It's been as weird a year as any in video games, shaped by revelations about totalitarian games publishers, $60 AAA games that are over in a few hours, and controversial DLC packs. Many of the little things that we mocked and despised in 2014 have come back in mutated, expanded form to make us scratch our heads and wonder if we're heading towards the digital end times. But there have been some equally crazy moments in the industry this year that have surprised us all in the best possible way; decisions by console manufacturers and new IPs that have blown us away and made the gaming medium a slightly better place. So, for both better and worse, here are the 10 craziest moments to have happened in our beloved industry in 2015.
10. Players Being Locked Out Of Destiny Content
Destiny is a game that breeds loyalty through addiction, and people have happily splashed out $20 for each of the moderately-sized Dark Below and House of Wolves DLCs. But when Bungie announced that its latest DLC, The Taken King, would cost $40 and lock existing players out of much of the game's content, a reaction was inevitable. That's right, even if you'd spent a total of $80 on Destiny up to that point, you'd be locked out of key parts of the game - like the Heroic Strikes and Nightfall missions - unless you coughed up another $40 for The Taken King. Many of the weapons from the vanilla version of the game were also reset, negating the many hours Destiny's tireless players had poured into upgrading them. The Taken King is, in fairness, the best version of Destiny yet, and the $80 Collectors' Edition (which also contains the base game and first two DLC packs) is worth the money if you haven't got it yet, but Activision's approach to moving existing players onto Taken King was exploitative - and showed brutal disloyalty towards the game's longstanding player base.
Gamer, Researcher of strange things.
I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.
