Look, Im not expert but Ive grown up playing games and the evolution of the industry pretty much went hand in hand with my time so far on this Earth. I think the problem right now is that the steps forward are not as massive as they once were. When I first started playing games a few blurry pixels was cutting edge and getting the frog to cross and river and then a road was great fun. Now kids are MUCH more demanding because they only know current day gaming. I had a younger cousin call me up to talk about some games he got for his Birthday. He has a gamecube, PS2 a PC, A PSOne, all the Gameboys, an XBox....and he's Seven! In short, the pool is diluted amoung the gaming machines and its MUCH harder to get peoples attention. Even now looking at gaming web site. There are so many games that blend together, its hard to find the real gems that stand out from the pack. Now having said that, I dont think the games industry has to much to complain about. Its gone from a backyard bussiness to being bigger then the movie industry in my lifetime. I think what we will see is a rationalization over the next decade that will see less games come out, but better games that are more profitable but that also cost more to make. The industry needs to get rid of the fluf as its next step in evolution.
I don't play because I don't have time. I don't even come close to having time. (And I watch VERY little TV, so it's not that.) Between my job and my musical pursuits, and making myself work out when I get a chance, there's just nothing left. I just want to sleep or stare into space. I do spend a lot of time talking and interacting/ hanging out with people, but I prefer that to staring at a screen all by myself. Even if it is a "social" game. I did consider getting a console just so I could get DDR, which I like because you're actually physically involved in it and you get your exercise, instead of sitting on your derriere the entire time. But... too expensive. I don't have a lot of the "new technology" because I shouldn't be spending the money on it. Some of my friends are into that game stuff... of course, they're "kids" (or close enough), "guys", and "D&D nerds". I think they have time because they live off their parents and don't have that many activities outside of work/school. Whatever you want to spend your life on...
I don't think its fair to classify gamers as nerds, geeks, dorks and what nots anymore. Gamer has become trendy enough that it shouldn't be relegated to the social misfits of society. I admit that I play alot of videogames. But it always comes after school, working out, playing sports or watching sports (Texas football and Rockets!). Videogames is just another means of hanging out. I rarely play by myself. Come to think of it, the best parts of playing videogames is just hanging out with some friends, laughing, talking trash and competing. At least that's how I look at it. I don't see it as an introverted pastime. Because I'm not a dork, although I am a Magic: the Gathering player. "Bart, I'm not a nerd. Nerds are smart."
If you want to get a console just so you can play DDR, you dont need to get the latest one. You can get a first generation playstation for around $20 or less on ebay, a $2-5 DDR mat, once again on ebay. Chip in a lil more for a DDR game and you are all set. My gf is headed this route. She is not interested in any games, just DDR.
The games today suck. All I ever see is some sports game with the current year added to it's title, or some sequel to a good game that is just mooching off old popularity. What happened to the good games that were original and well developed? Now all I can do is buy Street Fight Alpha Turbo vs Capcom 15, NBA Live 2005, or Final Fantasy 13. IMO, good video game systems died with Playstation 1. None of the new systems have any originality or selection. I remember when I used to go purchase a video game there would be an entire HUGE isle just for Super Nintendo or Playstation. Now when I stop by Best Buy I see like 15 games, all of which are probably some sort of sequel.' Lastly, pc video games are owning console games.
It's funny...one of the things Nintendo has said lately - and one of the things their critics take offense at - is that the games industry is starting to lose most of the regular people who should be enjoying them. That games are becoming too bogged down and overly complex, that they are forgetting the simple joy of just playing a relatively simple video game. "Too many buttons" or "too complex" or "takes too much of my time" are extensions of that. I definitely think that's part of the problem. Another is price. Those of us that have been heavily involved in the buying/playing of games for a while don't actually, IMO, take into account just how expensive the hobby really could be. Especially for someone who simply wants to sit down and enjoy a game for a few hours. The race to make 'bigger, faster, stronger' systems/games, while great for us gamers who want the experience, definitely contributes to that. Prices could continue to rise because of it, and those maybe on the edge will take a look at the leaps in technology and probably just feel further pushed away. I very much believe that a market crash could happen. It's ironic, really...the push that many companies made to capture what they thought would 'expand' the previous video game market (more 'mature' games, for example) may in fact play a big role in it's downfall.
I used to have sort of a Ginsburg sense of disgust towards video games, seeing some of the best minds of my generation spend way too much time in front of a comp/tv ... but I've grown to accept them. I'm 25, so I should be a full-fledged member of the gaming generation, and wanted a Ninetendo for the longest time when I was a kid. I didn't actually end up getting one until I was nine, and by the time I got one, I was pretty much sick of the games I'd been playing at my friend's houses. Loved Tyson, spent months playing both kinds of Tecmo Bowl, but never really moved past that until GTA came along. And I got sick of each GTA game a month after getting one (always had roommates and friends with consoles). They just never interested me. Even when my jumper was off or I was playing crap guitar, I'd rather spend my time with those than play games. And I was never interested in any game that didn't have at least some tie-in with reality -- only liked sports games or GTA. To me, the video games with characters (the fantasy games) weren't strong enough story-wise to make me want to spend hours at a time pretending I was Zelda or Lara Croft or whomever. But I'm certainly not going to rip on people for playing them. I write about tall people for a living, so I'm hardly one to talk.
I used to have an original Nintendo as well as Sega Genesis. Hell, I'm so old that I even had a Colecovision (sp?), LOL. I always enjoyed playing video games whether it was in the arcade or at home, but like others have said, I found that I didn't have the time for them anymore. I probably last really played video games on a recurring basis about 10 years ago or so when I was an undergrad in college. Now I do play the OOTP baseball simulation game, but of course, that is a whole different animal from something like Tekken or Street Fighter II or Tecmo Bowl. I think one thing about video games today if I ever got the desire to get back into it is that they look too complicated and overdone. Just keep it simple with better graphics - no need for a damn remote control to play a game.
I'm in my 50's, and the controllers are the issue with me. That, and they don't seem to have RTS's for the major game systems, that I know of. I play RTS's all the time on a PC, and all it takes is a mouse and the direction keys. I don't even want to think about all the buttons that a typical controller has. Maybe the new Nintendo model will be cool. Have to wait and see.
Exactly used to play Mario Kart, Street Fighter, Mortal Combat etc on SNES. These days the games are way more complicated. You need to spend a lot of time, which i don't have. I guess if i was still in college or didn't have a social life i would.
True. FWIW, I don't necessarily think the industry is doing badly, especially at this point in time (not sure if I made that point clearly). The market has grown in the past few generations overall, as well as in two of the three major regions (North America and Europe). And the reason for the decreasing market in Japan seems to be at least partly attributed to their economy and not so much anything the game industry did. This generation, we've had several records smashed by games that sold insane amounts. The tie-ratio for the systems, particularly the PS2, are all great. I think the numbers will continue to grow, at least into next-gen. Unlike what some of the developers seemed to think, I don't think the market is doing too badly at the moment. Despite what some people say, I think there are enough reasons to keep the market strong for at least a little while. However, things could change in the next 10-20 years or so. IOW, the market could be doing better I guess, not to mention that it could also be a little more stable. I wonder if maybe some type of "one console future" could work; not a monopoly so to speak, but something like a console format. For example, let's say Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, and maybe even other companies like Samsung or even EA form a group to create just one console format. You could probably have slight variations to the designs, but basically the consoles would be the same, kind of like a DVD player. Same controller, same tech specs, same storage devices, same online plan, etc. Developers and gamers could just focus on that one console. Rather than spending the time to learn the control layouts of 3-4 different controllers (if it even has controllers), or spending money on 3-4 different consoles just to play the games you want, you can just stick with that one system. That might help with part of the problem, although developers may need to work on making some games a little easier to get into. That might still occur if the large number of developers on one platform causes some developers to do something different since they may not be able to compete with the big guns by doing the same thing. Some sort of competition would happen. For example, say Tekken, Virtual Fighter, Soul Caliber, Dead or Alive, and Mortal Kombat are all on the same console. Instead of getting or not getting DOA/Tekken because it is console-exclusive, a gamer can just get the best game available. Once those other games start selling like crap, then maybe the other developers will try something new. This could probably bring down the number of crappy games while raising the number of good games. If so, then there would be a whole lot of nerds, geeks, dorks, and what nots out there. Something like 140-150 million game consoles sold in the last 6-7 years or so, not to mention the 5-10 million copies sold for games like GTA and Halo. And I don't even really have many numbers than include PC gamers. AFAIK, there still are good games that are original and well developed. Maybe you're just not looking hard enough (marketing's fault). From what I can tell, developers are working just as hard, if not harder, now than they ever have. They can't really work any harder. Games like God of War, Jak, Ratchet & Clank, Sly, Ninja Gaiden, Fable, Halo, Burnout, Digital Devil Saga, Disgaea, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Devil May Cry, Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Kingdom Hearts, Shadow Hearts, Star Wars: KOTOR, Splinter Cell, Prince of Persia, Burnout, Soul Caliber, Psychonauts, SSX, Jade Empire, Def Jam, Chronicles of Riddick, Viewtiful Joe, Okami, Eternal Darkness, Beyond Good & Evil, Super Monkey Ball, Katamari Damacy, Dark Cloud, Rez, Zone of the Enders, Onimusha, SOCOM, Psi-ops, Mercenaries, and tons more were new games/franchises released this generation AFAIK (maybe not POP or NG but close enough). And at least in my opinion, each of those games were great and had new, original ideas. Unfortunately, I'm assuming that some of those games, especially the REALLY original games, are not quite the big names that some people are used to. They are there, but just hiding a bit I guess. A lot of those games also had sequels that followed, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. For the most part, most of those franchises stayed pretty strong, except for maybe a few (damn corporations like EA). And with what we know for next-gen, some new game/franchises include Lair, Ni-oh (that Dynasty Warriors-esque game for the PS3), Heavenly Sword, Fatal Inertia, Dead Rising, Condemned, The Outfit, Crackdown, Saints Row, Gears of War, Dark Sector, War Devil, Alan Wake, Fifth Phantom Saga, The Darkness, Elveon, Endless Saga, Huxley, Project Offset, Frame City Killer, [eM] -eNCHANT arM-, Lost Odyssey, Chromehounds, Too Human, Full Auto, Mass Effect, Ninety-Nine Nights, Blue Dragon, and others (not even counting a Kameo, PD0, or even Oblivion). From what I could tell, most of those games have original concepts in mind, not just the same games with updated graphics. At least IMO, there really isn't too much of a problem with developers making great games that are sometimes a bit different; maybe a little a down road, but I think they are still there. Now, if these games continue to sell like crap (possibly due to marketing), while games like Madden XX and DOA 7 sell 5 million copies, then developers may be forced to stick to these same old games due to money. No, not too many RTS on the consoles. As you may guess, putting a RTS on a console would be kind of hard without something as accurate as a mouse. The Revolution controller or some type of Eyetoy+"wand" combo may help, but most of the RTS's are better suited for the PC. On the other hand, there are some turn-based/tactical strategy games on the consoles which do OK. Probably not what you're looking for though since they're pretty different from RTS's. Although I do want to make it clear that this isn't a console gaming versus PC gaming thing; this is just video games in general (handhelds as well). As long as you play one of those, the industry loves you. You can hate on console controllers all you want as long as you are fine with a mouse and keyboard; at least you're still a potential customer. For the people that don't like the controls for either one, the industry may have to find ways of persuading them to play games. BTW, I would like to point out that just because the controllers have like 10-buttons plus the D-pad and analog sticks, not every game actually requires you to use them all. In fact, I'm pretty sure most RPG's have a pretty similar control layout as RPG's even on the NES. You move with the D-pad (or the analog stick if you can), and you have a confirm button and a menu button, for the most part (possibly some other functions but those few buttons are the necessary ones). Of course, there might be some complexity to these games, but I wouldn't say they would be that much more complex that some RPG's from the NES/SNES/PS1 days. Same can be pretty much said for the tactical/turn-based strategy games as well, and maybe some others. Some games like Katamari Damacy don't even use the buttons at all. I guess it just comes in handy when you're playing a game like NBA 2K6, where you may need several buttons in order to have total control of the players. I guess it is kind of similar to some multi-purpose remote controls, cell phones, PC's, and other things; if you just want to make phone calls, you don't have to worry about the camera/mp3/text messaging/voice dialing/etc. features on a cell phone. Just dial the number and hit the send button. Of course, I'm not sure how the industry could show that to people worried about complex controls. And as I implied earlier, I'd rather the controllers not have fewer buttons, especially for some games that require them. I'm not saying I want any more, but I think it would be difficult to pull off certain moves in a games with only a few buttons. Again, maybe the Revolution controller or something similar will be able to offer both.
I pretty much stick to Unreal Tournament 2004. I go through phases and right now I'm in the phase of playing way too much and putting off things I should be doing. I may end up deleting it off of my system to force me to step back from the computer.
