Another perspective on NTN Buzztime's social capabilities

In a symbolic way, I drink a lot of Kool Aid. I hang out online with a bunch of FriendFeed types who relish the conversation and community of "friends," and I love to play NTN Buzztime games in which I compete against my "friends" from all over the United States and Canada. In my view, these virtual tools enhance the experience that I have with others.

But not everyone sees it that way. I was reading my feeds and ran across a post in the blog "Here is a Thing." Here's part of the thing:

I play trivia every Thursday night at Max’s, which is the best bar in Baltimore (check out the massive tap list at maxs.com). It’s a live trivia game with moderators and teams and stuff, not one of those cheap computer things they have at places like Buffalo Wild Wings.

Now I can think of a number of adjectives to apply to the NTN Buzztime trivia experience, but I never would have thought of the adjective "cheap." (In fact, some establishments that have dropped NTN Buzztime service have claimed that it is too expensive.)

Why does the writer consider NTN Buzztime "cheap"? Because of the lack of human interaction? Because of drawbacks in the graphical interface?

Now I'm curious.