Capitalism killing games?

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VideoGameCritic
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Capitalism killing games?

Postby VideoGameCritic » March 29th, 2015, 11:32 am

I'm no economics expert but I notice this happens in a lot of industries.  There will be competition between larger and small companies.  So then the larger companies (like EA) buy out all the smaller companies.  Then they buy exclusive licensing agreements to further their stranglehold.  You end up with one big company controlling everything.

You'd think the FCC would recognize this is happening, but they actually approve these mergers.  Why?  Well, it turns out these big companies give large donations to our politicians.  So you have a case of the wolf guarding the hen house.  I think it's a serious problem in this country.  Look at Comcast.

ptdebate1
Posts: 909
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Capitalism killing games?

Postby ptdebate1 » March 29th, 2015, 11:55 am

[QUOTE=videogamecritic]I'm no economics expert but I notice this happens in a lot of industries.  There will be competition between larger and small companies.  So then the larger companies (like EA) buy out all the smaller companies.  Then they buy exclusive licensing agreements to further their stranglehold.  You end up with one big company controlling everything.

You'd think the FCC would recognize this is happening, but they actually approve these mergers.  Why?  Well, it turns out these big companies give large donations to our politicians.  So you have a case of the wolf guarding the hen house.  I think it's a serious problem in this country.  Look at Comcast.[/QUOTE]

Preach, Critic! 

On the subject of Comcast, there's this epic new story I stumbled upon about something particularly insidious they did to a guy. He bought a house in a rural area planning to work from home, reassured multiple times by Comcast that they offer service in the area. Turns out that they do not and he'll probably have to sell his house:

http://gawker.com/man-forced-to-sell-his-new-house-because-comcast-lied-t-1694018196/+stephentotilo

The real kicker is that the man offered to pay the $65,000 it was going to cost Comcast to install cabling. Comcast was like "nah lol."

Jon1
Posts: 378
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Capitalism killing games?

Postby Jon1 » March 29th, 2015, 12:14 pm

Those I-War, Hover Strike kind of games did disappear though. That I think is undeniable.

ptdebate1
Posts: 909
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Capitalism killing games?

Postby ptdebate1 » March 29th, 2015, 1:19 pm

[QUOTE=Jon]Those I-War, Hover Strike kind of games did disappear though. That I think is undeniable.[/QUOTE]

No it's not. We have the Descent games, Pilotwings, and Crimson Skies.

Jon1
Posts: 378
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Capitalism killing games?

Postby Jon1 » March 29th, 2015, 3:13 pm

Exactly. You'd think these things, like EA ending the NFL2k series, wouldn't be allowed to happen. In fact, everything that's happened in the industry the last 20 years has gone against what supposedly our ethics are as a society. The monopolization, centralization, HUGE barrier to entry. The elimination of several genres just to keep the status quo. Hold onto your Neo Geos and 3dos (and Jaguars [smile]) because that's the last time there was any sort of fairness. I say everything sucked after late 1995, but one could say the final blow was when EA ended the NFL 2k series. To think NFL 2k5 was $20. Yep, they couldn't have that.

Herschie1
Posts: 202
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Capitalism killing games?

Postby Herschie1 » March 29th, 2015, 5:41 pm

[QUOTE=videogamecritic]I'm no economics expert but I notice this happens in a lot of industries.  There will be competition between larger and small companies.  So then the larger companies (like EA) buy out all the smaller companies.  Then they buy exclusive licensing agreements to further their stranglehold.  You end up with one big company controlling everything.

You'd think the FCC would recognize this is happening, but they actually approve these mergers.  Why?  Well, it turns out these big companies give large donations to our politicians.  So you have a case of the wolf guarding the hen house.  I think it's a serious problem in this country.  Look at Comcast.[/QUOTE]

That's not true Capitalism. Capitalism is all about making a dime by meeting the needs of the consumers. Your product sucks, you go broke. Your product is great, you thrive. It's all based on competition and the need to be constantly improving. It's why we're not still in the 16-bit era. Is it perfect? Not by a long shot, but it is by far the best. If there were the perfect system, we'd all be using it.


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