Well Diablo 3 is kind of crap, StarCraft II does deserve at least some backslash (as it is esentially prettier StarCraft 1, Blizzard was not even trying in that department.) Buut there are genuinely good and innovative titles coming out that do get a lot of undeserved hate - often precisely for being 'New' and 'Innovative'. But do not be surprised by hate when a company announces yet another part of the series or yet another game that quite apparently is not even trying.

Fred_DM

The outlook has only gotten negative because games have become worse. Nothing happens in a vacuum, and you can definitely expect that gamers are going to become angry and cynical when game after game is hyped by marketing only to sell on day-1, and then it turns out the game sucks and the marketing was based on lies, but it doesn't matter because they already have the money.

As recent scandals have shown, the video game "journalism" and review industry is largely corrupt, and regularly gives 9/10 ratings to games which are giant turds. But none of the publishers care about that, because they only care about early release sales and they count on gamers having sort enough memories and their marketing doing it's jobs.

We live in the age when just as much if not more money goes into advertising games, as does into actually making them. In fact, many games these days aren't games, they are glorified interactive action-movies with super high-poly graphics to look as "realistic" as possible.

The best thing that could happen in gaming is some kind of collapse, some serious Triple-A devloper/publisher bankruptcies. And with the costs of making games (due to technology increases) increasing hugely every year, at the same time as the more moronic of "gamers" demand better and better GRAFICS, it's only a matter of time before the dream of video games becoming movies hits the brick wall of reality.

The angrier fans get the better, just sit back and get some popcorn bro

i don't think so. like i said, the only real complaint about D3 is regarding it's endgame and the loot therein. but now people act like the entire game was no good, which is simply ludicrous, especially when the same people go on about how great Torchlight 2 is in comparison. don't make me laugh.

point is, Diablo 3 deserves criticism, but it's gone way, way overboard.

no game is ever perfect, so you're probably right. funny thing is that only AFTER the release of Diablo 3 did people start to consider StarCraft 2 a bad game as well... before that people couldn't stop going on about how SC2 was a true PC game and proof that PC exclusives and traditional RTS games could still be profitable.

which is exactly what the PC community wanted for 10 years. there's a reason StarCraft 1 became so popular. nobody wanted to mess up the formula.

what's wrong with sequels? if 20 million liked Modern Warfare 2, what's wrong with making Modern Warfare 3 a very similar game? i don't see the problem.

why the emphasis on innovation? as if the PC gaming of the past had been all about innovation. what a joke. since the dawn of gaming there have always been a few innovative titles, a number of sequels and a plethora of uninspired copy-and-pasted titles. nothing's changed.


this made your entire post meaningless. did you even think about what you were writing? worse? by whose standard? yours? how is that in any way objective? seriously...

like what is happening with Bioware right now? fuck that. those people aren't "fans". they aren't even "gamers". loud-mouthed, self-entitled loosers that could never produce anything even remotely on the level of a Bioware production. there is a huge difference between criticising a game or a developer and what is currently happening in the PC gaming world.

I think this has to do with when the industry started calling itself "industry". I don't recall such a term being used back in the 90s, admittedly because I might have been too young. But games and companies back them appeared to be less profit oriented. When you read comments such as the ones by Activision CEO, I feel that I'm entitled to some bitching about their products. Because I feel they are no longer something made for my enjoyment, the way I feel about most books for instance, and have become a product geared towards getting as much money from me as possible. And I, personally, don't like that change.

Once more, this is all subjective perception. Maybe it was happening all along and I hadn't heard of it until then. Maybe it's just PR that has changed. Whatever the case, and think I'm not alone in feeling this shift in focus, and that's one of the reasons for all the hate Elmofongo mentions.

IMO it was the media that started calling it an "industry". the same media that now are more likely to interview fucking financial analysts instead of developers.

maybe because you couldn't really call a couple of long-haired dudes programming in their parents' garage an "industry"...

yeah, that's why the entire staff of early id Software went out and bought Ferraris...

Kotick's a business man, true enough. but think about it. as a business man, more than anybody else, he has an interest in producing exactly what people want. and that's Call of Duty. lots of it. you really can't blame the man for giving the people what they want. if you're not among them, that's alright. but people act like Activision is forcing their games on us, which is complete bullshit. all it would take is for people to stop buying Call of Duty. as long as the games sell ridiculous amounts, Activision will produce them. and why the hell not? i've enjoyed every installment so far, and i'll keep buying them until i stop enjoying them. i really don't give a shit if a few self-entitled bastards think the games aren't up to their glorious standards.

you're stating your opinion, which i respect. a lot of people, however, try to sell their opinion as fact. i can't stand that. Diablo 3 has its weaknesses. perhaps weaknesses it shouldn't have after so long a development time. but it's nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be. that's the whole problem with PC gamers these days: the slightest issue is completely blown out of proportions, resulting in personal insults and attacks. most gaming forums these days are a venomous and unhealthy environment. i find it funny that gamers are wondering why developers interact with forum users so rarely...

maybe so. but for 10 years the RTS community screamed for a SC2 that was basically a SC1 with better graphics. Blizzard delivered. the game's got excellent ratings and it has since become the number one RTS in e-Sports, so don't tell me Blizzard didn't do right.

apparently, most gamers AREN'T tired, or the games in question wouldn't sell. yet they do. hmm.

there are plenty of new brands all the time. problem is that they often don't work out. why? because the "fans" that have demanded them don't actually buy them. remember Mirror's Edge? it flopped while Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3 became bestsellers.

what about Enslaved on the consoles? nobody bought into that new IP.

everybody likes something new once in a while. but some people act like PC gaming used to be about innovation all the time, which is simply not true. of course we REMEMBER the more innovative titles best. but the ratio innovation-sequels hasn't really changed at all.

Oh, I don't blame Kotick and his clones. He most probably is doing what he has to, increasing benefits. That's his job, fair enough. However, you can't appeal to all people on the planet, by taking some decisions you satisfy some people while you alienate others. When he says stuff like "gamers care only about the game, not about the conditions it was developed and how the team is treated" you may increase your profits but you also lose all support from people who do care about those other things, such as myself. When they sell the same game again with a 2 behind and still do well, they have my heartfelt congratulations on a successfull business. So long as I'm not forced to buy it, they can do whatever they want.

I just expect them to realize this is a trade off, and hope it ulitmately turns out good for gaming. But I myself am never buying a Call of Duty and will think twice before buying another activision game again. It damn better be a great game, because I'm not supporting a mediocre game from them anymore. By this I mean that while I don't wish them any harm, next time I'm not going to buy (even less pre-order!) a prototype 2 if it's the same thing as prototype 1 with a less likeable main character.

I'm not much of an internet person. I won't go to forums to complain, and this is not intended as such. When a company disenchants me, I just suck it up and don't buy their next game. Simple as that.

I so hope GoGdotcom will be a major publisher for games of all platforms. (In less than 20 years).

Well if you actually want an answer, consider following: A person who dislikes something is much more likely to voice his opinion than the one who is satisfied. That's just how humans work I guess.

The only thing I play StarCraft for is the Story.....which sadly is on my list of games whos ending is gonna to be ruined along with Half Life and Assassin's Creed.
When oh when will there be a day where they make a new Band of Brothers and Apocolypes Now esque Military FPS, heck I want story like that in games like Arma and Rainbow Six gameplay wise.

Just felt like bumping if anyone got something new or more to say or for people to watch the vids I posted on the OP.

I was thinking the same thing. There is always a very vocal minority screaming about something. Meantime the rest of the world gets on with their business without being bothered. In keeping with this as Fred_DM mentioned, despite the whining the games sell quite well. The Call of Duty series is an excellent example of this. Constant bitching and moaning on forums, fantastic sales at retail. That makes pretty clear what the majority of paying purchasers really think.

As for negativity on Internet forums about gaming or anything else for that matter. It is nothing new by any means. To this day I am sure the flaming and carrying on continues full swing for the Usenet faithful. The anonymity of the Internet really brings out the worst in some folks without question. They have quite a lot to say when there are zero repercussions to worry about.

By the way, I enjoyed the video about EverQuest. Thanks for posting that link. :D

I think the masses dictate on both sides. The mob has always been nasty. I think our societies became much more dystopian and treacherous in the last years. You have to deal with a lot of criminal and corrupt scum. I can't prove if it has gotten worse over the decades, because I didn't work in the 80s. Maybe it's the age of the people in charge or a lack of resources.

I think the companies employed a lot of people, which don't understand the original ideas of the founders, don't have their intellect and don't care.

This is the reason I don't like the future of mainstream gaming:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/6755-Breaking-the-Bones-of-Business?utm_source=latest&utm_medium=index_carousel&utm_campaign=all