This is something I wanted to talk about for a long time. You see, earlier this week, Activision released the Beast Glove for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 which, believe it or not, costs 80 euros. Yup, that’s more expensive than the entire game. Not only that but Bandai Namco pushed the Battle Pass and a Shop in Tekken 8, even though the game suffers from major balance issues. And, as you may have guessed, a lot of players are angry with both of these games. However, by simply complaining online you won’t change a damn thing.

Before continuing, I want to say that I’m a huge Tekken fan. I participated in all Closed Betas for Tekken 8, and I was really looking forward to it. However, when the game came out, it had A LOT of balance issues. Hilariously, things got even worse with the recent update that Bandai Namco pushed out.

And look, I don’t want the developers to nerf specific characters. Yes, Azucena’s running knee is a pain in the a$s. However, you can use an Armor move to punish it. The same goes for Reina. Armor moves in T8 can be more efficient than side-stepping. And yes, some characters like Dragunov or Xiaoyu or King are completely broken. Or how about Jack-8 who can make ENORMOUS damage and has mid-kicks that are quicker than those of Xiaoyu? But no, none of these is my biggest issue with Tekken 8. My main issue with T8 is its inconsistency. For example, with Hwoarang, when side-stepping, some characters can be fully punished with a D-4-4 while others can block the second hit. This inconsistency does not make any sense. And that’s an issue that affects a lot of characters.

Anyway, like a lot of people, I’ve complained to the developers. Hell, even pro-players have complained about the current state of Tekken 8. And you know what happened? Well, Bandai Namco chose to focus on the game’s shop and MTX in order to increase its revenue, something that made a lot of people review-bomb the game on Steam. However, that’s not the best way to express your displeasure. And that goes for all games that focus on predatory microtransactions or DLCs.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3/Warzone and Tekken 8 are not the only games that suffer from such practices. A similar thing happened with Mortal Kombat 1. And then you have companies like Ubisoft shutting down The Crew. Things have gone downhill so quickly, and that’s another reason why a lot of gamers are so nostalgic for the 90s.

Speaking of the 90s, here is a cool story. In 1998, Mortal Kombat 4 came out on PC. As a huge MK fan, I skipped school in order to visit a local video game store to buy it. Now back in the 90s, we didn’t have YouTube. Plus, none of the Greek gaming magazines covered this fighting game. All we PC MK fans had were some vague articles from PCGamer UK. In those articles, some reaaaaaaaaally small thumbnails made the game look similar to the arcades. I was so excited. My beloved 3DFX Voodoo 2 would surely be able to match the Zeus Arcade that Midway used to create MK4. Or so I thought. So when I got home, I installed the game, aaaaaaaaand it looked nothing like the arcade. It looked bad. I mean, really bad. It also had some weird black borders around the blood when using the GLIDE API. The characters also looked so blocky. Oh, and the store from where I got it didn’t accept refunds (as I had opened the retail box). So believe me when I say this. Steam’s refund policy is a game changer, and you should be taking advantage of it.

Anyway, here’s the thing: complaining online won’t change a thing. Whether it’s on Steam forums, Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube, if companies see people still playing their games, they won’t feel the need to fix things. Most companies focus on how many players are engaged with a game and how much money it brings in. So, if you complain about a game but keep playing it, the developers won’t really care. The best way to show your displeasure is to simply stop playing the game altogether.

I can guarantee you that if Activision, EA and 2K Games saw COD: MW3, FIFA and NBA 2K dropping to low player numbers, they’d do their best to improve them. They’d suddenly listen to their fans and they’d fix most of their issues.

And I get it. Some of you are too attached to a franchise. However, and as harsh as this may sound, you are the ones that encourage such behaviors. Publishers and all game companies are NOT your friends. All they care about are profits.

I was a huge fan of FIFA 98, I loved the classic 2D Mortal Kombat games, I fully enjoyed Pro Evolution Soccer 3, and I couldn’t stop playing Tekken Tag Tournament. And, believe it or not, I’ve stopped playing all of them due to how the devs and publishers have treated them. The FIFA and NBA 2K games, in particular, are a joke. Most of them feel like patched versions (with a new roster) over their previous year’s offerings. And yet they generate A LOT of money each and every year. Why? Why on Earth would you buy a brand new game that looks and plays similar to a game you already have?

In conclusion, it doesn’t matter how much you complain online. Unless your purpose is to make money via YouTube. Because let’s not forget that some people or “influencers” try to take advantage of situations like these so that they can increase their YouTube/Twitter followers. And people are still falling for those stunts. It’s no secret that a lot of people have made a career by simply acting angry on YT. If that’s your ultimate goal, then by all means act like little angry children. However, your goal is to make money out of it, and not to improve your beloved video-game franchise. For true fans, the best solution is to simply move on. Stop playing the game that doesn’t respect you. Plain and simple. Once publishers see their profits plummet, they might start listening to their fans. Until that happens, nothing will change, and all you’ll have to blame is yourself for falling into the same traps over and over again!