Often times in the desire to garner interest in a project, the people charged with the task will say things that are not true to the point that it makes the people behind the scenes commit a facepalm in unison. Oh why did he say that? Well, the extra million users who hit our website! This happens with varying frequency, but enough to be considered par for the course. While on its surface it might seem like a devious misdeed on the part of game developers, often times it speaks more to the idea that the right hand doesnt know what the left hand is doing. So, its important to remain objective when we consider these instances. The real issue is the term shocking, why are these particular examples of possibly deliberate dishonesty noteworthy? Well, lets look at our list of ten instances and decide. While we do have 10 examples, these will be broken up into smaller categories...
Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMOs)
10. Free To Play
I could probably write an entirely different article about the obscene amount of BS involved in MMOs and how they treat their dedicated customers, but lets touch on a few of the more glaring issues. The idea of Free to Play on MMOs should definitely come with an asterisk, which would at the very least lead to the word kinda in fine print. Its a lie because the game that was intended for the players to play is often times nothing like the game that is free to play. As a free player the players ability to interact with the game on even the most basic level is highly restricted, even in areas where there is no identifiable price point (in game chat/trade options, basic character design options and post game content). Even drug dealers offer a better deal than MMO makers, who give players just enough to realize that they either should quit playing or cough up some bucks to enjoy the game as it was meant to be played. The communities themselves often embrace this practice and treat free players with contempt or ignore them and their cries for help entirely. Developers also limit free players access to message boards, because you know that the players opinion doesnt become valid until they prove their dedication, any other line of reasoning would force the Devs to admit that the free players experience is so limited that they arent able to really comment on the game or how it works. Subscribers cling to the idea that they are special because they are willing to pay indefinitely for a crappy game (yeah, MMOs typically suck) without realizing that the Free to Play model has an adverse effect on them, even more than the free players who are suffering no actual loss. All of the in-game features have a price point one way or another to justify the free to play experience, if the game was completely subscriber based, it would likely be cheaper in the long run. Shock Value: What other company can offer you such a deal and not be hauled into court or find themselves out of business? ESPN has a pay for insider information model that offers an extremely small and specific feature on top of the free information that makes up 98% of its service. While the service is different entirely, it points out the difference between a working business model and a cash grab designed to make as much money as possible until a better idea forces you out of business.