Video Games: The New Pet Rock

I realize it has been a while since my last post and the only excuse I have is this: writing of topics other than fashion, politics, and pop music requires thought, and my intellectual stamina is at an all time low. You will see this in the next few paragraphs.

I have been on a video game kick as of late and, as you surely know, it is not the most productive form of entertainment. You can't casually listen to it through a comfortable pair of headphones as you would with music. You can't occasionally glance across the room to catch your favorite team on the sports ticker as you would with television.

Video games are a far more sinister breed of activity. They require concentration, commitment, and best of all, complete disregard for all of the trivial things in life, such as human interaction and procuring money for food and shelter. All of which I am perfectly fine with.

However, I have become aware of something even more sinister than gaming itself. An evil force of unimaginable power. A destroyer of worlds, if you will. It is none other than the notorious, nefarious game publisher.

A mere three years ago video game prices averaged $45 and typically boasted over one hundred hours of game play. Multi-disc games were the norm, and product quality was improving drastically with every release.

At some point over the past few years, it somehow became acceptable to produce games that offer a fraction of the entertainment at premium pricing. The average price for a major studio console game these days is a hefty $55, and the average advertised play time is less than thirty hours.

A great number of gamers would argue that the sacrifice of play time is necessary to produce stronger game play and better, more realistic graphics. Unfortunately, this is why modern video game companies are yielding Microsoft management-sized salaries. They prey on the ignorance of the ignorant.

Take, for example, the entire Rockstar Games line-up. While Rockstar did produce a quality video game once, every subsequent release was the exact same product with a different sub title. Each of these sold millions of copies at an especially high price.

So I am sure you are wondering: If people saw the value in a product and were willing to pay for the same game four times, why are you so upset, Bryan?

I am not entirely sure I can answer that, but hear me out.

Another example of video game tragedy is a little piece of [work] called Gun. Gun is an exceptional game with a lot of original concepts and superb game play. Its downfall was not only the initial $55 price tag, but also the unbelievably short play time. The average person with limited gaming history and ability could beat the whole game in less than ten hours. Or they could just spend that $55 on a week's worth of food, a month's worth of electricity, or enough Diet Coke and Mentos to turn an entire college full of unsuspecting women into a campus-wide wet t-shirt contest.

Just think of the typical teenager with a part-time job. Necessities like pizza, soda and condoms put a serious dent in the amount of video games that they can purchase at $55 a pop. Maybe that is an underlying cause of piracy. Yarrgh.

I am really hoping that video game publishers stop worrying about the bottom line and start allowing their studios the time and resources to create games that live up to the price tag. Square Enix should not be the only company capable of this very reasonable feat.