While I personally don't care for graphics in the slightest, hell I actually PREFER what Sony's doing by cutting the graphics for smoother gameplay, I'd just like to point a couple of things out.
We are customers in a gaming industry that is selling us a new Aliens game, and selling the entire cast of the movie as pre-order DLC.
Furthermore, Gamestop is planning on actually 'working' with game companies so that they can decide during development which parts of the game to cut out as pre-order DLC.
We are constantly being lied to / manipluated by gaming publishers about many things, so if this lawsuit can be used as an example for other gaming companies to step up and be more honest, I'm all for it.
(note, I got most of this information from Jim Sterling of Jimquisition)
I have to agree here and most of it is very true. The industry has a problem right now, which is the lack of accountability and restrictions against them that forces them to stay compliant with pleasing a customer. Such as the DLC nonsense we hear about, especially say Capcom's greatest example I talk about all the time SFxT. Close to 30% of the data on the disk was locked away and rationed out to the players, fully developed content mind you. Even now after that content put up for sale the game flashes it in your face on the character select screen. When if say you bought a car and then once you tried to turn the radio on a sign would appear saying sorry you need to pay extra to use this feature would never fly. True we can all agree to stop buying the product, or create random petitions against the practices, vote a company as the worst two years in a row, make their BBB rating drop (which did happen after SFxT released), stop pre-ordering, and everything in between. Unfortunately we are a small percentage of the casual crowd that will buy the product. You have to take into account the average consumer that just wants a fun entertaining game to play, or the ever loyal fanboys that just have to have the next game in a series. The vast majority are not as educated as many of the gamer population out there. Even now I have to explain to my 6 year old why I won't by certain games that he just wants so badly, but most parents aren't educated either and will buy the product simply, because their lil one wants it. It is amazing how many people I knew that were up and ready to buy an X1 the day it was announced before all the 180s that were made on it, or how many friends I knew that just were ready to blindly buy Diablo 3 when it first released and did not even know there was an always online DRM issue or a micro-transaction auction house in the game.
Right now these companies are just allowed to do whatever they want with their product and lately it has been a huge case of misleading the buyers, from A:CM, to other trailers demanding that a pre-order be placed to receive a full experience. Look at Watchdogs, yes the game is good and by all means it felt very complete and looked really good, but did it have the look it was promised to have by the publisher when the gameplay was originally shown to the public. Hell just look at how Ubi-Soft handles their PC versions of these games and they just completely get away with it.
Its actions like these that start to get public attention and begins to paint a negative image in the public's eye, which in turn tends to lead to lower sells on a product. It gets the ball rolling, sure it starts with this very absurd claim that does seem pointless and odd, but in the eyes of this customer and many others, hey the box did say 1080p not 1080i or what have you, but when one sues others follow and then sooner later there exists a large number of these cases and it begins to pick up attention by higher authorities.
Truth be told people need to stop taking to twitter and bitching, making vlogs that are whining about the issues to expose things, or trolling web-sites and Steam game tags. The way to do this though is honestly start notifying people who can make differences in the way these things by exposing to your Congressman, or the FTC. If enough people began to voice their concerns and issues to the proper people, instead of online forums and twitter, instead consumers have to voice these issue to the correct people.
Companies will never behave and will continue to push the envelope further and further until finally rules, regulations, and laws pressed upon them to behave, where they will wind up facing consequences for their actions. It is the reason why today laws exist that disallow an employee from being fired for breaking their arm at work, or why labor conditions now have standards to focus on the safety of the workers, because at one time enough people raised concerns to the authorities and governments that are suppose to protect the people. I am all for free enterprise and companies having freedom to sell and produce the products they want, but if say the prescription drug and medical system still operated the way it did in early years, doctors would still be prescribing cocaine to patients or performing questionable surgeries. Laws, rules and regulations exist to police these companies from doing what they want and its literally getting time now for the Gaming Industry to start getting attacked by stricter regulations, it is a young industry that has grown far beyond what many had ever expected to and if things aren't changed then its current state is only going worsen more and more.
Sorry I got a lil carried away
