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Bureaucracy in videogames

deriks

4-Time GIF/Meme God
Remember when you get a game for the Mega Drive or the SNES? You put the game, turned the console on and few seconds later you're playing single or multiplayer

With the PSX and Saturn things slowed down because of loading, but it was not really bureaucracy, just a technical thing. PS2, Game Cube and Xbox didn't change much, so maybe a minute or something to play. Can't argue with technical limits

Then came the PS3, 360 and the Wii, and things changed here and there. PS3 had to storage the game because the disk drive was slow, so another technical thing... ok. 360 has Microsoft account or something, but not much. And the Wii needed to start the console to then choose the gaming app, but ok, since Game Cube games worked basically the same and the screens were intuitive. The major bureaucracy? Updating stuff from time to time, most with the 360 if you wanted to have the full console experience - not really better from before, just to work. Now we're with like a minute to play, but sometimes more, and wasn't really because of limits but "getting things better", so started like before but finished kinda shitty

Next gen came and everything started to be shitty. Don Matrick famous said that "if you don't have internet, get a 360 instead" as soon the new console was revealed, a obligatory accessory that no one really wanted and made the console expensive, and a policy on gaming share that didn't really matter physical games - all were cancelled, but the damaged was done. PS4 joked about the Xbox One reveal stuff, but they released a console that games asked for updates on a daily basis, with lots of games released on a beta level of development, and if you play without the update, there's a big chance the game run like shit. Wii U was a joke since no one knew if was an accessory or a new console, the Gamepad was a obligatory small battery bulky device that didn't help on anything, and backwards compatibility was to selected games because fuck you. So now things started to be kind of a Russian Roulette with time, because for sure not a technical limit thing, just shitty publishing/development stuff

Now with this gen, Xbox Series and PS5 needs personal accounts or you basically don't start the console - even fucking Switch, but at least on this it's more a local thing. You're offline? Too bad, even single player games are punished in some way. Wants to play Call of Duty? Download the basis of the game series, then the game you want, wait for the thousand of logos of development tools, scroll down and "read" the rules for I don't know how long, then choose the real game. Want's to play a fighting game? A huge text of rules to read, and of course a fucking world map instead of a simple menu. So now it's not more a Russian Roulette, but a full nightmare scenario of downloading and text bullshit, and you can pass more than an hour to play new released game

Yeah, yeah, there's laws and stuff. But I think that some stuff doesn't need to be that bad. Console and games are getting worse and worse with bureaucracy, escalating quickly, and turned what we could think in a "10 minute gaming session to easy the mind" into a bucket of ice water on the head, and for the price that we pay, I consider it bullshit
 
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SHA

Member
I use emulators for that or the ps3 offline mode or gog drm free games. I get the annoying part but I don't see ops' point cause every person is treated equally on the internet.
 

Puscifer

Member
I'm not even on my PS5 often, hell the last time it was touched was the Stellar Blade demo and before that Ragnarok. But the console is basically offline, it's really annoying how people try to wrap up Sony and Nintendo in issues that are literally Xbox only problems. "Oh no I use a profile instead of a memory card to manage a save WOOOEEEE IS MEEEEEE
 
image+1-01+%2528bureaucracy+box+art%2529.jpg
 

Ozzie666

Member
This thread just wants to make me hug my older consoles or their modern analogue refreshes. The launchers are annoying. The amount of time it takes to get into a game is annoying, every publisher, developers, tools, graphic enginges need a splash screen. It's becoming more like movie end credits where everyone needs to get a mention. Non-skipable intros, patches, cut scenes, console system firmware updates. Etc Etc.

I rather wait and listen to the dulcent tones of the 1541 disk drive, with a fast load cartridge of course. I could get into games faster than modern gaming. Not sure if our European tape drive friends would feel the same though ;) but at least they had some rocking tape load tunes.

Load "*",8,1
 
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nkarafo

Member
This thread just wants to make me hug my older consoles or their modern analogue refreshes. The launchers are annoying. The amount of time it takes to get into a game is annoying, every publisher, developers, tools, graphic enginges need a splash screen. It's becoming more like movie end credits where everyone needs to get a mention. Non-skipable intros, patches, cut scenes, console system firmware updates. Etc Etc.

I rather wait and listen to the dulcent tones of the 1541 disk drive, with a fast load cartridge of course. I could get into games faster than modern gaming. Not sure if our European tape drive friends would feel the same though ;) but at least they had some rocking tape load tunes.

Load "*",8,1
Emulators is the end game, they let you skip bios screens if you want, make loading times faster or instant (warp) and/or use fast forward. And you can also use rewind every time you mess up, which is better and faster than loading save states.

Remember Hotline Miami and how fast paced that game was, including how fast you could retry after losing? Every game in my RetroArch based emulation setup feels that way. Zero time wasted.

As for modern games, my first choice is always standalone GOG installers, without Galaxy. STEAM is my last choice and if i can, i will try to remove denuvo/DRM.
 

intbal

Member
The Original Xbox kept a fast-load cache partition on the hard drive of the three most recent games you had played. You could start gaming incredibly quickly on that console (although the loading speed was game-dependent).
 

laynelane

Member
I don't get a lot of issues with games - little bit of skipping of logos and then I'm good to go. I have experienced my consoles requiring updates before I can play, though, and that is very annoying. Sure, it's usually quick but that's besides the point. I definitely agree with your point about the price we pay - for games but also for hardware - and that it's all bullshit. One of the reasons I don't have a single game that requires a third-party login is because I refuse to jump through even more hoops to play games I've purchased on a system I own.
 

xenosys

Member
Remember when you get a game for the Mega Drive or the SNES? You put the game, turned the console on and few seconds later you're playing single or multiplayer

With the PSX and Saturn things slowed down because of loading, but it was not really bureaucracy, just a technical thing. PS2, Game Cube and Xbox didn't change much, so maybe a minute or something to play. Can't argue with technical limits

Then came the PS3, 360 and the Wii, and things changed here and there. PS3 had to storage the game because the disk drive was slow, so another technical thing... ok. 360 has Microsoft account or something, but not much. And the Wii needed to start the console to then choose the gaming app, but ok, since Game Cube games worked basically the same and the screens were intuitive. The major bureaucracy? Updating stuff from time to time, most with the 360 if you wanted to have the full console experience - not really better from before, just to work. Now we're with like a minute to play, but sometimes more, and wasn't really because of limits but "getting things better", so started like before but finished kinda shitty

Next gen came and everything started to be shitty. Don Matrick famous said that "if you don't have internet, get a 360 instead" as soon the new console was revealed, a obligatory accessory that no one really wanted and made the console expensive, and a policy on gaming share that didn't really matter physical games - all were cancelled, but the damaged was done. PS4 joked about the Xbox One reveal stuff, but they released a console that games asked for updates on a daily basis, with lots of games released on a beta level of development, and if you play without the update, there's a big chance the game run like shit. Wii U was a joke since no one knew if was an accessory or a new console, the Gamepad was a obligatory small battery bulky device that didn't help on anything, and backwards compatibility was to selected games because fuck you. So now things started to be kind of a Russian Roulette with time, because for sure not a technical limit thing, just shitty publishing/development stuff

Now with this gen, Xbox Series and PS5 needs personal accounts or you basically don't start the console - even fucking Switch, but at least on this it's more a local thing. You're offline? Too bad, even single player games are punished in some way. Wants to play Call of Duty? Download the basis of the game series, then the game you want, wait for the thousand of logos of development tools, scroll down and "read" the rules for I don't know how long, then choose the real game. Want's to play a fighting game? A huge text of rules to read, and of course a fucking world map instead of a simple menu. So now it's not more a Russian Roulette, but a full nightmare scenario of downloading and text bullshit, and you can pass more than an hour to play new released game

Yeah, yeah, there's laws and stuff. But I think that some stuff doesn't need to be that bad. Console and games are getting worse and worse with bureaucracy, escalating quickly, and turned what we could think in a "10 minute gaming session to easy the mind" into a bucket of ice water on the head, and for the price that we pay, I consider it bullshit

To be fair, not all games are like this. I started VII Rebirth up the other day on PC, and within 10 seconds from launching the game on the desktop, I was playing it. No splash screens other than the title screen. VII Remake was the same.

I can't stand the games that have about 10 different splash screens that you can't skip and you need to wait every time you launch the game.
 
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Most of the time games I'm playing aren't that bad, but some games absolutely are. I completely agree. There's something magical about going from intent to actual play within a minute. I still love, play, and cherish all my "retro" games regularly. All these EULAs, "sensitivity" or "trigger" warnings, logos, installation, patches, I hate all that shit.
 
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Loomy

Thinks Microaggressions are Real
I was about to hit you with a "well akshually...!". But yeah. It's an annoying pain in the ass. I get why they do it, but they've made 0 attempts at finding a more graceful way to do all that.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
As we all know. All those annoying splash screens are done for self promotion. They need to do that because media in general is a very "push" kind of marketing and self promotion. They jam it in your face hoping you remember so the next game you buy you think to yourself..... "Oh shit, I hope the next game has Unreal Engine 4!" or you look out for "Studio X's" new game next year.

Without this, a lot of tech and entertainment you'd never give a shit unless they hooked you in.

When you buy a TV, I dont think you go through 5 splash screens and an email sign up so they force emails on you info about their stereos and DVD players. I dont think even when you buy a new PC they do stuff like that. When I got my new laptop a couple years ago, I remember start up screens about configuring Windows and signing into your MS profile if you got one but thats it. In reality, they could self promote every third party program baked into your computer with a mandatory splash screen but they dont.
 

MMaRsu

Member
I love the walls of text where they make you adhere to the rules and regulations of a videogame online. Like in Call of Duty they'll say oh treat eachother with respect

Like what 😂🤷🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️
 

MMaRsu

Member
I bought Ghost Recon Breakpoint on Steam and immediately returned it today. I pressed pause and it took me a good minute to realize where the graphics settings was because all the popups telling me to buy all these packs. I dont have the patience to put up with that shit.
Breakpoint is absolute trash so you did yourself a favor there
 

laynelane

Member
PC. I used to be able to play without doing it, but lately when I start it up it asks me and won't let me in without it.

That's pretty annoying, especially since it sounds you weren't informed of this change before it happened. I have two Bethesda games on console and I haven't been asked to make an account (yet?), but I'll be sure to verify if this is a thing when future games release.
 

laynelane

Member
I feel like some of you guys are drowned by your own nostalgic to enjoy anything.

I don't think this kind of thing occurs in the types of games you and I play. I can't say with 100% certainty, but I haven't run into it. But other games have players agreeing to terms before they can play, having to skip past ads for store items and DLC, sign-up for third-party logins, etc. I haven't run into all that since the PS3 days (EA game and it's one of the reasons I don't buy their games to this day), but it's obnoxious and quite an overreach by the publisher. Players shouldn't have to go through hoops to play a game they purchased and, to me, it's the kind of thing that - so long as they can get away with it - many game companies will just keep pushing further and further.
 

Beechos

Member
Quick resume has been a godsend for bypassing all the startup, notices and loading. Prob my favorite xbox feature and why i use it more than ps5 which only let's me resume the game I last played. I don't think I can ever go back to cold starting a console and loading a game.
 

StereoVsn

Gold Member
I can’t take loading times form CDs anymore but modded PS2, PSX, Saturn or GameCube are awesome.

Although MiSTer FPGA or emulation is probably the easier solution to older consoles.
 
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