While it is a nice-feeling concept on the surface, we need to look at what isn't being said, what questions aren't being asked, and what is implied:
- Publisher is essentially saying "We don't pay our developers enough, and we don't want to pay our developers enough, so why don't you the customer do it for us. You know, on top of the paying for the game that should be enough for a developer but isn't because CEO's gotta get them bonuses, son!
- We need to be getting away from "tip culture", not embracing it further. Many restaurants have increased their food prices <20% (less than an average tip, if you're a decent person :P ) and done away with tipping while paying their servers a decent wage instead.
- It's unreliable income. Unlike the restaurant industry or other areas where people are tipped, developers probably can't count on a certain amount of income from tips because they don't know how much it will be. As someone that has worked in restaurants and been paid $10/hr, and has relied on tips to pay rent only to see the tips not come in due to slow business or what have you, it sucks not having reliable income.
- Games are a rare, affordable luxury in that inflation has actually outpaced game prices while game prices have more or less stayed the same if not come down. We need to maintain this so video games remain affordable, and not add tipping to it. Games 20+ years ago cost 49.99 and adjusted for inflation I think they should cost in excess of $90 if they were to match the rate and other industries.
- It's double-dipping. We have to pay for the product, then we have to pay again for the product simply because, what? We like it? We should always like the product. If we don't, then we return it (or should be able to). There is no service being provided, and asking for more money is double-dipping much like some streaming services do by making you pay a monthly fee AND making you watch ads (double-dipping in that they make money off your sub fee then make money off you seeing ads).
- How exactly will it be split? Will there be a surcharge? A processing fee? How much is the company cut before it is paid out to developers. What developers get more? Level designers? 3D modelers? Or is this just for hourly employees and not salary?
Also, I just don't like this culture of tipping for everything these days. I hate how it's expected of us for non-service based jobs. I hate how when I go to my fishmonger and buy a piece of salmon, I'm prompted to tip them for a 30-second experience (fish is expensive btw so I'd basically be tipping them 5-10 bucks for 30 seconds of their time on top of paying $20-40/lb for fish). I'm tired of what it implies; that business owners either can't or won't pay their employees a livable wage.
This isn't a pleasant gesture of how we can do some good; this is a depressing "what if?"
Here's a "what if?"...what if we paid people a livable wage, didn't make them crunch during the last months of a game development, added more job security for people in an otherwise insecure field, and stuff like that?
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