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The Box of Empty Promises

Posted by Zonk on from the charging-for-the-extras dept.

Grimwell.com has a feature up discussing the content selling that publishers like Sony Online and Microsoft have been announcing of late. Xbox Live micro-sales and the purchasing of in-game items in Everquest II may have an adverse affect on the playing field for the average gamer. From the article: "Games are becoming too much about money. Thats a real no brainer statement and I know it. The video gaming industry is where the money is at these days, besting Hollywood and the record industry without even trying. Nor have they really built up a public industry equivalent to the machines that grind out more traditional forms of entertainment. Oh, that's coming, and EA is quickly becoming the MGM of the old film studio system, but the public recognition of the machine that drives the gaming industry is nothing when compared to film, television, and radio."

13 of 64 comments (clear)

  1. Mini games by raminator · · Score: 2, Interesting

    What happened to those games that you were supposed to be able to download straight to the Xbox?

    1. Re:Mini games by Blakey+Rat · · Score: 2, Informative

      What do you mean "what happened to them?" They've only been around for like half a year, and they work great.

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      Comment of the year
  2. History repeats itself... by MBraynard · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I recall reading the same 'all about money' thing regarding the collectable card games of the last decade or so - MTG. Still, I've yet to see anything that can change the balance in the 'twitch' games that dominate Xbox Live. Perhaps this would occur in the sports games, though, where you can buy a better player to sub in. Still, I think most tournaments and most players would stick to straight vanilla games.

    1. Re:History repeats itself... by servognome · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I recall reading the same 'all about money' thing regarding the collectable card games of the last decade or so - MTG. Still, I think most tournaments and most players would stick to straight vanilla games

      This brings up a good point, there is a difference between casual and competitive. I had older cards that weren't balanced which I could use in causal play, however, in competitive play those cards were banned, so they were useless.

      Microsoft/Sony can sell all the toys they want so long as they are kept out of competitive play. All it will do is change the gameplay experience for those who buy it. Those who buy it will have more fun, but it won't decrease the level of fun for you. In a twitch game like Halo, maybe you could buy extra weapons or vehicles, so long as those things are kept out of PvP there is no imbalance.

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      D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
  3. Opportunity by tprime · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What did you expect to happen??

    -Around 18 minutes out of every hour of radio is spent on commercials
    -The average hourlong TV show only truly breaks 40 minutes of content (I know, I TiVo through the commercials) -Movies innundate you with ads slideshowing prior to the ads for future movies. Those ads now lead you into movies with an incredible amount of product placement ads. -Video games give advertisers a unique opportunity to let people actually buy the product when the advertisement is fresh in their minds. It is the logical conclusion to the cycle, and it is only going to get worse.

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    http://www.tomandemily.com
    1. Re:Opportunity by TheWanderingHermit · · Score: 2, Informative

      As for TV, broadcasters (including cablecasters and narrowcasters) are allowed 16 minutes of commercials per hour. So, by the time you factor in the opening and closing credits, yes, about 40-42 minutes of content.

      I remember learning about scriptwriting from old Star Trek books I had when I was a teen ("Making of Star Trek" and "Trouble With Tribbles"), and learning that when Trek was made, 8 minutes (or less?) per hour were allowed for commercials. Somehow the fact that over 25% of airtime is no longer about storytelling and about selling products to make women think they have to be malnourished to look sexy just seems wrong.

      I've got no problem with product placement. If it gets back to the way they used to advertise (I forgot the show, but I remember an early detective show that was sponsored by a tobacco company where the detective would always drop in to a shop and talk about the virtues of a good smoke for a bit in each episode) where the advertisment is "sneaked in" as a part of the script, I have an issue with that.

  4. How uninsightful by reidbold · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This article is less informative and insightful than the comments on slashdot regarding the announcements of pay for play content.

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    -Reid
  5. Better By Sony by blunte · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The trade of virtual items has gone on and will continue to go on whether authorized by the game companies or not.

    It should be _better_ for the game when companies like Sony actually begin selling in-game items, money, and bonuses.

    On games where players themselves are the providers of goods for sale, there is a huge business in "farming" items and coin for resale. So not only do you have players with real money able to buy things (rather than earn them), but you also have the contention for resources due to all the farmers.

    If game company provides the virtual goods, that essentially undercuts any player-farmed trade. That is definitely an improvement.

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    .sigs are for post^Hers.
  6. I guess most are too young to remember... by rAiNsT0rm · · Score: 3, Insightful

    the original implosion of the videogame industry. The stars are all aligned for a second coming. Counter to what everyone keeps claiming about how it is going to grow and grow, and EA shall rule with small incremental updates to the same titles year after year... this is exactly what caused the bubble to burst last time. Flooded market, too many consoles, crap to good game ratio too high, and greedy companies looking to cash in on the boom... check, check, check, and check.

    With all of the losses in hardware and set to grow higher with the next round, no real innovation in the next gen except for possibly the Revolution (ooh, online pay gaming and wireless controller standard!), and this notion that the same tired videogames will continue to sell after GTA 9, NFL 2k28, and the rest of the current market, I don't think so!

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    http://teasphere.wordpress.com - A little spot of tea
    1. Re:I guess most are too young to remember... by Jarlsberg · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Flooded market, too many consoles, crap to good game ratio too high, and greedy companies looking to cash in on the boom... check, check, check, and check. There's a huge difference between the conditions of the early eighties and today. Back then, you had a vast number of competing platforms (consoles and computers) instead of the select few you have today, and the quality of the games are exponentially greater than any games released in the early eighties. What triggered the crash back then was the extremely bad quality of big titles such as E.T. and Pacman (man those stunk up the place).

      We won't see a crash like the early eighties today. However, the big software houses, like E.A., might topple over if they go for incremental changes, micro-payments etc. and people disapprove, but I think not. They will try this -- if it fails, they will try something else. Eventually, hopefully, people will buy games such as Katamari Darcy instead of yet another Madden.

    2. Re:I guess most are too young to remember... by servognome · · Score: 3, Insightful

      crap to good game ratio too high

      Uncheck, the last year has had alot of great titles, moreso than in previous years. Probably a dozen or more big name games that lived up to the hype (or did at least good job)

      and this notion that the same tired videogames will continue to sell after GTA 9, NFL 2k28, and the rest of the current market, I don't think so!

      The Madden Franchise is like 15 years old, how many Mario and Zelda games have there been?

      The environment is different now, you have a generation that has grown up with video games, consoles are now being treated as entertainment platforms rather than game players (ie people in Japan bought PS2s for the DVD funtionality), and multiple and mature genres that cater to many interests (as opposed to almost pure "action" titles available in the past).

      The video game industry may decline, but it won't collapse completely.

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      D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
    3. Re:I guess most are too young to remember... by duggy_92127 · · Score: 2, Informative
      ...no real innovation in the next gen...

      The Cell Processor doesn't count?

      Doug

  7. What I want to know is by Acy+James+Stapp · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If the industry is bigger than Hollywood, where are all the limos, drugs, and groupies? Where's the money at?

    Good link at http://grumpygamer.com/5378171
    Quote: "The 2004 domestic Video and Computer Game Industry is estimated to be around $10B. This is a slightly misleading figure because it includes the sales of the console machines, in addition to the sales of the software, but we'll go with it.

    The domestic US box office is estimated to be around $9B for 2004, and this is where the myth starts to take life. The problem is the movie industry is a lot bigger then just the U.S. box office. DVD sales and rentals for 2003 topped $16B. VHS sales and rentals for 2003 was $6.4B. VHS sales are declining fast, but most of that will just shift over to DVDs, which brings the grand total for non-box office movie sales to over $20B, twice the figure for the entire game industry."

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    -- Too lazy to get a lower UID.