[Discussion] Do game companies still respect gamers?

[Daemon]

Always-online DRM. Dumbed down gameplay. Overpriced DLC. "Casual" gaming. The gaming industry is all sorts of buggered right now.

The industry's top publishers are often antagonized and hated, and for good reason. EA destroys nearly everything it touches, Activision publishes the stagnant Call of Duty franchise and little else, Capcom nickels and dimes players for almost every part of their game, and Ubisoft is dumbing down their franchises to appease the mainstream (especially the Tom Clancy titles) in what I see as a slow-moving trainwreck.

So sometimes, it's great and refreshing to see a company that seems like it genuinely cares about the consumer and doesn't bullshit them around.

What, if any companies (publishers or developers) do you think actually respect the modern gamer?

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Valve, Take-Two, Rockstar, Gearbox, and CD Projekt Red are on my shortlist.

-Valve rarely deliver games, but when they do, they are always high quality, and Valve continues to support them long after launch. Unless it's Half-Life. Regardless, they seem to always be able to give us gamers what we want.

-Take-Two, publishers great games, and clearly does not rush its developers to release games, otherwise, we'd have Bioshock Infinite and Aliens: Colonial Marines by now. Out of the really big publishers, I'd say Take-Two is one of the most respectable.

-Rockstar, simply always makes quality content. They take their time with their products, and put what is clearly a lot of polish and care into their products. Not only that, but they've avoided dumbing down their gameplay in their longer series, and from what I've seen, have yet to publish overpriced DLC.

-Gearbox is one of my favorite developers, simply due to their fan interaction and quality of their products. Randy Pitchford is a genuinely likeable person, and adds a lot of personality to the company. They seem to have a good sense of humor about the industry, such as their "loveletter to PC gamers" shortly after the Borderlands 2 announcement.

-CD Projekt Red release their games without any DRM, take their time and forge great games, and they gave all owners of The Witcher 2 a free upgrade to the Enhanced Edition (with hours of new content). That should be enough to convince you.

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Now it's your turn. What are your thoughts? Feel free to add new companies to the discussion, or try to debunk my opinions.

[YoshiStar]

I don't think you can speak for a company as a whole. Obviously, businesses are mainly concerned in appealing to large audiences and making money. I feel like the people who direct and create the games, however, have a better respect for the art. Shigeru Miyamoto in particular, seems to primarily work on games because of his passion, though other factors may still be involved. The same goes for all indie developers.

[Daemon]

I don't think you can speak for a company as a whole. Obviously, businesses are mainly concerned in appealing to large audiences and making money. I feel like the people who direct and create the games, however, have a better respect for the art. Shigeru Miyamoto in particular, seems to primarily work on games because of his passion, though other factors may still be involved. The same goes for all indie developers.

Yes, couldn't agree more with Miyamoto. I think the same thing goes for Keji Inafune and Ken Levine.

[Pleiades]

Didn't you just debunk your own question / theory by listing a number of companies that clearly do have a measure of care and respect for their customers? Obviously it's going to vary from developer to developer, and these decisions relating to DRM, DLC, "dumbed down" gameplay and the like are largely a result of publisher involvement. Case in point: absolutely everything with EA.

[Necromancer]

Ubisoft is dumbing down their franchises to appease the mainstream (especially the Tom Clancy titles) in what I see as a slow-moving trainwreck.

Rayman and Assassin's Creed would like a word with you.

[oxol]

Companies? No
Developers? Most, but not everybody, not always.
Even though developing great games might be their burning passion, they're only human, and they works for a boss, who owns the economy. It's the athmosphere of the market today. Of any market. It's shit for both consumers and developers, and all the middle hands and even the bosses. But at least it generates money for some, and at times, valuable products for others.
As said earlier in the thread, you can't say that a whole company is good orr bad for consumers.

Valve is a great example; first they do, as you said, develop a great game and continiiously updates it, but then you hear nothing from them for 4 years. From loving the costumers, they suddenly doesn't care about us at all.

[Pleiades]

Valve is a great example; first they do, as you said, develop a great game and continiiously updates it, but then you hear nothing from them for 4 years. From loving the costumers, they suddenly doesn't care about us at all.

I don't understand this part. What're you referring to?

[MattStar]

Rockstar Games and Kojima Productions immediately come to mind.

Rockstar always delivers quality games and has a great community via Social Club.

Kojima Pro, headed up by the genius Hideo Kojima, has yet to disappoint me. Hideo Kojima seems to know exactly what diehard MGS fans like myself are looking for. Watching the behind the scenes of MGS4 really made it apparent how much the team at Kojima Pro care about the quality of their games.

[oxol]

I don't understand this part. What're you referring to?

I'm talking about Valve time and their usual secrecy.

[Pleiades]

I'm talking about Valve time and their usual secrecy.

That doesn't mean they don't care about their fans.

[oxol]

That doesn't mean they don't care about their fans.

Still makes it seem like they don't. At least to me. I just find it ignorant and makes them seem like they believe they're the Gods of the gaming world, meaning they can do whatever they wants.
And we might have different opinions on what people do to show they care. Although the gaming world doesn't quite agree anymore, Nintendo is giving their buyers exactly what they wants, for example.

[hesit8]

The product a company produces is the best demonstration of respect. If a game is half-baked and received minimal development time you can assume executively placed deadlines were the cause. However, you must keep in mind, NO DEVELOPER SETS OUT TO MAKE A BAD GAME. More often then not it is the fault of time and money that produces a lesser product. You also have to keep in mind that a company is comprised of individuals; human beings! They do not set out to "disrespect" their consumer because their consumer is what keeps their company afloat. Game development is a business. Some companies put their product in front of the consumer and find awesome success. Others are not so lucky and have to make difficult choices that, in the eyes of the consumer, show a lack of care and understanding of the player. So, in a way, money is the key to -perceived- respect.

Company produces product, consumer buys product, company makes money, company can (hopefully) support self and future products. It is a cycle where "respect" comes from the company's and consumer's respective wallets. If the consumer is unhappy with the product and that product doesn't see change then it probably isn't in the company's best interest to act. It is unfortunate, but again, game development is a business.

*leaves two cents on table*

[RAiDeN-209]

Kojima Pro, headed up by the genius Hideo Kojima, has yet to disappoint me. Hideo Kojima seems to know exactly what diehard MGS fans like myself are looking for. Watching the behind the scenes of MGS4 really made it apparent how much the team at Kojima Pro care about the quality of their games.

Not to mention, they keep putting off killing Solid Snake because the fans don't want it.