future of gaming?

[extra_anchovy]

just read this article

http://www.cracked.com/article_15732_life-after-video-game-crash.html

basically the author predicts another video game crash due to the current generation not offering anything new. and only having novelty value and slightly prettier graphics instead of gameplay

I tend to agree with most of his opinions as I myself am an OG (original gamer as he terms it). after I bought the PS2 I only got about half dozen games which I occasionally do go back to. however new consoles i've bought after that have completely failed to hold my interest. the wii kept me occupied for a short while after I purchased it but the novelty soon wore off.

bought about a half dozen games for wii but only played them for a few hours then got bored. don't really play it anymore it's just a paperweight. also have a ps3 with one game which I paid about $100 for and only got maybe 15-20 hours of gameplay out of it. also had a psp with many games which i've since sold for the same reasons.

so as you can see the new generation just doesn't keep me interested. it just seems very boring to me, each game is pretty much the same. i still do have some interested in current gen gaming but it has to be a real unique gaming experience to keep my interest. for example the NASA multiplayer simulation "Moonbase Alpha".

in contrast I play my Super Nintendo quite often even after nearly 20 years of owning it. I'm still discovering new games, translated games, hacks, etc there is plenty to keep me interested. I even play games that I have finished before many years ago. seriously I can't even comprehend the amount of times I've finished Shadowrun.

seriously though does modern gaming really hold peoples interest? I see a lot of talk but i get the feeling that most people just buy a game, play it for a few hours get bored then buy another game and repeat the cycle?

or is it just me, a dinosaur unable to adapt and clinging to the fond memories of my gaming youth?

[Colorado Rockies]

If you only love the classics that's great and you are definately not alone. I know plenty of people who are let down by this generation of gaming.

Personally, I consider the current gen games are on par with past gens. I love Fallout 3, MGS4, Gears, Mass Effect, Assassins Creed II, etc.

But I also know how comforting it is to revisit an old classic or to find a hidden classic gem.

Thats why I love having both modern and classic consoles, but if you are only interested in the retro stuff than there are still a ton of old school games out there for you.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Best gaming article I've read in years. And I'm absolutely in tune with the writers view, and have been for about as long.

[alec006]

or is it just me, a dinosaur unable to adapt and clinging to the fond memories of my gaming youth?

Hi fellow dinosaur :P Honestly, I don't get the hype of this generation. I'm a classic gamer that loves all the games of my childhood like Sonic 2,Pokemon Red, Goldeneye, etc. and a few I've yet to discover. It's just the fact that some of those games met something to me as a kid and help shape who I am today. Besides it's always fun to go back and feel that childhood happiness that will never disappear. Also granted online gaming has opened up many great opportunitys playing people around the world, but I really miss the days where you called your friends and actually played on the same TV, it just had a more lively feeling to it and there's so many stories that can be told from it.

[Graham Mitchell]

First off, this article is pretty old (December 2007). While I agree with some points of it, a lot of his predictions haven't panned out. For example--online multiplayer has actually become a huge success. I only play with friends, but it can be fun under the right circumstances.

The problem I see is that he's comparing Xbox 360 games with Atari 2600 games. He states that history "proves" that we'll get tired of these current gen systems just like everybody did with the 2600. I won't get into the specifics, I think 360/PS3 games can hold one's attention a lot longer than a 2600 game. There's plenty of new content on these newer machines to hold my interest for years, and as long as they keep making new games, I'll keep paying attention. In fact, I DON'T want to see a next generation. These machines cost me nearly $1000 each to get running as advertised, and I don't want to have to go through that again.

In addition, he's implying that nobody replays old games because video games lack the humanistic qualities of a film. Umm...Virtual Console anyone? I replay Snatcher once a year because it's such a great story, and gives you such a huge insight into main characters. I will probably replay Bioshock, Twilight Princess, Portal 1 and 2 many times over the years as well.

I think that his fear is that the casual-type gamer won't keep playing beyond a year or so, which may be right. But that's nothing new. As long as they keep catering to the "hardcore" crowd, I'll stay interested.

[calthaer]

Meh, the only current-gen games I seem to be fascinated with are ones that feel old-gen, like Terraria and A.R.E.S. and whatnot. For whatever reason, I just really prefer 2D to all this 3D business going around. Although, I must say, I'm looking forward to Deus Ex: Human Revolution...I suppose I'm kind of torn.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

When I go back and read old gaming magazines from the late 80s/early 90s, there are people who complain in the Letters to the Editor about the new Genesis and SNES coming out. They say that graphics aren't everything and there's no reason to upgrade.

If they had stuck to that position, they would have missed a lot of good games. The same goes for today's games. If you only have one PS3 game and you're not exploring everything the system has to offer, then you might be missing something spectacular.

As for the article, well, it is almost four years old so I don't think some of the claims are relevant anymore. The weakest part of the article is when he is comparing screen shots and saying that advancement in graphics has slowed down. Anyone can easily make the exact opposite argument by hand picking two games that are seven years apart.

[kupomogli]

I don't think there will be another video game crash. There's too much money being made from shovelware. It's just not going to happen. Even so, compared to all others before it, this gen is one of the worst when it comes to the amount of great games. Regardless if it's a big budget game, low budget game, there are very few titles that go beyond "playable" to amazing in this gen. This gen has superior hardware, yet lacking in terms of gameplay for the most part.

I'd rather have developers putting more time into developing gameplay over all else. It can be the best looking game ever released, but if it plays like shit then what's the point(Final Fantasy 13, God of War 3, etc?) It'd also be nice if more developers pushed towards a more unique experience, such as games like Half Minute Hero, Patchwork Heroes, Feel the Magic, Contact, Valkyria Chronicles, Demon's Souls, Borderlands, and Mirror's Edge. Games that go above and beyond the level of what other games this gen do. Being unique doesn't mean a game is better than another game or not, it just gives players more than one different experience of gameplay.


Now imagine four thousand of those stacks, and then imagine someone setting them on fire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMkkfuSizc4

[Oobgarm]

I don't think there will be another video game crash. There's too much money being made from shovelware. It's just not going to happen.

Thing is, though, one of the major contributors to the crash in 83 was oversaturation. People just got burned out and there were way too many people trying to jump on the bandwagon and profit from this "sure thing". Games like Chase the Chuckwagon and Tooth Protectors were signs that things were reaching a point of being overdone.

The gaming industry cannot continue to sustain the growth pattern it has for the past 25 years or so. It's like the dot com bubble, it's going to burst eventually.

The Wii was huge at getting gaming back in the mainstream again, but even now, those adopters who picked one up thanks to word of mouth or whatever have lost interest in the machine. They're being traded in and sold second-hand at an alarming rate. Check craigslist and see how many Wii ads you see. There's a shop around here that has had the same $100 Wii in their store for months now.

Look on the store shelves at games like Cold Stone Creamery Scoop It Up and Jelly Belly Ballistic Beans. These games are nothing but cash grabs. Neither of them fill a need in the marketplace for anyone but the publisher and *maybe* the licensee. Christ, we have games based on Heathcliff-a long dead cartoon series that only lives on through newspaper comics. The market for those games cannot be more than a couple handfuls of people who might pick one up based on nostalgia alone.

I completely agree with the author's speculation on a crash, though the dynamics have changed since 2007. The modern retail model cannot last too much longer.

[Clownzilla]

Gaming seems to be losing it's value vs. it's contents. Although it's :deadhorse: I place the excessive use of $$$ DLC as the primary reason why this indusry could eventually see a severe downturn. Face it, a lot of DLC is necissary for a complete game. Even non-necisarry DLC can really irk the gamer (I have to PAY for altenate custumes in SFIV?). Maybe I'm crazy but one of the great things about popping in an oldschool game is that the game is all there. All the story, all the levels, all secret items and levels, all the fun that I expect from my game in one neat little cartridge that I purchased wholly.

The funny thing is that I really don't fault these companies for using this type of business structure. Gaming is a business and a business is solely there for it's investors. I just find it amazing that I am witnessing more and more gamers leaving the modern era because some boardroom exec thought it was a good idea charging $100+ for a game and it's DLC. This era is getting rediculous with it's pricing and restrictiions and it will only get worse. The next era might not even see a penny from my pocketbook.

[Nature Boy]

Thing is, though, one of the major contributors to the crash in 83 was oversaturation. People just got burned out and there were way too many people trying to jump on the bandwagon and profit from this "sure thing". Games like Chase the Chuckwagon and Tooth Protectors were signs that things were reaching a point of being overdone.

It was over saturation of crap, and that crap was all sent back to the manufacturers who had to buy it all back.

Let's look at the Wii: lots of people would say it's got enough shovel ware to be over saturated with crap, and yet the industry is still here.

There's nothing wrong with liking the old stuff and avoiding the new stuff like the plague, but that's hardly representative of the public as a whole (especially since we're on a retro gaming site).

Personally I would never say never, but with digital distribution bringing the small developers into the mix, I strongly disagree that nothing 'new' is happening anymore.

[CRTGAMER]

The Video Game Crash only happened because the computer became affordable for the mass market. The catch was why have Johnny play Video games when he can learn on the computer. Johnny played the games on the computer so in reality there was no Video Game Crash, it just moved from consoles to the Vic20, Ti99/4a, C64 and other 8 bit wonders of the day.

As for the current consoles? I think gaming is here to stay. It may have its slow down moments such as oversaturation of Guitar Hero and now all the me too FPS games. But gaming is huge now compared to earlier days. I still don't get the preorder just for a bonus DFLC, when in six months the game will be a third of the price.

[j_factor]

The Video Game Crash only happened because the computer became affordable for the mass market. The catch was why have Johnny play Video games when he can learn on the computer. Johnny played the games on the computer so in reality there was no Video Game Crash, it just moved from consoles to the Vic20, Ti99/4a, C64 and other 8 bit wonders of the day.

And computer gaming today is certainly in no state to serve that same function again (plus computers aren't new).

Personally I don't see another crash happening. Too many people buy Madden every year. Yes there's a lot of crap, but 1983-84 didn't have surefire hit franchises like we have today.

[WCP]

I don't see a crash coming, but I do see a marketplace of the have and have nots. Extreme triple A blockbuster games (MW3, B3, Skyrim, AC:Revelations), and much smaller downloadable only games that make modest returns. Everything else is a loosing proposition, unfortunately. I mean, it's really a sad situation that our gaming future is going to pretty much consist of just the two extremes. Middle-tier games that don't hit huge numbers, yet have pretty large budgets are going to disappear in this new gaming future.


Also, you have to consider the changing way in which we are going to pay for our games. The Apple 99 cent game thing is going to slowly but surely change the way we game. People that get used to the idea of disposable video games are going to find it very difficult to even consider paying $10 for a game, much less $59.99. Still, there will always be that hardcore audience that must have Battlefield 3 or Modern Warfare or Skyrim on day 1. Those people will be there, and the HUGE games, will survive. It's the middle of the road games. The games that think they are huge. Remember Silicon Knights? They made a game called "Too Human" that almost single-handedly bankrupt the company. What about Remedy and Alan Wake? I know that Remedy is still alive, but it just seems that we are in an environment now where if you make a game that does poorly, and it was expected to be this huge hit, that a situation like that could wipe out a company. Look at Realtime Worlds. They made Crackdown (the first one), which was an absolutely amazing game for it's time, and then they do the APB thing and it killed their company financially. They no longer exist in that form. Look at Bizarre Creations after Blur. The list goes on and on and on.

A single failure, if it was a huge financial investment, can kill a developer nowadays. Back in the old days, it would take 2 or 3 bad games consecutively before a company would go under. The margin of risk is significantly higher in 2011.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Remember Factor 5? Gaming, at the producer level today, is very suit and tie corporate crap - no vision past the quarterly reports. The industry was pioneered by the polar opposite. What is killing gaming? The pigs are running the farm.

[misfits859]

How can anyone possible say this generation of gaming has nothing to offer? Wow...

[Leo_A]

Classic gamers have been predicting another crash with next to no evidence to support their claims since I first went online in 1997 or so.

[Icarus Moonsight]

People believe there is no problem? Wow... :)

The project budgets, the investments, the total net monetary value assessment of the industry... All that is bloated compared to the output. They did more with less in the past. It's not that nothing of value will be lost, it's that it will take so much (money, time, and RISK! Oh noes!) to turn out something revolutionary and rejuvenating, it will not be possible. That's the crash.

[FxMercenary]

And computer gaming today is certainly in no state to serve that same function again (plus computers aren't new).

Personally I don't see another crash happening. Too many people buy Madden every year. Yes there's a lot of crap, but 1983-84 didn't have surefire hit franchises like we have today.

I dont know, my consoles are 6 years old now. The graphics are dated, and the Anti-Aliasing sucks balls on my 55" Samsung. Ive actually been buying more PC titles lately.

[LaughingMAN.S9]

How can anyone possible say this generation of gaming has nothing to offer? Wow...

thank you.



people complain & bitch that this generation is all shooters but then turn around & pretend games like 3d dot heroes, lego star wars & even heavy rain dont exist



there is probably more diversity in available games today than 20 years ago (yea lets pretend like everything was peaches & roses back then & lie to ourselves like at least a 3rd of all games weren't platformers)

[kupomogli]

How can anyone possible say this generation of gaming has nothing to offer? Wow...

Not nothing, but very little compared to past generations.

[Zama]

Personally, I love video games, whether it is from our current generation or from the years of yore :) I collect them and play them and sometimes, revisit them and replay them (some more than others). :dance:

[kedawa]

The kinds of games that I want to play continue to be made, so I'm happy. The fact that they are always overshadowed by crap that caters to the lowest common denominator is unfortunate, but at the end of the day, does that even matter?

[RPG_Fanatic]

All I can say is that if the next gen. is all motion controllers (like the Wii, Kinect) then this is my last gen. that I'm playing. I'll just play classic systems (SNES, Gamecube, PSone, PStwo, DS, PSP & 360) I hate the motion shit.

[Greg2600]

The first crash was due to bad business principles or lack of them, lessons that since have been learned. Not to mention vast capital backing MS, Sony, and Nintendo from short term losses.

[kedawa]

I'd like to see some sort of shake up in the industry, if not an outright crash. The big publishers are getting too greedy and the big three are getting too comfortable.

[Press_Start]

The way I see it, the success of next gen consoles will no longer depend upon boosting graphics but by the 3 I's: Imagination, Innovation, and Invention.

Face it, it's not 1985, we don't have a graphics deficit. In fact, we got more polygons and pixels than what we know what to do with and still the industry is stuck on the tired old notion that better graphics makes everything better. It doesn't...at least not the foreseeable future.

Frankly, I think now's the perfect time for developers to think outside the box, start on new ideas, and look through fresh perspectives and any prospect of a significant "graphics jump" is a gimmick in my mind.

[kedawa]

Games look better and better all the time, but the physics and AI in most games are very primitive compared to the graphics. I don't think much more could really be done with the current hardware, at least not without sacrificing visual quality, so there is still a need for more powerful hardware. Faster storage and shorter load times wouldn't hurt either.

With more powerful hardware, things like destructible environments could be a natural consequence of the physics engine, rather than a collection of scripted events. AI for thousands of non-player characters could play out in real time, making game worlds far more immersive and complex. All of the things that are currently being pushed, like 3D and motion control, would also benefit immensely from a newer hardware.

Developers won't be able to deal with that kind of complexity until they have the right middleware, though, and I think that's partly what's holding back the next generation of systems at this point.
We won't know what's possible until the next generation of hardware and development tools are complete.

[Press_Start]

Games look better and better all the time, but the physics and AI in most games are very primitive compared to the graphics. I don't think much more could really be done with the current hardware, at least not without sacrificing visual quality, so there is still a need for more powerful hardware. Faster storage and shorter load times wouldn't hurt either.

With more powerful hardware, things like destructible environments could be a natural consequence of the physics engine, rather than a collection of scripted events. AI for thousands of non-player characters could play out in real time, making game worlds far more immersive and complex. All of the things that are currently being pushed, like 3D and motion control, would also benefit immensely from a newer hardware.

LOL Wut? Are you serious? No...no...no. We have ENOUGH!

I'm sorry but if Sapphire can pull off PS1-like graphics on PC-Engine's 8-bit processor power, then the possibilities with PS3's colossal Cell hardware are near infinite. And you calling for new hardware now is like calling a whole turkey for a drumstick and then ordering a bigger turkey. It's disingenuous, lazy, and wasteful. We have only scratched the surface with the machines we have now. The problem is we need new ideas not new machines.

[j_factor]

With more powerful hardware, things like destructible environments could be a natural consequence of the physics engine, rather than a collection of scripted events. AI for thousands of non-player characters could play out in real time, making game worlds far more immersive and complex.

And games will become even more bloated and overproduced than they are now. Thanks but no thanks.

[kedawa]

Unimaginative old men up in here.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Not really. Hardware limitations at this point is a tattered blanket of an excuse. Especially since the best physics games I've played have mostly been on the Wii (see also; Angry Birds...).

[duffmanth]

You're not alone man. I've been gaming since the late 80's and I'm finding fewer and fewer games that hold my interest. There's definitely a lack of originality these days between the constant sequels and remakes. Shooters and Nintendo are the worst offenders of these things in my books. The PS2 era seemed like there was a constant flow of new games that were innovative and offered something different, but this console generation seems to be lacking in those areas. While there are certain games that I have really enjoyed the last few years like MGS4 and GOW3, I find myself going through long droughts where there just isn't that much that really interests me. I hope this changes or that article might be right?

[Edmond Dantes]

Eh, a Cracked article. I take everything they say with huge grains of salt.

That being said...

I don't think another crash is going to happen, BUT its not impossible either. People are saying games can't crash because they're too entrenched now. Comic books were entrenched in our culture for five decades and that industry still crashed, so there's no reason it can't happen to games too.

Personally I'm not going to buy a next-gen console. I considered a Playstation 3 for awhile (specifically for Metal Gear Solid 4), but I changed my mind for several reasons.

One, gaming is no less expensive than it was in my childhood. In fact it seems to have gotten worse.

Two, consoles are becoming more like computers. I'm sorry but I shouldn't have to install updates on a playstation to play a game.

Three, online is becoming a big thing, and a lot of the more interesting games are DLC. For me this is a problem because I don't live in an area with high-speed internet so I'd be cut off from this.

Four, DRM has become an issue that I just can't accept. In my mind, how it should work is "I buy game, I put it in the system and I play it," but there are some games where there's more to it than this. Just as an example, back in the day I really wanted to play Half-Life 2. Then I read that when the game installs it has to connect to Valve's servers to be authenticated. The question, obviously, is "what if Valve goes down at some future point?" Then I'd be left with a game I can't play. This is an unacceptable scenario for me. I've read that a variation of this exact scenario DID play out during the recent PSN outage, which just fuels my pessimism more.

Five, I really hate motion controllers. I think they're a stupid gimmick that has gone too far and really don't have much practical purpose.

Six, technology itself is becoming an issue. One of the things Cracked siad that was absolutely correct is that to get the most out of most games today, you absolutely need a high-definition TV... which means I would have to buy a separate television and find a separate place to hook it up just for the sake of one or two consoles that didn't want to hang out with my NES. Yeah, heck with that. I don't have that kind of money, and anyway I think HD is just a gimmick.

It should be obvious by this point that I don't even care about PC gaming.

[kupomogli]

Three, online is becoming a big thing, and a lot of the more interesting games are DLC. For me this is a problem because I don't live in an area with high-speed internet so I'd be cut off from this.

There are very few good DLC games. I'm sure you've heard "You get what you pay for." While there are some DLC games that are fun, for the most part that quote is true.


Then I read that when the game installs it has to connect to Valve's servers to be authenticated. The question, obviously, is "what if Valve goes down at some future point?" Then I'd be left with a game I can't play. This is an unacceptable scenario for me. I've read that a variation of this exact scenario DID play out during the recent PSN outage, which just fuels my pessimism more.

The only two games that you can't play on the PS3 without being online are Final Fight/Magic Sword and Bionic Commando 2. Both of those are PSN games with DRM tied to it so you can only play it on the specific account.

The Valve thing also, but it's not exactly accurate. You could play Portal 2 for PS3 no problem. It's just you couldn't use the code to add Portal 2 on your Steam account until the PSN issue was resolved.

[Icarus Moonsight]

...I think HD is just a gimmick.

He's on fire! :onfire:

[Hep038]

I'd like to see some sort of shake up in the industry, if not an outright crash. The big publishers are getting too greedy and the big three are getting too comfortable.


So you want a crash because the video game companies learned their lessons from the past and have build a stable business that makes money and keeps cranking out games for people to enjoy..... Yeah that makes a lot of sense.

I think a lot of people hope for a crash because gaming has become popular and main stream. It is like that band that was grassroots and then made it big. All the fans form the beginning now talk about how good they were in the past and how they sold out. And the people that like their stuff today are a bunch of sheep and do not know what good music is. Just because they sell NES controller t-shirts in hot topic does not mean playing NES is not cool anymore.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Then they also fail and suck at selling out with only one hardware producer pulling a profit. Stable... Making money, LOL