We all have heard the great effects of making games more digital. And the arguments are quite good. Supposedly less expenditure for gamers and publishers/developers, being able to play the game faster on release date, less environmental costs (as in no boxes), etc.

But it is not all sunshine. This article will show the some of the major disadvantages of the digitalization of gaming.

The most obvious issue with this system is a quite clear one. You cannot resell your purchased games. This is a substantial drawback in an age where ownership still is very important. I bought an object to have the full use of it. Either to throw it away, burn it, smash it, or resell it. I can still do that with any other physical object. This is not just a drawback against games, but also digital movies, books and so on. But like I said, this is the most obvious one.

Now time for a question. How many of you have read the contract that Valve with Steam, EA with Origin, Sony, Microsoft and so forth have made you sign? If you would read these, your hairs would turn white. What usually is found in these “Agreements” can have such an effect on a consumer, that they are not allowed under law, at the least under European and Dutch law.

Even though they don’t have the term “contract”, due to its size and non-negotiability, Terms of Agreement are sometimes even worse than a regular contract, because they effect so many people at the same time. A term of agreement basically talks about things outside the core of a contract. So, as an example, Terms of Agreement do not talk about price, object of purchase, and so forth, but are written articles that could limit the timeframe you are allowed to return a product, where a trial is being held in case of conflict and so forth.

I encountered the following for example in Steam’s Agreement:

“C. Acceptance/Rejection/Returns
The terms of this Section 3.C do not apply to European Union consumers.”

The rest of the text deals with how someone can ask Valve to fix a game or software that has issues, within 30 days of purchase or receiving. Why are we European Union consumers not allowed to have this? It made me raise my eyebrows; under Dutch law, for example, we have a rule stating that clauses like these in contracts are not legal. We are allowed to return a product under the expected use conduct (paraphrasing of course). This states that when you buy something, you should be able to use it in a normal fashion, and if something is broken, due to no fault of your own, the selling party has to give compensation; either by giving you a new copy, or returning the money, and so forth.

Maybe the worse in the Valve’s agreement is the following:

“12. AMENDMENTS TO THIS AGREEMENT
Valve may amend this Agreement at any time in its sole discretion. As a Subscriber, you agree that Valve may amend the terms of this Agreement. If Valve amends the Agreement, such amendment shall be effective thirty (30) days after your receiving notice of the amended Agreement, either via e-mail or as a notification within the Software. You can view the Agreement at any time at http://www.steampowered.com/. Your failure to cancel your Account thirty (30) days after receiving notification of an amended Agreement will mean that you accept all such amendments. If you don’t agree to the amendments or to any of the terms in this Agreement, your only remedy is to cancel your Account or a particular Subscription.”

So basically, you lose all your games if you disagree with Valve’s terms. Sorry, but I bought those games, and because I disagree with what Valve, as an example, wants in their contract, I lose my games, even my offline games. Three words apply, but I am not going to utter them.

What these few short examples show, at least on a digital gateway side, is that we, at least in Steam terms, are leasing the games. No more ownership.

Why does the game industry think it can act differently than other consumer items?

Other obvious disadvantages of course, are constant internet-connection, risk of exposure by hackers, and so forth.

I know that the digital age is unstoppable, but shouldn’t we adress this radical change in how we purchase our items? I mean, this is not something we should want as consumers, it puts way too much power in the hands of the ones that build the systems. Yes, Valve has great customer perspective at the moment, but that doesn’t last forever.

These contracts are the only truly binding things; not the words from heads of studios, but their legal hand. And, I havent even started to delve into Origin’s Terms of Agreement (and only done preliminary research on this). I am not just looking at the fact that, in general, these companies are using Terms of Agreement, because that is very common and very understandable good-business-practice. What I do question however, is that these specific things should be in the Terms of Agreement, for they, in my perspective, undercut the core of buying a product.

Do you guys ever read the EULA’s that we have all sign, either on consoles (looks at the 360 and the PS3) or have you entirely read what is thrown at us in the EULAs for any PC game? I honestly can say, I haven’t, up until now.

For the full agreement on Steam
and on Origins

Warning for those who will comment: do NOT spoil the ending!

What I know about the ending is that for a lot, it is highly unsatisfying. Casey Hudson even had an interview on this very topic. Even here on the Axe, we are starting to see a twosided argument. One being : “Bioware, you fucked up!” and the other is the lashing at the unhappy gamers saying: “Shut up, whiners, Bioware made a good game and you are not entitled anything. Be happy that Bioware made this game the way it is.”

As always, both arguments have merit. Let’s begin with the unhappy gamers.

Mass Effect has been one of the most succesfull games on the Xbox 360 since the first game launched in 2007. As far as a western RPG could go, this was one of the pinacles. Setting, story and gameplay were molded together to be a strong cohesive unit; even though the driving moments were not great. The choices we made would echo to the last game of the series, Bioware stated.

In the concluding episode, there are cracks that show that it isn’t the case at the beginning. Anderson, for example, is an Admiral in the Alliance while in my playthrough of the previous two games, he was the Councillor representing the human race. When I entered the Citadel, I encountered my old pain-in-the-ass Udina.; the ending of Mass Effect 1 that I had chosen had no effect. Heck, in a 6 month period (the time gap between part 2 and 3) Anderson had stepped down and given the important opportunity to Udina; while I chose Anderson explicitly for his warfare capability which we would need in the future.

My choice had no effect.

Next to that, a large group of gamers have said that they hated the ending, though Bioware states that the amount of enraged gamers is much smaller. They feel like their journey has been swept away under the rug and what they have done, from the first game till the last game, was for nothing. As an example, Udina instead of Anderson. If the ending just throws out what you have done in the prior games, that negates whatever choices you made; and I think a certain amount of people were not so happy with that.

Its gone so far that one gamer has filed a lawsuit against Electronic Arts for misleading advertisement. I would say that is overdoing it, but the anger for having literally spent maybe a 120 hours in all three games, can give someone great attachment and great want for an ending that fits their choices, from all the way back. Is that being entitled? Or legitimate anger?

The other side of the coin, is what I have seen floating around the website. “You are not entitled as a gamer. The artist (ie Bioware) should be allowed to make their own choices when producing this tale.” That is also true. We cannot let Bioware only make what we want, because then the majority of the games would be first person war shooters… Ho wait, what did Bioware do again in the last two games…

Anyways, the artist argument would hold up in my view, only, if they weren’t in it for the money. That is not the case. Bioware wants to sell this like crazy and by being constrained to that, especially since this series has managed to grab such a hold in the hearts and minds of gamers, they cannot just tread over what they have done previously.

They can, of course, deviate from what you would expect. People like that unexpected element. However when that happens, Bioware has to give a proper reason ín the game for how and why it went down in that universe. Are we then entitled? Or should we be? I dare to argue, that I don’t feel so entitled that Bioware should have done a different ending. Having said that, it doesn’t mean that I cannot call them out for it.

Calling that ‘entitled’ is becoming a weak argument nowadays. You only have to say a bad thing about a game and you get that slammed in your face. Not really arguing why someone is wrong in their opinion, but just shoving it under the rug of entitlement. I do not feel entitled, but I do hold them under scrutiny for what they have done. However, suing them? That might be pushing it a bit. But on the other hand, if they (the plaintiff) would move ahead legally with the argument, they can start but will have a very tough pickle in proving that Electronic Arts had put misleading information out.

But what do you think? Is shouting against Bioware for having a bad ending acting entitled? Or are you just a concerned gamer that wants the best for their journey and then a finish that is in-line with what has come before?

Let us know in the comments below.

Source: Forbes (and others)

I have been talking to Brent for quite some time now. And no, that is not the reason why I have joined the EBA-writing crew. We both have an interest in philosophy, how the world works, government and idea’s.

Of course, we drifted towards games during that conversation. And not because we wanted to talk about specific games, but since we found a topic that intertwines games and philosophy. And I don’t mean the philosophy that a developer or a publisher has to put this game up. No, I mean actual philosophy.

Back during my studying days, I was “ordered” to read a piece about philosophy and literature. Sadly, I don’t have the credentials in front of me, so you will have to trust me on this.

In the article that the author wrote, she spoke about fiction, literature. That the way what we read is an example to us. Both on the negative side and on the positive one. While a lot of books try to aspire to the right quality of people, there are also books that look at the most vile of things. Moby Dick, Dante (and I mean the book, not the game) and more.

These “evil” books ask you, in their own way, to look at oneself critically. What would you do in such a situation? In the Devine Comedy Dante comes across a couple, where the woman had cheated on her husband, but with someone she had deeply fallen in love with. She was going to burn in the second Circle of Hell.

Moby Dick shows us the danger of revenge. If you let yourself be consumed by your lust for vengeance, be ready to dig two graves. Ahab went down with his hatred for the great white whale.
All well and good. This is a game-website, I hear you guys and galls shout at me.

Sometimes a good introduction is needed to come to the point. If books can give us an example what we might do, games give us the possibility to undergo the example. To be the one that actually goes down hell with Dante. To be the one to shoot your greatest enemy, or fight your worst nightmare. Instead of just being a written example, you act, which helps you even more to understand, if one dares to see it, what we as human beings can do. But most shooters and most action-adventures are, in a certain way, still the same as the aforementioned great moments of literature. It is still a narrow corridor that you go through.

But there is a new sherrif in town. The choice game.

Mass Effect, Bioshock, Star Wars: the Old Republic, Deus Ex: Human Revolution. All games where you can make your own damn choice. Maybe haphazard, maybe pushed in a certain direction, but there is a choice. You can now reflect, to yourself, what would you do in such a situation. Mind you, it can also be fun to do something entirely the opposite. But it shows a glimpse of our biggest fears and can also show our brightest light. I just plainly mean morals. In these games you are not just undergoing the example, you make the decision; for that will show you the example.

Mass Effect is a very good case-study. Spoiler: near the end of the game, you will have to make the decision between Alenko and Williams. There is no other option. And it will have a dire consequence, that will continue on till the final installment. End Spoiler.

This is our advantage. Even if most play the game only for fun, heck, even if all play the game only for fun, the underlying message, or option will still remain there for those who are willing to see it; that games are a window. They are a window to the most fantastical universes, while at the same time, they are a window to our own world and ways. That is also why games are becoming more and more looked at as if they are art. Just like books and movies, games are a reflection of what we do and who we are.

Thanks for reading, and let me know what YOU think games can show us.

Before we get caught up into the normal gaming platform dance, let’s consider the niche market that the iPad could thrive in.  The casual gaming market used to be a joke, especially in the eyes of PC and Console gamers. We have all made fun of those silly little games you could play on your old cell phones – that while fun, are just a temporary fix – hence the term ‘casual’ gaming.  The emergence of the iPhone and growing popularity of community and social gaming on the web, most notably Farmville on Facebook, has given rise to an entirely new type of gamer.  With millions of subscribers and just under $100 million in profit in 2009, the developer of Farmville,  Zynga, stands to make record profits in 2010.  With the use of the simplified gaming mechanics of casual, community gaming and the use of micro transactions, these types of games could be just the ‘niche’ market that the iPad could fill. Zynga and Playfish, both power players in these social community games ‘genre’, continue to find ways to bring their increasingly popular titles to their consumers.

So, if it’s direct impact on the gaming economy you’d like to discuss, then don’t sell the iPad short.  There may be those that make fun of the device, but the ease of application distribution and micro transactions could quickly elevate an already aggressively expanding market even more into the mainstream ‘gaming’ community.  Hell, we may even start to see large scale integration of these casual games into our consoles. Online Farmville on Xbox Live? Sure, laugh! Don’t count it out, either…

With gaming’s infusion into a wide array of devices and across ever increasing demographics, it becomes less about what types of bad ass first person shooters you can make for the iPad and more about how to bring highly profitable, addictive games to the device. You can bet that the major pubs/devs out there are gonna invest in the opportunity and as a result, look to provide experiences that may just make the iPad more relevant than you’d expect.

So, what do you all think? Sound off in the comments section below and as always we’ll keep you posted on all of the latest iPad info right here on EpicBattleAxe.com!

The obvious catalyst that sparks this hate is the consoles themselves.  I know some people (including me) can only afford one console per generation.  Therefore, when console exclusives come out (mainly the good ones) some gamers are quick to express their love for the game by throwing out a comment such as “Only On PS3…Cry 360,PC,XbotTrailers and Microdick…PS3 and Sony 4 Life”. This of course if followed by “lol cry some more!!!but hey… everyone knew a gay game like this couldn’t beat Halo 3… it just rocks, and Uncharted 2 plain sucks, truth hurts, eh ?”. Thus starting a chain reaction that spreads the comment tread like wildfire (examples taken from the comments for the Uncharted 2 review on Gametrailers.com).

The other popular sources of hate are popular games.  The obvious example is the newly released Modern Warfare 2 where the hate has been pouring in since all that PC controversy that started a month or so back. People think they’re cool to hate a game that’s popular because they’re going against the trends like a rebel and when one speaks out the rest chime in.  Now to be fair people have intelligent arguments on why they dislike MW2.  HOWEVER, when a comment such as “ThE CRAppiest game ever. this SUCKED. I want my money back. I would rather watch barney and friends! Short campaign, stupid first person camera… If ur wondering what games I do like, Halo” come up on Metacritic, it makes me face-palm so fast I give myself a bruise.

Comments like these do not help, solve, or prove anything.  If you want to make a point about a game it needs to be done in an intelligent matter in order to create real discussion and from that discussion it’s possible the gaming community can evolve.  Garbage like this fuels the stereotype that all gamers are basement dwelling nutcases and as the simple truth is that the majority of us are not.  We are intelligent human beings who are capable of a real discussion but our voice gets downed under the hateful spew these people spread like chicken pox.  All these comments do is create a boundary between console and game owners and separates us by consoles and creed.  I only own an Xbox 360 but that doesn’t stop me from staring in awe at Uncharted 2 or God of War III and having a blast when I’m playing Wii Sports on my girlfriend’s Wii.  We are all gamers and we are all bound together by the same ones and zeros that create the great the games we all love.  We shouldn’t hate the games we don’t get or the games that we don’t like.  We should appreciate all games and give suggestions how to improve them in a matter in which developers and publishers will listen.  No developer listens to the trolls and spammers but they will listen to intelligent arguments.  If we can suppress these hateful gamers it will make the comment treads and forums a much happier place to type.

I look at the forums and comments on EpicBattleAxe and I have to give huge props to all you Axeheads, this is the most intelligent group of gamers I have ever seen on the internet.  If you guys disagree with me or anyone one else on the site you supply intellectual evidence to support your arguments, you don’t start throwing your poo at the screen in a hissy fit.  That’s why you guys are the perfect group to bring this up with and to share a message of love and respect.  There will always be some jerkoff who talks trash every topic on the planet just for the sake of being a sh*t disturber  but if this article can cause even one troll to open their eyes and see that certain comments are hurting the video game community, then I believe I’ve done my job.

Spread the love my fellow Axeheads, spread the love.