LogFAQs > #963465551

Wanded posted...

when you bought a game in the 90's, you bought a whole complete game. period.

nowdays you buy half games with the other half being blocked behind dlcs, season passes etc
there isn't a healthy relationship between the consumer and the company anymore, you feel that one way or another the other side is doing underhanded things to squeeze your money, yes there were things like that in the 90's as well but it's a lot more mainstream to the point where a game not doing that is rare

Mostly, I think that just means you need to get out of the AAA space. There are plenty of games that either have no post-purchase monetization at all or for which DLC is more akin to the expansion packs that were not uncommon in the 90's (which I actually do like: being able to buy more of a game I really enjoy is a good thing, in my books). The AAA market just doesn't do much of that, because being beholden to shareholders and giant budgets mean there's a lot of incentive to squeeze every possible cent out of players. Focus on smaller studios that are making games for the love of making games, and there's lots of great stuff out there.

wpot posted...

It was pre-toxic internet, the US was at a high point, we were largely pre (open) culture wars, etc. The only good things added post-90s are phones/Amazon/etc technical conveniences. The 80-90s weren't perfect by any means, but if nothing else there were some fairly consistent values and a sense of "us".

Most of that roughly translates to "it was easier to ignore the world's problems and people that disagree with me." There's certainly merit in saying that that's better for one's mental health (see: the whole concept of "doomscrolling" that has grown out of social media providing a more comprehensive picture of all the terrible things that are happening at any given time), such that knowing when to disconnect is a valuable skill to develop, but calling it objectively better is definitely a stretch.