Any gamers around here?

[Blackleaf]

It's more a statement against EA than against the industry. EA is killing major single player developers left and right because sp doesn't bring in the money like multiplayer does.

True. I just hate EA in general. I'd be perfectly okay with it if their greedy asses went out of business.

[GrinningYMIR]

Single player is slowly turning away from AAA companies, especially EA. They want the most money they can get.

On the other hand who is excited for battle tech coming out this month?

[Hydra009]

On the other hand who is excited for battle tech coming out this month?

Me! It's going to be

[Cavebear]

I remember when I used to play Civ 2 against other people across the world  in the early 2000s and IT WAS EASY!

So it isn't like it is hard to do.  The software is easy.  The profit from it is what is hard.  They all think they have to get their money from ads.  But they could get it from subscriptions.   

[GrinningYMIR]

Remember people are against subs, I’ve always been a proponent of the 15 dolld a month system for an mmo, but people are die hard against it. Some are lazy, some honestly believe that it’s better to pay 2.50 for every transaction in the game. Others think that ALL GAMES SHOULD BHE FREE. Others just hate AAA Devs

I will Gladly pay 15 a month for something like wow or tor which ensures the game grows and more importantly is stable with millions of players. 15 a month for potentially hundreds of hours of game time is more economical and pleasant to me than 60 for a game you get 40 hours from

[Hydra009]

$15 a month can get pretty pricey year after year.  And it incentivizes playing all day every day to get your money's worth, which is no longer an option for me.  Plus, it's harder to get people to try it if there's a paywall.

I'd much rather pay more for the base game and its expansions and pay a reduced subscription (preferrably no sub) than pay $15/month for IPU knows how long.

[trdsf]

Remember people are against subs, I’ve always been a proponent of the 15 dolld a month system for an mmo, but people are die hard against it. Some are lazy, some honestly believe that it’s better to pay 2.50 for every transaction in the game. Others think that ALL GAMES SHOULD BHE FREE. Others just hate AAA Devs

I will Gladly pay 15 a month for something like wow or tor which ensures the game grows and more importantly is stable with millions of players. 15 a month for potentially hundreds of hours of game time is more economical and pleasant to me than 60 for a game you get 40 hours from

I don't have a problem with pay to play, and I don't have a problem with paying for software.  What I have a problem with is having to pay $60 for a game, and then not being able to actually play it unless I pay more money.  If I pay for the game software, I should be able to play the game right out of the box.  If I pay to play the game online and the software is effectively useless without that aspect, then I shouldn't have to pay for the software.

[Hydra009]

Seraph of the End would make for an amazing Telltale game.

Incredibly dangerous post-apocalyptic setting?  Check.
Lots of combat?  Check.
Small squads of combatants?  Check.
Tough moral choices?  (Follow orders or not, retreat or try to rescue a comrade, etc)  Check.
Choosing who lives and who dies?  (saving one character means dooming another)  Check.
Shifting alliances?  Big check.

You could even play as a squad near the main plot of the anime/manga.  Or it could be a prequel or take place elsewhere at roughly the same time.  It's practically perfect video game fodder.

[Cavebear]

I don't have a problem with pay to play, and I don't have a problem with paying for software.  What I have a problem with is having to pay $60 for a game, and then not being able to actually play it unless I pay more money.  If I pay for the game software, I should be able to play the game right out of the box.  If I pay to play the game online and the software is effectively useless without that aspect, then I shouldn't have to pay for the software.

I agree.  When you pay for a game, you should own it and all the abilities after that.    THat's one reason I prefer to try to get CDs.  You have a bit more control over all the features.

[Hydra009]

I agree.  When you pay for a game, you should own it and all the abilities after that.    THat's one reason I prefer to try to get CDs.  You have a bit more control over all the features.

I'm going to have to disagree with you there.  The CD is just another way of delivering the digital payload - the payload is the same either way.  And with reliable internet access, there's no longer any real reason to prefer the CD.  In fact, it can be more expensive and more inconvenient.

While one may feel more in control with a physical copy, that feeling of control is illusory.  Any game with online content (patches, online features, etc) can have this content stripped at any moment.  In that case, the CD is just a coaster and the digital payload is wasted hard drive space.  Dust to dust, bytes to bytes.

[Cavebear]

I'm going to have to disagree with you there.  The CD is just another way of delivering the digital payload - the payload is the same either way.  And with reliable internet access, there's no longer any real reason to prefer the CD.  In fact, it can be more expensive and more inconvenient.

While one may feel more in control with a physical copy, that feeling of control is illusory.  Any game with online content (patches, online features, etc) can have this content stripped at any moment.  In that case, the CD is just a coaster and the digital payload wasted is hard drive space.  Dust to dust, bytes to bytes.

Well. experience tells me you are wrong, but I can't tell you WHY that happens.  CDs just seem to have more information on them than downloads do.  I've  seen that in more than one comparison.  But I'm basically just saying that downloads don't always have all the same data as on a CD.  I could make a guess that they are trying to same download time (which seems to frustrate people much more than loading a CD), but it IS just a guess.

Well, let's say I am intalling a CD program.  I see  progression, and since I have the CD, it feels more like I have some control.  But with a software download over the net, I feel less in control.  If the CD upload seems slow, maybe I can just think it is my computer.  On the download from some site, I don't know what the problem is and nothing I think I can do about it. 

And maybe my CD is faster...

[Hydra009]

Well. experience tells me you are wrong, but I can't tell you WHY that happens.  CDs just seem to have more information on them than downloads do.  I've  seen that in more than one comparison.  But I'm basically just saying that downloads don't always have all the same data as on a CD.

Any examples?  I've owned both for several of my games and never noticed a difference.  Well, except Steam achievements.

Well, let's say I am intalling a CD program.  I see  progression, and since I have the CD, it feels more like I have some control.  But with a software download over the net, I feel less in control.  If the CD upload seems slow, maybe I can just think it is my computer.  On the download from some site, I don't know what the problem is and nothing I think I can do about it. 

And maybe my CD is faster...

The CD is (generally) faster to install.  Though if you factor in the drive to the brick-and-mortar store, that lead decreases quite a bit.

[Cavebear]

Any examples?  I've owned both for several of my games and never noticed a difference.  Well, except Steam achievements.
The CD is (generally) faster to install.  Though if you factor in the drive to the brick-and-mortar store, that lead decreases quite a bit.

I bought my 2017 H&R Block software this year in Walmart.  Loaded it right in.  Last year, I downloaded 2016 from Amazon and spent 3 hours on the phone with them getting it to work right.   

I downloaded Civ 5 from Amazon and spent an hour on the phone with them before they finally realized I had to use "Steam" to make it work.  To this day, the only use I have for "Steam" is to load Civ 5.

Are those 2 examples sufficient?

[Baruch]

Unfortunately, getting both fast and reliable download ... in some places is iffy.  The longer the download, the more likely something will go wrong.  This is why oniine OS updates scare me ... they take the longest.

[Hydra009]

I bought my 2017 H&R Block software this year in Walmart.  Loaded it right in.  Last year, I downloaded 2016 from Amazon and spent 3 hours on the phone with them getting it to work right.   

I downloaded Civ 5 from Amazon and spent an hour on the phone with them before they finally realized I had to use "Steam" to make it work.  To this day, the only use I have for "Steam" is to load Civ 5.

Are those 2 examples sufficient?

I'm going to try to put this delicately.  Your software installation experiences are far from typical.

My experience is abnormal too in that my CD drive didn't work very well and I had a tendency to lose/damage discs or have them unknowingly borrowed from me.  Once Steam became popular, it was an easy switch.