Gamer's Perspective

Evil prevails when good men (or women) fail to act. While this may be an overly dramatic saying, lets face it, desperate times call for desperate measures. Gamers have sat idly by for far too long and now it’s about to bite us in the ass. First things first, we are all guilty. I am not absolving myself of guilt in regards to this situation. Quite the opposite actually, as I’ve known what was going to eventually happen. Unfortunately I’ve put too much faith in my fellow man and well as always, I’ve been burned.

Game bundles have been around really since the launch of the Gameboy Advance. I understand from the retail standpoint what the thought process is behind making bundles the only options for systems. I understand that retailers like EB Games and Gamestop only make $5-$10 on each piece of hardware sold (if that) and that the majority of profit comes from sales of the games and peripherals. So at first I did not mind it when the GBA released and you had to pick up a system and a choice of game off a list of options (the options being the entire launch line-up). I mean who isn’t going to grab a game with their system at launch? Unfortunately that was just the beginning. Then strangely with each consecutive system launch the list of games you could choose from became smaller and smaller. It was annoying but I could still find something to pick, so it was no big deal. Progressively this of course got worse as retailers started packaging their highest profit margin games with the system, guaranteeing that they would at least make a set profit on each bundle pick up, regardless on the quality of the game and completely indifferent to the needs and wants of the gamer.

Now comes probably the most odious of all bundles. We have sat idly by for so long that it has come to a point where a retailer is confident that the gaming pubic will just take anything they can get. $699.99 for a system that launches at the retail price of $249.99? Pardon me while I bust out the trusty calculator for all you non-math majors out there. That’s $450 dollars more than the price of the console alone. Sure you get practically the entire launch library and extra controller and other add-ons but why should you? You are being forced to guarantee a profit margin to a company that has done nothing but restrict your ability to buy the games of your choosing at launch.

Yet as I type this a bunch of you have run out and preordered it to the point where there are no longer any left. For all that have done so; do you realize what you have done? You were the lab rats and as such, you have just guaranteed that the next system that launches will be bundled to such a degree if not more so. What’s probably even more disturbing than that is the nice addition of not selling the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess title separately anymore in the stores instead they will be includes only in their horrific bundles because of “software shortages”. Undoubtedly this was done to make sure their insanely priced bundles had a chance to sell but again lets take a look as to what this may now mean in the future. Does this mean we can expect high profile launch titles games to only be bundled with systems? It is hard enough having to get a hold of a system at launch in the day of preorders but now another obstacle seems to be looming on the horizon. If by the grace of God you are able to get a system at launch at a store like Best Buy are Wal-Mart, will it be another battle just to get a hold of that AAA game at launch because certain retailers are going to go bundle only?

As time passes it continually seems that gamers needs are being pushed aside in attempts to maximize profits and unfortunately it looks like it’s only going to get worse. With items designed to suck every last dollar from our pockets such as downloadable content and micro-transactions being developed constantly, is there anything we can do to slow down the onslaught upon our wallets? The answer is yes, though I do not know if many of us can stomach the consequences. It is up to us to not purchase these things. Yes it may be unfair for these companies to create them and sell them but without a buyer the companies will have no incentive to continue down this path. I understand that may mean not having the absolute newest game, console or add-on instantly, yet in the long run you will be making it better for not only yourself but the gaming community as a whole. Vote with you wallet by choosing to support stores and companies that do things the way they should be done or the way you’d like them to be done. Last but not least, if you are unhappy write that letter. If companies get enough negative feedback things will change. Remember that gaming is your hobby and lifestyle, do not let others determine the direction the industry will take if you know that it’s wrong.

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By Jeremy Mravlja Gamer's Perspective