I having been playing video games for most of my life. When I was little, my brother introduced me to Pokemon and I have been hooked on video games ever since. Whenever I got out of school, I would go home and just play video games for the rest of the day.
As I got older, I started following what was happening in the video game industry, mainly through YouTube and Reddit. In recent years since keeping up with video game media, I have noticed some trends and patterns that I think are hurting the industry. This isn't a comprehensive list of everything wrong in the industry but just a few of the ones I have noticed.
Yearly Releases
Some companies decide to put out a game each year. The biggest companies that are guilty of this are Activision and Electronic Arts. Activision has been releasing a Call of Duty game every year since 2005. From what I’ve seen, the quality of these releases has been inconsistent. It’s either okay, has lackluster content or it’s an unfinished and buggy mess. With such little time between each game, there’s no room for innovation. Each game feels similar to last game just with a new title on it. EA does yearly releases for their sports games such as Fifa and Madden. It has been reported that these games are hardly different than their last year counterparts. They’re just minor adjustments and roster changes. EA could’ve easily just update the game with the new content and changes but no they want players to pay for a whole new game.
Games Releasing Too Early
Some video games are released too early. It’s not uncommon to hear a newly released game littered with glitches and bugs. The biggest example of this in recent years is the release of Cyberpunk 2077. Shortly after release, player after player reported encountering glitches/bugs. It was so bad the game had to removed off the PlayStation store temporarily. None of that would’ve happened if the game studio took the time to properly test the game. They prioritized their deadlines over the quality of the game.
Excluding Content For Paid DLC
I have noticed that some video game companies use DLC as a way to get more money. The most recent example of this is the latest Pokémon release: Pokémon Legends Z-A. Before the game even released, Nintendo already announced a paid DLC for it. A DLC is meant to extend life on a game. It seems to me they intentionally locked content behind a paywall so that they could extract more money from players. Nintendo knows that Pokémon is a big franchise so they want to profit as much as possible.
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