Hero-of-Time Posted April 3, 2019 Author Posted April 3, 2019 10 minutes ago, Dcubed said: 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. Yeah, these are 2 very good examples. I loved Xenoblade 2 but it was so obvious that the game was rushed. I'm hoping if the Switch Pro rumour is true that Xenoblade 2 will no longer look like tripe when playing in handheld mode. 2
S.C.G Posted April 8, 2019 Posted April 8, 2019 While I'd heard that things had gotten pretty bad in the AAA Games industry... I didn't know that things had gotten this bad. The upper management at BioWare clearly have a lot to answer for. 1
Dcubed Posted April 9, 2019 Posted April 9, 2019 Oh I do hope that "Bioware Magic" becomes a new running gag going forward! I bloody howled like a hyena when he put up the animation! 1
S.C.G Posted April 10, 2019 Posted April 10, 2019 This isn't the least bit creepy or concerning of Activision at all... 1
Dcubed Posted April 10, 2019 Posted April 10, 2019 Fucking dickbags! Fuck them so hard! That's absolutely despicable! Absolutely unacceptable practice!
S.C.G Posted April 15, 2019 Posted April 15, 2019 (edited) Pretty much hits the nail on the head... Play what you want to play, how you want to play it, who cares how other people play it be that on easy, normal, hard because it shouldn't matter to you. It's all just common sense really, but it seems like in 2019 it needs to be said and well... this video says it. I don't care if From Software add an Easy mode to Sekiro either but I also don't care if they decide not to. If they or any other game company decide to make their games more accessible then that's great, so long as it's optional then I don't see the harm. Edited April 16, 2019 by S.C.G 1
S.C.G Posted April 16, 2019 Posted April 16, 2019 Activision gets a refund on the tax that it doesn't even pay in the first place... How does that even... there are no words for the lengths some companies will go to in order to get as much money as possible... ...yes I know that's their main aim, but in Activision's case, seemingly even ALL of the money wouldn't be enough.
S.C.G Posted April 20, 2019 Posted April 20, 2019 (edited) Another video about corporate greed and excess in the AAA Game Industry? Surely not... It is pretty obscene though. Edited April 20, 2019 by S.C.G
Ronnie Posted April 20, 2019 Posted April 20, 2019 15 minutes ago, S.C.G said: Another video about corporate greed and excess in the AAA Game Indutry? Surely not... He knows his audience. They're ravenous for things like that = more clicks 1
S.C.G Posted April 20, 2019 Posted April 20, 2019 1 minute ago, Ronnie said: He knows his audience. They're ravenous for things like that = more clicks Oh I agree, but I just meant that the whole situation within the AAA Games Industry has gotten way out of hand. I miss the days of buying a game and getting a game, with hours of gameplay and all of the extra content on the disc or cartridge. So much content is cut out of games these days or worse, not even thought of at the time and then sold to us later, it's beyond belief.
Ronnie Posted April 20, 2019 Posted April 20, 2019 17 minutes ago, S.C.G said: Oh I agree, but I just meant that the whole situation within the AAA Games Industry has gotten way out of hand. I miss the days of buying a game and getting a game, with hours of gameplay and all of the extra content on the disc or cartridge. So much content is cut out of games these days or worse, not even thought of at the time and then sold to us later, it's beyond belief. Yeah but at the same time AAA games are bigger with better production values than ever before, yet being sold to us for the same price as thirty years ago, or much cheaper if you're willing to wait a month or two. It's a complex issue really, that I don't really want to open the can of worms on again. I'm just saying, content wise we're spoiled these days 1
S.C.G Posted April 20, 2019 Posted April 20, 2019 16 minutes ago, Ronnie said: Yeah but at the same time AAA games are bigger with better production values than ever before, yet being sold to us for the same price as thirty years ago, or much cheaper if you're willing to wait a month or two. It's a complex issue really, that I don't really want to open the can of worms on again. I'm just saying, content wise we're spoiled these days Agreed, at least to some degree anyway, there are some great. honest, good games you can get for good prices these days. I think it's great that we can get so much enjoyment out of certain titles which offer true value for money and investment of time. As for the games which shovel in loot boxes and microtransactions however, I have no time for those at all. The best £25 or so I spent recently though has to be on Dangerous Driving as it's worth it for the single player content alone.
S.C.G Posted April 24, 2019 Posted April 24, 2019 No game is worth people having to work unpaid overtime or working one hundred hour weeks until they get exhausted, stressed out and then fired because they dared to take a break. I think a game such as Fortnite is especially not worth it pesonally... Of course I can see that it's popular (although I fail to see why) but I think the only way that Epic will learn is if the game just suddenly fails and has to be taken offline. But that probably wouldn't change anything and then the overworked employees would almost certainly lose their jobs And even then. Epic won't learn though and will probably just move onto something else. There was a time when I thought it would be great to work in the games industry in some of the top development studios... ...these days though, I can see why Indie game development is so popular, at least there's probably some kind of work/life balance there. I know... it's not ALL of the big game companies and there are some great examples most likely where employees are treated with respect but they are few and far between it seems. 1
Sheikah Posted April 24, 2019 Posted April 24, 2019 He knows his audience. They're ravenous for things like that = more clicksIt's a victimless crime - greedy corporate shills get called out which at the same time makes good entertainment. I really like Jim. It's impossible to deny that he is having a very positive effect on the industry by calling out these practices time after time. Let's not forget that the Battlefront 2 Reddit AMA included the most downvoted response of all time - to a question asked by Jim. The massive backlash to that game's practices has caused EA to tweet that there'll be no microtransactions/lootboxes in their next Star Wars game. The worst thing that can happen with practices like these is for nobody to talk about them, and nobody to care. 2 1
Dcubed Posted April 24, 2019 Posted April 24, 2019 I quite enjoyed this week's Jimquisition... He makes some intersting points about how publishers siphon away resources from developers who aren't working on mainstream guaranteed hits; and stack the odds against them. This industry is notorious for its use of self-fulfilling prophecies. Their consistant snubbing and sabotaging of Nintendo platforms is a prime example. But it's interesting to see how this is true within publishers themselves too. 1 1
S.C.G Posted April 27, 2019 Posted April 27, 2019 Well, it looks like we can add NetherRealm Studios to the list of game developers who implement abusive standards of work for their employees. Of course, this is only coming out after the game has launched and going by their Twitter page it doesn't seem to be affecting them negatively... yet. Give it time though, I reckon the tide will be turning soon enough on these kind of practices which should never have become accepted in the first place. 1
Aperson Posted April 28, 2019 Posted April 28, 2019 I think we just have to accept at this point that most game developers subject their workers to unhealthy crunch working hours. It would be a headline if a developer came out and said that they didn't do anything like this. Maybe even Nintendo do it... 1
S.C.G Posted April 28, 2019 Posted April 28, 2019 59 minutes ago, GenericAperson said: I think we just have to accept at this point that most game developers subject their workers to unhealthy crunch working hours. It would be a headline if a developer came out and said that they didn't do anything like this. Maybe even Nintendo do it... Now, it has made me wonder about the general state of the industry but I can't believe that every studio subjects its workers to working an unhealthy amount of hours. If there are any studios which have maintained good working standards either over many years or even if they've only formed recently, then it would be good for them to speak out. When it comes to Nintendo, I'd be less inclined to believe that they would be part of this, especially as a few years ago, lots of their upper management took substantial pay-cuts. That was the late, great Satoru Iwata (R.I.P) who lead the way with taking less pay, in addition to Miyamoto and many others too, they did this for the good of their fellow employees. And of course, yes... they could afford to do so but the fact that they even did it speaks volumes, especially when you hear about corrupt CEO's in other companies doing the opposite. I mean, we still can't rule it out I suppose even then and I agree that even working conditions at Nintendo have sounded... less than ideal at times. I'm mostly referring to Sakurai hooking himself up to an IV Drip so that he could carry on working on Super Smash Bros. but that seemed to be his own decision. Still though, one thing is for certain, the games industry seems to be a wild and crazy place to work in this day and age... in both good and bad ways. I just hope that one day things will hopefully even out and companies can get back to making games which are more honestly priced, structured, fun to play and don't involve crunch. Perhaps that's too much of an idealistic view though... I really don't know. But what I do know at the moment is that I'm seriously considering which games I purchase on day one or at all in the future based on many factors including working conditions.
killthenet Posted April 28, 2019 Posted April 28, 2019 Nintendo still has a culture of 'crunch' but to a different extent. I think Nintendo simply hire on a load of temporary workers to speed up development in the latter stages rather than working their current dev team to the bone. I think work culture in Japan is particularly bad in general though so stories about actual culture of crunch at Nintendo, as defined by these exposes at least, might not have come out simply because it's not out of the ordinary in Japan. 1
Sheikah Posted April 29, 2019 Posted April 29, 2019 13 hours ago, S.C.G said: When it comes to Nintendo, I'd be less inclined to believe that they would be part of this, especially as a few years ago, lots of their upper management took substantial pay-cuts. As a Japanese company, their workers are no doubt going to be working silly hours to meet deadlines. The only difference is that over there that overworking is seen as less of a problem and more part of their culture. 1
Ronnie Posted April 29, 2019 Posted April 29, 2019 First of all, crunch happens everywhere, not just in video games. A lot of gamers (don't mean anyone here) seem to think it's a unique to this industry, it isn't, it's just a byproduct of tight deadlines and under staffing. As for Nintendo, some recent quotes ... Quote Nintendo of America CEO and president Reggie Fils-Aimé was one of the executives that weighed in on crunch policies for the story, saying that Nintendo largely prefers to hire contract employees to help the development team get through a period of crunch without disrupting their work-life-balance. “That's is our course of business. That's the way we operate,” Fils-Amié told Waypoint. “And so we're not asking people to go for a couple days without sleep. We're not asking people to ignore their family and friends and their social life. We're not asking people to do things that are unhealthy. That is not our approach.” and in a separate interview... Quote "I can only answer this question from Nintendo of America perspective and for us, crunch happens differently. It's not a development crunch, but it could be a bug check crunch. Or it's a crunch in preparing for an event. Or a crunch in preparing a game to pass our lot check process. Our approach is this: We flex through the use of contract employees. We flex in the way we work with our agency partners. Our mentality is we're going to flex by adding headcount as appropriate to help us get over a crunch. That's the way we approach it." We asked Nintendo, Microsoft and 12 other developers how they deal with crunch 1
S.C.G Posted April 29, 2019 Posted April 29, 2019 Oh yeah, I'm definitely aware that crunch happens everywhere, I don't endorse it as part of any industry and I'm aware that it's a byproduct of decisions made higher up the chain. It's just that, this is the first time it has really been properly highlighted within the larger games industry it feels like, so I reckon it's worth highlighting. Not to detract from it happening elsewhere in other industries of course, I don't think anyone should be forced to work overtime, especially if it's unpaid. On the subject of it being more acceptable in Japan due to their culture, I can understand that on some level, especially if they really enjoy working on games. Just so long as it is the case that they are getting paid and aren't expected to disrupt their work-life balance too much, those excerpts from those Nintendo interviews seem fair. I mean, if I was working a dream job where I was helping to make a high-profile Nintendo game a reality for instance, I would be inclined to work extra where I could, safely and fairly. Again, I suppose it comes back to ideals and whatnot, this is definitely an interesting conversation that the industry is now having though and I think it's worth talking about.
Dcubed Posted April 29, 2019 Posted April 29, 2019 (edited) 6 hours ago, Ronnie said: First of all, crunch happens everywhere, not just in video games. A lot of gamers (don't mean anyone here) seem to think it's a unique to this industry, it isn't, it's just a byproduct of tight deadlines and under staffing. As for Nintendo, some recent quotes ... and in a separate interview... We asked Nintendo, Microsoft and 12 other developers how they deal with crunch That's only for Nintendo of America; who only deal with localisation and marketing. Not actual game development. Nintendo's developers in Japan absolutely, assuredly, crunch like mad. It's just systemic within Japanese culture; and Nintendo is super traditional (being a Kyoto company). There are plenty of old interviews where the likes of Miyamoto have spoken about how they typically work past midnight. That's not really a games industry thing there though, that's a Japan thing in general. Oh! BTW... ... new video! Edited April 29, 2019 by Dcubed 1
Recommended Posts