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Has gaming as a whole just become flat?

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Old 06-21-2009, 10:51 PM   #17
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Re: Has gaming as a whole just become flat?

I guess I look at it this way:

Sports: Madden 05 and 2k5 OLD games BUT WOW

Shooters: Solcom and Solcom 2 WOW nothing like that since

MMOs: UO, AC, DoaC, and WOW notch much since

Racing: Gran Turismo and the 2nd again same as above

Those games when they first came out just wowed me. There have been good games since but nothing that wowed me like those games did at the time they came out.

Oblivion was a great game but I guess that was just ruined by MMOs for me.

Racing I haven't played much that could compare when Gran Turismo first came out.

Sports Madden 2005 for me was a wow moment. 2k5 I didn't play until much later so it is hard to say but I had to add it.

Shooter I don't really like respawn and Socom was the first game that just amazed me. By the third one it went down hill. COD4 is a great game to me mainly becuase Hard Core mode. Playing Hard mode is probably the best I have played since next gen started.

I am sure I am fairly picky about what I play. Sports = football, MMO = prefer sandbox with some PVP, Racing = realistic with classic amercan cars GO GNs!, shooter = again realistic, no respawn, more game modes that people actually play.
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Old 06-22-2009, 12:22 PM   #18
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Re: Has gaming as a whole just become flat?

Also factor in that it's infinitely tougher to get a "WOW" game now than before, because back in the PS1 and PS2 days there were massive graphical leaps that could be made.

Nowadays you're gonna see graphical improvements, but we're not going to get any massive leaps like we saw in the past gen, because we've all ready made those leaps...

Gameplay wise we'll see improvements, but you really can't just completely reinvent a shooter, sports game, whatever. Innovate yes, but games like Socom were among the first to be able to take advantage of all this new hardware so that's where the "WOW" came. Look at the new Socom, it's "flat" because they couldn't reinvent the wheel and the novelty had worn off?

Just bringing up the random thoughts I had because I find this to be a pretty interesting topic.
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Old 06-22-2009, 12:41 PM   #19
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Re: Has gaming as a whole just become flat?

I think it's also that expecations are through the roof now, so it's almost impossible to deliver what people are expecting. Because of the almost realistic graphics we have now, people want sports games to be *exactly* like real life. In the past, we were thrilled to play something like Tecmo Bowl because it was amazing to be able to play anything that slightly resembled football on your TV with a controller in your hand. Now, because the technology has made the games look life-like, people complain and nit pick over things like cleats, arm-bands, hair style, etc.

It's gotten to the point where, for some people, if the game doesn't exactly replicate the real world, it's disappointing.

I grew up playing Atari, Commodore 64, etc., so I'm still amazed by the games that are coming out these days. I guess if I grew up on the PS2 or something, I'd possibly take some things for granted and be a little jaded by now.
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Old 06-22-2009, 01:04 PM   #20
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Re: Has gaming as a whole just become flat?

As a gamer going back to the Atari 2600 days, I think gaming is better than ever. If I just look at the period of time from 9/28/09 to 11/3/09 I see:

NBA Live 10
NBA 2k10
Alpha Protocol
Dragon Age Origins
Bio Shock 2

I'm expecting the worst of these games to be very, very good. This with me not even looking at FIFA 10, Forza 3, or Modern Warfare 2, which are all also coming out within a couple weeks of the time frame I laid out. Add another week on the back end, and here comes Assassin's Creed 2 as well.

I can't remember so many potential masterpieces(IMO) coming out in such a short period of time.
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Old 06-22-2009, 02:05 PM   #21
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Re: Has gaming as a whole just become flat?

I can understand the OP's thoughts...as a 37 year old gamer, I think the novelty (at least for me) is starting to wear off.

Also, there is SO MUCH information out there that I feel a bit overloaded, all the while not being able to keep up with it.

I was a "die-hard" gamer, but do it for fun...but the older I get I can see how this changes...
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Old 06-22-2009, 02:26 PM   #22
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Re: Has gaming as a whole just become flat?

Quote:
Originally Posted by mgoblue
IMO you're just getting older.

I still enjoy gaming (and always will), but as I get older my gaming time diminishes bit by bit. Just other things in your life take priority.

I also have learned that I'm no longer a "hardcore sports gamer" because to be that means you have to bitch about every little thing and always be disappointed and unhappy with every game that comes out.

I'm now a casual sports gamer who just seeks more realism than arcade style, but isn't gonna bitch like people in the forums.

Because of all that I no longer frequent the sports gaming forums here, they're all just too crazy and I don't really care about most of what people say.

Therefore I just avoid most hype/info prior to a game's release, and I like being more surprised if I get one of the games.

I am more primarily a non-sports gamer now though. Just as time goes on I'm not going to spend hour after hour playing a Madden or NCAA dynasty like I used to years ago. My gaming attention span is shorter, so I move on from games faster.

This is a good post and thats where I am headed as well. The developers come and ask opinions, etc, but they are still following their own agenda. Take NCAA football. Spent(Wasted) countless hours on trying to fix the game with sliders only to discover the sliders were broken. So we tell the developers and the game ships with broken sliders again. But it has alot of new features that I will never touch.

Last year I was upset because they already had my time and money by the time I knew the game was broken. This year, they don't have either yet, sans 10 minutes that I played the demo for. So I really have no right to complain if I buy it this year. I know their MO and I know what I'll be getting.

The sports games try to add to many gimmicks each year. Its silly. Fix the core gameplay, thats all we really care about.

15 or 20 years ago Tecmo came out. Then Super Tecmo Bowl, Then SPTBII, Then III. All they really did was add stat interfaces some playbooks, and new rosters. The gameplay was honed, but not drastically changed with gimmicks. Thats what I wish games would do. The commodore 64 followed this same model with many games. If you had a good game, you didn't break it, you just made small tangible improvements and gave new rosters.

There aren't going to be a whole lot of things left to do that will bring a huge bang and increase fan base at least with sports games. There is no WOW factor. To a casual gamer 2010 looks exactly like 2009 and that pretty much goes for all sports games accross the board. Wow factor was Tecmo keeping stats. The day of the notebook was gone. Huge for me.

Best thing you can do is when things start feeling stale, take a few years off. I didn't buy a baseball game since MVP 2004, bought a PS3 and the Show this year, and WOW.

But at the end of the day, these are just games, meant to entertain and at the point they become stale, do something else. Probably alot of things out there you'd enjoy more, give them a shot and then come back to gaming in a year or so and I am sure by then, something will WOW you or you'll just find that you like other things better than video games.
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Old 06-22-2009, 06:34 PM   #23
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Re: Has gaming as a whole just become flat?

On a personal note, I will say yes videogames are growing stale. They're not all the way there, but things aren't as exciting as for me as they were in the past. There are several different factors at play for me.

For one, the technology leap from the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube to the 360/PS3 just isn't that big in terms of how it affects gameplay. For the most part games are just prettier. Yes there's improved AI and open worlds are more expansive but nothing insane. There isn't a whole lot separating GTA4 from San Andreas outside of the visuals. I would actually argue GTA4 took several steps back and only a few steps forward but I suppose that's another topic entirely. The Wii was a breath of fresh air but it proved to be fleeting. Not much has really been done with the Wii's motion control beyond what we have with Wii Sports which is very disappointing. Granted, I have yet to try out Wii Motion Plus.

Another issue is that the sequel is what dominates today's market. Only a small number of original franchises are given real shots each year. That's due in large part to the fact that the industry has grown so much that development costs are bloated. Companies cannot afford to fail so they stick with what has worked for them in the past.

And lastly I would say something that affects me more on a personal level is just the popularity of the shooter genre. Right now, the shooter is the big thing just like platformers dominated the NES, fighters the 16 bit era, turn-based RPG's flooded the PSOne, and so on. A lot of the big, hyped titles just do not interest me as much because of my personal taste making it hard to get excited for new games.

All three of those reasons contribute to a feeling of monotony. There's just less excitement for me in getting a new game because usually its a sequel and its not doing anything drastically different from its predecessor so there's a feeling of "been there done that" for me. Even with some of the better titles of today like MEtal Gear Solid 4 or Fallout 3. MGS4 is a great game, but it plays just like any other MGS title. Fallout 3 is also a great game, and even though it's not like Fallout 1 or 2, it ended up just being Oblivion with a new setting and a tweaked interface. I know I am simplifying the experience of both games, but for each one, at their core they're the same game as one I've already played many times over. And those are just two examples. It would be easy to list sports games there as well.

For me, this just leads me to still buy games, but I don't finish them or get real excited. I used to never fail to finish a game but it is common for me now. Part of that is also just plain due to age. I'm older now and make good money so dropping the cash for a videogame just isn't that big of a deal where as when I was a kid games came at Christmas and birthdays and rarely anytime else. The only games I find myself eager to play are new ones. Infamous, Ghosbusters, the upcoming Batman game, all new engines and new experiences. Batman and iNfamous do play similarly to other games (Ghostbusters is pretty unique though) in the 3D action/adventure genre but just the fact that I at least have to learn a new interface adds to the freshness of each. I'm not sure if my jaded outlook will change with some new innovation I cannot foresee at the moment or if this is how I relate to games now and forever. I would like to think I'm just waiting for the next big thing to come along to get me fired up once more.
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Old 06-22-2009, 07:01 PM   #24
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Re: Has gaming as a whole just become flat?

It's the games.

No or very little originality left. My fav game this gen has been Folklore. Sadly never got to finish it but it was something mostly new. Reviews aren't helping either as they encourage devs to keep churning the same crap out and people to keep buying it and being convinced it's good when it's really not.
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