I'll be 42 this year and, yes, younger gamers can kiss every single fucking nook and cranny of my ass.
Back in my day, they were selling 8bit Nintendo games for $99.99. Can you imagine such bullshit? Mario 1 for $100? Can you imagine paying $100 for Shovel Knight? Or Undertale?
They tried to justify it by saying it used new technology, better than Atari, and the fact that every game was a huge chunk of plastic, with a sticker on it, in a plastic sheath, in a cardboard box, with giant manuals filled with stories, colour pictures, ink, staples, etc.
Then Super Nintendo and Genesis came around and the games were better. Still, they charged $99.99 and tried to justify it because it was 16bit instead of 8bit, but the cartridges were smaller, the plastic sheath became a plastic cap on the end, the sticker was smaller, the manuals weren't as thick, less plastic, less ink, fewer staples, etc. Not to mention, sales tax had been invented, so we were now paying $115.
We started to notice that we were being charged more for less, but the times were good.
Nintendo 64 and others; smaller everything, but same deal. We said "No more. We want it cheaper, or you get nothing at all."
So PlayStation steps in and says "OOOH DISCS" and everyone went "OOOH SLEEK AND SEXY." Then we quickly noticed that they could print a bazillion copies for pennies, thin little cases, most games didn't even have a manual (just a single slip of paper) and they were being hyped as only $89.99 because they were saving so much on plastic, paper and ink, but we weren't having it. New tech be damned and we stopped. They quickly dropped the price to $59.99 and that seemed like a fair "middle ground."
PS2 comes around and the games are fairly long time-wise, and large technical-wise, so they flirt with the idea of raising the price back up around $69.99 and we were divided; $60? $65? $70? Either way, the games were pretty awesome and we had managed to keep the greed at bay for yet another generation.
So now they needed to figure out how to get back to that $100 sweet spot.
PS3 comes around and now dlc is a new thing. Thanks to our diligence, the games are still $60, but now there are extra costs like hardware, peripherals, PS+, and dlc that was hacked off of the original game and flogged for an extra $10-$20. Kind of cheeky, but these were the best games up to that point, cost millions to make, came on Blu-Ray discs, so we didn't raise too much of a fuss.
Then came PS4 and Star Wars Battlefront...
Online multiplayer-only with a $50 season pass? and the little turds ate it right up.
Then Bethesda jizzed in their pants and said "Wow, the kids are dumb enough to pay $50 for dlc?" and promptly raised their prices for dlc to $50. Imagine the bullshit. Fallout 3 dlc was $5 a piece, or 5 packs for $20. Now a 10-year-old game has a $50 season pass? Same with Fallout 4 being $20.
Then the season pass was $55. Then $60. Then $65. Now it's $70. Then Fallout 76 happened. Then someone got a bullet in the head and they sold the company to Disney. Now every game has a $50-$60 season pass.
Remember Evolve? Titanfall? Destiny? CoD Blops III? Yeah, me neither.
Now games are almost exclusively created to fleece money from dimwits by using manipulative practices like slot machines, gambling, loot boxes, micro transactions, paywalls, and other garbage that stems from mobile gaming (yet another virus that managed to fester due to the kids' complacency).
And the little shits have the audacity to point the finger and say older generations fucked up the world and left them a worthless pile of shit to deal with, then twist the knife by judging me for whatever games I choose to play. I actually had several people call me a pedophile because I was 40 years old and played a few games like Kung Fu Panda and Toy Story 3.
To which I use my age and experience to point the finger right back at them and say no. We were the last generation to push back against the bullshit and you little bastards gave up as soon as you walked in the door. Now we have to deal with Call of Duty Black Ops 4 super turbo deluxe digital-only day-one gold definitive edition copy paste online-only multiplayer-only $60 season pass micro transaction gambling garbage for $149.99 on Steam and sit back and watch as our children use memes that say shut up and take my money and how straws are the biggest threat to the planet.
So munch on all sorts of my ass. Kung Fu Panda and Toy Story 3 were awesome movies and really fun and enjoyable games. Enjoy your 99% rarity stacks of indie trash and we'll be seeing you when you're the one who's 40 and the future kids are calling you a retard for liking Pokemon and Taco Bell.
If your age doesn't start with a 4, I've got no problem spitting on your VR helmet and telling you to shove your anime up your confused ass. Just shut the fuck up and go back to pawing at your computer like a lab rat where you belong because YOU fucked it up. Maybe your precious Amazon Prime will deliver you some brains.
Fuuuck. Wait... What was the question? What were we talking about again? I'm tired. I need a grilled cheese and some medium-temperature soup, a nice cardigan and my rocker recliner. Fucking whippersnappers need a belt whoopin' ... getting me all riled up and ZZZZZZZzzzzzzz...