As we head into the gaming world, it’s common for us to pick our favorite franchises and follow them passionately as everything evolves. Football, FPS, fighting games, RPGs, all genres, without exception, have series that are currently in their 20s and even 30 years.
However, all this devotion comes at a cost: having to deal with low quality titles or titles that are not so exciting and make us spend our hard-earned money on experiences that are becoming more and more expensive. Worst of all is that still, when they announce a new title, we’ll be there once again to pay to see if it’s worth what it cost. Spoiler: it is almost never worth it.
Dead ball
Perhaps one of the most passionate communities that exist in Brazil, and in the world, is soccer. Of course, this would be no different on the virtual field, with annual FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer series titles being the epicenter of a fierce debate over which would be better. However, despite all the heat surrounding this topic, a consensus is certain: both are increasingly innovating less and costing more.
Many players have reported in discussion groups that it’s been a while since the two series bring less and less news in terms of gameplay and graphics, taking the trouble to just update the rosters, and all this charged at full price. FIFA 21 was released for an exorbitant R$300 (US$60), with few additions and despite the avalanche of complaints, it sold very well on its debut. The PES edition was more “honest” and treated only as an update to the previous version, sold for a cheaper price (or not), between R$180 (US$29.99) and R$200 (US$ 34.99).
To add to the controversy, IGN replicated for the Nintendo Switch version of FIFA 21 the same analysis done for FIFA 20. The justification was something like “if they can copy and paste the same game under a different name, we can also copy and paste the same review with a different note”. Given all this, why do players continue to put up with this type of practice from these producers?
The answers are simpler than you might think. First, it involves the passion of the soccer world. There’s not just someone who likes it, or you’re passionate or you don’t care about it. Second, the “everyone plays” factor. If the same group of friends started playing, clearly they won’t want to dissolve that link and so will follow the evolution of the franchise, whatever the cost. Finally, the hope that the next one will always be better. It’s more worth paying to see than waiting for the opinion of a specialized site or even a friend who has already acquired it. “No one better than me to know if it’s good for me.”
The hard life of someone who unlocks characters with money
A second group that I want to portray, and that I’ve been a part of for many years, is fighting game fans. One of the greatest joys of this genre was starting a title full of question marks on the character selection screen and releasing each new combatant one by one. How I miss the good times… Today, the ability to close the arcade with everyone on hard has been traded for the visceral Season Pass. If FIFA and PES have annual releases, fighting games like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Tekken have gained a new method of operation. The game is released in such a way that it already has extra content scheduled for the next two or three years. To access it, all you have to do is pay a ridiculous amount of cash, which is already close to what is charged for the game, to have all that and in a way that is not instantaneous.
Another twist of the genre is that after the release of a bunch of characters, the game will be re-released with a new price, including everything that was added separately, making anyone who purchased the separate pass feel like a real idiot. And yet the buy-in of this type of content by the public is high. The feeling of having a full cast leads us to swallow the fifth season pass of Street Fighter V, the third re-release of Mortal Kombat 11 in two years, and even 18 different versions of Goku in Dragon Ball FighterZ.
All of this that I described above is pretty obvious, but we’re still there, faithful and hopeful that these ways to revitalize the game are relevant. I say this because for a while I spent considerable money on these passes. Worth it? No. Was I satisfied until I found out about the release of a new one? Yes.
Call me when you want, I’ll be on the way
In the discussion groups, there are always those who raise the boycott flag: “If we don’t buy more, practices change”, “that way they will learn to value our money” and “it’s not worth paying for something that should already be complete” are the everyday speeches. However, let’s be sensible, our curiosity, allied to the affective memory and the power of nostalgia for what we play when younger will always put us at the mercy of these passions. Of course, there are those who can let go and put a stop to this abusive relationship, but deep down they miss them, they certainly do.
