If you're unhappy with this game then unsub... forever.

[ZephyrMenodora]

All video games should now be judged using the standards set by titles such as BG3 and Elden Ring and the developers thereof. If a development team can't or won't listen to player feedback, or if they can't or won't release a product in a complete state, without the need for microtransactions, then they should be ignored entirely by the community at large. Do not engage with them. Do not give them money. The gaming industry will have no choice but to pay attention if enough people stop enabling their garbage practices.

Embarassing watching devs with large corporate funding say that we shouldn't expect better, while they simultaneously throw tons of microtransactions at us with open hands, waiting for our money.

[sharknado]

Embarassing watching devs with large corporate funding say that we shouldn't expect better, while they simultaneously throw tons of microtransactions at us with open hands, waiting for our money.

Usually, it's not the developer's decision. He gets told what to do and he has to do it or get fired. This can also lead to developers treating their job as soulless as possible. If they know execs will sabotage their plans they won't care, won't put in the effort. There is a reason why after a big game release a lot of the staff leaves after bonuses are sorted. They had enough, until the next game when most companies will repeat this pathological situation.

And now SE complaining FF16 sales weren't up to expectations and that PS5 "market growth" should still give sales... like come on, this is an "old" console and due to corporate decisions you released a game on only one platform. There won't be any substantial sales, not until discounts. PS5 owners that wanted the game mostly got it. PC, Xbox is waiting, maybe, as they have other games too.

[RitsukoSonoda]

Usually, it's not the developer's decision. He gets told what to do and he has to do it or get fired. This can also lead to developers treating their job as soulless as possible. If they know execs will sabotage their plans they won't care, won't put in the effort. There is a reason why after a big game release a lot of the staff leaves after bonuses are sorted. They had enough, until the next game when most companies will repeat this pathological situation.

And now SE complaining FF16 sales weren't up to expectations and that PS5 "market growth" should still give sales... like come on, this is an "old" console and due to corporate decisions you released a game on only one platform. There won't be any substantial sales, not until discounts. PS5 owners that wanted the game mostly got it. PC, Xbox is waiting, maybe, as they have other games too.

Probably part of the reason so many large game companies have been turning out titles that are either lackluster or get flambe'd by gamer feedback is decisions forced on the devs by the "number crunchers" who's only goal is to try and squeeze every penny/schilling/rupee/etc... out of the industry and have no interest in the actual industry itself or quality of the products produced by it. This results in bad design changes, dropped features, and unfinished releases as the "number crunchers" attempt to manipulate the company's quarterly earnings reports. In some ways thinking back these occurrences might have escalated after No Man's Sky. That title officially launched missing a huge amount of things the devs had stated would be in the game resulting in a horrifically bad launch. However Hello Games did commit to sticking with the title and eventually fulfilling the content promises and more and it's become one of the best ongoing games currently available. Seeing this might have triggered a mindset in many that it's OK to release a game in a poor or unfinished state as long as they patch it up later. Of course you also have Bethesda who has a long standing reputation of releasing titles flooded immensely with bugs and glitches that range from humorous to gamebreaking but still managed to stay around.

As for FF16 sales not meeting expectations. Blaming "lack of PS5 availability" is nothing but an excuse. The running trends of AAA game releases has resulted in people being far more reluctant to preorder a title. Thus they wait for the title to release and more information about how it plays becomes available from actual gamers playing the game rather from "gaming journalists" giving reviews. When people could clearly see that FF16 was not the next gen FF game they were looking for, they chose not to purchase it. Hence the sales tanking heavily after the first week.