The Online Generation of Fail - ExtremeGamer's Blog

ExtremeGamer's Blog

The Online Generation of Fail

Posted on February 12, 2012 at 01:46 PM.

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Every game, even single player games have become "online" in a way. There's an online pass for everything, even Batman Arkham City and Kingdoms of Amalur. Gamers have to buy outfits for their character now, when 10-15 years ago, these were unlocks for completing a mission or the game itself. So, what changed?

Simply put, game publishers pushed the envelope and we as the gaming community, opened it up. A simple online pass to try to curb used sales was bought up like candy, so the publishers pushed harder and harder. It's to a point that the games we played as kids won't be the same in 10-20 years. If you're not online connected, or didn't buy the content at the time of release, there may be..wait, will be tons of copies of games on shelves in CD Game Exchange type stores that are just incomplete games.

Pick up that copy of any PS1 game, and you know it's the "entire" game... yet pick up any PS3/Xbox 360 game released in the last 2 years, put it on a shelf and it's not. It's a shame that there won't be a retro generation dealing with PS3/Xbox 360 games like there is now with NES, PS1, PS2, etc games.

On top of all of this, many of the games online portions don't work. The shocking part of this, is they are getting worse, not better. It's just something I can't wrap my head around on something like WWE '12 and how it's online servers are still awful 4 months after release. There seems to be no real fix to come to the game at this point, I know the developers are working around the clock to get it right, but at some point, you know they are giving up (if it hasn't happened already). NBA 2K12 this year is another example, it's online portion was just broken in every sense of the word.

Then you have games like Madden 12 which didn't have any real issues, but it's online franchise is just forgotten about. Or FIFA 12's Ultimate Team mode which lead to hacking and cheating. These are just side effects or so they say of the new online generation. But why? Why does every game have to have an online portion to entertain gamers now? Why does Mass Effect 3 have online at all? Why are endings to games, like in Final Fantasy XIII-2 offered as DLC? Where does it end? Buy Madden and just get the AFC and the NFC has to be bought? You laugh, but who would have thought a buying a character skin that's already on the disc anyway cost $1 to a gamer to unlock?

It's frustrating, it's not getting better, and I truly feel the online generation could lead to the downfall of console gaming. There won't be a crash like back in the early 80's, but the iPhone's, Android's, and other mobile devices, as well as Facebook games may leave the console generation as just a memory.