I have been considering this issue for some time and I wish to get it
off of my chest. I see this as not only a moral issue, but a social
justice issue.
One thing we can all agree on is that most
members here are reasonable and honest people, and are also people who
believe that people should be treated fairly and equitably for their
contribution to the site and the community.
N4G over the
years has grown into a incredibly prosperous and successful site, This
is due to the excellent work of the community which brings forth the
content that drives the visitation to the site every day, and it is
well known that this site now makes hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in advertising revenue for its owners and the staff and contributors.
How is this revenue created? it is created entirely by the labour and
efforts of the contributors of this site. Without the contributor
class, this site would not gain the wealth or the popularity that it
gains today. This site would be dead in the water, and so would be the
few people who are really profiting off of this site.
But
who is the driving source of this revenue? it is not the owners of the
site and its staff, who's efforts in the past few years have been
comparitively miniscule to the top 10 contributers who have contributed
countless tens of thousands of articles and kept this site alive and
breathing with content, controversy and debate which has only lined the
coffers of the elite and ruling classes of N4G.
It is a
simple fact of life that labour is the source of all wealth and that
this is certainly clear on N4G which solely relies on contributors to
earn its bread and butter.
So why is it when the site is
earning over $1000 a day that contributors like Bloodmask, Skynidas and
Cyrus only get paid a few hundred dollars a month?? if the site earned
$30,000 in revenue a month, and lets say $20,000 of it was profit, why
is it that the contributors are only actually earning 5% of revenues
while the elite on N4G get to have the 95%??
Why is is
that these members who have contributed hundreds of thousands of
dollars and tens of thousands of hours of labour to this site, much
more time than the staff and elite on N4G who actually profit off of
their labour do not get paid more and aren't allowed to have a bigger
role and say in the site?? the way that these members are treated and
then shunned from being allowed to have a more prominent role and more
power in the community while gladly accepting the revenue they earn for
you is frankly disgusting.
A comparable analogy would be
the serfs of feudal times who had worked hard to produce a successful
harvest had the landlord come along once a month and take 95% of their
crops away from them, only allowing them to continue on subsistence
level and not allowing them any rights or any power over their own
affairs.
This has gotten to a point where it is
disgusting, far worse than the type of capitalist exploitaiton we see
in countries like China.
I don't expect the elite
who run this site to ever give up all their money and profit that they
have earned from people like Bloodmask and Skynidas over the years, or
even to give up the majority of it. To think that they would is
laughable as it has never been in the power of the ruling classes to
ever give up what is fair.
But what is reasonable is that
if these contributors actually earned more money every month for their
hard work than what they are earning now. It would be fair to see their
compensation double at least (in my opinion it should quadruple) as
this is what they deserve for continuing to keep N4G alive and
successful.
Furthermore, these people deserve more rights
and status in the community. It is sad that they are continually
exploited, looked over and ignored by the staff on this site for simple
things like moderation of the main site or of the forums, or some
greater editorial role in ensuring that quality news stories are
created every day.
This doesn't really concern me since I
don't earn a cent from contributing or from this site, but I do have a
conscience and this is an issue I really have to speak out on.
This can't continue, these people deserve more.
Lately, a number of notorious difficult ARPGs have added difficulty options. Is that a good thing or does it ruin the experience?
As long as it is just an option, it is totally okay, but it's also OKAAAAY! To simply ignore that option.
Long as fromsoft never does it. This was only expected since the soulslike genre is so popular now.
Stuff like this really shows that people completely missed the point of that argument. The argument was never that souls likes shouldn't have a difficulty option. The argument was that if someone makes a game, particularly souls likes, that did not want to include difficulty options, that you should just respect that instead of demanding and berating the developers to add them.
I see the lack of difficulty settings as one of the key traits that defines a Soulslike. It’s not just about being challenging. It’s about how the game is built around that challenge, expecting you to learn through failure and grow by mastering its systems. Once you introduce difficulty options, you’re changing that foundation. You’re giving players a way around the intended experience, actually you are killing the whole idea of a "intended experience".
That doesn’t make the game worse, necessarily, but at that point, it’s just not a Soulslike anymore. It's a action RPG.
The Soulslike genre is a lot more than just 'hard' games. There is so much more to it than that.
In most cases, for a genre to be successful, there must be multiple entries in that genre from different franchises, some easier and some more difficult. The Soulslike genre has grown impressively well so far with most of the games being on the difficult end of the scale.
The other aspect to consider is WHAT makes Soulslike games hard. In the best examples, it isn't just because the bosses and enemies are engineered to be difficult, but because the entire gameplay (from the hard-to-master combat, to the labyrinthine levels, to the additional punishment for dying) is geared towards creating a world that seems to be trying to prevent you from making progress. Beating a boss isn't the only thing that makes you feel as though you've progressed in a Soulslike - finding a shortcut, a particular item, or learning how to defeat a particular enemy type are all forms of progression.
An 'easier' game can still exist with all those elements.
IGN: Microsoft has announced a collaboration with AMD for the next Xbox console - which sounds a lot like a gaming PC.
I think what most are struggling with is the concept of a console that is NOT a closed platform.
An open one. You're used to being locked in.
Exactly. If I can run Steam, Epic, and GOG, as well, it will be interesting to see and consider getting one. My first branded Xbox since 360.
Saying, “working closely with the Windows team to make Windows the number one gaming platform.” is not the same as saying the console is going to play PC games.
If they are telling you they are making a console and all this other stuff, why not just say the console is going to support PC? Why play coy about it?
To me it seems like more of a reply to the fact that they have a Rog Ally that they are trying to sell but has terrible performance because of Windows 11 and they are simply trying to convince people to buy it.
In an embarrassment for Microsoft, SteamOS seems to destroy Windows 11 on gaming performance and battery life, as well as usability
https://www.windowscentral....
Every generation people say Xbox is going to play PC games then it doe
This is what I thought as well. They haven't made it entirely clear if this is going to be PC like console.
If it is, how are they going to pull it off? Will they still charge for online? What about censorship? Last time I checked Microsoft doesn't even like having curvy women in thier games, so what are they going to do about the adult content on steam?
This thing isn't going to be a true Xbox, and its also rumored to cost more than $1000.
As opposed to "open platform", it´s gonna be *more open* instead. That´s the main difference that some people still don´t realized.
The Xbox Next will continue and be your conventional home console. However it that will bring a revolutionary innovation to console market by bridge the gap and blur the line between console and PC gaming.
Literally the best of both worlds!
Square Enix has been expanding its multiplatform releases, including Final Fantasy XVI. A port for the Nintendo Switch 2 may be on the menu.
You should probably clarify a bit as you did on the forums. The staff aren't really involved in this like it is made out to be, but more so who owns the site, or as you say, "elite". To my knowledge, even the admins don't get paid nearly as much of the money you are suggesting either, and of course as said before the mods do not (which unlike contributors haven't been hired like mods/admins have).
As for your suggestion of upping the prize that probably could be done (I don't know how much though) and also simply because the site has grown since the contests were first implemented. There are certiantly good reasons to up the prize too. That could also be part of the elusive site update which is supposed to bring about a lot of improvements (I have no idea of when that will actually occur unfortunately).
At the end of the day though it is their site, and it is their money. However simply suggesting upping the to prizes isn't anything unreasonable either.
One has to ask why is N4G still in 'beta' after all these years and why the site's updates have stagnated. It seems that those who are in power over N4G are more than happy to continue to exploit the efforts of the contributors and get rich from it instead of actually putting in some more much needed effort themselves to ensure that this site is the best that it can be.
If they are taking the Lions Share of the revenue we as a community should be expecting more from them on improving the site and making it even more successful.
Those who really have profited from this site obviously are not working as much as they should be and instead are using the contributor's labour to pay their way in life.
"So why is it when the site is earning over $1000 a day that contributors like Bloodmask, Skynidas and Cyrus only get paid a few hundred dollars a month??"
Is that seriously how much they get paid for all their work? Wow!
You wonder though are any of the top contributors linked to the owners/admins of this site(family,friends, co-workers, classmates).
Don't agree with Zhuk to often,but he doe's make a very valid point.