Excerpt from the January 2007 FRAG! Newsletter

Recently I saw a small piece of gaming trivia that disturbed me much like the first time you realized what hot dogs were made out of kind of way. Apparently those Burger King XBOX marketing games that are being sold for $3.99 have sold as many copies as Gears of War, which has sold about two million copies. So yes, there's two million people out there that have plunked down the cash for blatant corporate advertising playable on their game consoles.

Now yes, I know the base argument for why two million copies have been sold; they're only four bucks a pop, so what's the harm? They suck, you're only out four bucks, and even if they're just mediocre you're only our four bucks.

Has there ever been an independent game that two million people have played? One million? Half a million?

But really, is the cost of gaming that pricey to begin with? Frankly the cost of a computer game has really stayed pretty much the same for years and years, and ultimately even at $40-$50 a game, it's not really that much. You'll easily outspend that in one week just on groceries and gas, two items that while necessary, are consumables. So while you'll be forever spending money on those groceries and filling up the car, once your game is purchased you can play that as long as you want (or until Microsoft changes their OS and gives old games the shaft).

So if tomorrow if every game dropped in price would there be a worldwide surge in purchases? It may go up slightly but if you don't think spending $40 for a game is justifiable you're probably not that into gaming to begin with. Gaming is probably one of the best entertainment values you can get when viewed as a cost to longevity ratio.

But let's not look at the cost of those games, let's just consider for a moment that two million people decided, for whatever reason, to try those games. Games that were just marketing ploys, games whose entire purpose was simply to push a brand. Games that existed for one reason, and only one reason. Two million people played them.

Has there ever been an independent game that two million people have played? One million? Half a million?

No. Yet even the worst indie game probably contains more creativity and gameplay than those Burger King games combined. Okay, maybe not all those match three games, but you know what I mean. Yet even today, in 2007, when indie games are commonly reviewed in the big name magazines, and have their own festivals, indie games are looked at as the ugly duckling of the gaming prom, waiting on the edge for someone, anyone, even that fat kid who smells like a wet dog, to ask for a dance.

Sorry, I forgot that my other resolution was to stop feeding people to wolves.

Why? Why are people so willing to drink the Kool-Aid for a major corporation but not willing to taste the sweet nectar of a couple of guys working out of their proverbial garage? Is America such a consumer culture weaned on big flashy advertising that it's an impossible dream?

So here's my resolution for 2007, and one I hope you can follow also. Turn someone onto indie gaming. Your workmates, your classmates, strangers on the bus. Download something like the demo for Weird Worlds, Land of Legends, Dominions 3, (or the full Steel Panthers games) on their computers and surprise them. Show them that you don't need million dollar marketing campaigns, celebrity endorsements, and a team of a hundred Chinese wage slaves to put the fun back in gaming.

And if that doesn't work kidnap them, bring them to an isolated mountain cabin, and force them to play indie games while slowly dismembering them alive and feeding their flesh to your pet timber wolves. Oh wait, no, that's probably not a good idea. Sorry, I forgot that my other resolution was to stop feeding people to wolves.

So spread the word! Let's make 2007 the best year possible for gaming!

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