Dark Age Of Console Gaming In 2012

Now this is a topic that recently popped in my head, and it became apparent when I was browsing Facebook. A friend made a status about Ninja Gaiden 3, a game that just dropped a few days ago (3/20/12) and is already getting horrible reviews. To what his status foretold, IGN gave it a 3 out of 10. Now normally I don't care for reviews from the big gaming sites because I always have an odd feeling they are paid to make biased reviews. Not to get too much off topic, there are things in the latest installment that are not even up to par with the previous installments. Also, there was word of a few things missing from the game but was later promised as Downloadable Content.

Which brings the purpose of this whole writing, "The Dark Age of Gaming". Now your wondering "How is it a dark age in gaming?". If you asked that in your heads, I'm so glad.. so we are going to cover a few basic things. Ever since consoles hit the market, we been buying them and our favorite games (whatever is out at the time). Developers mention they are making a game, wherever they would be in a new innovative direction, sequel, or a prequel to an already existing game. From the Super-Nintendo/Sega era up to the PS2/GameCube/Xbox Era, were some of the happiest memories in most gamer's minds. This isn't to say that the next gen gaming is bad, but their practices in regards of DLC, the product as a whole, and even how they market the game...is really starting to irritate alot of people.

One irritation that has started actually in late 2011, Online passes. This is a recent practice made by EA in an effort to make back some of the money from used game sells. Used game stores like Gamestop make majority of their profit from selling used games. Being a former employee, I can break this down a little further. You see, just like any other Retail store, they sell video games. They make a small Commission for every game that they sell. Gamestop in particular specializes in selling games specifically, in which they make a large some of money from selling used games. While the objective is to sell games in general, they lean more towards selling their used games, as it profits them so much more.

But to the topic, Online passes were made for that purpose to get some of those sells. It is optional wherever to buy the online pass or not, but you would miss out on the full experience That it has to offer. Oh, and the passes normally run for 10 dollars (So I would tack that on top of the purchase). However, this only applies to buying used games, with new games the pass already comes with it (Not trying to scare anyone with that). This is only a practice that EA does, but they fail to realize how many people your upsetting in the process. This is a particular reason why some avoid EA affiliated products because of this vile practice.

The other thing that has been upsetting alot of gamers now is how developers are handling DLC. Now, how Downloadable Content used to work is that they would add-on to the game for normally a small fee (ranging from 99 cent up to 15 dollars normally). This was fine and no one really had problems with the pricing. Now, what has been happening recently is that they are announcing what is going to be in the DLC before their game is released. Suspect? very much so. If that was the case, why wouldn't they just put it in the final product and then announce it later on down the line?

Lets take Street Fighter x Tekken for example, since news has been spreading like wildfire. There are various youtube videos showing DLC characters and costumes. What makes it worst is that all of the content is already on the disc. So what is having alot of people scratching their heads is why on earth didn't they release it all on Day 1? why even put it on the disc? Capcom is getting alot of lip from customers about that. We all understand the concept of developers trying to make a little extra money, but do it through ethics and actually ADD onto the game, not take away from the Finished product.

My Opinion on this Dark Age:

I personally feel these 2 irritations are really whats slowing down the buying of extra content in our games.For casuals, they most likely won't see the difference, but to those who pay a little more close attention the industry, it's like the companies always trying to see what they can get away with. The online passes are one thing, but the recent events of extra content is another. I used to remember a time where they would try to add new things to their games, not decide to make an extra buck on content that was already there from the get go. We are truly entering a Dark age, I just hope it doesn't last long.