I'm increasingly nervous for the future of video games. I'm coming to loathe the habit of holding content back for DLC....I mean loathe. And I don't care if it's free DLC. The way things are going, it won't be long until you're buying games piecemeal like a cable TV subscription, having to buy low-tier items to get to high-tier items, etc. Freaks me out. Add in the move towards streaming/download games instead of owning actual discs.....gahhhhh! I used to be able to bring a game to a friends house to play for the afternoon...it's increasingly becoming impossible to do this.

The move to the "non-controller" seems to be taking over the motivation to make excellent games. Developers are pushed into making a game to support a peripheral or a DLC-money-grab over the idea of simply making a quality game.

The massive push about avatars and online presence....it's ridiculous. Outfits, themes, extras, etc. The day somebody is more worried about their avatar than their system/game is a scary day, and I think we're very close to it.

It feels like 3-5 years from now, your average game will take about 2-3 hours to complete....at which point you'll have the chance to buy DLC to add another 2-3 hours of content. Of course, there will be a tacked-on useless MP component; there will be useless avatar/dashboard add-ons disguised as must-have content; if you go see the movie you'll get "x" number of "points" to use towards additional DLC which will only cover 3% of the cost, but you must have it to complete some portion of the game; there will be pre-sale marketplace buys that will open up portions of the game you otherwise wouldn't have out of the box...wait there will be no box...out of the download. On and on and on.