Dude, where's my game?
Boy oh boy what a launch that was, right? Mixed reviews, people going b*****s in either direction and some even feel ripped off by Rare.
My morning shower got me thinking "Why do some people feel ripped off?" and i'm trying to calm the seas here a little bit and since i tend to elaborate a bit too much, i urge you to stick with me on this one. If not, feel free to move along.
Who's this dude?
I'm about to turn 33 in a couple of month and i've been playing video games ever since Super Mario World and the SNES found it's way into our home on Christmas. Since that time video games have brought me countless hours of fun, enjoyment and adventures. They've helped me through rough times and also gave me some rough times (I'm looking at you, Battlefield!). And there were many disappointing games also.
So over the years i started to develop a "spider sense" on what games i should take a closer look at and what games i just shouldn't touch because they are not for me or they seem shallow, or the marketing material seems misleading. Maybe it's because i work in marketing myself, i'm kinda prone to mistrust.
That being said there was a bit of scepticism with Sea of Thieves so i played the Beta. A lot. And i came to the conclusion that what iÄm seeing will probably be the final game. And for me, that was just what i was looking for. I also found a friendly Shipmate early on and we are still sailing together, so i got an easy start.
IT'S A BETA!!!11
The Beta was out there, even the Alpha before that and people had plenty of opportunities to play this game or watch footage of it on youtube or twitch or where ever and develop their own opinion on, wether this game is worth the money or not.
A Beta nowadays almost always represents the final product at launch. What sense does it make to test a half finished product publicly? None. There is just no sense in doing that.
Also take in account that the game is pressed on discs probably one month before launch to get everything shipped out and ready for sale.
So what did some of you think was going to happen with this game?
Magical super content that just appears out of nowhere to please everybody and make this some sort of Wunderwaffe?
It kinda feels like somebody forced a lot of people into buying this game.
Nobody did. Nobody forced you to buy "BF1", "The Division" or "No Man's Sky" either.
You and you alone made this choice and with a little bit of research you should've known what you were up to. So, nobody ripped you off. You tricked yourself, that's probably the worst thing that happened. And i have to admit that i feel a little bit like that too, but € 60,- for me is not an investment that i have think about for days and days. Yes, it's a week worth of groceries, it's a nice dinner with my GF but to be honest, it's money that i would've spent otherwise anyways.
If you spent your literally hard earned money on this game and you are disappointed, i get you. But like i stated: Do some research first and look critically at things people are trying to sell you. Because that's about it - It's a company that wants to sell you their product.
Nike shoes don't make you run faster, Vitamin Water is everything but vitamins in water and that new razor will leave the same freaking rash every time, just like the old one.
There is this sort of misconception that everybody that is working on a video game is a gamer at heart and just wants your very best. That, sadly, is not the case anymore and probably has never been and i don't want to discredit Rare here.
The struggle is...not something for me!
I can only talk from my own experience and say that, the older you get, the less time you have for video games. So you want to make this time as enjoyable and relaxing as possible. It's hard for me to "let off some steam" while playing a video game. I can do that by going to the gym, runnig or beating up the neighbours cat occasionally.
I find SoT to be very relaxing. I think it's worth a couple of hours of fun every now and then and i don't get the feeling of being left out, just because i could not participate in a weekly event or something. It's simply not that important how many hours you spend with this game or that you can --1337-n0_sC0p3-- somebody from a mile out.
I don't remember who wrote it, but somebody said that SoT is like a "Destiny for Dad's" and i find that very fitting.
Enjoy your time with this game while it lasts, like i do and if you think this game is not for you, then carry on. That won't make your life any better or worse.
The games concept is written down, the roadmap is ready (at least i hope so) so don't expect any miracles any time soon.
TLDR:
I feels all of you and i get that you are p****d, but also - Think before you buy!
The rest is just a wanna be old f**t talking out of his derriere. ;)
