Let me preface this post by simply saying that this is obviously my opinion. I've read a lot of articles about the subject I'm going to talk about and for gamers like myself it's a frightening possibility of what lies ahead for video games, both sports game and non-sports games.
I am an avid sports gamer and also love open-world role-playing games. My favorite series of all time is The Elder Scrolls and I absolutely love games such as Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto, and the Witcher, and Fallout. Basically big, Triple-A open-world games with a heavy emphasis on story.
I also am in love with franchise mode. Since essentially it is role-playing (to some degree) in sports. I play MLB The Show, and used to be huge into NHL and Madden. I used to love NCAA Football and hope that one day it will make a return.
But the problem is that these modes and types of games seem to be deteriorating in favor of online modes that very much so lack depth and storytelling. I'll pose two examples of what I'm talking about.
Case 1: Since this is a sports gaming forum. Franchise mode in general has been largely neglected (except for NBA 2K) for over a decade now. The modes go largely untouched and issues that exist in the mode often persist year after year. MLB The Show is a prime example of this and there's actually only one programmer that even works on the mode on a yearly basis. One guy for franchise mode. That's it. There are minor improvements here and there but things like playing the same interleague teams every year has been there for a long, long time.
But why is this the case? As most of us on here probably know it all comes down to money. And it is understandable that these video game companies are in business ultimately to make money, and I respect that. And for the past 10+ years one of the biggest money-makers has been online modes such as Diamond Dynasty and Madden Ultimate Team (or whatever it's called). Companies make crazy money on these modes because of all the micro-transactions that take place while franchise, ultimately, provides very little income for the company aside from the very rare purchase of extra franchise budget. The result is that companies like SCEA spend most of their development time on online game modes and all but forget about franchise mode. This is a shame coming from an older, sim-seeking gamer that wants to build and maintain a franchise in a realistic way.
Case 2: Open-world role-playing games with an emphasis on story.
While I love sports games I probably love a good open-world game more. Skyrim is probably my all-time favorite game and I've logged probably over one-thousand hours in it. But the best example of what I'm talking about comes with Grand Theft Auto V. The story was simply amazing. By far one of the best games I've ever played. The inclusion of three protagonists was genius and each of them was unique and interesting. After the game's release (in 2013 I believe) Rockstar was on record saying that they planned on doing a "substantial," amount of single-player DLC and continuing the story of Michael, Trevor and Franklin. If you dig a little more you'll know that they've actually completed over half of one of their single player DLC's. But then, they just stopped. Literally just quit making it out of nowhere... or was it?
Grand Theft Auto Online was a disaster at first launch and was not well received because it just didn't work. It was okay thought because Rockstar was killing it in sales because their game was awesome without that mode and Online was just kind of a side-deal anyway. Kind of a throw-in mode for the game because most games have some multiplayer component now. But then... it got pretty good. And then better. I'm a guilty as anyone as I've played the mode (and just recently got back into it). In fact, the last I read the game has made $500 million from Online alone. And I think the game has now grossed $4.2 billion. Which is just remarkable. However, my fear is that since Online is now such a huge hit and a cash cow their focus will shift, permanently. And that fear is backed up by Rockstar's actions. It's now 2017 and still, no sign of a single player DLC. They've put all of their efforts into Online and we've seen it with all the content that's rolled out.
Make no mistake about it, GTA Online is super-fun. I really like it. But if I had to choose between the single player mode or Online, I'd choose the single player, without hesitation, 100% of the time. It's not even remotely close.
The thing about this is, I do not believe this is an isolated incident either. We all know Red Dead Redemption originally was slated to be released this year, but it's been delayed. Why? I would be willing to bet anything it's is due to incorporating their online mode for the game. Refining it and improving it. And will we get single player DLC for Red Dead Redemption 2? Who knows? I'd say probably not if the online mode is successful. And then for GTA VI who's to say that they don't simply scrap the single player mode. Or at the very least the single player mode will become the "throw-in," mode. Maybe 10-15 hours of gameplay of decent, but not great characters and stories. That's the way Rockstar is trending.
And if there's one thing for sure about the gaming industry, it is that developers copy one another. So this could become the trend for other developers as well.
So in a nutshell, good franchise modes and open-world storytelling is going away in favor of online modes that really offer nothing but fun for casual gamers. There's no depth to any of the online modes. At least not any kind of depth that's even remotely comparable to franchise mode or a game like GTA V. And that's very scary for me, someone who's played video games since the late 1980's.
And ultimately, it's sad. Video games were (and still are) on their way to the same level and even surpassing movies in regards to being able to tell stories. Look at games like The Last of Us as an example. But it seems that these gaming companies are more interested in making money (which I guess is their ultimate goal) as opposed to creating something special.
I am an avid sports gamer and also love open-world role-playing games. My favorite series of all time is The Elder Scrolls and I absolutely love games such as Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto, and the Witcher, and Fallout. Basically big, Triple-A open-world games with a heavy emphasis on story.
I also am in love with franchise mode. Since essentially it is role-playing (to some degree) in sports. I play MLB The Show, and used to be huge into NHL and Madden. I used to love NCAA Football and hope that one day it will make a return.
But the problem is that these modes and types of games seem to be deteriorating in favor of online modes that very much so lack depth and storytelling. I'll pose two examples of what I'm talking about.
Case 1: Since this is a sports gaming forum. Franchise mode in general has been largely neglected (except for NBA 2K) for over a decade now. The modes go largely untouched and issues that exist in the mode often persist year after year. MLB The Show is a prime example of this and there's actually only one programmer that even works on the mode on a yearly basis. One guy for franchise mode. That's it. There are minor improvements here and there but things like playing the same interleague teams every year has been there for a long, long time.
But why is this the case? As most of us on here probably know it all comes down to money. And it is understandable that these video game companies are in business ultimately to make money, and I respect that. And for the past 10+ years one of the biggest money-makers has been online modes such as Diamond Dynasty and Madden Ultimate Team (or whatever it's called). Companies make crazy money on these modes because of all the micro-transactions that take place while franchise, ultimately, provides very little income for the company aside from the very rare purchase of extra franchise budget. The result is that companies like SCEA spend most of their development time on online game modes and all but forget about franchise mode. This is a shame coming from an older, sim-seeking gamer that wants to build and maintain a franchise in a realistic way.
Case 2: Open-world role-playing games with an emphasis on story.
While I love sports games I probably love a good open-world game more. Skyrim is probably my all-time favorite game and I've logged probably over one-thousand hours in it. But the best example of what I'm talking about comes with Grand Theft Auto V. The story was simply amazing. By far one of the best games I've ever played. The inclusion of three protagonists was genius and each of them was unique and interesting. After the game's release (in 2013 I believe) Rockstar was on record saying that they planned on doing a "substantial," amount of single-player DLC and continuing the story of Michael, Trevor and Franklin. If you dig a little more you'll know that they've actually completed over half of one of their single player DLC's. But then, they just stopped. Literally just quit making it out of nowhere... or was it?
Grand Theft Auto Online was a disaster at first launch and was not well received because it just didn't work. It was okay thought because Rockstar was killing it in sales because their game was awesome without that mode and Online was just kind of a side-deal anyway. Kind of a throw-in mode for the game because most games have some multiplayer component now. But then... it got pretty good. And then better. I'm a guilty as anyone as I've played the mode (and just recently got back into it). In fact, the last I read the game has made $500 million from Online alone. And I think the game has now grossed $4.2 billion. Which is just remarkable. However, my fear is that since Online is now such a huge hit and a cash cow their focus will shift, permanently. And that fear is backed up by Rockstar's actions. It's now 2017 and still, no sign of a single player DLC. They've put all of their efforts into Online and we've seen it with all the content that's rolled out.
Make no mistake about it, GTA Online is super-fun. I really like it. But if I had to choose between the single player mode or Online, I'd choose the single player, without hesitation, 100% of the time. It's not even remotely close.
The thing about this is, I do not believe this is an isolated incident either. We all know Red Dead Redemption originally was slated to be released this year, but it's been delayed. Why? I would be willing to bet anything it's is due to incorporating their online mode for the game. Refining it and improving it. And will we get single player DLC for Red Dead Redemption 2? Who knows? I'd say probably not if the online mode is successful. And then for GTA VI who's to say that they don't simply scrap the single player mode. Or at the very least the single player mode will become the "throw-in," mode. Maybe 10-15 hours of gameplay of decent, but not great characters and stories. That's the way Rockstar is trending.
And if there's one thing for sure about the gaming industry, it is that developers copy one another. So this could become the trend for other developers as well.
So in a nutshell, good franchise modes and open-world storytelling is going away in favor of online modes that really offer nothing but fun for casual gamers. There's no depth to any of the online modes. At least not any kind of depth that's even remotely comparable to franchise mode or a game like GTA V. And that's very scary for me, someone who's played video games since the late 1980's.
And ultimately, it's sad. Video games were (and still are) on their way to the same level and even surpassing movies in regards to being able to tell stories. Look at games like The Last of Us as an example. But it seems that these gaming companies are more interested in making money (which I guess is their ultimate goal) as opposed to creating something special.
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