What E3 teaches us about gaming....Less is less

I don't know when it happened or how we allowed it but somehow gamers have bought into overpaying for unfinished games.  Then they go on paying for the privilege of finishing them with extra DLC.

It's not that I think games should be free, on the contrary, I'm a strong believer in getting what you pay for.  Which is exactly the problem.  What does a $60 to $100 pre-order on a triple-A title get you these days anyway?

Usually crashed servers on launch day and a pitch to spend more money to get the "exclusive" content that really should have been there in the first place.

Take the E3 showstoppers Star Wars: Battlefront and Fallout 4. 

In the old days ( 10 years ago ) you'd buy these titles and have a fully fleshed out game that you could enjoy for months even years depending on your gaming habits.

I remember the original Battlefront games back when Disney and EA had little to do with them.  They felt a lot like Battlefield 1942 but were set in the Star Wars universe.  That was cool and you didn't have to worry about Internet connections, DLC or any of the other ancillary crap that is gaming these days.

Developers and publishers will lament their increased costs ( while they lay off staff ) and difficulty in producing cutting edge games ( that usually look like something from 2009.)  

Don't get me wrong, the new Battlefront looks great on the surface.  Thing is it's biased toward multiplayer and of course all the extra "paid" crap that lets you ruin everyone else's experience with upgraded weapons and unlocks. 

The E3 video showed a player going from ground assaults to air attacks and heavy armor ( AT-AT's) within a few minutes.

Oh! If only it were true but we all know better.  

C'mon folks, do you really believe with the history of Battlefield multiplayer games ( and Battlefront is one ) that you're going to spending your time doing anything but dying repeatedly on some map?  
Here's the most likely scenario...

You buy the game, install it, try to connect to the servers only to find an annoying message about "error 34" or some  such  nonsense.  Wait another 8 hours, finally get a server and the game bluescreens your PC.  A week later, EA shoves out an emergency patch that effectively cripples half the game. 

Hey! they'll get around to it but right now the devs are busy working on the DLC!

Another week or two goes by and things are settling in.  Now that everyone's got their bearings we start falling into our respective pecking orders.  Premium subs get all the goodies and make everyone else's lives hell who chose to actually pay their light bill this month or couldn't get daddy's credit card.

The only people getting to ride on AT-AT's are the insane OCD types who've already got 100 hours of game time in within 3 days of launch.

Forget about going up against Luke or Vader.  At least the cutscenes were cool...

Gee, that sounds like fun.

Hey if you like to be treated like that, I have some medieval torture devices that should really get ya' goin'!

Oh yeah, there'll be a single player but it's based on the multiplayer experience and so is the "co-op" which is really just a survival/wave game mode.  In other words, not really single player or Co-op unless you think co-op is whatever the hell Call of Duty games have been vomitting up lately.  

I wonder if they'll release the Zombie Stormtrooper DLC maps for Halloween...

It's FREAKIN' STAR WARS!  Where's the damned story!  The freakin' game is launching within weeks of Star Wars 7 and the only tie-in is a stupid desert map with a crashed Star Destroyer!

But enough about Battlefield Star Wars....

There's another E3 darling, Fallout 4.  Yeah, it looks better than its predecessors but not by much.  Yay! you can craft stuff (like Skyrim) and wander all over an "open" world ( like Skyrim) and you can have a dog! ( like Call of Duty )

It's already got a free companion game for your iPhone ( freemium of course) and you can buy a real life Pip Boy to clamp on your arm and update your stats while you worsen your carpal tunnel from all that walking you have to do in the game.

To be fair, I know Bethesda will put out a Fallout title that is largely self contained but you just know that they're going to milk it for all its worth.  Meaning there's going to be DLC and things you just can't do unless you pony up some more cash.

The point is neither of these games is worth $60.  Neither are the overpriced DLC and tacky toys that are inevitably going to come with them.

Honestly, I've had more fun with Path of Exile and my "old" games than anything that's tried to assault my wallet in the past 5 years.  We're getting less and less but being told it's more. 

The only "more" about it is what you're paying just to get what you "thought" you were paying for the first time around.

I'd rather EA, Activision and Valve went broke than allow this abusive business model to continue.  Games are supposed to be fun but that's becoming harder and harder as we get less and less for our hard earned money.

Here's another thing, if you keep paying $60, $80 or even $200 for a new game you have no right to bitch when your shiny new game keeps crashing your PC or blowing up your console.  Paying these guys more money doesn't make them work any harder or care about your problems.  They'll just use it to produce a dozen cutscene videos of their latest overpriced DLC and ignore you.

I'm on the soapbox again but screw it.  Wake the hell up!  Don't buy any of these titles on Pre-Order or anything near full price.  Besides, you just know they'll be half price a year from now anyway.  Unless your misplaced narcissism won't allow you to be late to the party, you're better off taking the savings and buying some extra pizza and beer.

They'll last longer than these games anyway.