I know there are only three of us that care about this topic on the blog, but I gotta vent. The video game industry has a serious problem. Its not keeping up with the current technologies. Huh? You say...but bear with me.
I like to play video games. I don't like to buy video games. A playstation 2 video game costs $50 dollars upon first release. I'm not saying that that's a bad deal necessarily, after all a good game can be hours and hours of entertainment. The problem is: How do I know if a game is good before I buy it? Here are my options:
I can rent it.
This is almost a non-option. The rental industry (Blockbuster, Hollywood video) have yet to take the game industry seriously. When a new game comes out, they buy one or two copies of it, and its usually not available for months. literally months. I have a hunch as to why this is the case. See when you buy a game, your object is to beat the game. On a game that isn't that long, you can beat it in the rental period (I did this twice with Gof of War) and then you don't need to buy it. I'll bet the Game Industry is charging a lot for the rental places to get the games in their stores so that gamers are encouraged to buy not rent. Services like Gamefly (online rentals) cost 22 dollars per month. Its cheaper to buy, unless you can find 5 games a month to rent, I couldn't.
I can read the video game magazines.
They have both previews, reviews and demo discs. They also cost $10 an issue. It would be cheaper for me to take my chances on buying games.
I can watch G4 tv.
G4 has a couple shows that review video games. Xplay for example. The problem here is that their programming is so eratic, you might catch a show from 2 years ago. Plus most shows have preview of games that the reviewers haven't played yet so you don't really know if the games any good when it comes out. By the time they get around to actaully reviewing the gameplay, I've probably already played it. Not only that, but the shows seem to be addicted to a 3 out 5 rating so games are always given an average rating, which tells me nothing.
Like books, movies, and music: 99% percent of video games are crap. How do I separate the crap from the good stuff without having to spend $50 a pop and without having to wait a year to play games?
4 comments:
The problem is all on you Pete. You think too much like a logical human being and not like a blood-sucking capitalist.
If I can apply the same theory to books then I understand. Back in my days in the 909, I tried to borrow newer books from the library. If they had a copy there was always 50 people on the waiting list. So instead, I drop $15-$25 on a book that will likely only be good enough for me to read once. Bastards.
yeah but you forget. libraries are providing a free service. I'm willing to pay money for a game. I'll pay $7 to rent a game for 7days. If I don't like it, block buster has my $7 and they can rent the game to just 7 more people to have made thier money back on the game, thats if they are paying what I'm paying.
Now consider if I like the game, because I've had a chance to play it, I might go out and buy it, like I said , I dont think $50 is so unreasonable for a GOOD game.
Everyone makes out. I AM thinking like a blood sucking capitalist. Its just that the REAL bloodsucking capitalists aren't keeping up with my demand. And thats thier job.
But aren't the game people making out right now? It seems like you are a far more conservative spender than most gamers. Most just sheel out the $50 and take their game, like it or not. So if they were to make it easier to actually test the game before buying maybe they lose money.
I feel like the music industry did the same thing when places like Wherehouse had "listening bars" where you could listen to the whole CD before buying. Although the internet makes that obsolete, I feel like those bombed out before that.
In any case, I think I can empathize with your situation. Do video game stores not allow any returns? Even with something like a 3-day limit?
Yeah the gaming industry is making out right now. But I think if they continue to make thier games less and less accessible, especially to those who don't keep up with games. They will start going downhill again. Maybe its the marketing industry that just can't keep up with the gamers.
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