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As of my freshman year, I will be posting content centered around a certain topic. You can expect my blog posts to feature well-written sentences.
Brady Bryan
Ever since mainstream game consoles have cemented themselves as the primary form of video game entertainment, video game companies have released AAA games for the magical number of $60. Call of Duty, Red Dead Redemption, Monster Hunter, and more recently Nintendo Switch games now cost a hefty $60. However, as more games that cost $60 are produced and shipped to stores or obnoxiously advertised on the home consoles' game store, more and more people began to realize that perhaps paying such a large sum of money for a considerably lackluster game is less than desirable, especially now that the typically cartoony, kid-friendly Nintendo has increased the price of their games from around $40 to $60. So why was this done? The switch to console game production (no pun intended) warranted an increase in game prices for numerous possible reasons. One of the most possible reasons is that console games are considerably more expensive to make especially since they will have to run optimally on the latest firmware and hardware. This is largely due to keeping up with the current innovations and standards that AAA games are known for, along with making the game at the very least look enticing to the consumer; a sort of eye candy if you would. The marketing and general budget behind most console games are comparably pricier than other games as most AAA games are the flagship games of each game company, so it would only make sense that the developers would want to invest as much as necessary to ensure the success of sales. Another reason why AAA games cost $60 dollars is to keep up with competitor prices. Reasons like these are understandable so long as the quality is assured, but in recent years, the quality of console games (and by extension, triple AAA games) have gradually dwindled. Take Pokemon Sword and Shield for example. The game already has extremely mixed feelings surrounding it, and the damning evidence to support the claim of the game being a product of lazy production is abundant. For the first mainstream Pokemon video games to be $60 dollars (other than arguably Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee), the game lacks proper animations, freezes at certain areas of the game, and could be textured better. At this point, one would have to ask themselves whether or not that sounds like a $60 experience. With all of the bad press that the games have been receiving, those adamant in saying that the games are a joke seem to have an extra platform to stand on. Other AAA games such as Breath of the Wild also lag considerably in certain areas. However, it is more excusable than Sword and Shield due to its higher resolution textures, always-rendered landscape, and other 3D models and objects. In short, $60 games no longer meant that the experience would also be worth the money spent, and it is for that reason why many consumers wait for the games to be on sale as the price then is far more suitable for the quality and content. It is made clear that the workspace provided for the developers was not carefully considered as the games ported to and created for the Switch (among other consoles) run at a sub-optimal frame rate. Recap:
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Brady Bryan
Up until recent years, DLC has always been treated as additional content to a game that simply provides the player with an alternate experience that would not have normally happened in accordance to game being played. It was more of a means to expand upon the features of a game with numerous events and missions that can often provide the player with better skills, items, or weapons, giving them the upper edge when it comes to facing off against other players. However, DLC nowadays either give the player skills that make the player far too overpowered than the should, or included content that should have been in the base game upon release. Regarding the statement that DLC "breaks the game" by adding skills or items that give the user the upper edge, most online multiplayer PvP (player vs player) games recently are extremely guilty of this. For those who are unable to purchase the DLC (which is arguably more expensive than it should be), playing against others is a nightmare as they can defeat you nine times out of ten. This is also known as making the metagame "unbalanced" as the game is no longer fair. One game criminally guilty of this is Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker. If one were to click on any video to learn about what the best skills are in the game, to their dismay they would quickly discover that most, if not all of the skills discussed are DLC. When I first played the game, I was appalled to discover that the game was borderline unwinnable, let alone unplayable without certain DLC skills. However, as numerous patches to the game were released, the developers adjusted the skills to be less powerful and adjusted the base game skills to be more effective, thus bringing back some sense of balance to the game. Unfortunately, this is a rare occurrence among game developers as they will either do a halfhearted job at balancing skills where they cause the initially overpowered move to become exceptionally ineffective and nonviable, or they simply do not adjust the move. As for DLC that should have been in the base game, there are too many modern examples of games that do this, and it is blatant that the developers did this to earn a quick buck. Certain games of a franchise will choose to add a character that was integral to the plot as one of the arcs of the franchise's plot revolved solely around them as DLC. An example of this can be found in Jump Force, a 3d anime arena brawler. Recently, the creators announced that Madara Uchiha, the main antagonist of Naruto, would be arriving in December as DLC, which angered fans. The players argued that he should have been in the main game all things considered, and claimed that he was replaced by an obscure antagonist instead. They were quick to claim that this was a cash-grab, further deterring its player base from playing the game. DLC used to be more event-focused, and rewarded those who purchased it with interesting skills and equipment that made the transaction worth it. However, the times have changed, along with business decisions in which the interests of the players were once important to the developers. Clearly the integrity of the players have been substituted with stealing money from the pockets of gullible children due to their ease of financial exploitation. Recap:
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AuthorBrady Bryan is quite familiar with blogs since he had to frequently post on his blog in 6th grade. Although its been a long time since then, he still knows what a proper blog should look like. Archives
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