Bargains That Gamers Really Want

Kubinator

July 18, 2010

hat Do Gamers Really Want? Do they want the latest technology? More 3D? Motion controls for every game? Cheaper games? All of these are good ideas, but as gamers we've got other things on our minds.

The number one item on our list of demands is the ability to "get our money's worth!" If we pay for a $60 game, we should get $60 worth of content! Ten or fifteen years ago, most gamers like myself felt that if we paid $60 for a game, we got at least that much value in game content. Today, gamers have to contend with games that are a mere six to eight hours long, and may or may not include multiplayer. Unless the game is successful, like Modern Warfare 2 or Halo 3, most games' multiplayer options dry up within a few months. When was the last time you paid full price for a game and got several months of game play out of it? I'm not talking about beating the game several different times or playing the same single player story through multiplayer. For the most part, outside of RPGs and a few MMORPGs, most game companies are no longer developing games to keep gamers locked in their basements for months on end. As a gamer, I miss the days of Chrono Trigger, and Final Fantasy VII.

ps3_bargains_needed (12K) What else do we want? I know gamers echo my thoughts when I say I don't want same-day downloadable content. Same day DLC shows gamers the publisher is lazy and greedy. They couldn't include the DLC on the game disc? Players are forced to deal with lame excuses from the developer such as they couldn't fit the content on the disc or they forgot about it. All the while, gamers are forced to fork over $15 for an extra level, or costumes, or other content that is most likely irrelevant to the main game. Why should we have to pay for it in the first place? Back in the day, when I was a PC gamer and worshipped Half-Life, most of the DLC was free.

What about price drops? Not all of us are rich and can afford every big game; most of us game on a budget. Some game companies in this generation like Nintendo will never drop the price of their AAA games. Hello!? It's been four years and I am not going to pay $60 for the first Mario Galaxy. Gamers once and while may catch a break when a well-reviewed game just does not sell well, but those kinds of bargains don't come along often enough.

How about cranking out sequel after sequel to a best-selling game? Gamers don't mind sequels, but let's be honest. Companies crank out sequels year after year with new characters, new rosters, or new features, which are there to make money, not to meet gamers' needs. Gamers already know about the yearly release of Madden and NBA Live, but should they be worried about a yearly Call of Duty release; will a new location and new theme deliver enough content to justify a $60 purchase?

Multi-platform games with exclusives are another item we can do without. Just because the Xbox 360 has this feature in their game and the PS3 has that in theirs, what gives? There is no middle ground, no bargain, gamers' can't have their cake and eat it too. In end, this requires gamers who want everything to buy multiple copies of games.

As gamers, here is a list of our demands: at least $40 worth of $60 worth of content, excluding multiplayer; free DLC; an end to console exclusives for multi platform releases.

As gamers, we need not be idle. Let our dollars speak for what it is we want. Buy games from companies who listen to us!