as said by Charlie Demerjianhttp://javascript<b></b>:__doPostBack('article_body$lnkEmailForm','') in The Inquirer
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=27976
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=27976
The industry is in for a gaming crash
- Thread starter Magnum PI
- Start date
scooby_dooby
Legend
He sure picked a bad example using MAdden 06.
Gamespot gave it 7.4 - Readers gave it 8.3
IGN 8.0 - readers 8.0
Notice a discrepency? I sure do! The readers liked it as much or more than the reviewers, the exact opposite of the point he was trying to make....
Gamespot gave it 7.4 - Readers gave it 8.3
IGN 8.0 - readers 8.0
Notice a discrepency? I sure do! The readers liked it as much or more than the reviewers, the exact opposite of the point he was trying to make....
seismologist
Regular
I usually ignore that website but I hate to say it but I sort of agree with him. And I was around for the first gaming crash. Shelves flooded with similar games, new systems being rushed to the market. Alot of the signs are there.
scooby_dooby
Legend
I also found his movie-port comparison totally flawed. BAck then there were games like ET which were complete and utter crap, this total lack of quality was a big factor in the crash.
Nowadays we have games like Chronicles of Riddick, King-Kong, LOTR, Star Wars Battlefront that are all extremely good quality games, King-Kong and Riddick especially have raised the bar completely for movie-based games.
Nowadays we have games like Chronicles of Riddick, King-Kong, LOTR, Star Wars Battlefront that are all extremely good quality games, King-Kong and Riddick especially have raised the bar completely for movie-based games.
seismologist
Regular
If I remember correctly the biggest thing that led to the first crashed was that the games coming out were generic and no longer interesting.
I dont think we're at that point yet. But the number of games on the shelf is overwhelming. Something's gotta give and I think the first thing will be the price will bottom out on alot of the current gen games.
I dont think we're at that point yet. But the number of games on the shelf is overwhelming. Something's gotta give and I think the first thing will be the price will bottom out on alot of the current gen games.
Well the main problem with this is that back then it wasn't so much as systems being rushed. Just that there were so many systems being sold .
I believe atari had 3 systems , intelivison , colecovision , vectorvision and god only knows what else i'm missing .
This time we have 3 companys refreshing thier hardware every 4-6 years .
The main problem is game content . Alot of games are getting shorter and your paying more for a shorter experiance
I believe atari had 3 systems , intelivison , colecovision , vectorvision and god only knows what else i'm missing .
This time we have 3 companys refreshing thier hardware every 4-6 years .
The main problem is game content . Alot of games are getting shorter and your paying more for a shorter experiance
seismologist said:
I agree, but it seems that Rev and PS3 (if it indeed includ the camera and meybe a microphone) might change the tide with space for innovation, if it is only higher specs I could see gamming sales slowing down badly (taking me as eg), at least at their current price they are to pricey for subpar games..
Another big difference is back then, a lot of games were rushed with very bad testing. Not unlike today, granted, but today with the Internet we have the ability to patch a game which crashes irrepairably, especially on PC. I have no doubt the same thing could happen on consoles this gen if consumers cause enough of a stir.
Also, game quality has to be much higher now, since the internet has given the consumer a whole lot more information in regards to reviews, screenshots, movies and user opinion. It's not like we're stumbling in the dark anymore.
Also, game quality has to be much higher now, since the internet has given the consumer a whole lot more information in regards to reviews, screenshots, movies and user opinion. It's not like we're stumbling in the dark anymore.
I don't get this constant desire for "innovation". Why not just "better"? I mean, do we look at books and say, "You know, novels these days just aren't innovative. We need a new way of reading!"pc999 said:
We should be demanding better games: flawless controls, perfect voice acting, stories that appear to be written by writers, not people who were DMs for D&D in high school so they think they know stories. We need great orchestral music as the norm. We need memorable characters, not cookie cutter "heros" and big breasted heroines.
Of course, there's still a place for just fun games, like Katamari Damacy, Geometry Wars, or some of the other casual-friendly games.
Lack of innovation is not the would-be killer of the gaming industry, nor is a camera and microphone its savior. It's the fundamentals of design and story telling...
.Sis
seismologist
Regular
Sis said:
One way of looking at it is that you dont need to buy new hardware every 4 years to read the latest books
. I think there needs to be some sort of revolution *gulp* to make new hardware puchases appealing. Especially with so many perfectly good quality games on the shelves already.Sis said:
Couldn't agree more -- while there is plenty of room for innovation, I don't think that is necsesarily the driving force of the medium. Perfecting stories and giving players a continually better experience is what pushes it. I think getting better writers (and music) would do a lot more for the industry than praying for every title to be innovative.
Don't get me wrong, I love the quirky games, but I don't want every game to try to do off the wall stuff that is "innovative." I'd much rather have a story by Ueda than a Katamari game (comparing story telling to innovation here) -- innovative games are usually fun (for varying amounts of time), but a good story in a game is usually what I look for (especially in the last few years).
I did not say that we dont need better games, I think we also need better games but I am sure that each time from now there will not be as many good games once it will be as used to be a lot less that I can be sure and bet big at least inside the same genre and there will be rom for innovation and genre creation, so it is reason enought to my point (I did not talkend about crash, just slow down IMo badly), still many of the best games are also the innovative ones at least IMO, plus innovative games can also be very good in that way.
Plus in books there is already innovative and good classics enought to read in a life, and still there is innovation from what I hear (I am a BIT off from comteporany literature).
In a last thought I think it as to be with the personal tastes, but anyway if they do not give innovation they will serve less people, serving less people less people will buy games and consoles etc...
Plus in books there is already innovative and good classics enought to read in a life, and still there is innovation from what I hear (I am a BIT off from comteporany literature).
In a last thought I think it as to be with the personal tastes, but anyway if they do not give innovation they will serve less people, serving less people less people will buy games and consoles etc...
Sis said:
If every game has the development budget and time of franchises like Metal Gear Solid, there won't be space in the market for more than a few games at the current pricepoint. A big-budget game either needs big sales or a big price. Good writers cost more than bad ones. A well-orchestrated score costs more than generic techno. There's obviously a lot of space in the market for games like Arcade Racer 3 and Popcorn Shooter 2: Two New Weapons. There are more and better games now than ever before. Even the mediocre games are still incredibly good compared to what passed for mediocre 10 years ago.
I think the industry will be moving towards a licensing model, rather than having teams re-invent the wheel every (other?) game release. Plus, we have to look at the sheer number of games available today compared to yesteryear. I don't think it is really comparable due to the sheer size of the industry these days. There is a lot more room for bad games, and not all of them can be blockbusters AND be good games.
It's a pretty good sign that the industry is maturing, and it's easy to see resemblances to the movie industry... which has many bad movies, but also many good ones too... But does that mean it will crumble?
It's a pretty good sign that the industry is maturing, and it's easy to see resemblances to the movie industry... which has many bad movies, but also many good ones too... But does that mean it will crumble?
Shark Sandwich
Regular
While I don't think the industry is going to crash anytime soon, he does have a point. We're seeing the same thing happen to videogames that happened to mainstream music and hollywood: games are now designed by companies specifically to make the most money with the least amount of risk, rather than focusing on being original or fun. Obviously game companies have ALWAYS been about making money, but as the costs of game development go through the roof, that encourages them to rely on proven ideas rather than risk huge monetary losses on something original. This is a recipe for mediocrity.
The good news for game developers (as evidenced by Hollywood and mainstream music) is that most people love mediocrity. There's plenty of money to be made off of the ignorant masses. As long as we still get a few AAA titles and a handful of truly original games each year, I think things will be a-ok.
The good news for game developers (as evidenced by Hollywood and mainstream music) is that most people love mediocrity. There's plenty of money to be made off of the ignorant masses. As long as we still get a few AAA titles and a handful of truly original games each year, I think things will be a-ok.
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Well, you have the revolution;s controller, which should reinvigorate the attentiion of japnese gamers. And development would not take long, depending on the team knowing how the what that game to go, and level designers.
Prgrammers, artists, level designers, writers and there is another part of the team I cannot remember. This is not the atari days where we oogled over crap(sigh, those days), and paid for it.
Far as im concerned, quality over quantity . When I first started hearing PS3 news, i remember this being said:
There will be per-set development tools build in , targeted for as a game making for dummies. Kinda like the Cry-tek editing engine, drag and drop. As well as more advanced stuff for the more code inclined among us. And oh, if the blu-ray drive could burn new content on the extra space. but does anyone remember this, now that I did, I woudl love to see pre-set tools , so that we can edit and create our own games within the characters, objacts etc, of the game bougth. Replay valus will be unparallelled
Prgrammers, artists, level designers, writers and there is another part of the team I cannot remember. This is not the atari days where we oogled over crap(sigh, those days), and paid for it.
Far as im concerned, quality over quantity . When I first started hearing PS3 news, i remember this being said:
There will be per-set development tools build in , targeted for as a game making for dummies. Kinda like the Cry-tek editing engine, drag and drop. As well as more advanced stuff for the more code inclined among us. And oh, if the blu-ray drive could burn new content on the extra space. but does anyone remember this, now that I did, I woudl love to see pre-set tools , so that we can edit and create our own games within the characters, objacts etc, of the game bougth. Replay valus will be unparallelled
