The unfair advantage argument definitely holds water, mouse and keyboard can be like a sports car racing against a bicycle. But if someone had the budget to tackle this issue through software, it would be Microsoft. So I’m inclined to agree that it’s mostly just MS squeezing money out of third party manufacturers.
If they’d care only about the “unfair”, they’d put a fair, almost free, price on the official license that covers the cost of testing or whatever. Truth presumably here is also a bit more complicated, maybe third party controllers could be easier to hack resulting in an ineffective licensing system, idk. But yeah smells like money for Microsoft and a loss for consumers.
I think it’s the same problem Wes Anderson kinda suffers. They’re trying to do their thing in the way their audience expects them to.
And I don’t really think either is playing a caricature of themselves, there’s real creativity at play. But the creative risks are mitigated by relying on their set style, which makes it safe to consume but often not that exciting. I find Dunkey’s reviews usually pretty interesting, whether I agree with them or not. But this poetry felt closer to an ad than an honest review.
GaaS really fucks up basic game design. It’s like they intentionally are aiming to squeeze as much as possible out of a lime when they could just aim for a watermelon.
No idea how much always online server structure costs but it can’t be free. I wonder if the console manufacturers favor this type of game design as it brings them some cash in too.