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| AUGUST 13, 2008 |
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Gritskrieg rants and you read
Download this.
Download this.
By Grits
There have been some rumblings on ye olde Interweb in
regards to a game called Braid which is currently available via
Xbox Live. The rumblings have been in regards to the price tag
of fifteen dollars, which some seem to hold to be high for a
downloadable game. Not so long ago, I reviewed Penny
Arcade’s downloadable game “On the Rainslick Precipice of
Darkness” and, yes, I mentioned that game’s twenty dollar
price tag as an initial “snag” for me when considering its
purchase. So I think I understand the discontent.
There have been some rumblings on ye olde Interweb in
regards to a game called Braid which is currently available via
Xbox Live. The rumblings have been in regards to the price tag
of fifteen dollars, which some seem to hold to be high for a
downloadable game. Not so long ago, I reviewed Penny
Arcade’s downloadable game “On the Rainslick Precipice of
Darkness” and, yes, I mentioned that game’s twenty dollar
price tag as an initial “snag” for me when considering its
purchase. So I think I understand the discontent.
It isn’t that I am unwilling to pay for a good game. I have paid considerably more for other
games that have turned out to be awful. And certainly there is something to be said for being
able to purchase and play a game without ever having to put on pants. Well, without ever
having to put on pants and leave the house. I suppose one could shop pantless in public if
one were so inclined. Most of the signs say “No shirt, no shoes, no service” completely
failing to cover those individuals who wear both shirts and shoes but no pants. I digress.
Part of the problem is the lack of a physical manifestation of the purchase. Walking out of the
local gaming outlet, one will have in their possession a copy of a game in a box, most often
with an instruction book which may or may not actually be instructional. I believe in many
cases it is this lack of the corporeal evidence that they have made a purchase that does not
sit well with the average gamer.
For me, in regards to Xbox Live, it is the devilish system of points that I must first purchase if I
choose to download a game. Rather than assigning a monetary value to the games,
Microsoft has chosen to establish their own economy with a one way exchange system
forcing the consumer to buy points in odd numbered lots. The result is that you always seem
to have some odd amount of points in your account that you can never rid yourself of, akin to
crossing the Canadian border to purchase goods and receiving all of your change in
Canadian nickels… Yeah, try getting rid of those suckers at the local Piggly Wiggly.
I’m becoming more accustomed to the method of purchase and I may even find a use for
those odd piles of fifty points some day. And I certainly don’t want to see developers stop
producing these low cost games. But there’s a pang each time I download one of these
“indie” games when I realize there will never be a box and disc to add to my collection. And
somewhere in my paranoid mind, those piles of points sitting unused on Xbox Live are
somehow being reported as a profit… Cheaters. [Comment on this]
Gritskrieg – End of Line
games that have turned out to be awful. And certainly there is something to be said for being
able to purchase and play a game without ever having to put on pants. Well, without ever
having to put on pants and leave the house. I suppose one could shop pantless in public if
one were so inclined. Most of the signs say “No shirt, no shoes, no service” completely
failing to cover those individuals who wear both shirts and shoes but no pants. I digress.
Part of the problem is the lack of a physical manifestation of the purchase. Walking out of the
local gaming outlet, one will have in their possession a copy of a game in a box, most often
with an instruction book which may or may not actually be instructional. I believe in many
cases it is this lack of the corporeal evidence that they have made a purchase that does not
sit well with the average gamer.
For me, in regards to Xbox Live, it is the devilish system of points that I must first purchase if I
choose to download a game. Rather than assigning a monetary value to the games,
Microsoft has chosen to establish their own economy with a one way exchange system
forcing the consumer to buy points in odd numbered lots. The result is that you always seem
to have some odd amount of points in your account that you can never rid yourself of, akin to
crossing the Canadian border to purchase goods and receiving all of your change in
Canadian nickels… Yeah, try getting rid of those suckers at the local Piggly Wiggly.
I’m becoming more accustomed to the method of purchase and I may even find a use for
those odd piles of fifty points some day. And I certainly don’t want to see developers stop
producing these low cost games. But there’s a pang each time I download one of these
“indie” games when I realize there will never be a box and disc to add to my collection. And
somewhere in my paranoid mind, those piles of points sitting unused on Xbox Live are
somehow being reported as a profit… Cheaters. [Comment on this]
Gritskrieg – End of Line
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