halo3_online

Anyone who has spent time playing games will tell you the experience can be bliss.  It basically recreates the experience of being in an arcade, with nearly unlimited opponents willing and waiting.  However, it can also be Hell with terrible brats and general idiots ruining the experience.

Unsurprisingly, those making the games are aware of this.  Bill Fulton, who formerly worked for Microsoft on , has written a piece discussing this very issue.  He doesn’t seem pleased with the current state of the environment, either.  He rages, saying

 

So again, why do I care? Because the behavior of our customers is dramatically reducing our sales, and continues to stunt the growth of our industry. Non-gamers simply don’t love games enough to put up with the crap they get . The reason they would consider playing is to have fun with other people — and right now, playing games with strangers rarely delivers that for anyone outside the hardcore demographic.

He is absolutely correct, too.  While the hardcore that hang around message boards might be used to dealing with kids spouting out cursing and racist remarks, the rest of the world is not.  Not only that, but they aren’t going to be a market converted to "just sealing with it."

He equates the situation to dining in a restaurant.  If upon placing your order the other patrons mocked and ridiculed you, or even rushed over to tip over your glass, would you return to that restaurant?  If you’re a character in the film Road House, then maybe so.  But for most people the answer is no.

There is a decided shift toward gaming in the industry.  But until the developers can figure out a way to make that experience more pleasurable, most will simply stay away.  They can hardly be blamed.


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