I tend to agree that individually, PC or video game, a tabletop game mechanic (or compilation of them), a novel, a comic book, or a song (or album) aren't worth what the companies that produce charge for them. I'm of the opinion that anyone who "creates" for a living -- be they a programmer or 3D modeler, level designer, comic illustrator, composer, musician, etc. should consider that their shit isn't golden.
How well does a band get by when they only produce one album a year? Every two years? Once a decade? How well should they get by? There's no reason to think that several hours/weeks/months of work upfront should generate thousands or millions of dollars. No matter how good it is. No matter how well it's promoted. It's crap supply created to stymie a fake demand.
You've got to give the WotC guys some credit for trying to stick to the book-a-month schedule, but 4e feels like they're trying to use the artwork to sell the books. How much is an art book worth? Is the art a worthy excuse for selling a crappy game? Why do they have to keep lying about how important playtesting and feedback are when they choose yes-men to test their products and ignore constructive criticism? How much is their shit actually worth?
Clones of mainstream video games come out in droves. They sport hackneyed versions of innovative mechanics, or third- or fourth-generation rip-offs of what were innovative mechanics. They typically have poorer graphics, less story, and less character. In all ways, a cheesy knock-off. In print, these are your cheap paperbacks. The print industry has been around for thousands of years and knows better (well, hopefully) by this point. Cheap knock-off video games are sold at $50-60 a pop ... the same price as the good games. Movies, music, video games ... whether it's brilliant or it's crap, the industry leaders think they can sell them all at the same price.
There's been an interesting trend of pushing towards independent publishers these last few years ... last several decades. A push towards listening to independently-produced music, independently grown vegetables, in-house writers/publishers, etc. Maybe there's always been this push towards finding the people who actually care about putting out a good product. People who make games BECAUSE THEY LIKE TO PLAY GAMES. People who PLAY MUSIC BECAUSE THEY LIKE MUSIC. PEOPLE WHO WRITE BOOKS BECAUSE THEY LIKE TO TELL STORIES.
It'd be nice if the lowest common denominator in consumers were smart enough to call out the fakes and the liars for what they are -- cheats and frauds. What can you do besides know and recognize these things for yourself and encourage the people around you to act in a similar manner? I don't know.
...
I think what makes me the saddest is when I see friends of mine who are so caught up in the consumer-cycle that they can't pay their bills, can't pay their rent -- they're too busy pouring cash into the World of WarCrack, too busy buying up Halo, Final Fantasy, and Grand Theft Auto clones, too busy buying Magic: the Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh cards and Dungeons & Dragons books; buying American Idol, Hanna Montana, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer paraphernalia; going to see the new Indiana Jones movie, the Transformers movie, the GI Joe movie, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, 300, Sin City, The Dark Knight, and Harry Potter ... dear lord ... buying any TV show or anime box sets...
I made a point to list a number of things there that I enjoy and buy into, myself. I didn't single any one fandom out that I can think of ... the sadness doesn't come from the medium or the object of affection itself ... it comes from the thoughtlessness of consuming whatever has the brand name slapped on it.
I might be preaching to the choir, in some cases but I have a feeling that whether this applies to you or not, you probably know people who are like this -- mindless consumers who are, if nothing else, contributing to the continual outpouring of crap products. Maybe it's better that they do -- the crappier the products on the shelves, the less likely I am to ever spend money on anything other than food, rent, and bills. Oh, and internet access. And porn.
</rant> But for how long?