Video game sales are down 40% this year, analysts believe this is because a new gaming system hasn't been released...I'm here to dismiss that myth right now.
Competitive gamers are and always will be the minority, but where we lack in numbers is made up in longevity and dedication, competition is undying because it exists within us and not the game. The casual gamer (The majority gamer) is addicted to flash, their enjoyment cannot be found in competition and therefor must be found in what's new, what's different, what's pretty but these traits are only new and different and pretty until they are mundane. Gaming companies combat this by releasing squeals and downloadable content at an astounding rate to keep the casual gamer in a euphoric coma which is costing these companies a ton of money and resources in itself. Halo: Combat Evolved was released November of 2001, this game had no online capabilities, no downloadable content, no sequel for three years, no flash, but yet was revered as one of, if not, the best and most LAN'ed console FPS ever created and not only that but was the catalyst and success to the biggest console gaming tournament ever established, Major League Gaming. Fast forward 10 years and that same company is main staging a computer game over the sequel of the game that started it all, that's pathetic. When Halo 4 is released it's first day and first week sales are going to be massive, 6 months after you'll find less then 100,000 people online at any given time and MLG will pick up the game because of it's title alone and create their own settings in an attempt to make another non-competitive game, competitive. The Halo series and console FPS is dead to me, as long as Frankie O'Connor is in charge and until gaming companies realize they should be making games for the hardcore gamers, that we are the better investment, we will play a good game for years with no compliant, spreading the word, causing the community to grow.
We do not need DLC, We do not need flash nor flare, We do not need complexity or aesthetics, God damn we don't even need a sequel for half a decade and we will still gladly promote and play your game as long as it rewards skills, strategy, teamwork, and perseverance, instead of what ever the fuck the point of it is now.