Deferred Preferences, Preferred Inferences
THE GRAND THEFT AUTO VI EFFECT
As the state of the video game industry seemingly tumbles from bad to worse with each passing day, the imminent release of Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto VI looms ever larger. Casting forlorn shadows on other releases initially planned for release over the same period. In the minds of some, the launch of the highly anticipated title will be the final ingredient in the witches brew that is the current state of the industry. What started out as dollops of bad news being meted out by the various publishers has now turned into an all you can eat buffet where gamers and video game developers alike banquet on misery. Each passing day reveals yet another studio closure or another round of layoffs at one studio or the other. With PlayStation’s resolute stance on their migration away from physical media and Take Two Interactive’s announcement of a lack of physical copies of GTA VI at launch, internauters in the gaming sphere have taken to ritualistically baptising themselves with rage. Video after video, comment section after comment section filled with an outpouring of anger towards the larger video game publishers and hardware manufacturers. While the disappointment is understandable, a lot of the anger is misguided. Surfeiting on the negative has left many obese with gloom and rendered them unproductive. The prevailing attitude on the interwebs suggests that there is not much worth left in this wonderful medium of art. Its fading light slowly dissipating into the darkness awaiting the dawn of GTA VI, which, in the minds of some will be ushering in a new dark age. An age in which gamers own nothing, corporations own everything and the art form forever tarnished.
Surfeiting on the negative has left many obese with gloom and rendered them unproductive.
However, this is not so. Gamers still have a choice. They are not an oppressed populace facing off against the bastions of the corporate world. At its very core the video game industry is still a business. Laying aside the elegance of art for the briefest of moments allows this truth to shine through. Businesses thrive on their clientele. Bad products don’t sell, great products provide for eons to come. Terrible business decisions have consequences. Poor management destroys companies and the products they offer faster than any boycott ever will. Microsoft-Xbox a prime example of this principle. Often the responsibility for failure of many a video game developer lies at the feet of its leadership. Sadly, some have taken to blaming other gamers and internet personalities for the failures of corporate leadership. Others even going as far as demanding accountability from a select few who cheered on decisions in the industry that have now proven catastrophic. This is misdirected anger. Influencers, Youtubers and others much like any other consumer have as much a right as anyone else to cheer or jeer business decisions made by video game publishers. It is doubtful their cheers or jeers had any meaningful impact in the boardrooms where the current crisis in gaming was birthed. Decisions planted and farmed in the past by corporate leadership have now yielded an inadequate harvest. There simply is not enough crop to feed the masses. Sadly, some of the feed is only good for dogs. Unpalatable and unworthy of any dinner table. Meanwhile, many gamers have pantries filled with delights. Alinea Analytics has pointed out that the new releases are often not in competition with each other but with an ever growing back catalog of games. A challenging economy, high costs of production and an overabundance of past and often cheaper titles have created a perfect storm for an industry collapse.
Sadly, some of the feed is only good for dogs. Unpalatable and unworthy of any dinner table.
GTA VI will soon drop out of orbit and will in all likelihood send shockwaves across this industry and others. Recent product launches from other publishers haven’t been a crowning achievement. Rather, an ever present reminder of lost halos once bequeathed to other titles in their past lineup. In competition with collections of games, now mastered by their target audience, sold and resold for much less than current day prices. In the past month, chiefly, one from 343 Industries. Two video game publishers in stark contrast to each other. Both being blamed for the prophesied collapse of the video game industry as we know it. One publisher run successfully, the other successfully being run into the ground. Yet, the player still remains key to the success of either. In spite of its eighty dollar price tag and lack of physical copies, GTA VI has already pre-sold buckets. When Microsoft-Xbox attempted to charge similar for ‘The Outer Worlds 2’ they were forced to retreat with tail tucked in between their legs. One is product many gamers will consider a must have item, the other a niche product seeking a wider audience. Ultimately the industry will revolve around the player regardless of attempts to mould and shape preferences by large publishers. The industry will thrive or die on the spacers‘ players’ choice deferring to their preferences. While some choose to infer the worst about the industry, it seems to simply be in a state of flux. Sooner or later it will settle down again into a familiar, sustainable groove.
Video companion piece here.
Images in order of appearance: Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay; Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay