From a gamer's perspective, the system is broken. From a developer's (not distributor's) perspective, the system is broken. There's way too much pressure on technology driving the market. Wrong approach. This is one reason I get pissed off at how quickly I'm supposed to fork over more money just to have a machine that will play new games. No one can get comfortable with any one tier of technology, so they can excel at development, drive down costs, and get more quality games out, as well as make games more affordable (for 2 reasons, buyers have more money in their pockets, and tech-learning costs are spread out better). Before you're done paying for one thing, the next is knocking at your door, and overloading the tech talent who create the software.
I would understand if we were at a primitive stage in real-time audiovisual rendering, such as during the 8- and 16-bit generations of consoles. But this is not the case, as both graphics and audio are as good as they need to be to create expansive worlds which move fluidly. I'm all for improvements at a sane pace; but I can't see hopping from one tier to the next so quickly that no one gets to benefit from the previous one.
So now the spin is that advertising is necessary to make games development possible? Bullshit. Ad revenue is necessary for big corporations to fatten their coffers. I guarantee you that if people weren't such bleating sheep, they would find a way to make money without a single obtrusive ad, without invading your system and peering into your personal information. That the masses go willingly to the slaughterhouse is to be expected; but why is the gaming press sheepishly following the company line of the likes of EA? Isn't that a tacit admission that the press is in the pocket of the money people in this industry? Then why should we treat anything they say as anything more meaningful than an ad?
