Im sure, like me, many of you are fans of the site Cracked.com. Well, Im bored at work and Ive been reading over some of their articles when I stumbled across this one The 6 Most Ominous Trends in Video Games. Now I cannot link because it has some language issues in it but needless to say there are some very poignant truths in this list.

6) The Technology is Going Backward
5) Hackers and DRM are Turning Gaming into a Nightmarish Cluster[censored]
4) The New Model is Infinite Payment
3) We're on the Verge of Creative Bankruptcy
2) There is No Real Vision for the Future
1) We Still Don't Know What a "Game" Is

Now for some sections of the article that really struck me as worrying:

#4

#3

The sheer number of sequels and reboots is incredibly disheartening. Its mind boggling that this trend is continuing in the fashion that it is. What this means for the game industry as a whole is, to me, frightening. At this rate my days as a gamer are numbered, I cannot conceive buying 10 games that center around the same person/squad doing the same exact thing over and over, let alone the DLCs.

What is your take on the direction of the gaming industry?

how is not knowing what a 'game' is an ominous trend

The first paragraph of that section:

so not knowing what a game is is ominous because iphone games sell more than Epic games

Actually that makes perfect sense to me. :shrug:



Games like http://techinsidr.com/zynga-ipo-virtual-goods-very-real-profits/ are becoming more and more prevalent every day, and when that becomes a consumer's only impression of games... Well, it's not so great for the people who work for years of big titles. Not to mention on the companies that put out the cash to make them.

What i find rather odd is how so many developers seem to think alike these days, as if rather than having reached their respective takes on games individually, they all went to the same guru that told them that players don't want difficulty or depth in their games anymore, that they don't want to learn how to play anymore but rather be able to pick up and play with no effort whatsoever, that no gamer must lose a game for fear of their fragile ego being damaged, and that the keyword should be "streamlining" in all things.

I very much hope that streamlining and the ideas of minimalism and "accessibilty before depth" eventually turn out to be a case of "the emperor's clothes" and gamers one day start demanding more substantial content from their games.

Also, the article contains screen shots of different games that are basically identical.... its interesting to see the comparison between MW3 and Crisis 2. The opening scenes are almost identical.

I don't think sequels are a big problem. Annoying yes, but there are bright spots in the gaming universe.

For example, SEGA released at a lot of new game IPs last year, the ones I can think of right now are Bayonetta, Sands of Destruction, Infinite Space, Resonance of Fate, Alpha Protocol and Vanquish, but there are possibly more. Now, not all those games are super great, but SEGA gained a lot of respect from me for doing such a thing, and soon they will release yet another new IP; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v9pt8obwsE. All this doesn't stop SEGA from making a lot of Sonic games though, but still

So just because Activision and other publisher giants are crazy about sequels, it doesn't mean they all are

I do very much fear point #4 though. It's not a good development we are facing, and if the DLC route continues to expand as it is, it will eventually become the norm, as will online DRM that has to be online at all times. I do not look forward to that.

Extra Credits (an Escapist Magazine series of educational/editorial videos about & for the game industry & interested folks) has a bit more http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/extra-credits/2821-Ludus-Florentis on the upcoming changes in the game industry.

I was actually just talking about something similar like this with a friend. It isn't just video games that are lacking creativity, but movies and even TV shows now as well. It really makes me wonder about the state of mass culture and corporate profiteering when they only bet on "sure things". I seriously can't believe (though in retrospect it doesn't surprise me) they're rebooting the original Halo, something most of us have probably already played. Everything these days it seems is just a rehash of something else already. They're remaking the Flintsones, they're rebooting so many superhero movie franchises, and you don't even have to mention video games at this point. What's with this sequel fever? Is it because of the higher than normal risk associated with going out on a limb to do something "new" because of the economy? How long before people get sick of being sold the same crap every year? Will gamers stop putting up with this increasingly obvious game mutilation to be resold to us for profit?

All this is making me incredibly cynical. This past console generation, I've seen my interest in games drop dramatically while sequels comes out every year for $10 more than games used to cost, and with added costs with DLC and Xbox live. I highly doubt the game industry is so horribly affected by the recession as to need to nickel and dime their customers so badly. It's getting to the point where if this upcoming generation doesn't change things for the better, I might not consider myself a gamer anymore. I might not even bother buying a console this time around, especially if they're so ripe with problems and fees like the Xbox is.

eh........i dont buy it. i have games on my cell phone and i games on my PC. they are totally different things. someone that just plays fun games on their phone isnt necessarily going to be a hardcoe gamer with consoles and a gaming PC at home and vice versa.


as for the point about technology going backwards i also have to disagree with that. sony vita sort of changes that. if the $250 price holds true i definitely plan on picking one up since its going to be as powerful as 360. which on a side note shows you how pathetic current consoles are when a hand held unit is as powerful. i would say that "big game" tech as in console and PC games are definitely being held back and hurt by consoles. couple of developers have already come out in public and stated it and even bethesda hinted at it when they said that combining armor for skyrim let them render more characters on screen...........which goes to show how primited the xbox is at this point.

Meh, many people in these very forums are quite looking forward to a sequel of a sequel of sequel of a sequel of a sequel

It's the quality that matters, not the number behind the title. After all, Resident Evil 4 was the best, right?

Edit: waitaminit... that's one too many "of a sequel".

You say that as if the PS3 isn't holding games back as well.

Gotta keep in mind that the Vita is, technically, a next-gen handheld, while the Xbox 360 and PS3 are soon to be last generation consoles. It's only natural that a handheld made in 2011 is going to look almost as good as a console from 2005.

On the topic of sequels: I think that you have more room to have something new and interesting in a sequel than in a new IP. The reason for this is because if every game was unique, no sequels at all, they would all just blur together. Every time you pick up a controller to play a new game you would have to try to relate to brand new characters, rather than getting back to being around characters that you're already familiar with. So you would never have a real attachment to a particular universe.

I never really listen to the doom-sayers becuse most of the time they are wrong.

i just mentioned xbox specifically regarding bethesda because that is their lead platform. dont worry i have equal disdain for both of them regarding how they old back gaming.......although at some point i want to get a PS3 for Gran Turismo and so that i dont have to bug my friends if i want to play the brutal awesomeness that is demon souls. although witcher 2 on hard mode is challenging as well.

Sequels are fine as long as they improve.

The new tomb raider game looks awesome.

Nothing wrong with sequels. Developers need their cash cows so that they can occasionally fund a quirky title without going belly up. Development costs aren't getting any lower, gamers' expectations are only getting higher and publishers have to cope with a review structure where anything below a 75/100 isn't worth the time of day.

If you can't find the creative, niche titles then you're either not looking or simply looking in the wrong places, and I'm not just talking about small indie developers either. You can't really go to IGN and expect anything but the big names on the front page, but if you do a little digging and keep an open mind I'm willing to bet you'll find yourself with more games than you've got money or time.

No, the author was trying to say that it's hard to prepare for the future (hence the subtitle of that part, There is No Real Vision for the Future) because it's a lot tougher to try and tell someone, "Hey, look everybody! You can get Game X! It's $60, and the console is sold seperately! Buy and PSWii60 for $300, plus two controllers 'cause this game has two player for about $30 each, and an internet reciever thing for playing online with others for $99!" than to tell someone, "Hey, buy our game! It's $1 and it's already on the App Store, no extra purchases necessary!" Because of this, we don't have ANY idea where we'll be in 5 years.
Also, glad to see another cracked reader on here.

Mobile gaming might become a plague on console/pc gaming. This bodes ill.

Sequels are fine as long as they are an improvement on the series. It's all about quality.

I absolutely loathe all the sequels that come out. It shows just how low the industry has sunk, how every developer is willing to milk their franchises out. How unoriginal they've become, and how money is the only thing they really care about anymore!

I wish we could go back to the 16-bit era. That was a golden age! My favorite games then were Sonic 2, Sonic and Knuckles, Super Mario World, Yoshi's Story, Mortal Kombat 2, Earthworm Jim 2, Street Fighter II: Deluxe Edition, Megaman VII, Megaman X3 and Final Fantasy III (oh, wait, it was actually VI? Silly me!).

Yes, gaming is getting worse, more costly, and rapidly being monopolized by large sell-out companies who don't care about the quality of the products. When was this ever news? Pardon my harshness, but this is exactly the stuff I've been talking about for a long time now, but nobody ever really pays attention to my ramblings.

Personally I have a different take on it and will only agree with a few things.

1. Hackers and DRM - MMOs are big revenue and can make or break a company when they make them or purchase them. Still remember SoE acquired The Matrix Online then canned it down the road with them not even able to correctly do the end of the game event. The DRM thing is also getting out of hand which is due to developers getting greedy, but also due to players being jerks at times. Have to say imho the best way to counter illegal downloads is include special stuff in the physical copy that entices users to purchase the game.



2. Greedy Companies - The above quote doesn't surprise me in the list since companies want more money. Down the road unfortunately I wouldn't be surprised if developers actually made us pay for necessary updates to fix bugs, glitches, etc... that should have been fixed in the first place. Wondering if companies that make food processors, electric mixers, etc... will do the same thing. Maybe they'll put in special devices to make the device stop working requiring us to pay a fee to use again.

3. It's Been Done - Biggest downfall is probably the "It's Been Done" motif and we have ALL seen that with WWII games. Seems like there's 100+ WWII games out there and it's just a retelling of the same dang story. I would probably say not now, but in about 15 to 25 years we will see the same thing with other games.

4. Pricing - Sadly this is one thing that i've seen a lot lately and that it costs a FORTUNE to create a video game. It costs 3 to 4x a much if you decide to produce an MMO game and recouping those costs becomes a huge problem. This is why i'm seeing some news articles talking about gaming companies downsizing. Instead of producing these games like FO3, GoW, MGS, DMC, etc... they'll try to produce games which cost them maybe $50k instead of 25 to 30 million dollars plus. When this day comes it will be the day gaming dies imho because companies will be cheap and what's worse is the casual gamer will love it demanding companies produce this trash.

5. Technology - I find that technology isn't going backwards, but moving forwards and it is essentially corrupting the next generation of gamer. If we don't see games with near cinema like quality people will think it's complete garbage yet it maybe a great game.

Right now I think gaming is fine, but we do need to address areas of it to prevent a sort of 2nd industry collapsing video game depression from happening. DRM has to be addressed imho and is one of the reasons right now gamers are fighting back so ferociously with illegal downloads.

Not to say I disagree with you, but aren't all those games you mentioned sequels?

I'm sorry, but that's just outright slander. Obviously whoever wrote this article doesn't know what they are talking about. Call of Duty:Elite is simply a free service, and has NOTHING to do with maps. Purchasing Elite simply grants you free maps for the future. And Elite is PURELY optional. Elite isn't part of the game, it stands beside the game. You can pay your $60 and that's it.