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Wal-Mart Controls Modern Game Design?
Posted by
ScuttleMonkey
on Tue Apr 11, 2006 02:46 PM
from the telling-you-what-is-good dept.
from the telling-you-what-is-good dept.
An anonymous reader writes "That Wal-Mart smiley face is looking pretty evil now that Allen Varney has explained how much influence they have on virtually every modern game: 'Publisher sales reps inform Wal-Mart buyers of games in development; the games' subjects, titles, artwork and packaging are vetted and sometimes vetoed by Wal-Mart. If Wal-Mart tells a top-end publisher it won't carry a certain game, the publisher kills that game. In short, every triple-A game sold at retail in North America is managed start to finish, top to bottom, with the publisher's gaze fixed squarely on Wal-Mart, and no other.'"
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Too much buying power... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Too much buying power... (Score:5, Interesting)
The problem is, this effect appears to be entirely unintentional. Walmart has always tried to maintain a family friendly "Bible-belt" image. As a result, they have never in their history carried games that didn't meet their current criteria. As gaming moved away from Shareware and into Hollywood-style productions, they obviously started needing bigger outlets to sell their games. Now since Wal-mart is the biggest consumer shopping center at the moment, that means that producers are going to follow Wal-mart's rules to maintain profits.
If this was still the 80's, game producers would be complaining about K-Mart or Sears instead.
On the flip side of this, Walmart has done some good. The smaller packaging of games has made them easier to store, produced less waste, and has generally been good for consumers as a whole. Which is nice, because the GIGANTOR boxes was really getting out of hand for awhile there. Especially as game producers packed less and less in the box. Anyone remember how Wing Commander included Blueprints, a manual, offers, etc? Good luck finding that stuff in a modern game.
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Re:Too much buying power... (Score:5, Insightful)
That may be the only good Wal-Mart has ever accomplished.
They've dirven their competitors out of business with unfair practices. They've reamed North American manufacuring as they insisted on cheaper products until they had to go off shore, causing a replacement of manufacturing jobs with low-end retail jobs. They've made something greater than 50% of supply-chain for retail in North America become beholden to them.
I'm not at all surprised to hear that Wal-Mart has the gaming industry by the short-hairs.
Wal-Mart is EVIL, aggressive, and far too powerful for anyone's good.
Parent
Re:Too much buying power... (Score:5, Informative)
This is so not true.
I was in Walmart the other day, browsing thru DVDs and what did I see: The uncensored version of Comedy Central's Pamela Anderson Roast; the Director's Cut of Rob Zombie's "The Devil's Rejects"; the "Uncensored" Director's Cut of "The Girl Next Door" -- you know, the one where the porn stars move in next door to this high school kid? Tons of "uncensored" and "director's cuts" of almost-porn and very, very violent slasher movies. DVD seasons of South Park, Tripping the Rift, etc. Family-friendly fare it ain't.
Their "criteria" is, and always has been, whatever sells the most without making too much of a PR stink. Music and games are easy targets, so Walmart forces censorship and gets to wave the "family" flag. Since no stink is made with video, they sell damn near everything except hardcore.
-Charles
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Re:Too much buying power... (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Too much buying power... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Too much buying power... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Too much buying power... (Score:5, Insightful)
I can not control you, I can not control the masses. I do not wish to control you, I do not wish to control the "buying public". They should be free to do as they wish, just as I am. I have no desire to waste my resources on the uneducated or illogical. Saying that I need to change the habits of the buying public somehow implies that I must make people act against their will. I have no desire to do this. I may think that they are stupid and lack the ability to think, but that does not give me the right, ability, or desire to compel or trick them into acting against their will. Exactly that section of the public that believes what Wal-Mart believes should shop there, and give Wal-Mart their buying power.
You probably subscribe to the "your vote matters" fallacy. Nothing is more silly. Only votes in mass matter. Single votes do not.
To believe that your opinion does not matter and that you can not control your life is the first realization one makes on the path to self destruction because you believe you lack control in a general sense. First you believe you hold no control over politics, then you believe you hold no control over whether you are hired or fired, then you believe you have no control over what choices you make, then you believe you have no control over your anything, and finally you cease to be, either literally or you exist as walking death unable to muster the courage to get rid of the walking. You have exactly as much control over the world as your resources (money, talent, and intelligence) will buy you.
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Raise your hand... (Score:5, Insightful)
Raise your hand if you've ever bought a PC game from WalMart.
Me neither.
Not forever. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Not forever. (Score:5, Insightful)
You mispelled "fortunately" by putting an "un" in front of it. I sure don't want anyone else telling me where to shop or what to buy. If Wal-Mart has what I want at a good price, then I'll buy it there. If not, I'll get it somewhere else. Wal-Mart is on top of this game for a reason. The only thing they are dictating is what their customers will buy.
Parent
Editors: please retitle: (Score:5, Funny)
Slashdot shocked to learn Wal-Mart does to gaming industry, what it does to every other industry
Nothing to see here, please move along.
Re:true, but.. (Score:5, Insightful)
If anything, WalMart is doing game companies a favor by working with them during the development stage to let them know what titles they may or may not be interested in carrying. Far better to hear early on that your "Sim Crack Whore" idea isn't going to fly, than to have blown zillion$ producing something that isn't going to get onto WalMart shelves.
By and large, when people bitch about WalMart, they are really complaining about WalMart consumers - who demonstrate time and time again what they prefer. From there, if you want to create a big-selling game, then take those preferences into consideration. If you want to create your own piece of work for your own reasons, and commercial success is a secondary concern, then fine, go right ahead - but don't expect anyone to champion it for you.
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That's not evil (Score:5, Insightful)
There are probably lots better reasons to hate Wal*Mart than for having buyers and communicating their intentions to vendors.
Ah yes, the free market (Score:5, Informative)
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Expect "unrated" versions... (Score:5, Interesting)
- PG-13 (the Wal-Mart version)
- unrated (the online version)
Cheap household goods, maybe, but not games. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Cheap household goods, maybe, but not games. (Score:5, Interesting)
An interior decorator does not go to wal-mart for furniture
An art gallery does not go to wal-mart for office supplies
A gourmet does not go to wal-mart for food
A hobby mechanic does not go to wal-mart for automotive products
A gamer does not.... see the pattern here?
For those things that interest you, you have more specialized stores. But I don't go hunting down specialized stores for every sort of product I might happen to need, if there's a shopping center nearby where they sell that. For example, I know exactly where to look for good deals on computer hardware from serious retailers. Has that stopped lots of generic electonics, or even convenience stores from selling that? Hell no. Wal-Mart is not the place you go to pick up a game. It's a place where you go to pick up "everything else", which for many people includes a game or two. Multiply that with some millions and you got Wal-Mart.
Parent
This has been happening for years .. . . . (Score:5, Funny)
Actually Wal*Mart is #2 on the list. (Score:5, Interesting)
That this happens shouldn't be surprising to anyone. Given the current system of putting games on discs and putting discs in boxes the retailer must be appeased or there is no place to sell the product.
Sorry, no (Score:5, Insightful)
"We're not going to carry any game with nudity."
Gee, because before Wal-Mart became big, there was a HUGE market for computer-porn games?
Are some games modified because of the tremendous buying power of Wal Mart? Sure, that's logical. But that's a big step from claiming that "every AAA game is managed start to finish, top to bottom" with WalMart in mind.
Yes, for crapware like Deer Hunter and Barbie Fashion designer, I'm sure WalMart's giant demographic is part of their calculus "Say 0.001% of the WalMart electronics browsers buy our game? That's like....a gajillion dollars!".
But AAA titles? I doubt it. How much did WalMart come into the design of World of Warcraft? Oblivion? GalCiv2? Peripherally, if at all.
As usual, reality is somewhere beneath The Escapist's flashy hyperbolic copy.
This is exactly what we need. (Score:5, Interesting)
We aren't far off from video game companies realizing they can maximize profits by raising their own capital and self publishing. In a world with broadband, buying games off the shelves just seems dumb. So everyone, lets gather around and thank companies like Wal-Mart for tightening its grip on the markets. The markets will choke to death and be reborn into something better.
Or if not, look on the bright side. You can still buy guns at Wal-Mart and go for the ultimate grand theft auto experience.
The Wal Mart Effect (Score:5, Interesting)
For example, you want to buy a pair of socks. You happen to like Brand X socks. Since Brand X sells socks at Wal Mart, they have to lower the quality of the product to meet the price point that the buyer demands. These same socks are then sold to Kmart, Target, Sears, etc. In order to get a good pair of socks that last, you have to move up to a brand like Gold Toe that isn't sold at Wal Mart. To get this sock, you now shop at JC Penneys, Dillards, etc. Yes, you gladly pay more, because you want your socks to last more than a few months.
If you want quality, don't buy from Wal Mart. (It wasn't this bad when Sam Walton was in charge.)
Admiration... (Score:5, Insightful)
Wal-Mart isn't strong because of it's buying power - it is strong because of it's selling power.
Anyway, please feel free to resume your Wal-Mart hating now and label me flamebait/troll/whatever.
Re:The corrupted capitalist lifestyle (Score:5, Insightful)
By focusing only on the price, you are ignoring the total cost , and that can be a very short-sighted thing to do when considering Wal-Mart's overall impact.
Parent