I guess I just don’t understand Microsoft’s “all or nothing” mentality. Sure, people were irritated that the Kinect was a mandatory item at launch, but that doesn’t mean that you have to just drop it. If they had put some energy into making some cool games that utilized the tech, people would have still been…

Add this to the list of things game companies do to inspire gamers to be “toxic.” This sort of things only serves to generate resentment and an adversarial relationship with customers (along with extra revenue, I guess).

Technically, it would be considered the classical period. Cleopatra was the last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt, descendant of Ptolemy, who was one of Alexander’s generals. Much of what we would probably consider Ancient Egyptian beliefs and religion were still practiced during that time, but with a heavy Greco-Roman…

Selling a “Season Pass” to go along with a game (or higher priced versions with the Season Pass included) is Ubisoft’s main business model right now. I would speculate that they have come to realize that not giving a specific description of what that Season Pass actually provides is grounds for legal or regulatory…

I have to give Ubisoft credit for giving a pretty good description of the DLC and the specific month that each one will drop. That’s quite a bit better than what they did with Ghost Recon and more specific than what they provided for R6.

However, I still object to them releasing the game with the promise of added…

I don’t disbelieve you, but my “assumptions” and perspective are based on many years of gaming and on multiple statements by developers and publishers regarding the significant amount of time it takes to fix game issues. I don’t doubt that there are tweaks and setting that can be applied quickly, but when a beta takes…

Robert, my perspective is that of the consumer. I don’t claim to be an expert on the gaming industry. And although I find information on how games are developed and published to be interesting, at the end of the day, none of that really matters too much. What matters is whether or not I enjoy the game I purchased or…

I think you make a good point about the world of marketing in general and the fact that ultimately it’s the buyer who should beware. However, there have been some pretty blatant situations where companies have enticed people to shell out more money for special editions or season passes for which the gamer doesn’t…

Maybe “exaggeration” would have been a better word choice.

I’m sorry, but I am a bit confused by your response. I love playing video games and I am genuinely interested in what goes on behind-the-scenes in the industry. I’d also be happy to talk with you at length about my “preconceived notions.”

However, I am also a consumer has felt burned on more than one occasion by the…

Sure, there is all kinds of spin and misrepresentation in the world. That doesn’t make it acceptable. It most especially doesn’t make it acceptable for a company to promise (or even insinuate) that a game will look or play a certain way, or have certain features, and then sell you something that doesn’t match up with…

Addressing some very basic labor law violations (like the over-time issue Jason mentioned) or punishing companies for false advertising would go a long way towards improving the industry without being too invasive or crippling it.

No doubt publishers are primarily responsible for most of the things that result in gamer frustration. Again, I think some government regulation on the more shady behaviors or the release of games missing promised features would help relieve a little bit of the pressure on developers. Then again, I suppose it could…

Jason, I’ve been reading your book, and it’s clear that a big part of game development involves deception. I’m sure developers consider it a necessary evil since they are constantly trying to get funding for their current and future projects, but they put no small amount of effort into spectacular (but unrealistic)…