POS - "Piece Of Silver, Less Than Gold"

This my friends is an open letter to the online gaming community, and the companies that make the online gaming experiences possible. I have personally reached the point to where I'm about to give up on fighting games entirely, and possibly even online gaming. This possible future decision of mine is due to the POS (Piece of Shit) gamers out there who think it's alright to ruin the online experience with their BS antics. The fact is that many people in the gaming community have begun to think that this hacking, lagswitching, and cheap play is an acceptable thing since it has become so commonplace. I see more an more gamers giving into the cheaper side of gaming as a result. It's like a bad f*cking pandemic that's spreading like wildfire. Well I'm here to tell you differently. IT IS NOT OKAY! Just because a million gamers across the globe choose to act like trolling jackasses doesn't make it an acceptable trend. I don't think it's alright, and you shouldn't either. In fact as consumers we should be bitching about this with our wallets, and with our words. Until something effective is done about the matter no one should spend one damn cent. Someone in the industry needs to step up to the plate, and do something about this growing problem. I, myself have given advice on numerous occasions as to what could be done, but sadly my expert advice is falling on deaf ears. I believe it would take a million of us saying the same thing to get the point across, and unfortunately that sort of percentage lies with the ones causing the issue.

All you fighting game/game developers out there who are reading this you'll find that you are also partially to blame for this escalating problem. For one thing most of you don't put into place a proper reporting system that helps us players know who exactly we are about to go up against in an online scenario. You don't have to constantly monitor the game lobbies by any means, but a reputation system, and a proper avoidance option would be a godsend. Say for example you were to put in place a reputation system. You could highlight the players with permanent profile stats regarding their play style, and whether or not they lag a lot during a match. If the gamer in question lags the hell out of a match frequently then tag their stats profile with a note saying so. If they spam, or corner bash give them a tag saying that that's the type of player they are. Also give the players who are playing honestly the option to permanently avoid any player that they do not see fit to play against. These are just a few of the in-game features that would not only help true fighting game/online gaming enthusiasts, but would also potentially help the longevity of the game's popularity.

Lastly, a note to all of you console makers. It is important in this day, and age that a proper banning, and reporting system be put into place. Microsoft had a great idea with their Xbox 360 reporting, and reputation system. Unfortunately it was only partly helpful in the fight against illegal online activities. Sony, on the other hand is another major provider in the gaming industry, and has been dragging their ass letting the hackers rule the roost. To that I have to say "Open your eyes Sony!". If you let the scum of the Earth dominate a major portion of what your product offers (i.e., "Online Entertainment") then the consumers who buy into it will eventually jump ship to avoid the chaos. Currently Sony, and their PS3 are a prime example of what not to do when it comes to handling grief reports on a console. They do not allow grief reports to be given at any time except for when a player messages you. The feature needs to be a permanently available fixture with the proper reporting options set in place. Secondly, Sony's PSN site where you can personally complain does not allow you to submit complaints properly as it sees such thing as PSN IDs, and certain words as foreign objects. This in turn does not let the complaint go through. Last, but not least we have the @AskPlaystation Twitter handler who could care less about our needs, or wants. In that respect Microsoft's @XboxSupport does a hell of a better job.

To fix the problem currently facing online gaming console makers, and game developers alike are going to have to step up to the plate together in order to fix the problems at hand. It cannot be just one, or the other. It has to be both otherwise the gaming industry will eventually die out. There's no doubt in my mind that the future world holds more forms of entertainment that will eventually make the gaming consoles of today obsolete. If you want to win the consumer over Microsoft, and Sony you have to do what's right by them. Don't just take their money, and run. You'll lose more than you make in the end. The same goes for all these half-assed gaming developers. You have to give it your all, or you'll end up losing everything. You can take my word on it.

I think I've said what I came here to say. You can pass me off as being some dumbass gamer who doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground, or you can take my advice, and profit from it. It is your choice. I've been in this business long enough to see what works, and what doesn't. I know that deep down somewhere in your black, greedy, and shriveled hearts you know that too. I'd like to see gaming be great once again. I'd love to see my favorite game developers flourish, and I'd love to see gaming console makers do right by their fans. Please, just get your shit together folks. I'm almost to ready to give up on all of gaming completely.

Your Last Samurai,
Brad C. (OtakuDante)