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It's recovering, but as I write this it still hasn't climbed back to its previous height. Possibly because it got stuck in a wall when I pressed the "parkour up" button and is now repeatedly trying to grab an invisible ledge.

Ubisoft

Or possibly engaging in "Stayin' Alive."

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This was a conscious decision to release something unfinished, take the money, and damn the consequences. But like a restaurant releasing underdone chicken, they've finally caused too much shit and are in trouble. We all know that share prices fluctuate wildly (almost as if they, too, are a wildly unstable cash-extraction machine barely tethered to reality), but blowing an entire eighth off your value has to sting.

The share analogy is a good one. Because there can be crashes that level entire industries. At least this time the assholes won't be able to wipe out the entirety of gaming. Games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution prove that AAA releases can still be magnificent, Team Fortress 2 shows that big-budget blowouts can merge with online communities and adapt to online markets, and hundreds of independent games offer more polished fun for a few dollars than Assassin's Cutscene has in the last decade.

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The real fault is ours. The companies release what we'll buy, and we still love these big-budget games. Luckily, we can save them with one simple step. Stop preordering. These billion-dollar companies don't need funding to support development. All the preorder bonuses, collectors editions, exclusive advance unlocks, and the incredible hype that builds up game releases more than space launches? It's all designed to distract you from deciding if a game is worth your money. Even the most ridiculously rapidly updating series still manages only one entry per year. No need to preorder. All we have to do is be patient and wait one week and we'll be able see if a new game is worth spending money on.

And after a few years of that, it will be.

Enjoy Gaming's Greatest Gaming Glitches, or see more expensive electronic idiocy in 6 Insane eSports Scandals.

Hark back to the glory days of gaming with 6 Retro Features Modern Video Games Need, and then check out The 22 Most Horrifying Video Game Glitches..

Luke writes about how Mario Kart 8 disproves democracy, tumbles, and responds to every single tweet.