Four Video Game Industry Trends That Need To Change

I have been playing video games since I was 10 years old, and have watched the industry grow and evolve from an entertaining hobby to a full-blown multi-billion dollar business. Games are no longer considered a "kids toy" or "nerdy"; millions of people around the world are playing games, connecting and competing online. But that does not mean that everything is smooth sailing; in reality, there are many aspects of it that remain broken or problematic. After the jump, I will discuss four of the most prominent problems facing the video game industry today, and why they need to go away.

Digital Rights Management (DRM) and “Always Online”

Like most forms of entertainment, the video games industry is plagued by rampant piracy. In an effort to put an end to theft, a lot of game companies have used a form of copy protection known as digital rights management, or DRM for short. DRM can come in many forms, most notably as CD keys, limited install activations, and persistent online authentication. While CD keys and limited installs have been commonplace for a while now, the idea of a required online connection to play games is new and rather unsettling. In 2012, Diablo 3, one of the most anticipated games of the last five years, was released for the PC and Mac. Its release was marred by a major debacle: even if you wanted to play the game by yourself, a constant Internet connection was required to play. The massive influx of gamers trying to play overloaded the game’s servers, causing the game to crash and kept it broken and unplayable for days. Games that are multiplayer focused (like World of Warcraft or Titanfall) obviously require an Internet connection to play, but games that can be played and enjoyed on your own should not require a constant Internet connection. The fact is, not everyone can have a constant and reliable Internet connection; why punish someone for not being able to afford or control a good Internet service? Most industry analysts and gamers consider alwaysonline to be bad for consumers, and I would agree on many levels with that statement. Requiring a constant Internet connection so that gamers can be “check in on” to make sure they are not stealing games is a violation of their consumer rights and personal privacy. It also renders the use of second-hand (or used) games useless; the majority of gamers, myself included, buy most games used, rent them from Redbox or GameFly, or borrow them from friends. In the end, the implementation of always online games makes it near impossible for a large number of gamers to enjoy what they love.

Gender Disparity in Gaming

This fall will see the release of Assassin’s Creed Unity, the newest game in the mega-popular Assassin’s Creed series from UbiSoft. For the first time in the series, Unity will feature 4-player cooperative play, meaning you and three friends can join forces online and play the game together. However, many female gamers were upset that the four characters available to play were all male. When asked why no female characters would be playable, UbiSoft responded, saying that creating female characters would “take a lot of extra production work”. This recent controversy once again brings up the sad truth that females are vastly underrepresented in gaming. While many games feature female characters, they are typically over-sexualized or pushed to the side, relegated to being a sidekick or a “damsel in distress”. The industry seems to think the majority of gamers are male and designs and markets games as such, but the fact is that 48% of gamers are female. More women are playing games than ever before, and it is only fair that they be represented fairly in games. Though they have been slow, there are signs that things are starting to change. A recent Forbes article states that many of the games released in 2013 featured well-written and more relatable female characters. But it is not just women who are misrepresented in gaming; LGBT characters are often omitted entirely, as are multitudes of other minorities. The fact is this: everyone plays and enjoys games, regardless of their gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation. Playing games should be an inclusive experience, where everyone who wants to play them does not feel misrepresented, forgotten, or purposefully ignored.

Early Access

Recently, PC gaming service Steam had begun selling games to players that are not entirely finished. It is a way for gamers to try out new games first while they are still being developed, regardless of how complete they are. This is not an entirely new concept, as the mega-popular game Minecraft is the biggest example of this. It was playable in various unfinished states before getting a “final” release; actually, you can argue that it is still not finished, as constant updates and changes to the game are introduced on a regular basis. But this current idea of early access is a lot different than what Minecraft did, and it is not entirely for the best. Releasing an unfinished version of a game is just a clever ruse to get more funding for the developer, tricking the gamer into paying money for an incomplete game that may or may not even see a final release. More and more game developers are cashing in on this craze, releasing deliberately unfinished games in the hopes of making a quick buck and free publicity. In response to this, a lot of early access games have been pulled from Steam, the most recent being The Stomping Land, which was pulled because the game went for months without receiving any updates or changes, indicating that the developers took the money and ran. Like most things, there are good and bad sides to early access. Love it or hate it, this does not seem like a trend that is going to disappear any time soon, as Sony has considered introducing early access games for its PlayStation consoles. Early access is not entirely a bad thing, as when done correctly, it brings gamers and developers together, sharing ideas and concepts that could make games better.

Microtransactions and Free-to-Play Games

If you are not familiar with the term, a microtransation is an online financial transaction involving a very small amount of money. Microtransactions have been around for a while, but they have become more and more commonplace in gaming as of late. They first came into prominence on the Xbox 360, where players could buy outfits and accessories for their online Xbox Love avatars. This concept was popular and caught fire quickly, and now you do not have to look far to find a new shirt, hat, weapon, or even a new and otherwise inaccessible level for sale in-game. According to the developer of the hugely popular game Candy Crush, microtransactions in games are a strong and much more profitable business model. If you are a video game company, this is fantastic. If you are a gamer, it is a misleading, unfair, and greedy way to squeeze more money out of your wallet. Sure, you do not have to pay $3.99 for a new hat or gun, but the microtransaction model is at its most devious in free-to-play games (or F2P for short), where they are almost entirely unavoidable if you want to experience the entire game. On the surface, F2P games sound fantastic, but in reality, F2P games usually keep 75% or more of the game locked behind a pay wall, forcing gamers to pay for levels, weapons/vehicles, and even more playtime. While most games released to retail sell for $60, a F2P game can cost upwards of $200 to experience it in its entirety. In the end, while microtransactions may boost industry profits, they are certainly void of any benefit to gamers.

Video games are something special. They bring excitement, stories, and experiences that no other entertainment medium can. But nothing is perfect. The four things I have listed above are problems, but ones that are easily fixed. There is a very bright future for this industry and eliminating these problems could help strengthen it and continue for many years to come.