Doea anyone else NOT like the way games are going?

Dont get me wrong,i LOVE videogames,allways have and allways will!

Im not annoyed at the amount or type of quality games coming out as the technology now is incredible compared to the PS2/XBOX era and those gameswere great anyway!

Im more concerned with the way theyre introducing games to the market in this "digital" era.

It annoying how so many great games are announced to be "download" only. Examples are Resident Evil 4 and Code Veronica HD. The original Crysis is due to be release next month but only on xbla/psn. And the new Infamous 2:Festival of Blood will be only available to download.

Im not sure about you guys but i like to collect games,i like them on my shelf with the artwork etc on a disc that i know will last years after xbox live or psn has closed down!!

This is just a way for tight devs (which ive supported since the spectrum days) to ensure they make maximum profit as they can charge what they like for each game if they have no competition from retail game shops whether its specialist or from a supermarket etc.

Im also getting sick of these "pre order" bonuses or collectors editions! I love getting the collectors editions but noone can argue that they get expensive.

Id rather they gave just physical collectible items and soundtracks with them and let all the gamers who buy the game experience the extra levels,costumes and in game extras. Not everyone can afford to get the special editions then they miss out on ingame content. Admittedly most of it is available to download soon after anyway and the quality of extra content can be pretty rubbish at times but still!

The online pass system has been causing alot of debate lately but personally i dont mind it,the way i see it is that online adds tonnes of extra hours onto a game so why not buy it new anyway and youll still get your moneys worth? Even if you wait for a price drop.

Also DLC can be really cool but its SO annoying how i buy a new game and 1 or 2 weeks later theres an extra campaign to buy online. No one can tell me that the campaign was made in 2 weeks!!! It was obviously produced along side the game and the devs then expect fans to cough up extra to complete the story and experience. Why should we if weve bought the game to support them?

In the days of the Megadrive and Snes you bought a game and that was it,end of! The industry still thrived back then without ripping the fans off. But then i guess games worked out alot mor expensive back then but do you see my point?

What do the rest of you guys think?

I completely disagree, and I've been playing video games for quite awhile. I think it's good for the developers to reduce the costs and increase their profits. I want everyone to make as much money as possible, and for us to enjoy the best prices possible. I am not a "collector", though, and I always throw away my video games boxes and everything else except for the game's DVD. I prefer DVDs over direct downloads, though, because i have a pathetic 60 gig download limit here in Canada (we have a terribly uncompetitive telecommunication industry up here which is shielded by the government regulators). But for people who live in places with unlimited bandwidth and high speed internet, direct download is the way to go.

I totally get what you are saying. Games are already super-expensive at 50 or 60 dollars. Then the collector's edition usually runs at like 70-100+ dollars which is just ridiculous for a video game. I have never and probably will never purchase one of those overpriced pieces of work. Please!

I'm the same way about my music. I do download music sometimes, but the most of my collection is in disc form, with the booklet and case. That's just the way I prefer to have it.

DD all the way...i love steam and i love d2d...u cant beat them...and i personally dont care for having a collection of game boxes and dvds thru out my room...its not big enough...plus with DD ur not limited to the size of a disk...

DLC is just an expansion pack, which has been going on for a very long time. Granted, some are way overpriced, especially the $10 ones that just give you like 4 extra maps for mp (that's you COD). Preorder bonuses are only bad if they give a significant edge for online play, other than that it's usually not that big of a bonus that would render the non-preordered version of the game useless.

Digital downloads will get annoying for a few reasons. I use wireless for my ps3, and downloading a full game takes quite some time (about 1.5 or 2 hours for infamous). Then if my system breaks I'm left wondering if this is stored in a database so I can just redownload it if I need to get a new system. I like to have a physical copy in my hands, which is 1 of the reasons I still like buying CDs (not to mention the sound quality compared to downloads). Also, if next gen is all digital then we're going to need a bigger hard drive, which gives the companies an excuse to jack up the price, even if hard drives don't cost that much, and by then they'll probably cost even less.

I totally get what you are saying. Games are already super-expensive at 50 or 60 dollars. Then the collector's edition usually runs at like 70-100+ dollars which is just ridiculous for a video game. I have never and probably will never purchase one of those overpriced pieces of work. Please!

I'm the same way about my music. I do download music sometimes, but the most of my collection is in disc form, with the booklet and case. That's just the way I prefer to have it.

darksongbird

Obviously, for a F2P game to work, you'll need to keep them playing- either to subject them to advertising, or to get them invested (read: addicted) enough to want to shell out real cash to bribe for an in-game advantage. The end result pretty much always boils down to some collection based mechanic, and you'll need to spend countless hours and real world money if you want to experience it all. Sitting in a figurative Operant Conditioning Box convincing me to spend money isn't my idea of leisure, yet if Facebook and XP based multiplayer is any indication, it definitely seems like the future.

I enjoy the benefits of digital distribution greatly, so I'm totally okay with more games being distributed that way. I don't see it taking over for at least another couple of generations, though (Internet speed standards aren't where that'd be a feasible future), so physical media won't be threatened for a long while.

The collectors edition stuff is certainly getting out of hand, I'll agree. Wish they'd all take a step back and realize just how labrythine they're becoming in some cases. Two different collectors editions along with five-hundred different ore-order bonuses is not cool.

But, honestly, I don't see anything inherently wrong with where games are going. It's not like they've gotten worse -- if anything they've gotten better. The industry's in good shape.

This whole digital distribution is good for developers because they can cut costs just doesn't wash with me.

I figure if I can walk into Target or some other store that sells movies, music, and books with a $20 bill and walk out with one copy of a wide selection of what they sell while being able to listen to it, read it, or watch it anytime I want as long as I have the hard I should be able to the same with a $50+ video game. Sites like steam prevent me from playing when I want unless they are still active.

If they can afford building size advertisements like Bethesda did for Skyrim then thier bottom line can't be to bad. Better yet, a lot of these developers can afford to have the high res 3D trailers produced. Those can't be cheap. Paying to maintain a website or advertisefor agame that is not coming out for a year or more isn't cheap either. They seem to have plenty of cash. Maybe if they were smarter on how they spend it they would not feel like each title will make or break the company.

I mostly play on the PC. For a very long time this industry has released one title after another that was unfinished or so broken almost no one could get it to run. I just don't care of they have priacy or money problems. They have been ripping us off for years.

If a developers goes under that isjust fine. It seems like a lot of time they reform as a new developer anyway. If even half the things I've heard about how buisness is handled behind the scenes is true then the best thing for some of them is to get canned. Moving to a different industry with saner hours and a better attitude towards its employees could be the best thing that ever happened to them. If sleeping in your office because of deadlines is a common thing for you then there is something wrong with you and your job.

I thought along the same lines but have noticed that there are still massive games that come along every so often, but also plenty of indie games that are sold via digital distribution for dirt cheap prices to fill the gap between the big releases. Indie/Arcade games make up most of my gaming time lately (largely due to time constraints this past year, otherwise I'd still be playing WoW) & offer such great value for money. They're like little condensed balls of awesomeness.

I'm okay with the direction the industry is going. You just need to look in the right places (I was strongly opposed to digital distribution about a year ago; now I like having big games as physical copies, while small games attached to my XBL or steam account & not having to swap disks so I can quickly swap between the smaller games).

I'm with you i don't like digital downloads i prefer to have everything on a disc.

DLC is a bugger...methods for devs to take every penny from us...though gaming xperiences now get pretty nice 2, a whole loads of games with amazing features.

I think digital copies are fine as long as they also make it available on disc and in retail stores. Believe it or not some people still do not have constant internet access or internet at all and can't go online all the time to download everything. It's not like you can go take your PS3 to the library and hook it up there and download what you need. Also, if some hacker steals your account information then there go all your paid for games and other downloads and you can't ever get them back if someone steals you account password. I prefer disc games because of this and hope that digital only downloads won't become a common practice.

Cheers for all the input guys.

I wish id have said more in my first post now but it was late last night when i typed it out (hence the dodgy typing and spelling mistakes).

Firstly i do think digital downloading games can be good and gives us chance to play the smaller games that wouldnt justify a disc release like young thor,microbot and the alien breed remakes.

Its just annoying to me how some bigger games like the ones i mentioned are be said to be download ONLY when they would justify a disc release for people who would prefer one,like me and others on this thread alone. Its just not giving us the chance to get a good deal on the game if buying new.

I do respect how some people love downloading the bigger games and thats 100% upto them but i still think choice is important.

Also i do try to support the devs whenever i can,i normally buy 12 or so new releases every year and the odd collectors edition,i know im a hypocrite. It just does annoy me when they get greedy and try to fleece us at every turn,some are worse than others though.........capcom!!!

I thought along the same lines but have noticed that there are still massive games that come along every so often, but also plenty of indie games that are sold via digital distribution for dirt cheap prices to fill the gap between the big releases. Indie/Arcade games make up most of my gaming time lately (largely due to time constraints this past year, otherwise I'd still be playing WoW) & offer such great value for money. They're like little condensed balls of awesomeness.

I'm okay with the direction the industry is going. You just need to look in the right places (I was strongly opposed to digital distribution about a year ago; now I like having big games as physical copies, while small games attached to my XBL or steam account & not having to swap disks so I can quickly swap between the smaller games).

Twin-Blade