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Something I was thinking about recently after the Battlefield V release and backlash, What if, Games as a live service (EA) was real? The "live service" they are claiming you get now is not obvious to EA "live service" means we will actually release updates and patches on the games AFTER release. unlike old games pre DLC era before consoles all had internet connections getting an update or a patch was impossible so the fact that you get them now is a live service, in EA's mind.
To gamers there are glaring problems with this idea, mainly being that old games actually got released AFTER polish, meaning you didn't ship games with missing content and a bunch of glitches. This, however, is not even the main problem with (EA) games being a "live service". Starwars Battlefront(2015), looking back was an engine tech demo where they charged people full price to test out the multiplayer capabilities and generally troubleshoot the engine and core game, they took the core and next year released Battlefield 1(2016) another full priced game, even though they already sold you the engine and core game last year. the year after that they released Star Wars Battlefront 2(2017), now this actually was a game, and a casino, but even after all the casino elements and hours of "entertainment" you might get from that it actually felt like a game (still not as much content as the original battlefront 2) Still using the same Core game you paid full price for maybe twice now, to get that same core game you can pay full price a third time. Now battlefield V people say its Battlefield 1 reskin but it's really a battlefront 1 reskin that again they charge full price for, originally, rightfully offering a discount to players who already own 3/4 of the game AKA battlefield 1. Comedically it seems even EA is acknowledging the idea that these are not really stand alone games. leading to me to post the question what if...
What if "live service" meant that all games after Battlefront 1 actually where not $60+ games but came out as expansions $39.99 it's obvious to anyone who plays both games that it's the same core and UI so instead of reselling you literally the same product wasting your time, money and data/ hard drive space all of these games are just content expansions on the engine you already paid for. Would this alleviate the small amounts of content per "game" or allow for more patience and understanding when it comes to glitches being in the game and how long it takes to fix/balance the game? live service could mean you get an expansion every year, support for the game in the form of balancing and glitch repair as well as maybe a few small content patches between expansions.
This sounds like a way better world to me I am very interested in what other people think let me know.
To gamers there are glaring problems with this idea, mainly being that old games actually got released AFTER polish, meaning you didn't ship games with missing content and a bunch of glitches. This, however, is not even the main problem with (EA) games being a "live service". Starwars Battlefront(2015), looking back was an engine tech demo where they charged people full price to test out the multiplayer capabilities and generally troubleshoot the engine and core game, they took the core and next year released Battlefield 1(2016) another full priced game, even though they already sold you the engine and core game last year. the year after that they released Star Wars Battlefront 2(2017), now this actually was a game, and a casino, but even after all the casino elements and hours of "entertainment" you might get from that it actually felt like a game (still not as much content as the original battlefront 2) Still using the same Core game you paid full price for maybe twice now, to get that same core game you can pay full price a third time. Now battlefield V people say its Battlefield 1 reskin but it's really a battlefront 1 reskin that again they charge full price for, originally, rightfully offering a discount to players who already own 3/4 of the game AKA battlefield 1. Comedically it seems even EA is acknowledging the idea that these are not really stand alone games. leading to me to post the question what if...
What if "live service" meant that all games after Battlefront 1 actually where not $60+ games but came out as expansions $39.99 it's obvious to anyone who plays both games that it's the same core and UI so instead of reselling you literally the same product wasting your time, money and data/ hard drive space all of these games are just content expansions on the engine you already paid for. Would this alleviate the small amounts of content per "game" or allow for more patience and understanding when it comes to glitches being in the game and how long it takes to fix/balance the game? live service could mean you get an expansion every year, support for the game in the form of balancing and glitch repair as well as maybe a few small content patches between expansions.
This sounds like a way better world to me I am very interested in what other people think let me know.