Another fucking customer at the restaurant. What could be more stupid than this metaphor? Probably only victims of milking on a site where leaked games are given away for free.
Dude, you've got the wrong door. This isn't a restaurant, it's a nightclub. Even the bouncer at the entrance won't let you in. He says they have the dress code here and you don't fit in.
So you're standing near the club in your punk outfit with a few dudes dressed similarly. You complain that the music there is crap. That you were expecting a punk band concert here (a group of guys and girls walking into the club give you sideways glances. They think you're nuts, there have never been any punk groups in the nightclub, only DJs with dance music).
But you and your bros keep complaining. How fucking great it was here before they made this stupid nightclub. Only an idiot would go there, because the music is disgusting, the drinks are expensive and they mostly serve some fancy stupid cocktails instead of old good cheap fortified beer, so that a true punk has something to puke on.
There's laughter, cheers, and crowd noise coming from the club. More people are coming, and there's already a small line at the entrance. You and your bros comment on how ridiculous the girls look, they don't even have pink mohawks on their heads. No one's wearing black studded leather jackets. Fucking normies.
You all in a hurry to tell each other how stupid this electronic music is and how this disgusting noise twists your ears into tubes. And that real punk won't ever come close to this shit.
Suddenly, the dance floor in the club explodes with excited screams. You and your bros even fall silent for a moment, listening to the sounds from the club and trying to understand what is happening. The host welcomes the famous DJ Ocean with his ultra-popular WiAB Mafia Mix, the Steam intense edition.
You come to your senses and continue the interrupted bitching session with redoubled energy, trying to shout down each other and the sounds of music and the crowd from the nightclub.
Latecomers passing by look at the group of punks who clearly don't belong there, but who feel quite comfortable, excitedly arguing with each other: "No, this shit isn't The Clash. What Clash? This isn't even Ramones, not even close, even the Dead Kennedys would be a masterpiece compared to this shit. What kind of degenerates go to this club? Mafia thing, hehe..."
You're both right in your own way, because holy hell - someone bought a ticket to a Linkin Park concert, but Justin Bieber came out with a guitar singing Linkin Park songs.
Half the crowd will say: 'Well, it's still music and Linkin Park songs,' while the other half will scream: 'This is bullshit, we've been scammed.
Let's actually take the analog further:
There was a club, it was a dive bar called old WiaB, had a door fee no one paid but the regulars. Had comedy nights, country, blues and the odd hip hop act, maybe some punk. Got a make over as a bright shiny new venue, decided to call itself Wiab Ch1-3. Hadn't yet decided what music was playing, was keeping it all non-committal, but was going for highly polished professional vibe, no bands getting drunk and puking anywhere anytime like before. But it was bright and shiny, and highly anticipated. People kept wondering how it would be different from the old club - sure it was shiny, but the themes and genres weren't locked in. What kind of bands could they expect? Looked promising, from the few industry do's that the place actually put on.
Then the club couldn't pay rent and wasn't finished renovating - and was stonewalled by council regulations from further development.
You're the manager who has to solve this. What happens?
A: Club opens as is, but still fails to meet the city planning regulations. Puts on music that goes against the policies of the current council's guidelines. Club closes permanently, undermining the owner's portfolio of other business ventures. Eyes are on compliance with twice as much scrutiny.
B: Club renovates and puts on drum and bass, dance, techno, whatever the crazy *paying* kids are into. Does the market research into what they think the majority of people with money for the entrance fee want to see. Old patrons come around and feel pissed off. Some are happy enough, because it's their 'hood, while others wonder why they're still standing in front of a club they no longer like, rather than finding a new dive bar for a drink.
C: Pretend the city is wrong and that somehow a single independant WiaB can take on the regulations and win, resulting in A.
There's a couple of things this scenario says to me. A or C result in no WiaB open for business. You'll just look at the start of band's careers in black and white nostalgia. You'll never get to see the grand opening of this because it shut down. Or you go find a new bar that feels comfortable like home, even though the city is actively enforcing it's regulations, prohibition style. Eventually, you'll not be able to find the kinds of clubs that were open back then, because the devs can't afford to run at a loss, and they have to keep their heads down below the regulations.
Lastly in B there's the quality of the renovations. They meet the city regulations, so it can open, and start paying rent without pulling money from the other club that's doing pop music for the college kids. Is the renovation good? Well, it's open and compliant, but they rushed to open, no matter how long it took. Can the club be renovated while open? Yes. Will it happen? Unknown.
Let's not confuse the renovation with the necessity of the change. The marketplace is changing and there will be a lot of devs who have to consider how they're also going to renovate. Old school patrons of all these underground clubs will feel abandoned, not just this thread. The industry's moving that way, and no complaint about free speech will change that.
