The only question I'd ever ask anyone in the video game industry is why are so many triple A studios putting out so many garbage games?
Most notibly EA
I'll see your EA and raise you Activision.
You (both) raise an excellent and valid point but I want to clarify something incase it isn't clear.
EA and Activision-Blizzard and primarily Publishers who have bought out development studios (ex: Treyarch, Blizzard, Bioware). Many development studios self-publish but they typically don't have as large a marketing budget as they are usually funded by private investors. Blizzard is an example of a development studio that self-published for many years with great success, but they are certainly not the commonplace developer.
Publishers (usually) provide funding for a development studio and handle marketing, distribution, localization as well as internal quality certifications.
The problem is two-fold:
First in that far more often than not the 'higher-ups' at the Publishers have a vested interest in titles being released by a specified date because they receive a 'ship bonus' for shipping on time. This often has nothing to do with any critical reviews of a title. Additionally, the quality checks performed internally have far more to do with functionality and far less to do with fun. This has started to change a bit so that the bonus scales with a metacritic score but it is far from a 'fixed' system.
The second part is the fault of the consumer. People buy those crap titles up like theres no tomorrow. Most of the big publishers are in it for the money and not to make great games.
But will they monopolize the market forever? Not a chance.
Steam and other methods of digital distribution are an immensely viable marketing direction for indie developers to release titles and receive a far larger share of the profits than they would if they were to have released through a Publisher.
Innovative marketing and distribution models will trump the market. Minecraft, for example, is still in development yet has generated millions in sales already.
But so long as people keep buying "Medal of Duty: Big Black Ops: Episode 74: The Spanish Inquisition" they will keep churning out crap in a box.
This part is more of a comment. The reason Piracy is so bad on the PC is for one reason. PC gamers are smart, and will not pay for beta, or in some cases Alpha, versions of games.
Piracy is an inevitability.
I am of the opinion that it is better to accept that it WILL happen than to make your loyal customers suffer in an effort to stymie a few lost sales.
Fortunately, it seems Publishers are catching on to this... slowly, but surely. Eventually, such anti-consumer actions will come 'round to bite them in the ***.
I'd like to see a AAA titles try the 'pay what you want' model as many musicians have done for their content (NIN, Radiohead, etc) with great success.
Moreover, I find the idea of requiring any internet connection or verification for what should be offline play repugnant.
One point that is important to make is that within a Publisher such as EA or Activision, the development studios act almost entirely independent of one another. While one development team for a particular title may burn the midnight oil to tighten up those graphics on level 3 another might not give a ****. It has a great deal to do with leadership on a team and, sadly, quality leadership is often lacking (not just in the games industry).
In summary, you've identified a systemic problem with any large growth industry. The heavy-hitters of the games industry has become fat and lazy in many places while indie developers run circles around them.
Eventually those indie developers will either run out of steam (pun intended) and die off or become fat and lazy themselves.
It's the circle of liiiife.
