Rise of the Gamers: The backlash that is hitting the gaming industry

[Mardomus-malganis (Mardomus)]

There’s more to it than what Actizard is given about the reason for firing.

[Bearcatbull-dalaran (Bearcatbull)]

actually when players stop logging on hurting their time metrics. Yes it does effect the stocks.

By affecting metrics it hurts the pay/bonus of the people held accountable for said metrics. It does NOT effect stocks unless the company decides to share those metrics with their shareholders and the shareholders actually care about those metrics.

In my experience, metrics like that are internal only but I will admit Blizz may be different - IDK. Shareholders usually get financial metrics. Stop your sub, the shareholders will see it. Big issues like the phone comment that is all over the news, shareholders will hear of it. The rest, not so much

Actually by law, Blizzard has to release all that Information to Shareholders.

[Bearcatbull-dalaran (Bearcatbull)]

I’ve never played a game that listened to its “fans” and survived. Gamers are notoriously selfish, fickle and impatient. They want everything now and there is no satisfying them. If a game succeeds based on the original vision of its developers they should stick to that vision.

The issue is over the last three xpacs, Blizzard has not been following their original vision of the game. Which is why their sub numbers have dropped like they did, to include the majority of their gamers being unhappy.

[Kardan-jaedenar (Kardan)]

There’s more to it than what Actizard is given about the reason for firing.

CNBC has a good article on it.

[Cairnage-greymane (Cairnage)]

Actually by law, Blizzard has to release all that Information to Shareholders.

By law they have to release Time Played Metrics? The financial stuff they have to release I agree.

The internal metrics the company makes to evaluate its own performance though?
Do they release the number of customer contacts?
Do they release survey information on customer contacts?

Internal metrics like a Time played mechanic would not be in a financial disclosure. Its been awhile since finance 101 (and I didnt like it then), but those are usually about debt, revenue, and a bunch of other data money people care about like “Earnings Before Interest Depreciation Taxes & Amortization”

[Rockadee-fizzcrank (Rockadee)]

Look, the stock markets are doing backflips daily (tariffs are good for people tho right?) and to put the blame solely on the content publishing houses release is disingenuous at best. Others could say it’s making stuff up.

Imagine playing Life Force on original Nintendo and thinking CapCom should release their internal metrics so I know if this is a good game or not.

[Cruelzebub-zuljin]

Bring back challenging dungeons. M+ can stay in the picture for people who are interested in doing them but dungeons shouldn’t be an AoE slaughterhouse where tanks pull everything. Remember when you actually had to CC in dungeons? Bring it back.

Heroic dungeons are now meant to be a stepping stone to mythic dungeons, not spammable content that people might choose to do for fun, profit, and entertainment value.

Don’t do heroic dungeons if you don’t like them. I don’t agree with what they’ve done to them, but turning them into end content for highly geared players at the expense of those they are currently designed for would not be good for the game.

[Cairnage-greymane (Cairnage)]

tariffs are good for people tho right?

Good for main street.
Maybe not good for Wall Street short term.

[Rockadee-fizzcrank (Rockadee)]

Explain how a tax on the consumer is good for main street. For example, lets say I want to buy some Chinese TV’s that I get to pay an extra tax for. That benefits main street? Stop.

The stock market is in flux for alot of reasons (besides my snarky tariff reason). In game content is not one of them.

[Greenmonstr-aerie-peak (Greenmonstr)]

I can see them add quivers again. My next 370 loot cache will be a quiver no joke heh, knowing the RNG we have.

I agree with a lot if what OP posted. Especially one dungeons and how talent trees used to be. Been too much pruning and talents we have left, are way too many for each class that makes no sense, and no one in their right mind would ever bother using.

[Righteous-garrosh (Righteous)]

Actual Weather.

100% chance of TLDR, with intermittent yawns at sunrise.

[Cairnage-greymane (Cairnage)]

Easy, if you destroy the consumer base (as has been done in the US) there will be no one to buy the products. The service industry change was a lie.

People have to work and make money. If there are no jobs due to outsourcing or they pay the same as the third world countries we outsource to, there will be no one to buy the products.

[Gasparillaa-illidan]

Need virgin alert

[Yayayayayaya-area-52 (Yayayayayaya)]

I am curious if anything will actually come of it in terms of regulations. In the EU, where consumers are often protected, definitely. In the US where bri…I mean lobbying is legal, money usually takes precedence and the consumer can drop dead for all they care.

[Rigg-proudmoore (Rigg)]

Let me just toss this idea out there.

I am tired of games that want to suck the life out of me. I prefer real life money making and luxury toys and only want a game for very casual play. Hence, I don’t always play. Just maybe, there is a large audience out there wanting a more sandbox style MMORPG, which is far more open world, less liner, and allows you to feel like you are achieving without lots of time invested.

[Zevo-fenris (Zevo)]

I don’t think so. Sub numbers have dropped because the game is over 10 years old and people get bored. No one who actually plays cares about the drama going on in the forums.

[Mafic-emerald-dream (Mafic)]

Good post and you show that you are a valued member of the community. Let me add your insights pierce into the heart of the matter!

[Hellasha-alleria (Hellasha)]

People HATE RNG. We all know what it is Blizzard. It’s your lottery system that is designed to keep people logging in. If you made a great game again you wouldn’t have to design such systems. We dont want this RNGfest.

I don’t recalled saying you could speak for me, so speak for yourself.

Btw, RNG was just as prevalent in Wrath as it is now.

[Teksuo-grizzly-hills]

it had to happen, i’m glad it’s happening.

messages are being sent, hopefully they’ll be received and understood.

[Snikrot-silver-hand (Snikrot)]

Realistically speaking, yes–there’s a certain percentage of gamers that are very tired of the financial models being used at the moment. And there’s a much larger percentage of players who swallow them whole and persist in encouraging those same models.

We have a significant number of players out there who will happily pay to succeed in a video game. Whether that’s through loot boxes or P2W models or even 3rd party cheat systems, they only “win” when they’re at a point where there is no competition. They’ll pay literally thousands of dollars to get there. This is beyond the “whales” that inhabit P2W mobile games. We have them here in WoW–otherwise we wouldn’t have gold sellers, real money raid slots, etc.

It’s nice to say “hey, I’m sick of this” and tell the companies out there they have to change. But the dollars they’re getting tell them to keep going.

This is the truth. The most popular and successful game out there right now is Fortnite… the game that just happens to be the biggest example of a company selling out and altering it’s entire game structure based on a marketing and business perspective, and guess what? It’s obviously wildly successful for doing so.

People can kick and scream all they want but the fact of the matter is that gaming is no longer a niche activity. It’s unbelievably mainstream and it’s all about increasing accessibility to get more and more players. This is the future of gaming now and it’s not going to change because money talks. You either embrace it and find joy in the aspects of a game you do like or abandon it and move on with your life.