So, a lot of y'all witnessed, or at least read my tweets, about E3 last night. Many of you know I'm ecstatic about Sony's apparent victory over Microsoft, despite being a long-time XBox loyalist. A lot of the non-gamers have asked 'why are you celebrating the victory of ONE giant megacorporation over another giant megacorporation?' That, I think, is a valid question, and deserves a nuanced answer.
Many folks have joked about the fact that we, as gamers, are celebrating Sony maintaining the status quo; permitting the used game trade, encouraging rentals, offering lots of free demos, letting indies have a way in. We want to believe these things should be a given, but many gamers, in the wake of the XBox One reveal, were finally confronted with the unfortunate reality that their hobby is a business. We've always KNOWN, of course, but it was at the back of our minds, a small little niggling thing.
The XBox One shattered that illusion in the most traumatic way possible. Overpriced, underpowered hardware, that demanded an almost Orwellian degree of verification from the user for basic functionality. A built in SPY CAMERA to monitor your movements and decisions, which would reactively bump up the licensing price for games you played with more people. The necessity for an always-active internet connection to maintain a link to the Mother Company, without which the console temporarily bricks itself(also a giant fuck you to all those without stable at-home connections). Indie devs were told they had to be at LEAST as big as Minecraft, or else get stuffed. It was an affront, but it was also an inevitable affront.
Wherever there is business, there is gouging. Gamers have been bilked and misled and fleeced before, but never had we yet experienced the sheer degree of naked CONTEMPT for the end user displayed by the XBox One. The sad reality is that gaming is not a fundamental right; it is not something we are entitled to by virtue of existence. It's something that we are permitted, at the forbearance of the corporations who hawk it. We had reached a point where Big Brother-esque spying and robber baron pricefixing seemed like the grim, unavoidable future.
And then, suddenly, it wasn't.
Sony came out from the gate and said it plainly: no invasive DRM, no spy cameras, no attempts to murder the used game trade in its sleep, rampant support for indie devs and self-publishing. I'd like to remind you, this is SONY, which is not a corporation with a particularly cheery record when it comes to consumer rights. And yet Sony came out and said, in an era when these things seemed inevitable, and said 'fuck that. The status quo works, and it will continue to work.'
Sony is not my best buddy. But it is clear that they have placed themselves in the corner that supports creative freedom and consumer rights. All they HAD to do was suck slightly less than Microsoft; instead, they opted to be saintly, when they could have gotten away with less. When push came to shove, Sony shoved back, and it did so by saying that a company is nothing without the patronage of consumers, patronage that is not a GIVEN. When Microsoft gave us their 'you'll suck it down and like it' rhetoric, Sony rebutted with simple respect for the gamer.
This generation's console wars will not be fought based on hardware power or exclusive titles(though, coincidentally, the PS4 is a demonstrably more powerful system, with far more exclusive games). This generation will be decided upon respect for what are coming to be SEEN as the basic rights of the gamer. That Sony of all people took a stand here shows the truth of it: rights do not come to be rights unless they are tested, unless there is a chance they will be denied, until they are fought for.
And the fight is just beginning. There will always be businessmen who see a lucrative opportunity and can't resist that atavistic urge to squeeze it for a few dollars more, who believe that consumers bleed green and just need to be stabbed a bit more to get at it. And there will ALWAYS be a new XBox One on the horizon, or something like it. Complacency is no longer something we can afford; we must take a passionate interest in our rights as consumers and as patrons of media.
Gaming is not a fundamental right. It is not something we are entitled to by virtue of existence. But we can make it a right, if we support those who back it up, if we punish those who seek to deny it. We must vote with our wallets, we must make it so unprofitable to deny our rights that it ceases to be considered an option. That is why Sony will get my gaming dollar, and not Microsoft. Not for love of Sony, not for hatred of Microsoft, but as an investment in the future of a medium I love.
Many folks have joked about the fact that we, as gamers, are celebrating Sony maintaining the status quo; permitting the used game trade, encouraging rentals, offering lots of free demos, letting indies have a way in. We want to believe these things should be a given, but many gamers, in the wake of the XBox One reveal, were finally confronted with the unfortunate reality that their hobby is a business. We've always KNOWN, of course, but it was at the back of our minds, a small little niggling thing.
The XBox One shattered that illusion in the most traumatic way possible. Overpriced, underpowered hardware, that demanded an almost Orwellian degree of verification from the user for basic functionality. A built in SPY CAMERA to monitor your movements and decisions, which would reactively bump up the licensing price for games you played with more people. The necessity for an always-active internet connection to maintain a link to the Mother Company, without which the console temporarily bricks itself(also a giant fuck you to all those without stable at-home connections). Indie devs were told they had to be at LEAST as big as Minecraft, or else get stuffed. It was an affront, but it was also an inevitable affront.
Wherever there is business, there is gouging. Gamers have been bilked and misled and fleeced before, but never had we yet experienced the sheer degree of naked CONTEMPT for the end user displayed by the XBox One. The sad reality is that gaming is not a fundamental right; it is not something we are entitled to by virtue of existence. It's something that we are permitted, at the forbearance of the corporations who hawk it. We had reached a point where Big Brother-esque spying and robber baron pricefixing seemed like the grim, unavoidable future.
And then, suddenly, it wasn't.
Sony came out from the gate and said it plainly: no invasive DRM, no spy cameras, no attempts to murder the used game trade in its sleep, rampant support for indie devs and self-publishing. I'd like to remind you, this is SONY, which is not a corporation with a particularly cheery record when it comes to consumer rights. And yet Sony came out and said, in an era when these things seemed inevitable, and said 'fuck that. The status quo works, and it will continue to work.'
Sony is not my best buddy. But it is clear that they have placed themselves in the corner that supports creative freedom and consumer rights. All they HAD to do was suck slightly less than Microsoft; instead, they opted to be saintly, when they could have gotten away with less. When push came to shove, Sony shoved back, and it did so by saying that a company is nothing without the patronage of consumers, patronage that is not a GIVEN. When Microsoft gave us their 'you'll suck it down and like it' rhetoric, Sony rebutted with simple respect for the gamer.
This generation's console wars will not be fought based on hardware power or exclusive titles(though, coincidentally, the PS4 is a demonstrably more powerful system, with far more exclusive games). This generation will be decided upon respect for what are coming to be SEEN as the basic rights of the gamer. That Sony of all people took a stand here shows the truth of it: rights do not come to be rights unless they are tested, unless there is a chance they will be denied, until they are fought for.
And the fight is just beginning. There will always be businessmen who see a lucrative opportunity and can't resist that atavistic urge to squeeze it for a few dollars more, who believe that consumers bleed green and just need to be stabbed a bit more to get at it. And there will ALWAYS be a new XBox One on the horizon, or something like it. Complacency is no longer something we can afford; we must take a passionate interest in our rights as consumers and as patrons of media.
Gaming is not a fundamental right. It is not something we are entitled to by virtue of existence. But we can make it a right, if we support those who back it up, if we punish those who seek to deny it. We must vote with our wallets, we must make it so unprofitable to deny our rights that it ceases to be considered an option. That is why Sony will get my gaming dollar, and not Microsoft. Not for love of Sony, not for hatred of Microsoft, but as an investment in the future of a medium I love.
- Current Mood:
contemplative
- Mon, 14:07: Okay, this got a genuine laugh out of me. I think I like it better than the REAL song: https://t.co/470b9nXY15
- Mon, 17:59: FIVE HUNDRED AMERICAN DOLLARS. The ghost of Kaz Hirai reaches forth to strangle you from the grave!
- Mon, 18:19: RT @FelixAndrews: Microsoft, what the hell. If nothing else, you've slashed the cost of my hobby for the next seven or so years. #Microsoft…
- Mon, 18:29: ~This was disaster; I'm making a note here, huge fuck-up. It's hard to overstate my disappointment.~ #XBone
- Mon, 18:39: So we're clear on the actual XBone price: $500 base unit, $100 Kinect, $60 yearly subscription so it will FUNCTION at all. Fuck off, MS.
- Mon, 18:53: RT @IdolNinja: This Saints Row modding news is much too important to wait an hour for my blog to auto-tweet it: http://t.co/UwNB9xQtZ1 #hol…
- Mon, 19:06: So, #SaintsRowIV lets you have flight, freeze powers, and blue skin. Ladies and gentlemen: ICE QUEEN FOR PRESIDENT.
- Mon, 19:13: Oh, also this happened: http://t.co/yV4CKDyqs1
- Mon, 19:53: WOOOO 3DS GET. My friend code is 0619-3871-9847, if you wanna add me! And also reply or DM with yours because I don't feel like searching.
- Tue, 01:06: RT @oatmealraisinSA: If Sony can get through the whole conference w/o making a rape joke they'll have crushed MS That's where the bar is s…
- Sun, 15:47: *shakes a reddened, lumpy fist at the sky* BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEESSSSSSS! >=[ - Sun, 15:47: seriously, bees, I understand you want to help me achieve my fantasies, but this isn't the kind of 'swelling' I'm into @____@
- Sun, 16:35: Music Of The Day: Eminem vs. Baltimora - Without Me (Tarzan Boy Remix) - http://t.co/rozbtEHQ3J
- Sun, 18:53: "I've seen things you animals wouldn't believe. Ferry ships alight on the way to the island."
- Sun, 18:54: "I saw money trees glitter in the dark off the path to my house. All those... moments... will be lost... like bells... to my mortgage."
- Sun, 18:54: "Time to play."
- Sun, 21:35: "I have nothing to hide!" - people who are not aware they have lots of things to hide
- Mon, 01:23: The true tragedy of getting my 3DS the day AFTER Animal Crossing: tomorrow will be spent SCRAMBLING to register friend codes.
- Mon, 01:25: I PROMISE I DON'T HATE YOU, EVERYONE, I just don't have my 3DS yet. TT____TT
- Sat, 13:18: Okay, so, Dell cocked-up my order once again. Goddamn it. Well, if they DON'T want my money that badly, I'm not GIVING IT to them.
- Sat, 13:19: Hey, @glashund, you still up for building me a laptop? I am THOROUGHLY tired of trying to deal with a corporation for this.
- Sat, 13:43: Sigh. At least I know I'm getting my 3DS Monday. LESSON OF THE MONTH: don't buy from Dell, they're putzes.
- Sat, 15:19: Hmmm. I feel like today is a day for MUSIC TWEETS. I'ma round up my all-time top ten boss themes. (At least two will be from MGR.)
- Sat, 15:37: #10: Bayonetta OST - Battle For The Umbra Throne - http://t.co/eQJ6EuVYOy
- Sat, 15:37: #9: Hard Corps: Uprising OST - Stage 2 Boss - http://t.co/FOvPuauPa9
- Sat, 15:38: #8: Sonic 3 OST - Big Arm - http://t.co/IcEMD0dANP
- Sat, 15:38: #7: Final Fantasy 9 OST - Battle 2 - http://t.co/tE3ibnRg2W
- Sat, 15:42: #6: Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim OST - Mighty Obstacle - http://t.co/nX1fETYo3X
- Sat, 15:44: #5: Metal Gear Rising OST - A Stranger I Remain - http://t.co/UVLYEmbgVp
- Fri, 17:23: RT @mikesacco: I hope PRISM-senpai notices me this year
- Fri, 18:59: RT @BenBrocka: Anime about anthropomorphic metropolitan regions. "My Neighbor Toronto"
- Sat, 00:02: Music Of The Day: The Ultimate (Stage Edit) - Persona 4 Arena OST - http://t.co/JD7RUfzKzJ
- Sat, 00:15: Okay, Labrys in Persona 4 Arena is WEIRD, but really fun. I'm not sure she's viable for tourny, though. You'd have to be a SERIOUS master.
- Sat, 00:15: She's kinda got Order Sol's charge mechanic from Accent Core, but it builds off combo pressure, not a charge move.
- Sat, 00:16: So she's a FREIGHT TRAIN if she gets a head of steam going, but getting there can be a serious challenge to make that initial push.
- Sat, 04:51: Unpopular Opinion: I am not essentially opposed to #PRISM on the grounds of law enforcement forming a database of metadata.
- Sat, 04:52: What I object to is the total secrecy of the program's existence and the unwillingness of the NSA to set parameters for WHAT they can take.
- Sat, 04:52: there needs to be a VERY STRINGENT and VERY PUBLIC discourse on what data is allowed to be gathered and how, but...
- Sat, 04:53: ...I would also think it is the height of foolishness to act as though law enforcement should simply pretend the internet doesn't EXIST.
- Thu, 13:33: ATTN: Logan 'Rucks from Bastion' Cunningham is going to be the narrator of #starbound. MY MIND JUST EXPLODED FROM AWESOME.
- Thu, 23:37: RT @Daikanu: In regards to this whole #PRISM fiasco, maybe it's just me, but the entirety of America is just a plot of land and a set of id…
- Thu, 23:37: RT @Daikanu: So maybe we shouldn't be in such a rush to sacrifice the ideals to protect the plot of land.
- Wed, 14:44: Ugh. Wake up this morning, the internet, phone, and TV have been disconnected for late payment. Had to pay out of my own pocket.
- Wed, 14:44: The universe just loves finding ways to take away my cashflow.
- Wed, 15:05: Ahah. And after a call to AT&T local management juuuuuuuust to make sure, turns out our payment WASN'T late.
- Wed, 15:05: After some griping, they are giving us a discounted rate for next month because of their error. I AM AWESOME.
- Wed, 15:05: BRB, humming this song for the rest of the day: http://t.co/VRtMQMmpT6
- Wed, 15:07: BUREAUCRACY STANDS NO CHANCE. THIS YOONI CANNOT BE STOPPED. WENCHES VACATE.
- Wed, 21:30: Tonight in Food Crime Experiments: barbecue chicken stir-fry. Stir-fried chicken & veggies with a hoisin-and-liquid smoke-based sauce.
- Tue, 14:30: Alright, I THINK my laptop order went through? And if it didn't, fuck it, I'll go to Best Buy or something. I'm over this now.
- Tue, 14:30: I DID get myself a 3DS XL with the money left over, though. My DS is on last legs and I'm a bit tired of not having a current-gen portable.
- Tue, 14:49: Yeah, what the heck. #tmituesday, ask a yooni!
- Tue, 19:06: RT @ECHOcasts: @CommunistPrime ellie's hot as BALLS don't make me smack you son
- Tue, 19:06: RT @Teskine: @ECHOcasts @CommunistPrime I SECOND THIS AND THAT IS WHY I DRAW HER FOINE ASS INSTEAD OF HER MOMMA'S. #EllieFTW http://t.co/Lq…
- Tue, 21:36: Thai Iced Tea: best drink, or BESTEST drink? (spoilers: it is both)
- Wed, 06:08: RT @19LettersLong: Still, as long as there's a Glass app to show me people's power levels, I'm onboard.
- Mon, 14:27: I realize fully that I am supposed to be offended by 50 Cent: Blood On The Sand, but at the same time, it is so ludicrous I cannot be.
- Mon, 14:29: It would be like getting angry at the dog for taking a piss on the carpet; the dog can't help it. They don't know what a toilet is.
- Mon, 14:31: In the same vein, a game where you play a wealthy rapper shooting impoverished middle-easterners while his own songs play over the affair...
- Mon, 14:33: ...is so bafflingly, insanely problematic that to be offended by it would imply I'm taking that absurdist power fantasy seriously.
- Mon, 14:34: Some problematic media, while it deserves to be held up as the junky garbage it is, doesn't deserve OFFENSE. Merely derision.
- Mon, 14:36: And honestly the story presented is so goofy that I'm still half-convinced the devs were taking the piss out of Fiddy.
- Mon, 14:37: If Blood On The Sand is written the way it is to INTENTIONALLY call attention to the racism on display in shooters, it may well be genius.
- Mon, 15:06: Yo, @ElectricKeet is one year older! SHOWER HER WITH PRAISE AND CAKE. ...mmmmmh, cakeshowers...
- Mon, 16:58: RT @AtlasSmugged: The reason rape jokes aren't funny is simple: punching up is funny, punching down is not. Beating up on victims and the w…
- Mon, 17:24: Music Of The Day: The Ghostbusters Escape from the City - http://t.co/VztbhOiDH3
- Sun, 15:55: I always find it alarming when people tell me I seem tough and capable. Y'all are aware I'm scared half to death most of the time, right?
- Sun, 17:05: ALERT: I am going to be running an RPG campaign! Sort of! - http://t.co/K5pW7LDCaA
- Sun, 19:45: RT @Darien_Mason: A clockwork witch doctor tossing a life size hula dancer statuette into a working volcano, hourly. #StrangeLandscapingCho…
- Sun, 20:18: Oh my GOD, look at this awesome art Tizzle Bizzle did for me: http://t.co/i7ynjmQ2tJ
- Sun, 20:18: GO THROW MONEY AT HER, she is awesome: https://t.co/mrABIgz3dV
- Mon, 03:07: RT @Bill_Nye_Tho__: S/O TO CRICKETS FOR LETTING US KNOW WHEN AN AWKWARD SILENCE IS TAKING PLACE, THANK U CRICKETS
Comments
Uh, I hope you end up doing a little better than that,…