The Very Dark Truth About the Gaming Industry (Diablo Immоrtаl & more) | Asmongold Reacts

[@sinjin8576]

The things this industry taught me over the years: 1.dont get excited for any product 2. Word of mouth is king, ratings are worthless 3. If it's got more than 3 kinds of currency *ditch it* 4. The more popular your franchise the more likely it will meet a gruesome end enjoy your entry while you can.

[@dinozorman]

spitting facts over here lol

[@triplehelix3207]

I just follow indies these days because of that

[@Letgoit2]

@@triplehelix3207 Inscription is basically a triple-A game for me with all the depth and fun i had.

[@informationyes]

well no mans sky didnt but thats only because the develepors had whats that word oh yeah integrity and a vision for a future

[@Letgoit2]

@@informationyes Sure they certanly managed to get back from the ashes.

[@ianp7752]

The good news is if you spend 20k on your Diablo immortal character you can legally declare him as your dependent and claim him on your taxes.

[@davidlundgren6153]

Made me exhald out my nose

[@timbuck2406]

Where da whale where da whale where da whale where da whales at 🐳🐳🐳🐳🐳

[@Anbutou]

Pin this man

[@Aphorism89]

@@timbuck2406 forget about whales, the are not the target. Target is the normal people in millions.

[@Reformed322]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m almost certain you can deduct entertainment expenses again

[@GoRamz]

the way they get around gambling by having gameplay elements is interesting to me. In the town I live in a store opened called a "skill store" its just gambling machines but that isn't legal here. The way they get around it is the machines are games like galaga but when you shoot something you have "a chance" at getting money. It seems very similar to what is going on here

[@clumsybanana6524]

That's crazy. What town is it you talking about? If u don't mind me asking?

[@GoRamz]

@@clumsybanana6524 small town outside Pittsburg Pennsylvania

[@ryankim5408]

just like skillstone lol

[@oj_furrylover8484]

Have you heard of Pachinko

[@Chubbajawa]

@@oj_furrylover8484 Was about to say that! Pachinko is EXACTLY like that.

[@hiway19891]

While Diablo Immoral costs people thousands of dollars, Elden Ring only costs you $60, and Vampire Survivors only costs you $3

[@Thewhitekorean]

I had the most fun on the $3 game out of all of these options

[@GUNKKA]

Yeah you just need to pray to god that elden ring starts and doesn't crash to Black screen with cursor

[@VulcanM61]

@@GUNKKA im good i have 2500$ pc

[@wtiden]

@@GUNKKA sounds like a you problem

[@danialyousaf6456]

@@GUNKKA I play on a last gen console and it works fine. Only lags in the consecrated snowfields and even then it's rare.

[@jaanoboss]

Gaming was destined to go mainstream eventually and be ruined by corporate greed. Indie Companies are our last hope that want to pay for a game only once

[@offlineraided]

Indie devs are just corporate devs waiting for an offer

[@steamh4mmer264]

@@offlineraided if tencent comes along and offers them 500k$ they arent indie devs anymore

[@nimmha6708]

"Gaming was destined to go mainstream" that happened like 30+ years ago...

[@romofin]

@@nimmha6708 I'd say it only really went mainstream once mobile gaming got big

[@nimmha6708]

@@romofin No, Arcade games we're popular as hell late 80's (Pacman for example), everything from nintendos and gameboys (Pokemon, Tetris) were EVERYwhere in the 90's for example. the first playstation was EVERYWHERE and the list goes on..

[@magnushaveland2526]

Free to play, with pay for convenience was the beginning of the end. From that point on games have been designed with specific flaws that makes the gamer want to pay to fix it. Lost Ark should have been a subscription based game, but they know that if its free to play you get more new players in. Then add the optional sub fee, which is basically necessary with tons of increasing gambling that preys on a sunk cost fallacy. Remember when they put micro-transactions into Assassins Creed? They made leveling take forever in a single player game, so that they could sell you experience boosts to solve the problem... Disgusting.

[@demonvictim]

F2p was to create a easy base to spring onto. How many people just want to try. The best f2p game is osrs since it's pretty much a trial version of p2p

[@palastarvii5]

The gaming industry is becoming more depressing every year, I'm at a point in my life where I gave up on preorders, I never get excited for a game like I use too. We need all these games with any type of money monopoly banned period. I remember when I was young I could play a demo of a game, and if I like it I pay the full price and get the entire game.

[@episode6691]

No clue if you're in the US but the US is truly in shambles, while other countries seem to be making progress on restrictions for a multitude of things including gaming, it seems the US hasn't and isn't planning on taking any action against stuff like this.

[@sinjin8576]

@@episode6691 bruh we are one crisis away from full blown rioting here in the US. None of our politicians are concerned with taking actual moral steps to safeguard the country especially when it might limit the amount of money flying into their pockets. I envy the Netherlands and their choices and hope someday it becomes the boiler plate standard.

[@GatochanBolivia]

I live in south America and I can test almost all the games before buying them, in pirate pages :3👍 I used to buy a pot of games in the past from steam and epic waiting for a sale, but I agree with you, believe it or not many times I don't even waste my time getting a game for free xD most of games are in a state of garbage so deep, it is like the big industry wants this generation of new retarded kids to get used to THIS so in the future it will be normal!, MOST OF US COMPLAINING ARE ADULTS, the huge amount of people playing Minecraft and Roblox never complain xD they just wanna waste their life's and moms wallets while they grow up... We are not the problem, it is the new generation that doesn't know shit about what is a real game :'(

[@Buttersaemmel]

hahaha i know exactly how you feel. i got over it with...starting to play pretty old titles. now i'm mostly bothered with games from the 90's or pretty early 2000's and duuuuude do i have a blast. sure it doesn't feel that stunningly realistic. but it feels like you're actually playing a GAME. NO new game hypes me up anymore. and if a new game turns out to be actually good it feels even better. if not...well...there goes my intrest.

[@azelia2464]

I'm in the same boat too now. I'm 27 and I don't get excited for games anymore. The only recent one I was excited for was Elden Ring and that's because From Software is a good company that actually cares about video games and not trying to psychologically manipulating people. Elden Ring was an 11/10 game and ill be waiting for From Softwares next game or dlc for Elden Ring if they have any and that's it. I'm not excited for any other game so far. I miss the Nintendo 64 and PS2 era... damn

[@QcDiablo]

When I saw Genshin Impact's success after release I knew things would start to change. Genshin had successfully brought mobile monetization to PC and consoles. "It's not a mobile game" because the gameplay is decent and the graphics are good but the monetization is acceptable because "it's a mobile game at the root". This opened a gateway for greedy companies to push predatory monetization practices to a new high outside of the mobile market they've been stuck in for years. The reason Diablo Immortal is getting that much backlash right out of the gate is because Diablo has been a PC franchise for over two decades and most of its community comes from that platform. If it wasn't Diablo but a new IP you can be certain things would have went much more smoothly.

[@ryanhess2623]

Your right if blizzard didnt ruin diablo franchise that ppl have been playing for decades and made a new ip no one would have cared as it would have just been some random blizzard mobile game but instead they destroyed one of the best franchise in video gaming history just so they can ride off that diablo title.

[@GatochanBolivia]

One of my few friends gifted me some dollars to play Genshin XD I played it for a week or 2 and i quit... When my friend asked me why I left I told him straight forward... IS F@CKING P2W!! XD he didn't give a f@ck and heis still playing till today spending lots of money xD (there is some people that just wants to trow their money, is like that makes them happy or something... It is so dad and dumb... He is still my friend of course but GOD!! this world is upside down :(

[@anthonyputra2756]

Ironically enough genshin being the lesser evil rn being pve, not locking any progression by money & every char viable that ton of pure f2p slap harder than most spender. And that doesnt even matter since everyone can beat every content by grind only like 15 min a day between work. The only real incentive they spent for a char is.. Simp. Then now we see big, more well known franchise company took it to whole new level by lock progression and gear on their new PvP game. Even mobile version of console game like ni no kuni now just become crypto nft mining simulator

[@_bubblezzzzzz_]

@@GatochanBolivia I've been playing Genshin for 10 months, and haven't spent any money on it. The game has a cool story, great music, the events also provide something extra, and it is all free. I have a pretty good team that can carry me through the game without spending anything, and I don't know why anyone would spend money unless you want to give the developers some payback for all the work that they do.

[@AsoSnT]

I have a friend who is like 15-18h per day on his phone, full casual as most of it's time is work and research. I can tell you they don't give a fuck, they love their mobile phone, they don't watch streamers or reviews or anything and don't even know what's going on. He told me "why don't you play immortal you love diablo no ?", he was super excited to be "able" to play with me They are clueless, they have never been gamers, they work so they can spend, they don't even understand what is going on.

[@MrVvulf]

If people think these trends are new...they haven't been paying attention. At the 2012 Gaming Development Conference, Jared Psigoda did a presentation entitled "$100,000 Whales - An Introduction to Chinese Browser Game Design". If you google that title, you can still watch his presentation from the event.

[@LiveforHM]

@@catalin.chiper it wont affect pc? look at sports games, overwatch, genshin, Lost Ark, Middle earth, assassins creed, etc etc I think that it is affecting PC gaming already.

[@kane-111]

@@skillo6399 lmao

[@whiskeySe7en]

Good comment. I remember that vid

[@catalin.chiper]

@@skillo6399 yes :) thanks for reminding me not to get involved. Forgot for a moment what this community is like. Enjoy the rant.

[@digichu007]

@@LiveforHM It's always been on PC & started on PC. Gacha & microtransactions started on PC browser games & Asian PC MMOs, got ported to mobile & back to PC.

[@Wanger2112]

Man, this is depressing. There's gotta be some developers that emerge over the coming years and make kickass games that break the mold. Let's hope...

[@Anima18911]

From software one of the few at the moment.

[@marcusmeins1839]

I'm afraid games in the future may become the same as gambling . Just have a look at Konami .

[@zetokaiba5867]

Even then they'll still need the integrity to release the game when it's finished...for example Cyberpunk. Developers can be as good as possible, but at the end of the day the suits who pay them get the last word.

[@Anima18911]

Also I would like to add not all portions of the companies are this bad. Capcom for example has the monster hunter series. Absolutely phenomenal games with little to no predatory mtx, tons of content updates that generally are free unless its a huge expansion. This obviously doesn't speak for all of Capcom but you see my point.

[@captaincvo]

Elden ring, Disco Elysium, wasteland 3, there's a lot of modern games that are good! Unfortunately, we gotta leave the devs that made bad choices behind- and support the ones who make that good shit

[@Buhllake]

All I can say is that I’m really glad there’s indie devs making fun games still

[@Buttersaemmel]

​@@skylerfreeman1173 not only look but also get out of your comfort-zone. play something that looks interesting but where you think "ugh...i don't really know if i'll enjoy it", who knows maybe you find a real gem? things like game pass are amazing for that as you can try out different games and with the ultimate subscription you don't even need to download the game if you just want to try it first. biggest problem is that these services got a pretty small cataloge of games. but with steams return policy or especially the one from GOG it isn't too bad if you end up not liking what you buyed as you can still return it. what we need more of again are game-demos (but good ones!).

[@Buttersaemmel]

@@Odyssey636 sure but you can't take that for granted. not even on the company you trust the most. so many great IPs got destroyed by going into the immoral route that you nowadays NEVER should buy a game day-one or even pre-order as you always have the expect it may have going that way. even worse when you look at Gran Tourismo 7 for example where the ingame-transactions came with the release of the game so that the press couldn't talk about it beforehand.

[@kind2rethink]

@@skylerfreeman1173 yeah true and even if bought all indoe games im sure wouldnt spend near as much as for one fully upgraded diablo immortal char XD

[@makemegood1]

They don’t though… they make shitty games as always

[@langtonyeah9669]

Yeah until they get bought

[@xx1219]

Over time, as the tech becomes more developed and readily available (ie unreal engine 5) I think smaller developers who aren’t publicly traded and who care more about the soul games will be able to put better products out there. If you don’t like the monetisation on big studio games, don’t buy them. You can’t stop them from doing it. They won’t stop doing it. You’re only frustrating yourself and hitting your head against a wall. Sure it’s cathartic to watch these kinds of videos and get angry, but they won’t change a thing. These are big companies trying to make a lot of money, of course they don’t really care about you. Why would you expect them to?

[@franciscopereira5760]

pegging is a gay fetish, homophobic men have, soo they ask the girl to do it, while they use a female panties

[@privatefrizz8627]

There’s always gonna be indie devs doing their own thing. Because they get sick of companies not making games they want. Not making games we want. If people stopped caring, then they’d stop making good games too. You have to understand that everyone whose making games does care. It’s just that they each have different priorities.

[@TheSilverlost]

I'm making a sci-fi diablo, and obviously will never have this amount of quality as diablo 4. Not because the tech isnt there for indie, but because we need talent to make those assets.

[@atron4736]

you cleary didnt watch the video XD

[@xx1219]

@@RaVeN1K go ahead and make them stop then. It’s just not worth getting upset about otherwise. The vast majority of people don’t watch these kinds of videos, they don’t care as much as us neckbeards do. They don’t watch video essays of games. If every one of us signed a petition, blizzard would look at our list of signatures, then look at their micro transaction earnings. And promptly bin the signatures. They don’t care as long as they’re making money, and they’ll keep making money.

[@charlesc4511]

"Don't you guys have credits cards?" Blizzard probably

[@Buttersaemmel]

followed by it's criticaly acclaimed successor "don't you guys have morgages?"

[@dillonmorton8140]

What's funny is that we all are actually the game getting played by large studios. Taking our time and money. 💰

[@clumsybanana6524]

Facts.

[@isaac10231]

Yeah Hamza talks a lot about that, the time you save as a young man not playing video games is infinitely valuable. And he has a point.

[@franciscopereira5760]

my man peggs me all the time

[@GatochanBolivia]

WE ALL................... WAKE UP KID

[@mykvalle]

We are the game they are developing and the share holders are the real gaming community

[@shadowwarrior1178]

I really like Asmon’s opinion on “taking a nuclear option” in reference to those who don’t want politicians to get involved. I’ve always been on the side of “please DONT get our government involved” (I live in the US, that’s why), but Asmon has given me a bit to think about with respect to that.

[@lilporky8565]

@@gokublack8342 What choice do we have?

[@faithinjesus7817]

What the gaming industries are truly taking advantage of is the kids who get into these games and then get their parents credit cards. Coming from a parent perspective...I hate to disappoint my kids. And these games force me to say "NO" and then I am dealing with a kid who is upset. Yes, I can tell my kid no games at all. And yes, I have had these conversations with my kid.

[@kingqasmoke2802]

So I remember talking to a guy who was addicted to opening CSGO crates. It took a long time for him to admit it was ruining his life, and the guy was very smart it sucks.

[@hiddendragon415]

Odd isn't it that a certain number of successful people have a gambling problem.

[@VulcanM61]

Im glad i grew up with CS 1.6, never tried csgo.

[@AnonningAnon]

Intelligence is complex. You can't be intelligent in all areas, everyone has a weakness.

[@dannymoontattoos]

@@AnonningAnon well while your statement is true, that holds no correlation to this guy's addiction. Addiction, is an added variable into someone's thought process. It's not a lack of anything.

[@AnonningAnon]

@@dannymoontattoos Addiction does tie with intelligence in some areas. For example, I have severe ADHD and while I am intelligent in some areas, I lack the intelligence that goes into impulse control and attentivity due to neurons not connecting properly. Does that make me overall less intelligent? Don't think so, but it does highlight a weakness in my intelligence somewhere.

[@danb1869]

It's not about taking advantage of people who are "dumb." It's about taking advantage of children and addicts. Everyone should have a problem with that.

[@cryptomicro]

every game that has in game purchases needs to ve required an R rating

[@TheDetractorMoose]

i find it crazy people are okay with spending even a hundred dollars i spent $20 on fate grand order like months ago and i had to really convince myself that it wasn’t a big amount and ever since i’ll think back to it and say to myself “damn those $20 could’ve been a few more things of groceries or two nights eating out” and it’s not even like i’m poor relatively since i’m in college

[@faznanbadri6854]

they also somehow blame the game for their own stupid decision. its not like you accidentally click the button and money from your account automatically reduces. there are plenty of step.

[@Aethelhald]

Why wouldn't they be ok with it when you have people like Asmongold promoting the absolute fuck out of it on his stream, then spending $4,000 in the store?

[@Aethelhald]

@@darianstarfrog By promoting the game, saying how fun it is, and spending 4 grand.

[@unknowncomic4107]

It used to be that companies made a thing and the success of that thing was a direct result of the quality of the thing and the value it brought to the consumer. Today companies make a thing that is expected to be disposable, and the success is based on how much capital they can squeeze from consumers by using every measure, legit or underhanded, they have at their disposal to get consumers to purchase that thing- the value and quality of the thing are irrelevant. I feel the evolution of Marketing ideologies can be directly attributed to why companies have become what they are today.

[@Tecolote41]

Kind of like Apple products at least for the shitty phone chargers.

[@Adrian-pp6qy]

There were weapon and armor enchants in lineage 2 long before val orb was "invented" for path of exile. It was the "endgame", farming enchants and gambling. The higher the weapon went the better glow effects it was surrounded by. I loved it.

[@_Encie]

We need more Naoki Yoshidas and Hidetaka Miyazakis in this world.

[@Whoareyoucalling]

As a solo f2p player Im fine with not experiencing the entire game. Im not a Completionist so experiencing 70% of a game that is free is A ok. I will play diablo immortal until I’m satisfied or whenever I hit the pay wall whichever comes first. Then ill move onto another game. The whole coalition on “being behind” in pvp rankings and what not is irrelevant. Im not sure how that applies to non competitive players argument.

[@MrFrussel]

I studied this shit during my university years ( behavioral economics/psychology). While we were always told that you should act morally with this information, it never was a priority for teachers. It's really weird to see how these methods are so diabolically used by companies.

[@FRANKMUSIKOFFICIAL]

The teachers of universities are exploiting you and see you as a whale for tuition fees. So why would they have morals? Oh the irony.

[@frozenbinarystudio]

Its similar in Data Science courses. You are often taught how to lie using the data, so you know how to not do it. But its like A lesson. Its not usually reinforced constantly like a discipline.

[@codywagers1585]

It wasn’t a P2W game, but Star Wars Battlefront 2 got blackballed by players when everyone realized the absurd amount of time it would take to unlock characters compared to how quick you can enter card information to pay for them. As for mobile games, any of them I’ve tried, a majority wants me to watch an ad to increase my loot. Sometimes with the ad playing without my approval (giving you an option to pay for no more ads). It’s just sad that a franchise I grew up playing is going to complete P2W or those who don’t, never getting a chance to fully experience a game. Just sad honestly…

[@conrado1997]

this reminds me of Dragon Age 3, couldnt finish campaign because didnt have dlc....awesome experience

[@Ken-mv9pm]

Which dlc?

[@cthulhuhoops]

@@Ken-mv9pm trespasser.

[@Ken-mv9pm]

@@cthulhuhoops Ah, I only got into dragon age, a few years after dai came out so I only have experience with the game of the year version. But either way even though dlc that actually wraps up the story is nothing new. It's still a very shitty practice, that we'll probably see in da4, whenever that comes out......

[@conrado1997]

@@Ken-mv9pm i wouldnt even be able to respond haha had loved the game until then, and would have spent money on dlcs, but it made me so angry that they had sold me an expensive game without an end that i just quit and never played it again

[@cvanims]

I see 2 huge problems with the gaming industry, and they're both ultimately the CONSUMER'S fault. 1. Being content with mediocrity (when people defend a game that was obviously rushed, not cared for, etc) just because they're fans. If you really care for something, you should advocate for it to be the best version it can be. 2. Being okay with predatory mechanics, just because they don't affect you. Would you say that someone getting punched in the face is alright, just because it's not happening to you, or that you're fast enough to dodge it? We have to be better and vote these things into extinction with our wallets (or therefore lack of).

[@toukoenriaze9870]

I thought cross platform was a great idea ... You didn't need a PC to play ... You didn't need a console ... You didn't need a phone ... You could play from any computer like device you could have and it was great cuz everyone could play together ... The problem is when we crossed platforms we also bled monitzation practices that infected every game like someone with covid sneezing in a packed train. Rip

[@Lenariet]

And a few other things. Peer-to-peer and contextual-sensitive or entirely simplified controls aren't bad per-se. Sometimes I'm glad the era of having to remember like 20 different keys on your keyboard to get sh*t done has mostly passed. And that I can easily directly connect to individual players and their sessions instead of having to search through a list of dedicated servers first. But not every game necessarily benefits from these console- and mobile-induced or at least -accelerated simplifactions. But fair enough, it's not as bad as turning a game into a gambling hellscape I guess.

[@Velventian]

Love how asmond can straight up go "I am an ass and i pretend to enjoy those things for my audience" and the audience goes in full blown denial cause they dont want their beloved streamer to be an ass who plays a role as a job. Lotta people in need of a reality check, Asmon is not your friend or your role model, he's an actor and you are watching a reality tv show. Get over it.

[@hacked39]

What did he pretend to enjoy? Diablo immortal?

[@lilporky8565]

@@hacked39 Yes

[@sprobablycancr4457]

nnnnnnnnnooooooooo......

[@anthonysmith6413]

Oh cool I watch Wolfheart every now and then. Happy he gets some recognition.

[@tacoma87x]

Can't wait for Warcraft 3 Immortal, Overwatch Immortal, and The Lost Vikings Immortal.

[@Krawurxus]

I think what this really means is that the video game industry will get a lot smaller. Any game with MTX, or IAP I don't regard as a game at all. So, what will be left is a many smaller developers and publishers catering to a niche market of people who care about what might be called "moral game design". AAA is already gone.

[@badger_ninja8681]

Looking for your niche is always the best option.

[@Buttersaemmel]

don't take me wrong please but: you don't count for them (and that is the result of all the greed, pretty sad). as it seems you wouldn't give them a single penny for ingame-transactions so you're not the target audience. they basically calculated loosing you as a customer with the monetary gains they get from people that will pay for ingame-transactions and it pays out for them. the worst part is just that "it pays out for them" because this means as a dev you can either f'-over your customers or actively choose to be weaker on the monetary-side. i don't want to defend this abusive strategies but i gotta say that i can see why they are doing it. back "in the good old days" you got people making games out of passion. nerds making games for nerds. but nowadays it's greedy CEO's that just see the money and thusfore try to get the maximum profit with minimum effort. for this to change there needs to be a change in the minds of the people/players that actively support this. i don't think laws will do that much good as we got countries banning things like lootboxes but it's still finding it ways into games (regardless of that the game will be banned in that country). and also the AAA-Studios are great at finding and abusing loop-holes. so we're also back full circle again. as long as it's okay to lose the majority of your playerbase because the minority you keep outweights it, we will see more and more games going the "Diablo: Immortal" route.

[@Krawurxus]

@@Buttersaemmel I'm aware of that. I don't really care though. To me, most AAA devs exist in a separate universe and I don't really care what they do there. That's why I said that I don't even consider these Skinner Boxes real games. There will always be devs with a vision and a passion who make games I want to play. I don't need the 47th iteration of some popular IP, rendered in photorealistic 16k resolution but still constrained to linear pathing through a 3 hour campaign, shallow gameplay and a frustrating P2W multiplayer mode. I will evaluate all games on their own merits before buying them. And if I can't buy them for money I'm not interested either. It's more work than just listening to marketing blurbs and IGN but that way I only play those games that I truly enjoy. For me, graphics, mocap and VA are utterly irrelevant. Gameplay is king, always. The last game I played was the EA title Black Skylands. Was it as good or better than Diablo Immortal? Probably, but the truly important thing is that I enjoyed it. More than I ever could have enjoyed Diablo.

[@Buttersaemmel]

@@Krawurxus "[...]constrained to linear pathing through a 3 hour campaign, shallow gameplay[...]" damn you nailed it! if it's just a few hours, control taken away from the player at the really cool stuff but "realistic looking" then...i can just watch a movie.

[@langtonyeah9669]

@@Krawurxus there will be no devs with vision or passion when they all get bought.

[@lum573]

Pixonic did this too and also explain how they were controlling the gambling situation within gamers in its game

[@guitardzan5641]

What if a game was marketed to the wealthy only....What if the game devs guaranteed to their players that they would not have to associate with the poor anymore. In-Game players would be able to take it as a given that they were contesting with their peers. The players of Diablo Immortal are going to be rapidly sorted into the classes of HAVES and HAVE-NOTS....... Do you like that concept? Do you resent the reality of it? Step up or go home.

[@Reformed322]

If I was getting like 60-90k (depending on my level of involvement) while the ceo gets that much and my company earned that much profits, I would absolutely do the bare minimum.

[@saikame5833]

People hate it but funny enough, this is also one of the largest drivers for the popularity of RMT. These games being designed around super huge grinds or pay walls, when bots can do it for you at a fraction of the cost. As long as this kind of development happens, RMT will continue to exist because RMT is a biproduct of this gaming philosophy.

[@ollivainionpaa684]

5:01 "I don't do any of this off stream I do it only for business." Then you can agree that people should do games like this since it is only business because they would make/play games of proper/genuine content for themselves. Bad take.

[@IvanTheTerrible77]

Lol love how he says he only does it for the content yet spents thousands on it. Blizzard doesn't care if you do it for content or for personal reasons. Either way they got paid.

[@DurkDiggler]

my guess is his time put into streaming it and making youtube vids greatly surpasses the money he spent in game. but yeah he literally is part of the problem in just the same way, but streamers can’t accept that they played a big role in ruining the genre of video games

[@IvanTheTerrible77]

@@DurkDiggler yeah he may have made money playing this game but yeah his actions definitely played a role in encouraging this kind of bs monetization. I should mention I'm actually a big fan of asmon lol.

[@Ken-mv9pm]

He's one of the biggest streamers on twitch, him streaming any game is gonna result in more people playing it. But in his eyes, he can do no wrong. So he'll die on this hill thinking he only swayed the thousands of people that watch him, away from the game.

[@dinozorman]

a couple thousand is a drop in the bucket, and its a really big bucket. sure hes promoting it in a way, but hes also turning alot of people away from it.

[@TheGouliat]

As long as these "Games" are Fincancially Successfull no bad rating no amount of outrage, no most liked complaint post in the Forums matters. As long as their Numbers go up nothing else matters and they will push it into everything. "But Pushback and Complaints worked in the Past". Nope that stuff only worked because the companys had fear of "Numbers wont go up". It was not the complaining that worked. And other Companys will copy that because they also are not in the Buisness of "Making customers happy". They too are in the Buisness of " make numbers go up". Think about it like a Voting system. Every Dollar people give them is a "YES GIVE ME MORE OF THIS" Vote.

[@talkingmudcrab718]

Love Wolfheart. Been a subscriber for years back when he had a few hundred subscribers. It's great to see him seeing some success after years of hard work.

[@Katrulzin]

They're treating games like drug dealers... End is the age of challenging and expanding the imagination and creativity.

[@endex2k8]

Honestly thank fuck I play FPS games. You MMORPG/RPG people get fucked so hard and so much by all these monetization schemes. COD may not be perfect but at least core elements of the game aren't locked behind a fucking paywall, it's cosmetic only (modern COD anyway... pepelaugh AW) but that also proves a point. COD was once really bad for p2w advantages but people consistently complained, year after year and it eventually changed. Maybe the same will happen in the MMORPG/RPG space.

[@Rhodair]

Games are cheaper to make than ever. Yeah, it can cost a lot if you're doing some of the most demanding graphics possible while paying tons of people for mocap, voice acting, etc. Even then, it's relatively less costly than it would've been decades ago. Companies push the notion that it's gotten more expensive because they'd never drop games from $60; they pocket more profit. Companies push the lie that making games is more expensive because they'll always sell for more, $70 then $80... Meanwhile, a single person can accomplish what took teams of people before. Automation, open source, and cloud architecture are more accessible than ever. Sure, it's still _possible_ to spend crazy amounts on game assets but not _necessary_ these days. Good gameplay and design is moreso a matter of priority than budget.

[@bananasmoussestachio9017]

I might sound edgy or drastic but we need a complete collapse of the videogame industry. A reset button, a complete friggin smear campaign of hate against gaming as a whole. Bring it back to a niche.

[@ForTheOmnissiah]

Lest we forget that Team Fortress 2, my favorite game of all time, is to blame for all of this. Emotes/taunts, loot boxes, micro transactions, TF2 was the first, and everything after takes inspiration. Dangit, Valve. EDIT: I'd like to add that the TF2 store isn't NEARLY as invasive. Yeah, it has dumb "weapon packs" that are overpriced to insane degrees, but the main selling points are all cosmetic. They never reached the point of modern games, where you finish an instance and they "reward" you with the option to pay *money* in order to get your "reward". That's just asinine.

[@SquishyEggo]

This video is about 10 years too late. They won, guys. Gaming is dead.

[@wZem]

*Blizzard is dead

[@TyrenxD]

@@wZem nah I’d say gaming is pretty bang on, not the industry obviously, but the soul of it… for every game with passion and soul there’s another 10 monetised shitfests

[@wZem]

@@TyrenxD Looking at that ratio you are correct. And I agree with everything Asmongold is saying regarding where the industry is heading and that we desperately need legislation against it. But there are also still more quality games out there than I have time to play. I had some of the best gaming experience of my entire life in recent years playing God of War (Sony), Mario Odyssey (Nintendo) or Outer Wilds (Annapurna Interactive), which is now my favorite game of all time. Haven't played Elden Ring, but From Soft should be mentioned as well. As long as there are still "good guys" out there, gaming isn't dead completely (yet). Right now it still depends on how you look at it, imo. Not so much when it comes to Blizzard, though. That shit is dead dead and starting to rot.

[@noobkaka567]

Yep, and all actually good games in the future , will not be corporate games, but passion projects by a rich single dev or indie Devs.

[@randm4246]

I have absolutely no issue with a game developer trying to monetize a free-to-play game. Having said that there is a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it. Path of exile is a perfect example of the right way to do it. I've played a ton of that game and I've gladly spent a small amount of money on it because my money has gone towards quality of life improvements in the game and honestly I want to support the developers so they will continue to reinvest in the game. A game like Diablo immoral will never be touched by myself. There are certain lines you don't cross when trying to monetize a free-to-play game and blizzard jumped over every single one of those lines.

[@davipenha]

I like this guy, he is still well align with reality :)

[@IIsackboyII]

Asmon is playing you also. He is exclusively playing this kind of games, don't get gaslighted.

[@OfficialCANVAS]

the real profits of what blizzard is doing is Asmon himself in form of percentage growth. The reality is that we are supporting someone who is profiting off immoral practices the most. it's funny because I like him too

[@davipenha]

I mean, I was talking about the guy asmon is watching, but asmon himself is ok too

[@addictedplayer4453]

Rank 3 barbarian right now, didn't spend a cent and will not. Having fun till now. But will get boring soon.

[@dzenan6318]

Asmon I can see the greatness inside your soul. I hope you are able to control it, because some other interesting personalities couldnt. I wish you the best.

[@RaZeyLWindBladE]

You don't have to wait. Its not new. Its been happening for the last 10 years. Mobile gaming took over PC and Console simply because the overhead is as low as it can be while the income flow is as high it can be because of just how accessible it is. And because of societal structure of fast paced progression coupled with highly driven individuals that want instant convenience and the need to be first in place, you will have this in every aspect of your life. It's not coming, it's already here.

[@Aethelhald]

"I don't do this shit, I don't play these games except for content, where I spend $4,000 on them, thus helping them make money, thus making them more profitable and attractive for other developers to make." Asmongold is part of the problem.

[@pilotpetrov3855]

He is a content creator and he speaks out about the problems. He certainly is not part of the problem.

[@DoubleUProds]

@@pilotpetrov3855 it's free ad space dude, everything you give attention grows. Asmon needs to stop being buttmad about how shit the industry has become and just play games.

[@pilotpetrov3855]

@@DoubleUProds he is a content creator, naturally he discusses controversial topics that give him views. That's all. He doesn't have to do anything. I don't think that's immoral in the slightest. People like to watch this kind of stuff, he provides content for it. If you don't like it, fine, move on to a let's play channel or whatever.

[@jesusofsuburbia3675]

@@DoubleUProds there's no such thing as "bad publicity=good publicity" Who tf would interpret anything bad said to it to suddenly good?

[@NotoriousPumpa]

He paid up to prove a point and get more credibility for his views on the game: after spending thousands of dollars he wasn't happier, he was even more miserable and disappointed with the game because he didn't really get anything for his money. If you watched him waste cash and quit the game hating it and still think paypig gacha games is a great thing it's not his fault.

[@frantsel5711]

actually its kinda funny how gamers getting farmed and most dont even recognize.

[@feliph64]

that's something really evil on bobby's static face.

[@Nick-zp8wk]

That's anti semitic

[@feliph64]

@lolo that makes sense

[@tameeen]

This direction towards monetization is sad because when you look at other companies that have taken this path, it's obvious that it has blatantly harmed the reputation of their games. For example, comparing the average number of players in OSRS vs RS3 shows how pay-to-win features ultimately result in a game's decline. ' When it comes to MMOs specifically, this is especially harmful because they rely on large communities and players will be less likely to play these "long-term" games because they are worried about the longevity and wasting their time.

[@ioiindelibles5692]

Bobby will lead us into a brave new era of gaming! Diablo immoral is the beginning of the new Microsoft metaverse!

[@danialyousaf6456]

@@gapho5198 he's like Griffith, just ugly as sin. Sacrificing people ('s wallets) for his own benefit.

[@timothybraun3796]

I’m not really understanding why everyone is so surprised about the monetization of Diablo immortal. Especially those saying it’s a new low for the gaming industry. Games like summoner wars or minion summoning based games have used this same form of monetization for over a decade. If people this Diablo immortal is bad with its monetization than you have absolutely no idea how the mobile gaming market has been for over 10 years now. PC players being surprised about what others have been complaining about and trying to bring to light for over 10 years now as if this is a surprise to anyone. When your favorite IP get negative backlash because of monitizarion issues then all of a sudden everyone is up in arms about mobile gaming

[@adelvoid1530]

WolfHeart is one of the best out there. Very kind person and a great entertainer!

[@SneakySnorunt]

I've already cut ties with most of my favorite franchises. Let's be honest, AAA is already too far gone. I can't think of a single AAA franchise I still care about that comes from the US. Anything I touch in AAA is Japanese 90% of the time and European or Canadian the other 10%. For years now I've stuck to indie games and game shows, and let me tell you it's a beautiful landscape. This is the industry now (to me at least). AAA is now the equivalent of lazy Hollywood and scammy music labels in my mind. Not even worth a peek.

[@darrelc5411]

Who in the f*ck spends 100s of dollars on sh!t games?????? Not naming anyone, but you know, yep you know.

[@privatevoidkeeper3775]

Remember when Bungie wasted a bunch of money on Peter Dinklage for Destiny when he was on his height of fame just for him to sound completely monotone and boring just to remove him completely and replace him with someone else later on because he just wasn't available for later expansions. Nice going guys.

[@gzb4l421]

EVERYTIME I SEE BOB KOTICK , I LITERALLY SEE THE DEVIL IN HIS EYES... IS JUST ME ? IM NOT EVEN KIDING

[@AnonningAnon]

Lol? He just has dark brown eyes. Get off the acid man.

[@crazysquiggle1016]

one free to play game I have found that skims the line between pay to win and play to win is conqueror's blade. the main reason is that there is a good amount of skill, knowledge, and teamwork to actually win sieges

[@followingtheroe1952]

Im just throwing shit out my ass right now but I wonder if Chinas 996 work culture has anything to do with the rise in the mobile industry? I work rotationally where its 12 hour days for weeks on end and I understand the appeal of a quick mobile game, especially when you are in a position where you have disposable income but no time to spend it (or grind a SSF character lets say). So I can understand if alot of 996 employees are coping by whaling for these games in the little spare time they get in the office.

[@CrazylorFTW]

This is why I can't enjoy LA as much, thankfully PvP seems untainted outside of GvG, but the PvE is another story. All the regular content you would find exploring an MMO world is locked away in a game mode. Meanwhile, questing and the open-world is mostly separate from that experience. Want to farm mobs for exp and items, want to explore a dungeon, or do you want to farm some bosses? Well, it's all locked behind game modes/timers that have hourly, daily, or weekly lockouts for rewards/progression, and wouldn't you know you can pay to advance progression and sometimes even get more opportunities to play these modes, but even if you pay to advance progression you'll still have the same lockouts most of the time, just new content to be locked out of. You can't even enjoy going back to enjoy old bosses most times because you just stomp them (there are updates with this, but of course, we don't get all the game improvements on launch, why would we?) Of course, you're welcome to continue to play these modes outside of the reward lockouts, but forgive me if I'm wrong don't most MMO role-playing and Role Playing Game players enjoy the progression of the character and playing their role the most??? AGS is doing the same thing this video states to cash in, indirectly. The game gives players the illusion that you aren't paying for content, you're paying to progress your gear, but why are you doing that? $10,000 to get a class and a dungeon every 2 months. They've rigged the game. They baited custom games and full content on release, then stalled the community on update schedule, etc until most were hooked and it didn't matter. They chose to go the whale game route and milk what is left instead of doing what the fans of the game wanted and giving us who were interested in the game with years of updates and progression to be binged, a shallow game being rationed updates to build hype and promote a stupid marketing cycle. They decided to anchor LA with its garbage version and update slowly like people are ignorant.

[@solsticehorizon130]

There's nothing condescending about you choosing not to spend money on this games. Silly take. I hate that these people has taken the I must still buy the game anyway despite the fact that is monetized and I don't mean it just for Diablo immortal because I know it's a free game sorry for you to play. What I mean is everyone should really stop buying this games. It doesn't matter if you are with it or against it as long as you keep buying that will keep printing that's it

[@solsticehorizon130]

@@Odyssey636 you want to talk about dumb. Let's start by your dumb take on. Some people buy some people don't buy. Bro the sky will remain blue at day and dark at night no matter how much you want to Change that. Same thing with game industries that monitize. They will keep selling as long as money keeps rolling. Weather you care or not. Weather you buy or not. Weather you think this is a shitty opinion or not. How do you stop a product from being made. Trends from being produced. You stop supporting it. period. A Barbies as is not as closed as your head

[@tarron3237]

4:47 I love him for this. We need to hear this much more often. Edit: How TF could anyone ever criticise Valheim I'm wondering? 16 Euros early access and you're done. You get the whole game. Man, people have to learn a lot.

[@mattemattics5667]

I’d like to thank the gaming industry for the direction it’s going. Now there’s less games I want to burn money on upon release.

[@jasonbaren3595]

gamer's rise up for longer then a week!

[@ancientgamer3645]

Supermarkets and all stores that arranged their inventory properly. High demand or desired items near the rear of the store. Except bread type items. They are near the peanut and jam. It is like the Sword of One Hit Death located in the back of the Cave of Shadows. No, that was way back when you actually earned items.

[@Bravado]

Thing is Asmon you're showing everyone it's okay if you're doing it for "content"

[@BIGMACBURGER]

As a person who was absued as a child and teen, video games are the one thing I found in life that I could go to in order to get a sense of stability and normality. If monetisation becomes rampant/commonplace in the industry, and i was the same person, i would probably destroy my financial life giving away all my money to people i trust more than my own family. Just think, is that the kind of world we should be living in? or do we try to at least keep a couple of safe spaces for people to find themselves eventually in a world of chaos and drama? It's not something i think about much... but when you hit a low in life, and you come to something that comforts you and that thing tries to use you for money rather than just trying to help...it reminds me of the days i had to keep my mouth shut by my family about the trauma i would go through every day for years on end, and i cant keep quiet about that kind of feeling being the person i am today.

[@Tecolote41]

This kind of reminds me of that one Jim Sterling video talking about predatory microtransactions in games. Someone was interviewed saying how they had a bad gambling addiction and they couldn't play their favorite game(s) anymore because the gambling/microtransaction bullshit was infecting the game(s). It's so sad to see what gaming has become, but thankfully there are still some good ones out there like Elden Ring or a number of indie games as well.

[@golagiswatchingyou2966]

Yeah it's coming and it's going to get outcompeted by games that don't do that and sell millions, hello Elden Ring, Hello Indi games, hello remastered games of better game developers (not Blizzard)

[@golagiswatchingyou2966]

@@Odyssey636 I can't imagine a game like Diablo Immortal being even comparable to Elden Ring sales and impact on gaming, Mobile gaming is huge for sure but that's more so for low budget games for Chinese market or third world games that scale better than western AAA games.

[@AnonningAnon]

This is why I'm sticking to indie survival games that are 1 time buys. (Beasts of Bermuda, The Isle, Animalia, etc)

[@kiro_ciganina4225]

i like when the chat calls out his hypocrisy he just bans him :D

[@unknowncomic4107]

The morality of marketing and sales: there is no morality. everything goes. no matter how predatory, evil, horrific.

[@NowioFel]

“If you sell your 1 year olds right leg and left arm, you get 1000$ If you sell your year old whole, you. Get 157$ Oh no, we do not do amputations, you will figure that one yourself. You have 427seconds for this sale transaction ”

[@crushboss]

It seems to be the way of gaming now days, how sad.

[@delphidelion]

The most I let myself spend on a mobile game is 20$ per. I consider that having 'bought' the game and I get a couple hundred hours of play out of it in most cases. That approach is not recommended, though. You expose yourself to the dangers of addiction more often. This works for me. I don't think it will work for many others.

[@rogeromalley1693]

Remember, video games may be itself an industry, but is still a business..... companies have now learnt how to play the game and its up to the players(you) to do something about it. Unfortunately in canada u get arrested for protesting so i wish the u.s.a. the best of luck

[@jam1494]

Every time I see a new picture of Bobby, I swear he's gradually turning into one of those goblins from Harry Potter.

[@CallUrDrop]

I thought the same thing lol

[@winnkey]

The ".99c as opposed to $1" isn't for dumb people. It has proven psychological effects on people, and the person who states oh I'm not stupid enough for it to walk on me. Are the people it works on. As you have instantly dismissed the predatory practice and now have fallen victim.

[@toukoenriaze9870]

Who is it working on tho? No one ever posts something for 5$ ... It's always 4.99 ... There is no "person to fall for this" because it's the only framework we are playing in

[@XenoSpyro]

is the 99 cent thing even a far thing to argue? Literally everything is priced at something-99. You physically cannot avoid it.

[@toukoenriaze9870]

@@XenoSpyro ye that was kinda my point lel

[@KineticSymphony]

If you're aware of it, it's not working on you. It's a subconscious trick.

[@str1kerxx]

No matter what, he still bought stuff out of the ingame shop and he still complains about it and excuse himself to doing it just for contect.. i guess the only dumb or stupid person in that scenario is just Zack and nobody else.

[@DivinityOfBLaze]

Diablo Immortal isn't a game with monetization. Its monetization with a game.

[@Vielle-Lothaire]

thanks for the content asmon :)

[@EffigyOfAdam]

I’m 38. I spend hours some nights just scrolling through games looking for ANYTHING that interests me. That’s the state of gaming.

[@invertedillusions]

My sub list broke trying to refresh because this video posted at the same time it was refreshing so to commemorate the occasion I'm watching this to completion, leaving a like, and this comment as well. Have a wonderful day, fellow gamers.

[@captaincvo]

people are so melodramatic about the gaming industry. just play the games that don't do things you dont like or want 4head

[@markojovanovic9651]

Trueee dude i do just that and I also go and play old games from xbox 360 that I couldn't play as a kid because i had a crappy pc, if you want to play games and have fun you can do it easily, i don't understand why do people get so crazy about it

[@PRIDEATH]

6:45 this part literally is for you

[@captaincvo]

@@PRIDEATH not that deep bro. if people dont buy shit games the market will be forced to make better games, it really is that simple

[@captaincvo]

​@@PRIDEATH also that part is exactly my point, the market decides, if people play then devs will keep doing it. if they dont, then they wont! I'm just one guy, I cant stop china from spending abhorrent amounts on mobile games; but I can play games like Disco Elysium and Elden ring and just not support the games I don't like.

[@marcusmeins1839]

sooner or later all games are going to be like this if people keep supporting this cash grab crap .

[@koliopokoliopo]

I would go as far as saying that cheating and hacking in these malicious games is actually justifiable, and they truly deserve it!

[@rokpepeshogun]

I am so glad I can handle NOP Processes, mod packets.. and change some values and get pointers to enhance my gaming experience.. so glad I am not relying on paying for stuff I can easily manipulate myself.

[@Broly8861]

One thing interesting about the artificial sale price, Call of Duty got in trouble for that last year. As a result they had to take away the "real not on sale price" and only keep the actual value price of the item in the shop.

[@PaulRoneClarke]

This is almost exclusively AAA and mobile gaming. As a PC owner. Who loves to own and tinker with my own hardware. Loves being able to code and mod. Insists on having more control over my gaming environment. PC gaming is the only thing for me. AAA gaming publishers are not interested in PC gamers for the long term. The very reason we own PC's runs counter to their wanting to control our entire experience. They like locked down/locked in systems where they call the shots on every aspect of our experience. They are pushing operating system developers to pander to their greed by having OS level systems that tie us into various eco systems for content delivery. MS might go full bore in this as they are AA devs themselves. But other OS will stay clear of this. As a PC owner I'm quite happy if the AAA gaming publishers leave our systems entirely. They want to make billions per game. But while there are millions of dedicated PC owners who insist on having their own hardware, insist on having control of their experience to a much larger degree, there will always be AA and indie gaming developers who will be happy to make millions rather than billions providing us with high quality product. I'm quite happy with that. AAA gaming publishers can all leave PC for all I care.

[@spencersharp4599]

I'm really happy with my warzone class builds and I haven't spent a single dollar, and I tend to pass off even the hackers. Mad proud of that. I'll admit the incentives make me put thought into how much better it could be if I just dumped 50 bucks into it though...

[@Scherzkeks1465]

This presentation Guy could hold the same Speech 1:1 on a conference sponsored by South American Drugcartells

[@privatefrizz8627]

Stay informed. Keep learning. Keep educating yourselves.

[@christopheryanez]

“I think that’s what’s gonna happen. As soon as one of these games does well, you’re gonna have other companies that will start doing the same thing to your favorite games too”. It already happened lol. It’s called Fortnite, so many popular games have already taken notes and plenty have already made their own special Fortnite inspired formula. Fortnite figured out how to make a money making machine that is showing up in places not even insanely popular games like Minecraft have touched. Fortnite when it really started to get hot was all over the place. Then Fortnite fans and merchandise eventually started to swarm all around the world, then Fortnite became one of the most played games across all platforms from PC to consoles and even smartphones. Eventually Fortnite started to show up in commercials, it even earned a brief spotlight for Avengers: Endgame. I mean the game had actual in game concerts with very popular names like Marshmello, Travis Scott, Ariana Grande, and who knows who else. They were able to get all kinds of characters from Naruto characters, Kratos from GoW, Master Chief from Halo, Star Wars characters, Rick & Morty, Marvel characters, DC characters, Uncharted characters, etc etc. They’re getting things from all over the place. Even tho Fortnite isn’t as hot atm in 2022, it still makes a ridiculous amount of money because of the formula they have going on…and the business suits that are responsible for corroding the gaming industry are definitely catching on

[@hansjurgen4567]

I have never played fortnite, but isnt it f2p and you only pay for cosmetics? With no p2w at all?

[@christopheryanez]

@@hansjurgen4567 absolutely, but like I said Fortnite has made so much money to the point where greedy business suits from all over the gaming industry can’t help but try and make their own Fortnite inspired money making formula. Of course there have been other games that had MTX before Fortnite’s existence but Fortnite figured out how to make *billions* as a F2P game. I wouldn’t doubt that P2W games have taken some notes from Fortnite (guarantee you the business suits involved with Diablo Immortal took some notes) and from a business perspective, especially a greedy perspective, who wouldn’t? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game blow up in popularity as fast as Fortnite while making so much damn money from so many platforms. I personally thought Minecraft was pretty much the biggest thing in gaming when it started to blow up and show up all over the place similar to Pokémon and other popular IPs but then Fortnite came along and the rest is history.

[@ApoIIo95]

I feel so stupid. It is an addiction. I spent over 100K in 3 years playing Final Fantasy XV. I finally just had them delete my account. I feel free now. Although I will never get that money back, I will not spend anything anymore.

[@MDKcde]

The most fucked up thing about companies working purely to satisfy shareholders hunger for profit and falling into every single economic bubble is that It is practically illegal to not make all of the money whenever possible.

[@varsa507]

One thing I've seen especially in mobile games is make the base skin for a character look horrendous on purpose to get you to buy the expensive skins