jcrg99

Jean · @jcrg99

29th Aug 2015 from TwitLonger

It's just natural. The game industry started a few decades ago and now, when in the past it was all about kids playing, we have a growing number of adults in the gamer population.

So, naturally, the public is becoming more mature, but at the same time, more passionate about this product/service of entertainment that they are buying. They are affected much more about that. Its not anymore the motto "it's just a game, move on to the next". Still is, but, we have a growing sense of "I am a customer and I have rights and I don't accept to be mislead" in the minds of gamers. Still not enough to call attention of Feds or any customer protection entity of any country, at least, so quickly, but its growing. Feds probably still look to games as not so important as other matters, even that it be a billionaire market, at least in the matter of customer protection. But, even that slowly, its growing the movement, and growing slowly, but faster than in the past decades.

Regardless Feds action, or even lawsuits, with this natural grow in the maturity of the gamers, the companies must to adapt themselves if they want to keep themselves in the business, or, they won't survive to what's coming next. Period.

Publishers are way ahead and noticed that. They are trying, even that failing sometimes to do not disappoint this more demanding/entitled public. So, these "fans" of Star Citizen, think that people do not understand "development". No. They got it backwards. The gamers are maturing when they require more from the dev's speech. Actually are some developers that refuse to adapt themselves to how this market is evolving. How games are becoming more than just "entertainment" to many people, but a "way of life" or "their main hobby".

And as they become pissed of when they buy that broken car, or an restaurant does not respect his earlier reserve made, or when they are not treated well in a hospital and they will pursuit their rights on these matters, the same they will do for games, because games are also a matter of importance to their lives, so important as any other thing, or even entertainment matter, that the person still want their customer rights respected.

The developers who won't adapt themselves to this reality, to the public becoming more mature to the customer mindset instead keeping themselves in the "celebrity x fan" relationship, have probably to change their focus when doing games, for games that won't have adults playing it.

Go work with Minecraft, or with Candy Crush Saga or Doritos Crash Course 2, because that customer base, won't have issues or won't even notice any promise broken.

But those making games for a target public that is more adult, hardcore, must to adapt themselves, instead hoping that will evangelize these adults that games are a special snow-flake that they shouldn't care (Even that they care more with that, than other things, in practice). It won't work. They can sustain a few people, still with the sentiment of the past, or for whatever reason, preferring the old age of the game industry, which sometimes is a confusion of the person, when what the person wants in fact, is just go back in time, go back to be young, etc. But they won't hold the majority. A growing majority.

CIG and his fans has been claiming that is doing something "game changer". No. They aren't. They are a last breath of people that have no space in the game industry anymore and won't survive to this industry anymore. They must to adapt themselves to a new reality of the market. To the evolution of the mindset of the gamers, becoming more and more aware that they are customers, they have rights, and there is no reason, given the importance of games in their lives, that they should just "move on" when disappointed and lied to.

Only if Roberts changed his mindset, stop with the nonsense or be delusional by a few zealots following him, Cloud Imperium Games can survive in the long term, with trust, good and growing reputation. Otherwise they will be stagnant in their current level of retention, which is pretty much, very low, and do not make mistake, with all profit interest that those leaders of CIG want and needs to keep moving, that means a soon death of this project and company.

The mindset of Chris Roberts is the same that lead IBM almost to its bankruptcy a few decades ago. In the verge of the colapse, the huge behemoth of techonology industry woke up, changed his old view and finally learned that they should adapt themselves to the reality of the markets that they worked, instead hoping that the market should adapt to them. And just a few years later, they were back in the top. We can say that companies like EA and Microsoft have been following the same right path, recently, in the matter of games.

But that happened because they were IBM, you know. And they are EA/Microsoft. What a hell is Cloud Imperium Games? It's just a starter company, with a tiny public, and making its target even nicher than it was at the beginning (by pushing more the boundaries and letting out many people that won't pursuit so hard, upgrade their machines).

A starter company that should first "become as big as EA" to then, have the option to screw with the public in general, sometimes, but still hoping or having chances to be rescued and to recover. No. The level of bullshit that they are doing is only leading all this to a soon death with no chance of rescue or recover. They won't have a tradition in the market to hold them. They are nothing yet, to consider that can save themselves after breaking promises and screwing patience and reliability levels of a niche public.

And as more it takes longer, which are the people interested in personal profit inside CIG probably want, more they enrich personally, but at the same time, more bigger will be the disaster, with more people involved, getting more angry, going to their limits of patience, at the same time that are pushed to even higher investiments.

(because its a sin just to deliver important things to people get by playing. It must to have a luxury price associated to anything)

In the end people are just worried with "who is more fool". Or, in the end, its guilty of CIG, or its guilty of backers... The issue is... it does not matter who is the guilty one... everyone will pay for it. And will pay more if been lenient with this, knowing that they could have avoided it, or at least, minimized the damage if doing something (except those that will just lie to themselves but in deep, they will know it).

I think that fool is the people who care with the game industry, with its growing, with the crowd-funding growing, with the Space Sim genre growing, letting this party of lies to continue, with the obvious clear result of many many people disappointed and never again pledging or believing on anything or anyone that offers anything in the game industry.

It's a loss for everyone of the game industry, every worker, press, even players, but a win for Chris Roberts and co., because you know, they are becoming richer and richer.

As soon as it ends, or changed putting this back on the tracks of the reality of the market to avoid a certain colapse that only benefits Chris Roberts and a few associates and nobody else, as soon as people move against it, better. It's a chance to save something.

Besides, while this "run for personal profit" continues, many indie developers that would like to take their chances in the genre with reasonable targets, or even publishers that had projects in the plans (yes, EA did not discard the possibility to make a new Wing Commander and even gave the possibility to Piranha Games to make and present to them a prototype, which was just shut down, because Roberts started his "reality" show of bullshit that he claims to be "game development"), don't see the light of the day.

Are all put in hold, or fails on Kickstarter tries, because you know... Roberts is doing "everything", and if in one side the keeps a few people supporting him, in the others, all the huge majority of backers are already disappointed and not trusting just on Roberts, but in any other Kickstarter/crowd-funding project.

"Kickstarter/Crowd-funding no more" - that's what you have been seen coming from many people and the numbers of the Space Sim crowdfunders who tried is telling.

So, there is no positive aspect of letting SC go. Could have a positive aspect of not letting they go, like a chance to put the project in the right path, and saving something, because damage, I am sure it already exists, but, still could have some chance to save it, and/or putting a perspective to the genre and crowdfunding, that people who does not respect customers, like Roberts did, are not let go free and getting richer regardless the end result for the majority of its public.

It can add, yes, more reliability to customers on putting their money in crowd-funding projects. Knowing that they will be accountable if failing. Knowing that by force of law, by action of Feds or even customers, they will have to pay attention to what they say, what they do, what they promise, instead thinking that "the sky is the limit" and saying whatever that motivates more cash grabbing, just to later, pointing the finger for the majority, because there are enough "rich few" evangelized to give them free money.

Sure that is how a few developers get richer. Sure is how they kill the industry that they work.

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