- The gaming discourse is at its peak amid the ongoing stuggle in the gaming industry.
- Some of the hate is totally unwarranted, while some is somewhat justifitable.
- Consumers can help make a difference by their actions instead of social media posts.
This is a very strange time for the gaming industry. While hardware prices are reaching a breaking point and game development budgets are skyrocketing, we are still in the middle of one of the best years gaming has had in this decade.
RAMpocalypse is upon us, which has put PC gaming beyond the reach of budget gamers and has also severely affected console prices. But we’ve still had hit after hit with 007 First Light, RE Requiem, Pragamata, Crimson Desert, and more.
However, there has been a rather unfortunate trend that the industry has picked up on its way, and that is toxicity. Discourse against the most minor of things has become so much that it genuinely feels forced at times.
But then there are also legitimate things that have happened in the past few months that need to be called out. These include the recent disc cancellation by PlayStation and a bunch of other developments.
Why it matters: All this discourse, warranted or not, needs to be discussed, and we will address it in this article. We’ll go through all the notable past events and how fans can actually make some difference in all this.
Why the Gaming Discourse Is Unwarranted
This might be a hot take, but all of the gaming discourse isn’t necessarily warranted. We live in a time where social media hugely influences our opinions. One bad take can change one’s whole perspective, leading to toxicity.
Now, the latest example of this trend is with Insomniac Games’ upcoming title Marvel’s Wolverine. It is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated PlayStation 5 games, and the studio recently showed detailed gameplay.
It did receive a lot of praise, but there was a group that has problems with it. Some were even comparing the game’s Sentinel fights to old-school Ben Ten games, which, in my opinion, is kind of an idiotic take.
Insomniac has been one of the most consistent studios in recent years, and has even been great at pumping out flagship releases just a few years apart. Interestingly, all of the last 5 releases have had Metacritic scores of over 85.
Then comes the discourse around unarguably the biggest game of all time, GTA 6. If you’re living under a rock, Rockstar suffered a major data leak that has led to a ton of the game’s footage surfacing online ahead of the Netflix showcase.
But people had critiques even of the leaked stuff, despite it very clearly being an early build. So, this, in my opinion, is just criticism for the sake of criticism. Judging something before even experiencing it is totally unwanted.
Why the Discourse Makes Sense in Certain Scenarios
Having said that the discourse is unwarranted, there are times where it is neccesary now a days, considering the state of the industry. Development funds and general costs have skyrocketed, and companies are charging fans the most.
Recently, PlayStation announced that it’s cancelling disc releases starting from 2028. This is undoubtedly a measure to cut further costs amid expensive memory prices, which seems like it will go on for a very long time.
But this is super anti-consumer and a measure that needs to be called out. While digital sales are peaking, there is still a market for physical games, and an even bigger market for second-hand ones, which will completely die.
Then there are other extreme measures like uncontrolled price hikes. The Xbox Series X now costs nearly the same as the PS5 Pro, a much more powerful console, and this raises alarm bells for future console pricing.
Undoubtedly, the biggest trend in the gaming industry that needs to be called out is layoffs. They have become so recurring, and studios are punishing developers for their own mistakes and for not managing things properly.
What Can Consumers Do to Make A Difference?
As consumers, we are very vocal about the ongoing problems; however, lashing out on social platforms isn’t the way to go. Players have been criticizing Sony’s digital push and then keep on buying games on the PS Store.
In this case, if we really want to make a difference, instead of just filing petitions and posting on X, we can vote with our wallet. Opt out of purchasing digital games, and focus entirely towards physical to make yourselves heard.
Unfortunately, we can’t do anything about the hardware prices due to whole AI boom and stuff. But to support smaller developers, what we can do is buy their games, which will lead to a more sustainable gaming industry.
In recent years there has been a flurry of great indie titles on Steam developed by brilliant smaller teams. Those titles are generally cheap and we can buy them to support them, and this is how we can be the difference in this struggling industry.
Do you agree about the points we discussed on the gaming discourse currently going on? Let us know your opinions in the comments below.
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News Reporter
Abdullah is an avid gamer who primarily plays single-player titles. If you can’t find him anywhere, he’ll probably be at his desk playing The Witcher 3 for the millionth time. When he isn’t playing games, he’s either reading or writing about them.
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