Video Games Are Like A Bag Of Chips!?!

No, I don't mean "you can't eat just one".

I can fondly recall, when I was just a wee lad of about 5 years of age, getting excited as I put my hard earned and long saved change into a vending machine for a bad of chips. As I pulled the top apart, chips would just fly out all over the place. The bag was filled to overflowing with potato chips. Those were the good ol' days. Where you actually...well...got your money's worth. Flash forward to being a crotchety old fart. Last week I repeated the steps of my childhood. My long saved, hard earned cash in hand (yeah...change won't do it anymore), I approached a vending machine. Sure, it wasn't the same one, but I had the same expectations as I opened my bag. I ripped the bag open, mostly because I was starving at the time, and the only thing that came out was the sound of "vacuum packed freshness" or what us normal people call AIR!!! I reached into the bag, expecting to at least feel some chips that I could grab. To my surprise, it took me until the middle of the bag to actually feel one. I ate the chips because I was hungry, but I lamented the loss of my innocent childhood and my long lost bag of chips that used to be filled to the brim.

Okay...a bit melodramatic I know. Had it been that long since I ate a bag of chips? Of course not, but what better way to illustrate a point than a little nostalgia. So, you're asking yourself, "What does this have to do with video games"?

Here's my point. There was a time when games were just that.games. You got what you paid for, much like my long lost FULL bag of chips. But, over time, the greedy overlords of our industry have decided that we were getting too much for our money. So, they began to cut content and sell it to us as something of value. The "vacuum packed freshness" of our industry is the incessant need to give us predetermined DLC, Microtransactions, and "value added" services...for a price. We have all become acquainted with DLC tactics. I am not saying that ALL DLC is bad. I don't mind DLC that adds to an already established story or another character that wasn't explored in the primary narrative. I'm talking about cutting weapons, maps, characters, plot points, etc. out of games and then offering them as bonus content for pre-orders or simply selling them as some sort of "valuable" extras. Also, I don't think that microtransactions are inherently bad. Often times they are just cosmetic options or things that don't impact the progress within the game. The ones that ARE bad are the ones where you can pay to boost attributes. Basically, they are the pay-to-win strategies. Not all "value" services are bad. PS+ has proven to be great for people that have been entrenched in the Playstation ecosystem for awhile, offering loads of goodies for the term of the subscription. Xbox Live presented value for those that wanted a unified social experience on Xbox consoles. The removal of a paywall to other subscriptions and the addition of Games with Gold have made this an even more enticing value. However, there is still the slippery slope that we must look at with these services. We pay to access something that we already pay for... the internet. The Terms of Service agreements always have disclaimers about the "rights" that can be taken away even though we pay for these services. I am not suggesting that there are too many other viable options right now, aside from ditching Sony and Microsoft for the WiiU or a PC. (which is not a negative) I am just seeing the slope that we have begun to slide down. Currently, we have some new "value added" services in PSNow and EA Access. They are very different in their nature, but their intent is plain...to attempt to add value. But, is it REAL value or perceived? EA has already stated that there will be no demo of its "acclaimed" Madden series this year, only early access through its service and for only 6 hours. When did demos become a premium thing? Oh...when they realized that they could make money off of it. PSNow, though in beta, offers some good things and some arguable prices. It's almost as though they took a time machine back to the early 90's, walked in to a Blockbuster store, and said "well, that's what they charge!?!" Then, publishers decided that it's 2014 and they want MORE!!! I understand that this service, as much as EA Access, is evolving in nature. But, what they will evolve into we don't know and frankly we have very little control over. The very history that I pointed out says that we either get on board or we get less value for the same purchases.

I get it. Not everybody has these thoughts. Maybe I am being paranoid? (insert tin foil hat jokes here!!!) Some probably see me as "ENTITLED". But, that is far from the case that I am trying to state. I just see that our industry is slowly stripping the actual value from our games and replacing it with filler. It appears to be full. In fact, it appears to be ADDED value. When, in actuality, it's just something that should have and could have been in the game or offered free. I am well aware that these are businesses and that these services are optional. Well, so was DLC...until every game that came out offered it. Season passes, now more a thing of the past (thank whoever or whatever!!!), asked you to pay to access a part of the game that THEY thought should be paid for just because you decided to buy used. They were pretty much a "forced thing". We didn't have the option of paying less to get just the single player content. Microtransactions started out as innocuous as clothing options. It has since morphed into a viable strategy to get better at a game...without playing said game. That brings me to these new services. They could be a flash in the pan, one and done, type thing. However, knowing big business, they could morph into the go-to strategy to coax gamers into eventually subscribing to each and every large publisher just to have access to content that should probably be available for free. Demos, beta access, pre-order incentives, DLC, even entire games could be hidden behind these new paywalls as they chase the money in an industry that is absolutely brimming with cash. If you are a multi-billion dollar publisher and you are NOT making money in one of the fastest growing industries right now, then YOU are doing something wrong. It is NOT on consumers to pad your revenue. It's up to the business to provide ACTUAL VALUE for their revenue.

How about we go back to a simpler time? A time when you could buy something and, low and behold, you actually got what you paid for. I know this is partially the nostalgia of a time gone by. But, that doesn't mean that I have to accept that, these days, I don't get what I pay for. Nope!!! I will be stubborn and obstinate at every turn to make sure that when something says VALUE, it's not a one -sided proposition in favor of THEM!!! Those that present that value will be rewarded with my hard earned, long saved money. Maybe...just maybe...one day I'll open another bag of potato chips and instead of getting the sound of "vacuum packed freshness" I will again get the fullness of a bag filled to the brim with actual potato chips. Is that really too much to ask??? Perhaps I should just call out the guys with the white coats to cart me off to a cozy, padded cell where I can be alone with my specially made jacket that makes me hug myself? Then, I can repeat my childhood ritual with my imaginary bag of chips expecting for something to change. Isn't that the very definition of insanity!?!? OR, is it just as insane to fool myself into thinking that I am actually getting value instead of "vacuum packed freshness"? (read: AIR)