Came to mind because Mortal Kombat 1 is one of the greediest fighting games I’ve ever seen, with the recent announcement of a $12 Halloween fatality plus all characters + DLC adding up to $118, so I’m assuming it’s because Warner Bros/Netherrealm Studios just wants more bonus money, so I’m genuinely curious how that whole thought process came to be, and if there’s any way for society as a whole to counteract that, or is it simply built into capitalism and we’re stuck with this forever.
Edit: I didn’t buy MK1, just know people who did because I go to tournaments
The more self-reliant you are, the less opportunity there is to sell you something. The more automated your self-reliance is, the more time you have to follow your passion. The answer to your question is the advancement of technology and its democratization. As tools advance, more people are able to create products that rival what a company can make. This increases the competition which leads to an arm race for quality/price. At some point, hypothetically, the barrier to entry is so low that everyone becomes a creator for himself, thus removing the need to buy from anyone else. This principle is applicable to most industries. Greed won't stop but no one will care.