I was fortunate enough to be able to get on the game last night, created a private region and plopped a couple of cities down. I've got to say that if the game works, it is a highly immersive experience. Is it perfect? No - you won't be able to create your own terrain and the city size is a bother, but nonetheless if you work around these limitations you can have a very good time. No game that gets a 5/10 on GameSpot - well at least the GameSpot I once knew - would hold my interest for anywhere near this long. I say to all those frustrated with the online experience to just be patient and not to give up -- I mean if you're fed up with this, vowing for a refund - just where are you going to go? It's not like there's any other games like this. Just be glad you're not one of those poor folk working on EA's servers, can you imagine how much overtime you would have to be working right now?
This is a rather sobering article to "have" to read, and after spending a good while thinking of how I was going to comment - all I have to say is this: at the end of the day, your amount of XP gain, your level, by itself, is just a number without intrinsic value. It only means something when it can actually show off how good you are. Back when console shooters were highly respected - such as Call of Duty 4, Red Dead Redemption, it was a real badge of honor to be at the high prestiges. But when you go for such high levels in a more stigmatized game such as Modern Warfare 3, that coolness factor wears off big time, and that's where you need to realize you need a life. And since it's looking more and more likely by the day that this game is in that "stigma" category, you the season pass purchaser will quickly find out just how much better off you really are reaching max level in a game no one cares about.
I would hardly call this a repeat of the 1983 crash -- but not for the better. In 1983, the industry was dead but us consumers did not really feel any effects from it. Today, games feel stale for us consumers tired of the same shtick every year but developers keep making money milking cash cows.
That said, games made for smartphones and tablets can never come close to matching the replay value of a $60 console or PC game, especially free ones. They just simply are not designed for engaging us anywhere near as much - handheld games have and always will be made for just that - games on the go.
Stigmatize Call of Duty all you want, but games like GTA V, Watchdogs, to name a few, are going to be big players in proving that gaming is not dead. Since those hit games usually pass the Nintendo consoles by I wouldn't be surprised to see the WiiU go the way of the Dreamcast, Cliff has a good point in mentioning that.
Couldn't wait just one more month, eh? Guess what - you pirates are getting ZERO sympathy from me! ZERO! I hope that lifetime Xbox LIVE ban is levvied on you! I hope that whatever you do to evade the ban (which will likely include your console's MAC address as well as your external/internal IP addresses) backfires as well. Attempt to change your ISP and buy a new Xbox 360? They'll keep tabs on your existing information and will be informed if that happens. Then they'll report you to your ISP and there will be NO INTERNET in your house again. Try to move? They'll find you, ban you, and most of all - SUE YOU. Microsoft's wallet is bottomless, they will go to any length just to keep you guys off LIVE. And just maybe they'll alert Sony just in case you decide to join PlayStation.
What about the great collapse in Winterhold? Do you, the geologist, think that the College was behind it, or was it a distinct geologic phenomena that caused it? My thinking is that most of that town was built on a snow bridge that eventually gave way, where as the surviving portions of the town and the college were built on hard soil.
@svaubel If gamers feel that this game is going to be as stale as MW3, boycotts could be organized, people will join them, the game won't make a profit. Activision will learn its lesson with the money lost and so will many developers.
It was pretty much inevitable... it was getting too long without a firm release date for it to have come out in spring. At least now we have closure, and a specific date to look forward to.
So stoked for GTA V... but it's getting just a little bit close without a firm release date. Hate to break it, but from a sales/profit standpoint the focus is right now on BioShock Infinite - releasing GTA V too close to then could hurt sales -- very important considering the astronomical development costs associated with these games.
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