Video games are an expensive hobby, but they don’t need to be. Unfortunately, the general consensus throughout the video game community is that in order for a video game to be considered valuable, it must last players a long time. This is simply untrue and is a direct result of overpricing our games. The medium is capable of offering interactive experiences that no other medium can rival yet developers struggle to stuff their games full of extra content because reviewers and consumers demand it. That’s understandable though, considering they need to drop a small fortune to experience that content. The community may ask for it, but they’re wrong: video games need to be shorter.
No fifty-hour video game is without its low-points, even if it’s made by a quality developer with an enormous budget, but as long as consumers have to pay fifty to sixty dollars per game, they will demand these lengthy experiences. If AAA titles were only ten hours long at best, it would be easier for developers to avoid lulls and easier for players to digest the game as a quality experience, but at sixty bucks a pop, players want to digest games as valuable as well.
Imagine Assassin’s Creed 2 or Grand Theft Auto 4 without the padding of various collect-a-thons and meaningless side missions alongside a thirty-dollar price tag. Not only could you afford to buy and play more games but complete them as well. A common topic discussed throughout the video game community is reducing the size of one’s backlog of games. Gamers often find themselves owning numerous games they’ve had for months but never played. Compared to other mediums that can be rapidly consumed, video game enthusiasts pay more and experience less complete titles.
The mentality of bigger is better pervades even video games, but it’s difficult to imagine any other hobby that is supplemented so frequently and for so much money despite consumers rarely seeing these supplements through. The video game industry needs to realize that while reviewers and consumers are justified in demanding more bang for their buck, its the high price points that are at the root of the problem. Shorter, more focused video games would make for more enjoyable experiences all around, giving gamers a greater sense of accomplishment and more cash in pockets.
This is the first half of my response to On the Contrary, a Bitmob community writing challenge. Want to participate? View the submission guidelines in the original post and post your entries by January 31st.
The other half of my response can be found here.