EA Proposes Unfair Matchmaking To Raise 'Player Engagement' & Monetization.

[Edge-]

I'm sorry that you don't think AAA studios make enough as is for the shit they push out, especially when it can barely compete with the indie market.

They don't "barely compete" with the indie market, they're not in direct competition at all. And financial, they shit all over the indie market. The indie market has gems that blow up periodically, but the vast, vast majority of indie games see little to no success at all. I'm not shitting on indies, I love some of the amazing indie games we've been fortunate enough to get over the years and I'm always thrilled to see interesting, unique indie games make it to market and hit it big. But this statement isn't remotely accurate to reality.

That's the problem. AAA studios are ever focusing on every single tiny aspect of monetization when making their already outrageous 60$ box title+60$ preorder bonus+40$ day 1 DLC+ cash shop where I can go play atleast 5 indie titles at that price with similar production quality.

Some are, some aren't. It depends on the publisher and developer. Uncharted 4 didn't focus on monetization like this, nor did Horizon, nor Gears of War, etc. etc.

And no, you're going to have trouble finding indie titles with the production value of a Destiny 2, an Overwatch, a Battlefield 1 etc. etc. That's not to say they're poor quality (some totally are), but simply that it's incredibly difficult for indie developers to have the funding and sometimes talent to allow themselves to hit that level of polish - at least not without backing from a publisher like Supergiant Games has from WB, for example.

The real problem with AAA studios is a quagmire of innovation regarding post-modern theme of video game production and the fundamental entry level for a small production crew to challenge a AAA studio becoming lower and lower with every generation of technological advancement.

With bigger budgets come bigger risks, meaning they're going to take less risks in development. That's not to say we're not seeing innovation, Uncharted 4 is a technical masterpiece that's packed solid of innovative tech, for example. Plenty of other games like Shadow of War/Mordor introduced innovative and unique system like its Nemesis system. To boot, we see AAA publishers periodically funding lower budget risky/innovative/passion projects like Ubisoft with Child of Light, EA with Unraveled etc. Yeah, indies take a lot more risks and that's amazing as it sometimes pans out extremely well (and sometimes poorly), but it's hardly as if AAA developers don't ever take gambles with new ideas.

At the end of the day, consumers should be not only 100% aware of the decisions companies make over the investment they made into the product, but will also ultimately decide whether or not they want 'augmented cheeseburger' gameplay or fair and fun gameplay, including taking their money elsewhere.

This is patently ludicrous and insane. Consumers are entitled to no such access to information. Do you know every decision that went into the design and build of your car? Your house? Your phone? The cereal you eat in the morning? Do you get to dictate to General Mills what their next cereal should look/taste like? McDonald's what their newest burger should be? What software their next phone should support? You're not investing, you're purchasing a finished product. If you want to invest, go drop money on games on Fig where you can get equity crowdfunding.

You can already take your money elsewhere, that's called voting with your wallet. And it's been a tool consumers have had for a long, long time.