Jim Sterling (The Jimquisition)

While using the metal ages analogy was probably a mistake, I still think that videogame history should not be limited only to technological change, it just seems like an incomplete view of what was going on during each generation.

It's been a while since we got a second Jimquisition on the same week.

I mean people usually associate broad trends with the current division anyway, like how online gaming really took off in the 360/PS 3/Wii era, how mascot platformers were the dominant genre in the SNES/Genesis era, the push for darker and edgier games in the PS 1 to PS 2 era, and so on.

While that is true, it still misses some of the changes that happened in the timeline. The appearance of the ESRB for instance was due to Mortal Kombat, and that game predated the PS1 generation. The mobile gaming industry on the other hand is not included in the division, and the influence of games like Clash of Clans - the one that started this conversation - would then be felt on the rest of the industry on the years to come.

Yes, I simplified things somewhat, it's more accurate to say that it was the Genesis and Sega's edgy marketing that pushed the gaming industry in that direction first, what with them allowing and even encouraging Mortal Kombat to be uncensored and gory, leading to the creation of the ESRB and the push to target teenagers and older gamers with darker and edgier games.

Thinking about it, the history of mobile gaming and microtransactions is something that can be traced across the generations.

The first of the two started with the handheld consoles, with the GameBoy series being not the first to appear but undeniably the first amongst its peers; it's not a coincidence then that many mobile games in the appstore or google store use the cutesy art style that games like Pokemon used back in the day. Once the iphone and the androids became a near necessity in the modern world, portable gaming found a new unclaimed area to make its home.

The second can be traced back to a shift in PC games, namely the apparition of the expansions. Expansions made things cheaper for developers as they could use the original code of the base game and only add on top of it to create a different experience, this is what happened to StarCraft and its expansion Brood Wars and would happen again with WarCraft III: Reign of Chaos and WarCraft III: Frozen Throne.

Then came subscription fees, which were a regular payment the user had to make on top of buying the game to enjoy it, a feature that could only be justified by the MMORPG's costs to maintain servers; if we also include expansions then you have a greater source of revenue as the player base would want to engage with the new content, the best example of this would be the World of WarCraft series.

The next development was the rise of Steam and the improvement on internet connectivity, this lead to the apparition of the DLC's, which were completely digital goods unlike the expansions which at least had a solid disk to install. From then on the wealth that was generated by the mobile games pushed the industry even more until we arrive to the lootboxes mechanics of today.

Edited by raziel365 on Jan 8th 2020 at 5:22:24 AM

A Video Discussing That Horny TayTay Movie Getting Patched (The Jimquisition)

Do they really think it'll help?

Yes

Great, it's not enough that films are getting re-released with minor updates to extend their life in theaters, now films are getting "patched" post-release in a desperate attempt to salvage them from bombing. Gotta herd those sheep into the seats.

Edited by Fighteer on Jan 13th 2020 at 10:49:44 AM

Pretty soon, film studios will be asking you to preorder the Extended Cut DLC at the ticket counter when you show up to see the original version of the film.

And pay extra for "premium sound".

I eagerly expect an important film franchise pulling a Dead Space 3 or Asura's Wrath and hiding the true ending of the film behind a paywall

Can I pay $3.99 to reskin Batman as Robert Downey Jr. in the Dark Knight Trilogy?

It's not that surprising. Movies have been doing remasters (sorry "director's cuts") long before videogames started doing it.

Yeah, but until recently they had the dignity to do it in the home release, not in theaters during the original run. Avatar excepted.

Edited by Fighteer on Jan 13th 2020 at 11:17:15 AM

...man, this must be a slow gaming news week for Jim to talk about Cats.

And when he could be giving us his hot take on Star Wars instead! What a tragedy!

It won't be a slow gaming week considering rumors of Sony possibly skipping E3 again and a Nintendo Direct possibly happening this week.

You know, if you think about it you could make an analogy that Jim is the annoying cat that keep bothering his owner, the Triple Ayyyy industry.

I know you're joking, but I am so done with Star Wars. Not the films, the fans. The fans of Star Wars are the worst, and in my mind are a good part of the reason why the sequel trilogy was so "safe": taking no risks, retreading the same story beats. Well, except for 8, which dared to break the formula (however clumsily) and got dragged into the Ninth Level of Hell for doing so.

I'd say I'm happy it's over, but that implies that Disney won't try to cash in on it for the rest of time. And no, I don't want to debate it in this thread, either; I'm just getting it off my chest. The sequel trilogy was ruined by fans.

Edited by Fighteer on Jan 13th 2020 at 12:27:04 PM

I don't entirely agree with you, but I get the sentiment, and... yeah... Star Wars has always had a problematic fanbase, and it hasn't improved in modern times.

Yeah to be frank I'm glad that I'm not a big star wars fan, the fanbase atm is super toxic because of the ST's failure and they were problematic long before that what with kid anakin and jar jar's actors getting so much hate they developed serious mental health issues.

I used to know someone who would get angry if you mentioned a Star Wars product that wasn't in the OT around him.

Any product.

The other movies, the video games, the novels, etc. You name it. He had personally declared all Star Wars media that isn't the OT to be non-canon, refused to acknowledge its existence, and would get mad if it was so much as mentioned in his presence.

The Star Wars equivalent of a Pokemon Gen-Wunner.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Jan 13th 2020 at 11:00:23 AM

@fasoman: To be fair to Asura's Wrath, The "True Ending" was meant to be a sequel that was changed into that because aside from being worked on already, Asura's Wrath's so so sales had it so capcom decided to make the work that was being made on the sequel into the conclusion of Asura's story.

That was the most "Out-of-context-able" Jimquisition I've seen in a long time.