It fucking pisses me off that I literally had a class for game design this year where my peers ACTIVELY DEFENDED EA's Battlefront II bullshit.

Sure, I can get their defenses that the publisher should be blamed over the developers, I understand their reasoning that charging $60 flat for all games regardless of budget isn't a reliable system, I can understand how they BELIEVE that added microtransactions are a way to gain revenue from those limitations...

but standing in the face of that and actively saying "people shouldn't be so upset over this, the publishers are just trying to make money, and boycotting the product is hurting the developers" is just fucking... IT'S JUST A FUCKING EXCUSE THERE IS NO WAY AROUND IT.

The industry doesn't HAVE to be this way. I had a better discussion later about how it would be better if we simply paid more than $60 for games that costed more and took longer to develop...

I actually agree with this viewpoint much more than I do with shoving micro transactions and day one collector's editions out the door, but saying that should be what we push for and dismissing the incident over all just bypasses the real issue that's present.

The industry has a problem. the consumer base has a problem. The social stigma surrounding the entire industry is a huge problem. These issues do not just go away with a more lenient pricing system...

The fact of the matter is: dismissing these things or trying to act like you have a be all end all solution for them is just as bad as getting so mad at the wrong people that you send them death threats. It bypasses the real issue.

Do I have a solution? Fuck no, I'm not that omnipotent. But I do believe that the entire problem stems from a bad culture, a culture that was grown from malice and spite of the actions of the publishers at the top of the industry.