Why I Won't be buying the Xbox One and other Videogame Ripoffs

Videogame Ripoffs Decrease Trust and Consumer Loyalty

Trust. It’s the ultimate commodity in business. Trust once lost has to be earned. Consumers place some trust in businesses when buying products. Gamers trust that developers will make good games in exchange for long-term earnings through customers purchasing repeatedly. But what happens when developers get greedy and water down their product, cut costs or repeatedly overcharge through multiple DLC? Well consumers start to look elsewhere for more cost-effective products that are less disrespectful to them. Consumers stop coming back for the next product after being ripped off the first time. When you kill the cow, you can’t keep on milking it. That’s the reason I refuse to buy DLC even for games I like, such as Dark Souls or Assassin’s Creed.

How Bioware went down the RPG Ripoff route

Let’s take a look at a few of the once innovative companies that now seem to churn out garbage, like Bioware. Bioware started as an innovative computer RPG company producing hits like the enormous Baldur’s Gate II. Now it churns out turds like Dragon Age II where I don’t get to choose my race, whether I have a family or even my last name. Despite all these roleplaying limitations I get put on the rails of a sleep-inducing story (with one exceptional part dealing with the Qunari) often playing through the exact same maps reused. Then I find out more pay-to-play DLC is being offered. I won’t be buying the next Bioware Game unless it comes out on clearance and reviews show Bioware has done a 180 degree turn.

How Blizzard went down the RTS Ripoff Route

Next, onto Blizzard. I’ve followed Blizzard since Warcraft I, a real time computer strategy game. I liked the gritty realism, voice acting, improved cinematics and increasingly competitive multiplayer as Blizzard moved from Warcraft II to Starcraft I. I was impressed with the transition to multi-player, the use of multiple races and attempts at balancing in Starcraft. Now Blizzard just treats consumers like garbage. I refused to buy Diablo III after the dry and grossly imbalanced (did anyone use the Necromancer?) Diablo II. I wasn’t impressed with World of Moneycraft and its endless expansions and kill-x-many-wolves quests. What really angers me though is the lack of innovation in Starcraft 2. After ten years in development, Blizzard knows it can have a cheap singleplayer and churn out THREE games at full price rather than just one. That takes chutzpah. That is some serious Microsoft-level ripping off right there.

Microsoft's XboxOne Takes Videogame Rippingoff to a Whole New Level

Which brings me to the Grand-Mufta of sleazy overcharging and consumer ripping off – Microsoft. This is the same company that wants to license your word processing software instead of just letting you own the software product. Now they’ve taken their slit-your-mother’s-throat-for-a-nickel ways to console gaming. Xbox One’s initial specs involved play-only-when-connected-to-the-internet and limits on buying and trading used games. Essentially they wanted to limit property rights consumers had in their products while still having to pay full price. Now Microsoft backed down but only after risking annihilation by their main competitor – the PS4. However it would be a mistake to buy the Xbox One anyways. I’d be supporting a company that sees nothing wrong with savagely raping consumers except when it can’t get away with it. I’d be passing up hard earned cash so teams of lawyers and accountants could figure out new ways to screw over gamers and extract as much cash as possible. Oh but Sony does the same thing you say? Yes every company has to make a profit, but only some companies push beyond the lines of decency and end up in the land of crookery, haberdashery, nay villainy. And that is why I won’t be buying the Xbox One, because I just don’t trust Microsoft not to screw me over ten times a day if I use their products. 

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