What It Means To Be A UK Gamer

I like the rain. I like the steady drumming on the window as I sit inside, warm and dry, with a warm cup of coffee. After looking out for a while, I turn to my TV. “Shaun of the Dead” I think, and I pop in Simon Pegg’s comedy classic. Some of our films are pretty good. And, on the way to university, I actually quite enjoy having time to think as the bus waits in traffic.

I deal with a lot living in the UK, and I’m happy to do it. I’m not nationalistic, but I like living here and I am happy to put up with a few relatively small issues to continue doing so. Constantly, though, I’m pained and frustrated by the raw deal that our island receives from the videogame industry.

Today, you readers from the other side of the ocean can peek into my life. Here is a small glimpse of “what it means to be a UK gamer…”

…you are hated by Nintendo (and pretty much everybody else). Whenever they can, Nintendo likes to slyly kick the European markets. The virtual console is a disgrace; we are refused access to all the games of other markets and are instead drip-fed the same damaged goods you bought years ago (see point 3). Sony think of us as simple, suggestible idiots as demonstrated by such comments as “Europeans…they don’t mind [delays],” as said by Sony VP Jamie MacDonald. America’s Xbox Live has much more to offer then the UK’s equivalent. Yeah, cheers for that Microsoft.

…you will tolerate getting things late. If you thought waiting for a Japanese game to make it to the US was bad, you should try waiting months more on top of that. Heck, Super Paper Mario was released in the US (in a language the UK could read) and then it went to Japan. Finally, six months later, the game arrives on our shores after taking the long way around the world.

…when you finally get the game you see no effort has been made to get it working on your PAL television. Big intrusive borders are the weapon of choice to tear apart what was a perfectly good game. Sonic the Hedgehog, rather ironically, is an example of impaired speed in video games – the second sin of rushed PAL ports. There was a video on Youtube which compared the two with shocking effect. You may not think this is much of an issue, but you will begin to understand when you read the last point:

…you are treated like this and you pay more for the “privilege”. Nintendo DS games are double the price of those games sitting on shelves in the US. 30%, 40%, or 50% extra added to the bill for a game’s bastardised form?! This is seriously wrong.

Sadly, not all the blame must go to developers. Sony’s entertaining misreading of the UK audience as quoted in the first paragraph only comes from an analysis of sales figures. In the business world, the pound (or the dollar) is all that counts. We keep buying these games with silent hopes that things will change. If you really want things to change for the better, though, then these hopes cannot remain silent. We need to raise our voices! The customer is always right, after all. If you don’t like to shout, then you can make a massive noise by keeping your money in your pocket.

Don't buy and they will stop selling.

Adam Montgomery