Old Playstation Vita advertisements from some years back, I'll probably do some new ones for the Vita Slim eventually.
Despite the job market settling back into a decent groove for the short term unemployed, for the long term unemployed the market is still bleaker than ever. Over 3 million people have been out of work longer than six months and this doesn’t count those who’ve stopped looking; chronic unemployment is still persistently higher than it was during the Great Depression period. Problem for the long term unemployed is that companies won’t even look at their credentials no matter what; your length away from work overrides everything else. When you’re long term unemployed, even after you get a job you’re more likely to lose it. If you lost your job or graduated during the recession or post recession period, then odds are you fell into the long term unemployed sector. Basically, for them it’s still a massive catch 22 that is near impossible to escape from. Did I mention the government cutting unemployment benefits?
Probably the worst thing about this is that no one is really making any noise about this issue. Those who’ve maintained jobs live in a bubble since they’re largely unaffected and politicians smear over their issues with similar generalizations without taking economic factors into account (see: globalization) and systemic discrimination by corporations (which they won’t address for “obvious” reasons.) So while job market numbers may look nice on paper, we’re likely to witness an entire generation of misplaced workers, which will have long term, damaging effects on our economic future… fun times. Despite some morally questionable tactics that can arise from these games I believe that when well implemented it can be a massive boon to both producer and consumer. The beauty of free to play is that there is no monetary barrier to entry and (depending on your self-discipline) you can enjoy the entire game and beyond without paying a single penny. Perhaps you may want to support the developer or build a spending limit per game you try out, whatever it is free to play offers flexibility. This can be a fantastic deal for gamers in less than ideal financial situations where even in light of deals from platforms such as Amazon, GOG, Steam and Playstation Plus, they may simply not have the money to spend on new experiences. However with free to play games and freeware, those gamers are not left out of the fun and can enjoy fresh releases as well with a variety of different genres to choose from. Free to Play and Freeware video games include DOTA 2, Team Fortress 2, League of Legends, Path of Exile, N+, Cave Story, Planet Side 2, ZMR (Zombies/Monsters/Robots), Warframe, SMITE, Jetpack Joyride, MapleStory, Candy Crush, Hearthstone, Puzzles and Dragons and Marvel Heroes as well as an assortment of other MMORPGs, freeware, mobile games and emulators. If you have a good knack for scouting video games, there’s a near limitless assortment of experiences that you can find without having to open your wallet. Video games are a huge hobby of mine and I like gamers to always have a degree of access to new games and with a decent computer/laptop and an internet connection, reach is never that far away. With Free to Play, Freeware and the like even the most financially stricken consumer can look forward to something to play. |
Frank Sheppard
NOTE: all opinions/views represented here are my own and do not reflect on any third party that I am affiliated with. Archives
May 2016
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