The Jimquisition Thread

[Hero-of-Time]

I figured I would start this thread seeing as a few of us keep posting his vids in various other topics. 

This is something I've been saying for a while now. The GaaS model can't be sustained if every single publisher is going to make their games that way. People only have so much time and money and trying to keep up with all of these types of games would be an impossible task.

I look at the indie market thriving (especially on the Switch) and it's no wonder they are doing so well. Most of those games are short but fulfilling experiences that don't waste players time. With them being short games and being games that are complete, the player gets a sense of satisfaction from them because they are actually able to finish them and then move on to something else.

Things like this is why I hate the GaaS model. I want a complete game on day 1 that I know I can finish. I don't want unlockables or extra content added down the line in an effort get me to play the game again. If the game is good then I will replay it over and over. Resident Evil 2 was a recent example of this.

I was a big fan of what Jim said during the end about him talking negatively all the time. He'll keep talking about these things until they go away because the big sites (like IGN and popular YouTubers) are in the pockets of publishers and are sure as hell not going to want to touch these kinds of stories in case they ruffle the feathers of said publishers. I mean, the whole THQ fiasco and the lack of coverage from gaming sites and YouTube outlets just goes to show that they have no interest in fighting the good fight.

 

[Nicktendo]

Long live our Saviour and Lord Jim Sterling. Even though I don’t always agree with him, he’s often bang on the money, haven’t missed a show in two or so years. I feel he won’t rest until GaaS and Microtransactions are banished from the land and I’ll be cheering him on every step of the way. EA seem to be consuming themselves from the inside and it seems people are finally waking up to these ugly practices. Bring on the downfall, I say, bring it on. 

[Dcubed]

Thank God for him.  And thank God for this thread!

 

It's about time we got some good ol' fashioned fun negativity going up in 'ere!  

 

As for this week's vid? He's bang on the money.  Pubilshers have no-one to blame but themselves for stacking all of their titles together and choking the life out of them.

 

Ironically, EA tried to snuff out Apex Legends using Anthem; just like how they killed Titanfall 2 on purpose using Battlefield 1, in order to be able to buy out Respawn, yet it ended up working the other way around this time.  A lovely bit of divine justice; not so fun when it happens to you now is it EA?  

 

Time and time again, publishers are sending their games to die against each other; even where there are outright massive open gaps in the yearly schedule that their titles could slot neatly into.  And let's not even get into the massive gaping chasm that is always left on Nintendo platforms, begging to be filled by their titles...

 

They deserve everything they get.  You reap what you sow.

Edited March 4, 2019 by Dcubed

[drahkon]

Haven't watched the video, yet, but here's my two cents about the current GaaS situation (a little messy and with no real structure):

Personally, I don't mind having the opportunity to play one or two games like these. Right now Apex Legends is providing me with so much fun
Mid-march Path of Exile will be released. If it's as good as I expect it to be, there'll be two games from the GaaS sector that I will play for quite some time. 

What I like about those kinds of games is: I can play them in between other games. Fire them up for a quick round or play them for hours. Bonus: They are free.

GaaS have a right to exist. I do realize, however, that the amount of GaaS being shoved into the industry is insane. It's the worst when they are a buggy mess (e.g. Anthem, PUBG). Devs lure people in with promises like "here's what you get in the upcoming year". You know what? Why not take some more time to develop the game and offer all of this content immediately?

There is no way, GaaS will go extinct anytime soon, though. The current trend of YouTubers and Twitch streamers making videos a la "I OPEN 80000 LOOT BOXES" is what rakes in money for publishers/devs. Yes, the casual crowd slowly realizes that micro transactions need to die, but the so called "whales" are a much more powerful force right now.

DLC or real expansions are a different thing. If they are meaty enough I can get behind them. 

7 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I want a complete game on day 1 that I know I can finish. I don't want unlockables or extra content added down the line in an effort get me to play the game again.

I'm in the same boat. While I do like some "inbetweeners" as I mentioned above, a complete package is what I will always prefer. That's why I'm so in love with the PSVita. Everything on there is complete (because the Vita is now at the end of its life...).

I very much appreciate what Sony and Nintendo have done in recent times: Provide (single-player) experiences that are complete and I hope that both continue with that approach forever.

Edited March 5, 2019 by drahkon

[Hero-of-Time]

9 hours ago, drahkon said:

There is no way, GaaS will go extinct anytime soon, though. The current trend of YouTubers and Twitch streamers making videos a la "I OPEN 80000 LOOT BOXES" is what rakes in money for publishers/devs. Yes, the casual crowd slowly realizes that micro transactions need to die, but the so called "whales" are a much more powerful force right now.

To me this is one of the more baffling things about the YouTube generation. Why would you sit and watch people open loot boxes or FIFA packs for hours on end? It's nuts. 

Jim posted this video the other day and I think it's worth a look.

It's disgusting just how the practices of cutting content from games and selling it separately is so common now, especially in the fighting game space. As Jim mentions, things like extra outfits, alternative colours and new characters used to be obtained by actually playing the game and unlocking them as a reward. Now they are cut from the main game and are sold off piece by piece. The fact that these things are already available on day one is what's truly disgusting. Publishers aren't even tried to hide the fact that these things have been cut from the game. It's not just the fighting genre either. You can load up any of the digital stores on any of the consoles and see DLC that it is available to pre-order alongside the base game.

Publishers doing this should take a look at Smash Bros Ultimate and be embarrassed. Yes, the game has a season pass but the base game has an insane amount of content, music, characters and actually feels complete. Any extras that are offered in the season pass haven't been cut and held back as hostage to encourage people to invest in the pass. It's there for those who do want something more out of the game and that's how it should be.

[S.C.G]

Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse...

(although the issue isn't that widespread thankfully, but still)

Edited March 5, 2019 by S.C.G

[Sméagol]

On 04/03/2019 at 6:27 PM, Nicktendo said:

 Even though I don’t always agree with him, 

I don't like his style much, but I almost always do agree with him. If I don't, it's a minor point that doesn't detract from the overall point he's making. For that alone I wish he had actually had some influence on both big publishers and the idiots who keep buying their games, and their dlc etc. But so far it's apparent he barely has any, no matter how good his points are. I genuinely think his videos are important for the gaming industry. Hopefully slowly things will improve, with some countries adjusting their laws to control lootboxes for example. For now, the one thing that needs to happen, is the rise of the AA studios. I think that would be the major positive development that this business needs. 

Edit:

Also here's a recent penny-arcade comic that Jim would agree with:

Edited March 5, 2019 by Sméagol

[Hero-of-Time]

13 hours ago, S.C.G said:

Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse...

I knew Jim would tackle this when the issue popped up the other day.  

One of my mates got Anthem as a gift from his sister and I warned him about this as he has the limited edition Spider-man model. Luckily nothing as bad as some of the examples have happened to him but he mentioned the game has kicked him to the dashboard a couple of times now.

[Dcubed]

I know we’re beating a dead horse with Anthem at this point; but by God is it all really funny.

 

You honestly couldn’t make this up!

[sumo73]

One thing that we can all agree to here is that we love video games but the industry as a whole is something that shouldn't be above due 'constructive criticism' where needed (loot boxes and micro-transactions). I was recently told that video games where cheaper and better than ever before but if that's completely true why does Jim Sterling exist?

I do watch his 'videyos' from time to time, I don't agree with everything he says and he is hyperbolic with pouring of the theatrical but he does make good points. Long live Jim Sterling. 

"Listen to me or don't. After all who am?, I but one man, one man with his own web shows logo sewn into the lining of his custom suit, what!" - Jim Sterling.

[bob]

I was recently told that video games where cheaper and better than ever before but if that's completely true why does Jim Sterling exist?

You make him sound like some sort of consumer genie who is only willed into existence when games start getting too expensive.

[sumo73]

2 hours ago, bob said:

 

 

You make him sound like some sort of consumer genie who is only willed into existence when games start getting too expensive.
 

 

Jim might think he is a consumer genie but I don't. However he was around on the Escapist long before loot boxes, micro transactions, season passes and other things which have pushed the prices of some games up came out. He has seen the industry change and he is against some of the poorer practices now being pushed customers ways. 

As I said I don't agree with him on everything and he is hyperbolic with a touch of theatrics added in. He is Jim after all.

Edited March 8, 2019 by sumo73

[Aperson]

I find the guy a bit arrogant and full of himself to be honest. He makes some good points but then when he goes and gloats about it he becomes that guy who you begrudingly have to agree with in spite of not really wanting to.

 

Yet, in spite of this I still end up watching a fair amount of his news videos... I suppose he is one of the most qualified people ever to be a "game critic".

[S.C.G]

 

[S.C.G]

Here it is, Jim's "1,000th" video about Anthem.

[S.C.G]

Ubisoft is not political, you heard it here first.

[Dcubed]

Jim's right on the money here (again!).  These companies want to be able to exploit political themes, but are too scared of the backlash to be able to publicly commit to them...

 

As much as we like to think that it's because of their stupidity... truth is that it's actually the opposite... These publishers know exactly what they're doing...

 

The problem here is that these publishers know that a substantial portion of their target audience are alt-right white supremacists, racists and misogynists; predominantly disenfranchised young white male people who believe all of the right-wing propaganda that is absolutely flooding social media.  And they're far too afraid of potentially losing the sales that come from them... Just look at what happened with Battlefield 5 when they dared to ruffle their feathers...

 

Western publishers are leaning more and more towards them too... that intro to Division 2 is absolutely disgusting! It's basically a straight up NRA advert!  And let's not even get into anything surrounding THQ Nordic...

 

But that's ok... they're not making a political statement guys! Honest!

Edited March 18, 2019 by Dcubed

[S.C.G]

Well the goodwill surrounding Apex Legends doesn't look like it's going to last much longer.

Crucially though, it's OK because Respawn have said that "it's not a roadmap" so it will probably be fine.

[S.C.G]

Well, the Epic Store seems to be doing OK... but at what long-term cost? (if any)

[S.C.G]

EA doing what it does best... laying off its employees and then trying to make it sound like it's not that big of a deal.

It's a toss-up beteen EA and Activision to see which is the worst company out of the two at the minute, it would seem.

Between them, they're making Ubisoft seem like the lesser of three evils, by quite some margin.

I can remember when all three of these companies had pretty decent track records and reputations to uphold.

Now though, nothing really surprises me from the big "players" in the "AAA" games industry.

 

[S.C.G]

Apparently Anthem has problems...

...first I've heard of it.

Edited March 29, 2019 by S.C.G

[Dcubed]

This latest fucknugget is absolutely riotously funny! Far more entertaining than the actual games themselves!

[S.C.G]

 

[Hero-of-Time]

On 4/1/2019 at 8:15 PM, Dcubed said:

This latest fucknugget is absolutely riotously funny! Far more entertaining than the actual games themselves!

I just watched this on my lunch break. Once again he's on point. I've harped on for a while now about my dislike of the GaaS model and day 1 patches putting in fixes that should have been there in the first place. Why should people be willing to wait for a game to get good, especially when these promises are coming from publishers who have essentially already scammed you in the first place by releasing an unfinished or broken game? There are so many good games being released these days, especially from the indie scene, that it's very easy to ignore games filled with empty promises and just play something that is finished and works.

No word of a lie, when I put Yoshi's Crafted World into my Switch last Thursday there were no updates or patches it just worked and I thought to myself " Well, this is a nice change.". It's sad that this is even seen a a luxury now.   

[Dcubed]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I just watched this on my lunch break. Once again he's on point. I've harped on for a while now about my dislike of the GaaS model and day 1 patches putting in fixes that should have been there in the first place. Why should people be willing to wait for a game to get good, especially when these promises are coming from publishers who have essentially already scammed you in the first place by releasing an unfinished or broken game? There are so many good games being released these days, especially from the indie scene, that it's very easy to ignore games filled with empty promises and just play something that is finished and works.

No word of a lie, when I put Yoshi's Crafted World into my Switch last Thursday there were no updates or patches it just worked and I thought to myself " Well, this is a nice change.". It's sad that this is even seen a a luxury now.   

Yeah, I felt the same way with Octopath Traveller.  It was so refreshing to see an actual, fully finished game being released without a massive day 1 patch; or any roadmap of content.  It was just a no BS, fully complete game! I couldn't believe that it came from Square Enix! (Ok, Nintendo paid for it and published it, while Acquire did the grunt-work of development on it, but whatever!)

 

Sadly, not even Nintendo are free from this... I'm still tremendously disappointed in them for releasing Xenoblade 2 in the state that it was in.  That game was not finished when it was released; and while it's in a good state now, it should never have been released like that to begin with.  It really didn't need to be a Xmas 2017 title anyway.

 

Let's not even talk about Mario Tennis Ultra Smash... Thankfully they at least had the good sense to just forget about the Wii U version and finish the game on Switch as Mario Tennis Aces.

Edited April 3, 2019 by Dcubed