It’s time for us all to be honest with ourselves and admit Modern Gaming Sucks. I don’t really mean that we have BAD video games. But, overall gaming has changed and I honestly believe for the worst.
This article is probably beating a dead horse at this point. With that being said I want to express my opinion in written form and on a podcast episode. I’ve been part of gaming since I could remember. From the NES to all the way finally graduating to full-on PC gamer. I’ve seen changes over time that many at least these days might not even know of.
I will be covering all the vast reasons I believe Modern Gaming Sucks below.
Why Are Modern Video Games So Bad?
Modern Games necessarily aren’t “BAD”. When it comes to Modern Gaming it’s really how the game is monetized anymore. It’s you either a GaaS (Game as a Service), Battle Passes, Skins, always online, 500 different currencies, and or Pay to Win.
We all understand games are meant to make money in the long run. People want to be rewarded for their idea of a video game. Their hard work of designing, programming, networking, whatever it might be to make this game even exist. They do deserve to get paid.
The problem is you can tell most of these companies are soulless corporations now and the games are no longer hard-working passion projects. All those have gone to indie developers who love and want to design their idea of a game. Only to find out how hard and time-consuming it is and never release it.
Modern Gaming is becoming ALMOST as bad as Modern Hollywood. No one is wanting to take a risk and only wants to copy what is currently popular. The MASS amount of Battle Royales that came out over the last few years was CRAZY. They all wanted a piece of the Fortnite/PUBG money pie. Then we are all left with Fortnite, PUBG, Warzone, and Apex at the end of the day.
I couldn’t tell you how many other BRs have fallen to the waste side.
Modern Gaming Problems
Here I want to discuss and break down all the above-mentioned problems I see with Modern Gaming.
If you think I’m missing something be sure to hit me up on twitter and join our official discord below!
Game as a Service (GaaS)
If you’ve followed me at all in the latest years. You might’ve heard of a little website called quakefans.net. Quakefans started off as a Quake Champions fan website just because I loved Quake and wanted to cover everything I could about the game. Anyways I digress but Quake Champions is one of the main games I started realizing GaaS was a big problem.
Games like Rumbleverse/Spellbreak shut down because it was they were games that required tons of players, always online, etc.
Quake Champions is in the same boat. In the past games like Quake, Quake II, Quake III, and even Quake Live could still be played offline with bots and if they honestly had a single player. Quake III was one of the first games EVER to really ONLY focus on Multiplayer Gameplay can still be played TODAY.
That is where these GaaS hit a problem. What happens when the servers are shut down?
All this digital art, work, time, effort, you name it goes into digital oblivion to never be played again. Why do you ask? Because how can you?
Unless someone throws together some hacked-together client that connects to a hacked-together server emulated then it’s gone forever. Unlike previous entries in the Quake franchise. There are official server binaries that us common folk can throw on a computer/server and host a dedicated server for people to connect to.
I don’t know many games that do that anymore. I really have no idea why either. There really isn’t any explanation/excuse I’ve heard of why it’s a good reason. It makes no sense to me, most of us tech people have old machines just laying around wanting to do something useful like server hosting. But, instead, companies have chosen to use things like Amazon Gamelift only whenever they wouldn’t have to pay us anything to host.
Imagine you couldn’t play your favorite game growing up ever AGAIN
Just take a moment and think back for example if your favorite game of all time at 10-13 years old was Pokemon Yellow (No it’s not mine) and you could NEVER play this game again. Ever. There was no way to ever play it.
Does that make ANY sense to you? It doesn’t because Pokemon Yellow has a billion ways to play it today. Whether it’s original Hardware, emulation, or whatever. You can still EXPERIENCE that game today.
Take all these kids that probably LOVED Rumbleverse, Spellbreak, etc… Once the servers are gone they are gone. I feel like these games aren’t popular enough to get a hacked-together emulation/private server. So they will just vanish probably forever.
That kind of sucks right? I know these were someone’s favorite games and they can never play it again. Ever. However you feel about the games mentioned, you might hate them. But, I almost guarantee it was SOMEONE’s favorite game. Someone that spent money on the game, for skins, battle passes, etc.
It’s all gone.
Battle Passes and Skins
While I don’t think Battle Passes and Skins are bad things for Free 2 Play Games. These FREE-to-play games have to make money somehow. Cosmetics items are great,
The problem is Battle Passes only work for games that can give you quests and more stuff to do, other than play the game.
For Example. Fortnite’s battle pass is what I would call the gold standard.
Fortnite’s monetization has been almost perfect for a game of its nature. While at its core it is a Battle Royale and your goal is to be the last one alive. They designed the map and game in such a way you can explore and level up this battle pass, collect gear, skins, and more. There is more to do in Fortnite than to play the standard game to level it up.
Now for a bad example, this is mostly geared for First Person Shooters games like Quake Champions, and Overwatch 2. The battle passes are terrible.
QC has to be one of the worst battle passes and experiences I’ve ever witnessed. It literally offers nothing but 2 new items and there is no way to “grind” this battle pass but to play the game. This doesn’t work for Arena or First Person Shooters without some of a massive world to explore. Overwatch 2 isn’t fun either. It’s required to buy a battle pass to unlock the latest champion. At least you get a new character if you get the battle pass. Unlike some games that offer nothing and just wanted to hop on the Battle Pass model.
Currencies and Gacha Mobile Gaming
It’s no secret that mobile gaming is a giant cash cow that has game developers salivating from the mouth.
It’s not that mobile gaming can’t be good. It really can be, but whenever you have MOBILE GAMERS willing to fork over full paychecks to join guilds, buy gear, or unlock 5-star champions you normally cannot unlock without paying $99 there is a problem.
I really cannot wrap my head around this type of game. Clash of clans is fun, but then you are paywalled or time-gated unless you pay money to do anything. Most of the games are free and give you the feeling that it’s completely free to play, you can unlock this stuff. It’s just going to take you 100x longer than if you give MONEY.
The biggest and worst gaming gacha has to be Diablo Immortal.
I’m still saddened about how good the game really could’ve been. It’s all just a big fake dopamine hit.
It’s all just scripted, it doesn’t even matter if you pay some money. You’ll never get anywhere close to a Whale mobile gamer.
Diablo Immortal could’ve actually been one of the BEST mobile games of all time. It had awesome graphics, story, music, and gameplay. It’s awesome until you finally realize it’s all a trick.
Not to mention ALL the currencies in the game. Why can’t games just have 1 or 2 currencies? We don’t need 100 premium currents and 5 freemium ones. It makes no sense.
Gacha gaming has ruined the vast majority of gaming on mobile, and it’s slowly creeping up on consoles and PC gaming alike.
Pay-to-Win
Pay to Win has been a thing for a long time. It’s gotten progressively worse in most years though.
While I am a fan of Magic the Gathering the Collectible Card game at least if I buy physical copies of cards I do have the option to eventually sell them. They don’t disappear, vanish into the nether as if they never existed. Many have said Magic the Gathering is Pay2Win and while that is a fair assessment of some decks out there, that require high-end and rare cards. You still have a great chance to win with $20 decks.
My main point is back to Modern Gaming. Games like Diablo Immortal and Lost Ark all have this amazing gameplay. But, you can just pay, pay, and pay to level up your character. You can actually pay so much that someone that has grind-ed and grind-ed the WHOLE entire time cannot even stand a chance.
That’s not all that happens when the servers go offline. All this money and time you’ve sunk into this game literally goes to nothing? You have nothing to show for it.
Sure you can compete with the other whales in the game. At what point is it just who has the most money though?
Where is the barrier of entry like in trading card games like MTG? In these games I’m talking about there is no endpoint. There is just spending more and more, and getting more powerful. Whatever you want to spend that’s how powerful your character will be.
Best way to enjoy Modern Gaming
The best way to enjoy Modern Gaming these days is to really not take them too seriously. I know that’s hard for the competitive folks out there, and I’m even referring to myself. Diablo Immortal I was actually having fun with the game playing on PC leveling up getting gear. I immediately after seeing all the videos coming out about all the money people was having to spend.
It immediately put a sour taste in my mouth. What happened to my Diablo Franchise that cost $60 and I get to grind and play for hours on end without worrying about having to spend MORE of my hard-earned money?
If you can get over the fact that most of these Free 2 Play, Game as a Service, games are basically never-ending and can be quite fun and enjoyable in the right amounts.
I think the perfect model if you are launching a Free 2 Play, GaaS. Is to only allow skin purchases, and cosmetics and to let the gameplay and items be found in the game while playing.
This still only works for so many games and shouldn’t be the standard. As I previously stated this works for Fortnite, but does not work for a game like Quake Champions.
A game like QC should’ve been this is how much this costs to play $60. Have fun.
The only real problem I see with the future is when most of these games go offline, that’s it. Who is going to host a League of Legends server and Fortnite? It’s not going to happen.
I recommended if you want to support these games you love, spend around $60 like you would have back in the day get yourself a few skins, grab a battle pass, and enjoy the game.
Are Twitch/YouTube Streamers to blame for the Woes of Modern Gaming?
Some YouTubers and twitch streamers do have a big influence on if the game is good or not. Some of them are actually bought by these companies and telling you to keep playing games like Diablo Immortal. That it is ok to spend $1,000s of dollars on some of these games.
Say your favorite streamer Dr. Disrespect starts telling million of his followers that Diablo Immortal was AWESOME. Of course, he gets everything for free and entertains but you want to be like him and have the best character you can have. Well, too bad you are going to have to pay.
Luckily, people like Dr. Disrespect and Asmongold are true gamers and understand and see the awfulness that some of these game companies are doing nothing but milking the gaming niche as hard as they can milk it for every little penny.
Modern Gaming Sucks: Conclusion
While I don’t think that games released today are awful. It’s really all the practices that they are doing to get every little penny out of everyone. It’s become pure greed.
Gone are the days of hearing stories of John Carmack and John Romero head-banging to heavy metal music, in a dark office, developing Quake, and trying to make it one of the best games ever created.
Then turning around and releasing the Engine for everyone on the planet to use.
While the quality of games has gone up, there are more video games that offer more to a gamer than ever before. It’s almost overwhelming to be quite frank.
The biggest problem I see though instead of making the best and most enjoyable game they can create, they develop it in such a way, as to make sure it holds back the gamer.
Unlock the next level for $5.99.
Imagine if Super Mario World would’ve had a battle pass to unlock Luigi as a playable character. While it would’ve been cool to maybe have an expansion or some DLC. In a way, it’s a good thing to actually have a game have an ENDING to it and not go on till the end of time.
Be sure to check out the podcast episode as I go on a rant about all of this in audio format.
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