that I don’t want to support their behavior.
Generally, when a game came out that I was excited about, I’d buy it with complete happiness knowing that my money was going to hardworking devs who poured their blood, sweat, and tears into a title that genuinely would blow me away.
Now, I’m hesitant to indulge in the medium that changed my life. Now I just see these companies as greedy, and the knowledge that they do not care about us feels all too real and holds me back.
This knowledge prevents me from enjoying the games I love because all I can think about while playing a game is that I acted as a cash cow for a greedy, faceless megacorporation.
Normally, here, I’d drop a meaningful closing statement on what needs to change, but I don’t really have an answer this time. Gaming companies will continue to push their greed, and I hope something changes, but there’s no real way to tell. At this point, my greatest wish is that someday I’ll be able to fully enjoy the hobby that’s so important to me again.
