Games That Embarrass The "AAA" Industry (The Jimquisition) 

"do cosmetics matter?" >go to nexus mods >go to skyrim >go to popular (all time) "i rest my case"

I love how Jim gets a expansive character creator, and some how ends up creating some unreleased JoJo villian.

This is why Jim is a true lad. Despite his incredible hatred of Randy Pitchford (and rightfully so, of course), Jim CAN put that stuff past to actually examine a game, praise or criticize while actually acknowledging his biases.

It's weird how "AAA" games are designed the same way low effort grubby free mobile games are nowadays.

"If cosmetics didn't matter, r/fashionsouls wouldn't exist." A-friggin-men.

"Cosmetics don't matter." Warframe frantically hides its endgame.

We finally unlocked the legendary Sterling skin. Didn't even need to open any loot boxes!

"Cosmetics don't matter" THEN WHY ARE YOU SELLING THEM!?

Triple A game publishers: "Look at these 4k graphics! Look at these incredible textures! Look at the visual fidelity!" Also Triple A game publishers: "Cosmetics aren't a big deal"

Somehow I now imagine Randy Pitchford randomly during an interview "You remember that guy, that guy that said that stuff about me. God what was his name... Tim Starling, I can't remember but he recently said our game was revolutionary."

"i wasted over an hour in Code Vein's character creator" You mean _only_ an hour, Jim. I spent 3 hours on my first character, I know a guy who spent six so he could create a unique hairstyle not actually provided by the game by using accessory placement.

If a game has "time savers", is literally a waste of time.

The amount of times my friends have said 'Woah, that's a cool skin, where did you get it?' in BL3 has happened more times than I can count at this point. Luckily I can just tell them "Oh, I farmed X boss for it" instead of "I bought it in the store". Now tell me how cosmetics don't affect the mind of people playing?

Me : I'm still not sure if I should get Code Vein or not... Jim : THERE'S A GIANT PINK HAT! Me : SOLD!

I've said it before, I'll say it again: If cosmetics were truly "optional" and "don't affect the gameplay experience", then there's absolutely no reason they should charge money for them. Even less so when they're locked behind lootboxes you can pay real money for, giving those "optional" items monetary value.

Best part about Code Vein: You can dress up as Alucard and... Go for a walk...

So talking about BL3, there's a side mission where you find an old "beta" version of a game, the host of the game is always commenting under their breath how buggy and broken the game is but when he realises your listening pretends it's the best game ever. Furthermore, the NPC you have to protect over exaggeratively T pose walks around everywhere (while you play normally fighting enemies), constantly dying and in need of revival. The host knowing how inconvenient this is offers for you "pay for an upgrade" that is a solution to a problem the game hasn't bothered implementing properly yet and all it does maybe speed the NPC up by 5% if that while actually taking $1 in game of your money and does this 4 or 5 times throughout the mission. Also at one point in the mission, you are tasked with collecting some orb like things to progress once you have finally gotten the NPC to where it needs to be, but it "glitches" out and duplicates itself like 100 times and the host offers you another convenient time saver deal of flat out buying 100 orbs from the n̶o̶n̶ optional in game store and again actually charges your in game money by $1. Even though this money is all earned in game and I'm at the point where I lose tens to hundreds of thousands $$$ every time I die and respawn, I still felt robbed ever time I HAD TO SAY YES on these OPTIONAL in game purchases in a joking mission really self aware of how the real world AAA games are these days. I commend Gearbox for doing this because no doubt this mission is going to be documented and shown off to developers and publishers behind the scenes and they're probably not going to have a clue "why it is wrong".

There has always been tension between the business side of games and the artistic side. "We can't put that in, it doesn't appeal to enough people." "We have to take that out, it will offend too many consumers." And so on. But I think it really is now worse than it's ever been. Games are being carefully crafted and then purposely ruined so that the publishers can sell you the parts of the game they took out. Time savers are the absolute biggest embarrassment and indignity - imagine you spend three years of your life creating a game, and then people pay additional money so that they don't have to play it.

Jim raving about his carmen sandiego anime vampire boy brings me great joy.

"I've wasted over an hour in character creation" Pfft, amateur.

I’ve been playing bayonetta 2 on switch and was incredibly surprised the game has not only a ton unlockables but has cheat code inputs as well! I truly miss the days when games still felt like games.

"...a color palette that has more range than Mariah Carey." Take my like, take my subscription, and thank God for you!

When Spider-Man: Far from Home came out Insomniac put 2 new skins from the movie into their Spider-Man game. A one player game that was almost a year old and approaching Greatest Hits pricing just gave players 2 new skins because a movie came out. I didn't wear them much because the game was already full of skins earned through gameplay or available from the start or added in later. I think my beautiful Tobey McGuire outfit was a Christmas skin or something.

Code vein added a towel that you can wear instead of clothes in the most recent update. Just wanted to let people know.

There's a quote for your game, "more range than Mariah Carey!" - Jim Sterling

'Don't you wish your girlfriend had a hat like me?' Every day Jim. Every. Damn. Day.

If cosmetics had no value then people wouldn't buy them. It's self-evident. Thinking otherwise requires bizarre excuse-making and mental gymnastics.

"I was able to invest my time into crafting a sublimely splendiferous pretty boy."

I wouldn't call it "revolutionary" "retro-lutionary" would fit way better

My favorite part about this is, A: there's a side quest towards the end of the game where you have to run a game demo. and /it/ has microtransactions, and it's a taste of what BL3 could've been. B: There are literal slot machines in the game that can give you legendary drops. It /HAS/ loot box mechanics without the need for IRL money.

It’s a minor miracle that 2K Games didn’t insert themselves into Borderlands 3.

I'm savvy to your "negative" video title shenanigans, suckering people in so you can talk positively about good games. Pretty clever, thank God for you.

“Tastefully Tasteless” Sometimes something is said that just resonates with me. This is one of these times-thank you.

I see that amazement about your Code: Vein character being able to wear the hat and immediately, you sounded like you were ready to plunge through the game to the tune of Don't Stop Me Now. And that, to me, says something. If you promote cosmetics and customizable characters into your game and they Don't find themselves with a character they could play through to the tune of Don't Stop Me Now, you're not pushing your options hard enough. Especially if you lock your options through paywalls.

"And I made myself a very, VERY pretty boy!" You made Gackt, Jim; so yes you did indeed make a very pretty boy.

"And boy oh boy did I make me a very pretty boy with some pretty makeup and tight, TIGHT pants, VERY tight pants, and I made his clothes all pink and purple from a color palette that has more range than Mariah Carey" -Jim achieving dangerous levels of pansexual

Thank you for helping me realize why I still find "just cosmetic" microtransactions fishy. One of my favorite parts of Astral Chain was changing my character's outfit and color scheme every now and then. The game absolutely would've been less enjoyable if all of this was locked behind a paywall instead of game progression.

"... filled that hole with enthusiastic thrusting!" - *drops monocle*

It's impressive that Borderlands 3 did so well despite literally EVERYTHING Randy, Gearbox and Take Two did to tank it. But it is damned good.

I remember how great it felt when I could finally afford the trench coat in Pokémon X/Y. And that's *Pokémon.* Saying cosmetics don't affect gameplay is ignoring how much adding trainer customization made the fandom grow wild with joy.

"Cosmetics don't matter." *Capcom frantically hides the Iceborne weapon backlash*

"Mid-tier" games are the _real_ AAA games imo. I think we need a new name for the "AAA" industry because there is nothing AAA about them anymore.

This made me realize that whenever I've thought cosmetics didn't matter it's never been that I actually thought that, but rather that I thought "I'm glad they monetized something that I don't care that much about rather than something I'd feel the need to buy"

While i get what Jim is talking about (hes right about the loot, even Diablo 3 tried to be scammy) I cannot believe how he's praising the game of his arch-nemesis. Oh Jim, you are professional to your core (as much as it probably hurts you to admit it in this case haha) Good show mate

Seems like most of the AAA devs have stop evolving their games. While the AA devs keep making unique, fun, and complete games.

2019 really has been a disgusting year for gaming. Such a shame that the entire medium is tarnished by such an obnoxious drivel of greedy scumbags with no sense of empathy, standards or dignity. P.S: How was your hangover after Breakpoint, Jim? XD

"Filled that hole with enthusiastic thrusting" is hilarious.

"It's only cosmetic!" types better not even so much as comb their hair.

“Glamour is the true endgame” I’m a player of FFXIV. In game there is a system of changing gears appearance called the glamour system. Well the game does have micro transactions for gear there is still an absurd amount of gear we can “glamour”s The community has a saying that I commonly use when someone says “the micro transactions are only cosmetic” to me. That phrase is “Glamour is the true end game”. This means, well it doesn’t effect the main game, it’s still dramatically important to the point where some people could give 2 shits about actual end game content and just want a character that looks good.

But I’m an emotionally stunted shill for the games industry, and my meta spreadsheet says that fun and cosmetics don’t matter.

"Tastefully tasteless." Hell, yeah.😁

Jim Sterling with the advice the games industry needs to hear: "Sort it out. Yeah?"

"it's just cosmetics" is just a shit argument. How about we sell you a $60 wireframe of a game and sell the models and textures as DLC? it's just cosmetic, you don't *need* them.

It’s another jimquisition from our boy Jim drunken Sterling son

I'm starting to feel like Jim is reinventing his persona and look more than David Bowie did.

The “it’s just cosmetic” argument for microtransactions in full priced games need to be dipped in oil, set on flames 🔥 and kicked into a meat crusher.

I'd go as far as to say, I'd prefer a flawed game that charges me once, than a superior game that charges me constantly.

"Peacocking" is definitely a legitimate form of gameplay.

"Borderlands 3 has managed to remain a looter-shooter without Loot Boxes" For now at least...

I made a literally glowing character covered in glowing angel wings, I can finally be the fairy king

Holy hell, Sterling had been making Liz Truss pork market jokes back in 2019. That’s some avant guard shit back then.

Getting content by simply playing the game. It's a goddamn revolution.

Remember Saints Row 3? Imagine that game without cosmetics.

What I learned from this is that I need to purchase and play Code Vein, holy shit.

AAAAH, my skin has cleaned, my crops are flourishing, The Sterling has arrived.

I look at Jim's Code Vein character and immediately hear the voice of Tim Curry. Is that wrong?

Huh, didnt expect a borderlands 3 video that actually showcases it in a positive. Honestly with all the controversy it gathered, I'm genuinely surprised that "surprise" mechanics isn't one of the various things wrong with it.

To say that something embarrasses the "AAA" industry would imply they are self-aware.

You should do episodes like this regularly. Maybe a once-a-year thing. I'd love to get a regular list of major games that don't engage in bullshit.

3 words : earth defense force

This is how I like to start my Mondays. Thank god for Jim.

Love how you say it how it is, and call out the bullshit constantly. And doesn’t afraid of anything. Keep it up Jim Stephanie

17:16 It's a solid 7/10 making it as good as Breath of The Wild I fucking love this man

In the beginning all I could think is “has jim been drinking since the ghost recon video because he looks weirdly happy”

14:00 We're also being trained to *"not"* expect a bug free game.

That intro made me amused but also confused

Thanks Jim for giving Code Vein some love!

7:08 Damn, that old Spiderman game as a reference for how unlocking cosmetics used to work in games! Not gonna lie, that was the game I always thought of when you and other people brought up the topic - and it's been that way literally for YEARS. The only reason I have a different example in my head now is because I've played the PS4 Spiderman game, which ALSO unlocks costumes in game! It was one of the first games I ever played with a feature like that, and it was the most memorable. Those costumes doubled as minor cheat codes, allowing you to experience the game differently the second time around. Their inclusion made the game itself more enjoyable for me, and it was always one of the features I remembered best about the game, decades after playing it.

The shorter intro made me wonder if this was some kind of Jimquisition quickie or something.

I think the "just cosmetic" argument is a relic of a previous age... Back when cosmetic microtransactions were preiswert. Now it's like $5 for a skin? Ridiculous.

Somehow I can picture a Namco exec pulling this video to demonstrate: "I told you we should have sold the hats as an on disc DLC, look at all the lost money!"

"cosmetics don´t change gameplay" says that to competive players that use the shittiest visuals possible to boost framerate and remove all grass texture used to camouflage

Still one of my favorite moments from Xenoblade X: "So I'm not able to give you the 1 million credits the side quest promised..." Me: Eh, I got another tick towards 100% completion. "...but I will give you free, unlimited access to the character creator from the beginning of the game" Not to mention the game also had a fashion armor system, where you could equip one armor piece for stats and another for looks, solving simultaneously the problem of some people wanting skimpy outfits for all characters and some people wanting more realistic armor. I'll let people say cosmetic only because it is a middle ground; an actually obtainable goal for games. Devoid from that, fully agree with the discussion of cosmetics here.

The AAA industry read Manufacturing Discontent and thought it was an instruction manual.

If jim's hat doesn't become a tf2 cosmetic some time down the line i will be sorely disappointed great vid as always tho jim

I am here by copyrighting the phrase “FLAMBOYANTLY ALPHA” to describe Dr. Sterling. (All caps mandatory)

Fun grind? In recent memory, Warframe and Monster Hunter comes to mind.

Now I want to buy Code Vein just for the character-creator, and I'm not even into Souls-type games.

>Capcom makes Devil May Cry 5 a complete game with no dlc after its release >fans are begging for dlc That's how you know you did something right when fans want to pay you extra to keep supporting a game(a complete experience mind you)

14:24 I never wanna hear its just cosmetic again, I will always respond with this and demand an answer

Ask any MMORPG player if cosmetics are important and you'll get a big yes.

Code Vein: sleeper hit of the year for Jim?

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: thank God for Jim.

"Cosmetics don't matter" MMORPG's: "Am I a joke to you?"

I had a weird dream last night about Jim being an executive at a gaming review website and saying how corrupt the market is. Even in dreams Jim speaks the truth.

Fashion Souls is the final goal of Dark Souls.

Anyone remember Randy Bitchford pretending he didnt know Jim's name? That was hilarious! 🤣🤣🤣

"Wank Baron" Jim, oh Jim, I hope you realize Imma *S* *T* *E* *A* *L* that

I wish my girlfriend was hot, like Jim!

I have come to truly understand Jim's stance on cosmetics when he explained in it painfully clear detail in this video. Then again I respected it before all of this. Also his Code Vein character almost reminded me of David Bowie, pretty damn good. Should i ever make a video game, i wanna aim for the robust in customization that Code Vein and a few other games had.