So first off, before I begin, you were probably all wondering where I've been. Well, frankly, that's complicated. Given the state of my life and often fickle motivation when it comes to personal projects, I had actually thought about abandoning this site completely, given my desires no longer align with a career in games journalism. However, I still like to write, and so I thought I'd come back and treat this as something less informal; a place to voice thoughts as well as still review things (in a much shorter and concise fashion). Not all the content will be video game-related (thought most probably still will be), and some of it may or may not be NSFW and/or politics-related. That alone will probably be enough to kill any readership I had left up to this point, but y'know, I'm fine with that. This isn't about video game journalism anymore. It's about my thoughts. And so without further ado, here are some of my thoughts on the world today.
As we come to the close of 2019, and the conclusion of the decade, it's impossible not to look back and think "Wow, that actually all happened." And yes, it did, much as we may wish that some of it did not (I still miss Robin Williams). But I'm not here to give a big retrospective. It's already New Year's Eve at the time I started writing this. There's no time left for that sort of stuff. So instead I'll focus on one particular thing that bugged me today of all days. While I was browsing YouTube, I came across a fun little video by a guy I sometimes watch called YongYea. He's an interesting fellow; a gaming journalist with a less overtly acidic tone than Jim Sterling, but still largely unafraid to call out the video games industry on its B.S., and oh, how much B.S. they have spewed, especially this year. I think he's good at what he does, and so on the off chance that he actually reads this, I hope he won't take it amiss if I just make this little post expressing my subjective and derivative thoughts on what he had to say. The video in question that I watched was this: Gaming's Worst Embarrassments of 2019. It covers, in a nutshell, some of the most flagrant and infamous incidents that have occurred during 2019 with regards to the electronic entertainment crowd. There's a lot to unpack here, but he does it well, summing up the details behind big stink-bombs including, but not limited to: like the various failures by big-name publishers to leap aboard the live-service band-wagon with their shoddy and half-finished products (looking at you, Fallout 76, Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, Anthem, and many, many more); the assorted incidents that finally managed to pull together gamers everywhere to push for legislation against the predatory monetization practice called 'lootboxes' (basically just a slot machine with more steps, and included in products intended for children, because that's apparently totally acceptable to big business); and the downright appalling revelations of abusive business practices conducted as a matter of course by many of the so-called 'triple-A' publishing and development teams that dominate the industry. He's quite concise and straight-forwards in his coverage, but at the same time, I feel like he misses the big picture. And he's not the only one. Over the course of the year, I have watched these debacles unfold. Like many gamers, I was outraged as the evidence of the industry's perfidious and anti-customer stance grew. What I was not, however, was shocked. This is because I had enough experience and understanding of the greater economic issues at hand to see what was going on; knowledge I had unfortunately obtained through my increasing need to fill in the gaps in my education left by our piss-poor schooling system and understand what the hell was going on with the world. The sad irony is, I feel like what I am about to say is an open secret; a view I am not alone in sharing, but which many gamers will not voice, out of a desire to remain 'apolitical' (as if that's a state that it's even possible to achieve). The problem with the gaming industry is not gaming. It is not gamers. Nor is it developers or publishers. It is not fraud, predatory monetization, artistic cowardice, nor any number of other things that are touted as scapegoats. Quite simply, the problem is money. It is consolidation. It is financialization. "What does this mean?" you might ask. Well that's kind of a complicated answer, which I don't feel I could do justice in one article. What I will say is this: this past year, everywhere I've turned, gamers are angry. They feel like their favorite medium is being disrespected, watered down, or else turned into a vice for their wallets. They are angry with these huge companies whose constant shenanigans continuously leave customers with half-finished products, formulaic flops, and grind-fueled money-grabs. They are furious that these companies apparently care nothing for basic human decency, and are willing to work their employees into mental breakdowns for this unrewarding trash, and then dispose of them when they speak out, or even when they just burn out. "Why is this happening?!", they demand. "This is unconscionable!" they exclaim. And yet none of them want to admit the truth. The answer, my friends, is money. The people in charge, who set the deadlines and project goals, care about none of this. The publishers and board members and CEOs couldn't give two shits about any of it. They are the gatekeepers. They are the ones who say who gets the big marketing and distribution. And if they think it won't sell, then tough luck. They care only about making sure that next year's profit margin is larger than the last; about finding new and creative ways to separate you from your dollars; about selling their stock and using the influence their wealth brings to squeeze society for even more, ALWAYS more. Because that's how this works. Without rules, without laws and regulations, this will continue. And it will never, EVER stop. So yeah; you're free to complain about the small stuff. Don't get me wrong: I have lots of respect for people like YongYea, and the investigative journalists who bring us knowledge of these dirty deeds and public outcry. They work hard at what they do. But for all our sakes, let's also realize pretend this isn't part of a larger, systemic issue. Nothing happens in a vacuum. Just a thought.
0 Comments
|
About Me
I'm a blogger. I review games, mods, or whatever else I feel like, and voice my thoughts for your entertainment (and my portfolio). Reviews
All
Archives
January 2021
|