The negative trends that defined this generation

How the platform owners and game publishers approach the next generation in the face of the steady rise of tablet and smartphone gaming will be interesting to see. While we may argue that consoles and tablets cater to different audiences and that there’s enough room for both, Sony and Microsoft will still need to adapt to consumer demands and expectations, which have changed drastically since 2006.

However, it’s not just the walled gardens built up by the console makers that are at fault here. Game publishers will also have to take their share of the blame, particularly with the way some of them have approached their PC games.

One step in the right direction would be to undo, or at least minimise, the effects of some of the unhealthy and anti-consumer trends that have punctuated this generation.

[majiebeast]

Dlc,timed dlc,exclusive dlc,exclusive retailer dlc,regional dlc,season pass.

I was the most pissed about dlc with Arkham city i bought the collectors edition thinking surely this would get me all the costume dlc. Damn was i wrong.

[Gaming101]

lol it's just a money issue, you're always going to have publishers looking for ways to make more money.

I for one was ecstatic about Arkham City's costume DLC, since each costume was exclusive to a particular retail outlet, and I wasn't planning on buying the game from any of them, I managed to snag them all up at once... WINNING!!!

[FRAKISTAN]

for me its timed dlc,exclusive dlc,exclusive retailer dlc,regional dlc,shortcut bundles,on the other hand standard dlc which expands on the game and which was not cut from the original game itself to be sold as dlc is great and should be done.

as for season pass if the dlc matches the above description than a season pass can save you some dough

[Rageanitus]

1)DLC
2)Cannot access basic things like Netflix on basic Xbox live service
3)HD consoles doing native sub hd resolution on many of the games
4)Online Pass
5)Faulty xbox Hardware and brainwashed many ppl thinking it was OK
6) Time exclusives

IMO MS had the most impact in these negative trends,

[DragonKnight]

Things that MS have done or introduced that are anti-consumer this gen (I'll probably miss some).

Xbox Live Gold: Ridiculously anti-consumer. A service that locks out half of a game's content behind a pay wall and still shoves ads in your face.

Microtransactions: MS introduced them to consoles.

Proprietary, essential accessories not built into the console: Wi-Fi, Harddrive, HDMI. These things were either not present in the Xbox until just recently, or were available at far too great a cost.

RRoD: Self-Explanatory.

Granted they aren't the only ones guilty of introducing terrible practices. EA, Ubisoft, Capcom, Activision, the list goes on.

[MariaHelFutura]

Too many to even bother listing.

[kevnb]

games that pretty much play them self as you watch... ugh

[delboy]

lol you're right, in some games you just can't die even if you try to.
That's the price we pay for gaming gone mainstream.
And all the DLC and stuff mentioned above...I don't want to think about it, because it somehow puts me of of gaming and next gen.

[CaulkSlap]

The general homogenizing and dumbing down of everything into an action game with a checklist of generic gameplay features. RPG elements get stripped down. Multiplayer gets shoe-horned in. Survival horror isn't even a thing anymore. So many games try to appeal to everyone and end up losing appeal to anyone.

And of course DRM, DLC, annual sequels, controller gimmicks, etc.

[Kyosuke_Sanada]

The death of split screen and patches which I understand in multiplayer titles but single player as well. Don't let me started on a-hole developers in companies who think they can say anything about consumers and get away it. However they usually do when they introduce great graphics in the equation....

[BitbyDeath]

Season pass, where not all DLC are included within.
Looking at you Borderlands :-(

[ziggurcat]

the worst trend, frankly, is the *****ing and moaning about game endings, character models, and cover art.

[csreynolds]

Timed/exclusive/regional/on-di sc DLC, season passes, online passes, micro-transactions, day-one patches, complaints about game endings/cover art... need I continue?