[ Better image pending, we promise! ]
Welcome to Jack Attacks, our first attempt at a regular opinion column where every week, or so, I pick a fight with something, make up a catchy title and see what happens. Granted I’m not the wisest of choices to try this first but if it comes to it I’ll just erase all evidence of ever having tried and vehemently deny all assertions to the contrary. Anyway I digress, let’s begin. It’s already occurred to me that all three dozen of you who read this will probably have no idea what I meant by corporate extortion. So for context’s sake give me a moment to drag another piece of my mind into the equation, because trust me when I say I have got plenty to spare.
“Disc locked DLC, don’t you just hate it? You spend your hard earned cash for a disc only to discover you’ll need to spend extra just to use everything on it. You already own it, physically at least, so why are you paying extra to use it? Doesn’t go down well with consumers, at all. Critics however have gotten their disc for free, and as such won’t particularly take corporate extortion into account when pinning their final score on the cover for all to see.” – Critics vs Consumers, Who Should We Trust?
In bold, underlined. In my opinion the gaming industry has taken a sharp turn for the worse with more and more developers seemingly being passed a memo which I imagine reads something like ‘maximise your profits, by any means necessary.’ Unfortunately business will be business and while no amount of public outrage will ever change that there have been some examples lately where things have been taken just a step too close to a path I personally hope the gaming industry never ventures. A corporate, lifeless path focused on turnover and not consumer satisfaction. Because, guess what, consumers are stupid. Yes, we are.
Six and a half million of us sprinted to local retailers to buy Modern Warfare 3 on release day, then we complained about the obviously expected faults only after we had coughed up our hard earned dough. How I wish I could afford to shed the green like that, but unfortunately I can’t. So since the gaming industry cannot force me to drink from their lake of lies and repetition they have instead opted for new, more subtle ways, of making me part with my cash.
So since we are all talking about Mass Effect 3 right now let’s make it the target, with the big question is what, if any, action Bioware will take over the reactions to their not so stellar climax. I, personally, think they should hold their hands up and apologise unreservedly for getting it so wrong, again, and let bygones be bygones. But who the hell am I trying to fool? What they will probably do is go back to the drawing board, cook up an expanded ending, promote it as if it were the second coming of the messiah and then ship it to their masses of unsatiated followers with a price tag and a **** you very much. It couldn’t come more insulting unless it had a tasteful smiley face scribbled in the description box.
But that’s a what if, albeit a very plausible. So for now so let’s focus on the mistakes Bioware has actually made so far, and , honestly, it really takes effort to have messed up this bad, especially after the Dragon Age II backlash. Not that they got everything wrong, the gameplay implements are welcome but were mostly cosmetic and uniform, since their downfall stems from just one very important core problem. Bioware, you turned your back on the consumers; the fans who stuck with you when you decided to play things a little differently. Thou shall not bite the hand that feeds you, and Bioware we the consumers are your life and blood. So the next time you create content, leave it on the disc, and ask for another cash hand out so we can use it you had better keep those words fresh in the memory and gag any associates who try to tell us to think otherwise.
And yes I am acting like Bioware gives a shite what I think, because in my mind that is what separates the good, the bad and the Activision. Good developers and publishers are the ones who not only listen to the advice of its source of income but will actually take it on board as well. Disc locked DLC doesn’t make anyone happy, least of all the people you are trying to maintain a stable and healthy relationship with. Mass Effect 3 was more than a game, it was the end of a long and memorable journey for its core fan base. So what did you do? You prostituted it, contorted it for the ‘new guys’ and then outright let everyone down, including yourselves, with the ending. Three games in the making and you sum it up three resolutions with very little deviation, bravo.
Downloadable content is dubious enough without it arriving in psychical form; stored on the disc of your platform’s choosing while laughing at you from reaches unknown. Personally if I was in charge of a game developer, stretch your imagination here, I would remove the need for DLC entirely by just making a good game that supports itself without the need for bits and pieces added in post launch. DLC shouldn’t exist, the industry didn’t need it a decade ago and it doesn’t need it now. Yet since it does exist we have to deal with it, and so I believe it should only be used sporadically in the aftermath of a game’s release to reward your consumers for sticking by your product or simply to just mix it up a bit. Great games don’t need additional content, I’m still playing Metal Gear Solid 3 (Subsistence) on PS2 on a routine basis just for the sake of enjoying one of the best games ever made.
It’s a financial ploy, a device for making some more money out of a product without the bother of going out to create a sequel. The arrival of day one DLC and disc locked DLC is all the more worrying, especially since I know a lot of people will pay for it. Please, someone, prove me wrong! Step forward and give me a solid and water tight reason as to why you cannot include something prepared before launch on disc with the rest of the game for free? We already paid £40, wasn’t that enough? The fact we live in this particular economic climate at present only makes it all the more criminal. What is this madness? Where do they expect this to end? Last year Bobby Kotick coined the idea of selling cutscenes, and he sounded as serious as a stroke. This makes it especially bad for me as I’ve recently found out I’m going to be father, true story. So I’m doing perfectly well digging my own financial grave without people like Kotick handing me a shovel, thank you very much.
Well looks like you made it, congratulations! All that’s left is the comment section below where you can let me know either how very wrong or right I am, maybe you have another point I (probably) missed out on and would like to discuss. Stick it in the comments and we’ll get talking. Hopefully, with some luck, we’ll have another Jack Attacks ready for you in two weeks, not a very good start for a weekly thing is it?
