10 Gaming Events That Shook Player Confidence

Being a video game enthusiast isn’t always an easy thing. For every golden year like 2015, there are several bad ones, like 2021. Sometimes we’ve collectively even had to suffer through several years of bland releases and disappointing trends. But then another stacked year finally comes and all feels right once more. No, a few dry years alone aren’t enough to make a person question their choice of hobby.

What absolutely can, though, is the ever-present undercurrent of exploitative corporate strategy that’s defined the past fifteen years or so of gaming. Between security failures, forced hardware and ever-more hostile policies pushed ever-more frequently, it’d be shocking to meet a gamer who isn’t wondering whether it’s time to just hang up the controller. It’s a long list, and sadly, it’s still growing.

10 The Great Sony Hack of 2011

How safe is your data, really?

In 2011, hackers were able to infiltrate Sony’s systems and gain access to the personal information of around 77 million PSN users. That info included things like names, address, passwords, security questions, credit card numbers and more. Sony’s immediate response was to shutdown the entire network while it worked on fixing the damage.

Once the dust settled, Sony had suffered over $170 million in direct damages and had to compensate PSN users with free games and wallet credits as a result of the PSN outage. The hack was first of its kind and a warning to everyone that not even giant game companies are invulnerable to bad actors.

Sony itself got hacked again in 2023, so, again, do you really want to trust them to keep your data and rentals safe?

9 Xbox One Requires Kinect

You’re gonna use Kinect and like it, dammit!

Back in 2013, Xbox was the undisputed king of console gaming. The Xbox 360 had dominated the then-current generation and Microsoft was eager to continue the trend with Xbox One. Unfortunately, the brand made two decisions that would not only thwart that goal, but put Xbox on the back foot for the next ten years. One we’ll discuss shortly; the other was making Kinect the console’s centerpiece.

Xbox’s main idea for requiring Kinect was to encourage developers to use it and add to the Xbox One’s appeal as a home media device. What happened, though, is that motion control games are limited in their application, and the Kinect inflated the console’s cost by a hefty $100. So not only was it more expensive than the PS4, it made Xbox look uninterested in the audience that built it.

8 Xbox One’s Disastrous DRM

Your games aren’t really yours, so we’re not gonna let you share them anymore.

While the Kinect requirement certainly didn’t help to sell the Xbox One, it was very likely that Microsoft’s very aggressive DRM plans were what really hamstrung it. In short, the plan was for all games to be tied to their original owner’s account, and the Xbox One would have to authenticate all games via the internet every 24 hours.

Game sharing was also limited to making one’s library “available” to up to ten friends, but you couldn’t play a game at the same time, and neither could you just share a disc. All of this was scrapped after a month of immense backlash, but the damage was done. Players lost confidence and the Xbox brand has struggled ever since.

Ironically, Sony is now poised to implement similar systems now that users will have no option but the PSN shop.

7 EA’s “Surprise Mechanics” Defense for Loot Boxes

It’s not gambling. It’s just risking money on an uncertain outcome.

One of the biggest stories in 2019 was the UK’s investigation into live service games and loot boxes in particular. While government interest in video games is hardly anything new, gamers at the time had already spent the past couple of years voicing their distaste for loot boxes and were eager to see how the likes of EA and Epic would try to explain the gambling-like practice.

The big moment came when EA attempted to defend loot boxes by referring to them as “surprise mechanics” and comparing them to children’s toys like Kinder Eggs, conveniently ignoring the core issue of the hearing. Most at the time thought it was a ridiculous thing to say, but it nonetheless showed how committed large publishers were to loot boxes.

We don’t hear about loot boxes much anymore, but they’re still around. Just look at EA FC 26 or Apex Legends.

6 The Sudden Shuttering of Google Stadia

Streaming games is great for businesses, but questionable for customers.

The failure of Google Stadia was not itself all that surprising. The service was expensive at ten dollars a month on top of charging full retail price for all supported games; it had latency issues; users had no control over their own libraries, and their purchases existed entirely at the mercy of Google. In other words, it was a poor value proposition.

What was surprising was just how unceremoniously Google killed the service, suddenly announcing its decision to do so in September 2022. Stadia hadn’t even been live for four whole years yet and Google was already confirming everyone’s biggest fear for both Stadia and game streaming as a concept. All users got fully refunded, but it made everyone more wary of a digital-only future.

5 Sony Attempts to Kill the PS3 and Vita Stores

This should have been a much bigger wake-up call for everyone.

Early in 2021, Sony made its first attempt to close down the PlayStation Store on the PS3 and PS Vita. The response from players at the time was much like how it is now: extremely negative. Plenty of people then (just like now) still enjoyed those platforms and wanted to keep using them. There was also the issue of game preservation since those storefronts were (and still are) the best means of access to lots of classic and/or digital-only PlayStation games.

The backlash was so bad that Sony reversed course relatively quickly, commenting that it was glad that it could keep that portion of its history alive for its players. It was definitely a win for PS fans but ultimately one that seemingly won’t last.

4 Nintendo Kills the 3DS and Wii U eShops

This is where the company’s most recent villain arc truly began.

In March 2023, Nintendo permanently shut down the eShops for the 3DS and Wii U, rendering all their digital-only exclusives and DLC largely inaccessible and re-igniting the conversation surrounding video game preservation. The 3DS and Wii U were by no means popular platforms in 2023, but they still had their fans and plenty of people who enjoyed them as a budget option.

Thus, the closure felt to many like an attack on both game preservation and those players who either just enjoy older platforms or simply don’t have money enough for the latest and greatest. To have such an attack come from Nintendo was basically a double-blow, since it had spent the previous several years regaining gamers’ trust after the 3DS and Wii U debacles.

Wii U and 3DS owners can still re-download their purchased games even now, so at least it’s not as bad as it could be.

3 Switch 2 Game Key Cards

All the restrictions of digital, with a fraction of the value of physical

In the months leading up to the release of the Switch 2, one of the more widely discussed topics was its new “game key” cards and how they would function in practice. Many saw them as a convenient way to continue sharing games with friends. Others saw them as a mere facsimile of actual physical games. In actuality, both takes have elements of truth.

Game key cards are easy to share and can, in theory, be resold just like a normal physical game. They are still just keys for digital downloads, however, and as such, are not as valuable as a cartridge containing the full game files. Just like with digital purchases, key cards function at the pleasure of the platform holder, so if Nintendo one day decides it doesn’t want to support downloads from re-sold cards some day, then it’s game over.

2 Sony and Xbox Raise Prices… And Then Do It Again

It’s as if they don’t actually want people to buy their products anymore.

The PS5 and Xbox Series X both launched in 2020 at a hefty $499 price point. Many balked at the time, but many justified it by citing the devices’ greater power and the ability to just wait until the price comes down. After all, it was practically a law of commerce that new hardware always gets cheaper as time goes on. Well, not anymore, it doesn’t.

In the six years since the PS5 and Xbox Series X launched, both systems have only gotten more expensive. Sony’s first price hike came in 2022, with both versions of the PS5 going up by about fifty dollars. The second hit this April, with both going up by another hundred dollars. Xbox followed suit with the Series S going from $399 to $599 and the 1TB Series X increasing to $799. Basically, console gaming is becoming quite the luxury pursuit.

1 Sony Kills Physical Games

Nothing can stop them from overcharging for old games now.

The biggest and most recent worrisome bit of news is undoubtedly Sony’s sudden announcement that it will cease physical disc production as of January 2028. Oh, and it’s killing the PS3 and PS Vita stores too (for real this time). This apparently isn’t a decision that can be reversed either, as Sony has already started converting its disc production facilities.

All the game preservation talking points still apply here, but now consumer rights must also be considered. Sony hasn’t exactly been operating cleanly these past few years and has shown that it’s all too willing to charge full price for old games and even remove digital purchases from user libraries. Without physical competition to keep it at least a little honest, it’s hard to see a future wherein Sony doesn’t take full advantage.

---

It’s not all doom and gloom, of course. As worrisome as the decisions by the major publishers and platform holders are, we’re still living in what’s effectively a golden age of indie development. Also, having a PC means having the entirety of gaming at your fingertips in one way or another.

So, as bleak as the future of console gaming is looking right now, we all just have to remember that we do have options beyond either taking this garbage lying down or bowing out of the hobby entirely. Now, perhaps even more than ever before, we all have the power to enjoy our hobby our way.