This episode of Pach-Attack brought some really interesting questions to the table, so lets go in order shall we?
1) Apple’s Abuse of the Patent System
I think that many people, gamers especially, are quick to target the big companies when they do something they deem unfair. This case being the perfect example of where Apple’s enforcement of their patent is seen as an abuse of the system. Of course, I don’t know much about patents or the specific case in general, so I’m going to leave it at that.
2) Free-To-Play Model
Free-to-play is interesting because it begs the question of how to make something free and still profit from it. While World of Warcraft is probably secure, I think that the Old Republic handled their free-to-play model in the worst way imaginable. I understand putting paying players ahead in a queue and maybe giving them access to some of the PVP stuff, but limiting aspects of the game like space missions (which were fun) and restricting what gear a player can equip. I don’t think any free-to-play model should limit gameplay to make people subscribe, but should just give either better access or more things to access that aren’t part of the main game.
3) PS3 Offline?
This has really opened my eyes to a potential problem that comes with this generation being the first that was so dependent on online gaming. Unless Sony and Microsoft do something to make their network work with their next gen consoles, shutting down a network like the PSN a year after launch really makes me reconsider getting any online games for current gen consoles so close to when the next gen consoles are suspected to launch. I would feel kinda cheated if a game like PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale doesn’t last me less than 2 years when a game like Brawl has lasted for 6 or 7 years and will keep lasting long after that (since the Wii works differently).
