In the winter season, we usually get a great game released every week or so.
Years ago, we might of gotten a great game once every 3 months or so. We all remember the classics but we don't remember the massive amount of shit games that were released. I remember getting my first expensive computer and Doom 3 and Half Life 2 were released on it. That was basically it. Now, in the span of 3 months, we have gotten MGS5, Fallout 4, Battlefront 3, Starcraft 2 Protoss campaign and some others for the PC. This doesn't include Witcher 3, Rainbow Six Siege, Just Cause 3 and etc.... that haven't been released or were released earlier this year. This doesn't include all the little smaller games that would never of been released 10 years ago like Soma and etc.
In the end, gaming is much better than before. If you believe it isn't, your swimming in nostalgia.
I would only say it's harder to be surprised by games like we used to be.
Except niche wasn't around back then in sufficient quantities.
Niche is booming now due to Kickstart, Early Access, and other ways for developers with no money to make games for money.
Before, most niche products were mods that were developed from major releases. And let's not forget about online distribution where people can independently release games without going through a major publisher.
Well, to be fair, there was a heck of a lot of niche back in the 8-bit era when I was getting into gaming. In fact it was almost all niche. The original Elite was written by two guys. Costs were so low, publishers dumped games onto the market by the dozen, some costing as little as £1- anyone could get in.
But- yeah, gaming is much better today. With the talented amateur able to get a look in again we're getting towards a best of both worlds vibe.
Which is not to say I think all of gaming today has come in the right direction- development times are insanely bloated and major resources go towards a lot of formulaic stuff. But generally, there's enough choice now to satisfy everyone.
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That said- when I first got a PC, it came with Fate of Atlantis, Day of the Tentacle, Ultima Underworld and Wing Commander II. I got TIE Fighter two months later and Wing Commander 3 a few months after that. That was probably the single best concentrated gaming time for me.
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Last edited by Ushgarak on Nov 30th, 2015 at 04:38 PM
On the one hand, machines are the most powerful they've ever been. Games can do things that most of us probably never thought possible when we were growing up with our Amigas, our Snes's and the like. There's an absolutely massive amount of games out there, and with things like Steam and Origin, you never have to leave your house if you want to buy your favourite games.
On the other, games companies are the greediest they've ever been. Microtransactions and day-one dlc are terms everyone is sadly familiar with, and it honestly worries that the market can only take so much before it crashes, at least in part.
Even indie games have turned into a warped "startup culture" reflection, with the hunt for the next Minecraft being paramount. Kickstarter abuse running rampant, half baked ideas like Strike Suit Zero cobbled together from parts of far greater games, and then re-released in a suckers "Definitive edition"..
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Said greed was what fittingly led to the Atari's eventual failure and the crash of pretty much video games as a whole till the NES or so. Kinda begs the question if another crash should happen... Though it prolly won't happen, I would not mind if the game industry was forced to reassess itself again.
Crashes could happen if companies invest heavy cash and their games get sold too cheap, or if the amount of games was so big that almost no single release could get it's money back. Those scenarios could happen eventually, but right now there are still many that buy their games at a full price tag.
Some games that have been released, I seriously think they should price them based on the content that your getting with the game
take Metal gear solid v ground zeroes for example, that one should've been $30 not $70/80 & going by what i've seen of the recent Star Wars: Battlefront game, That one should be $50 not $100
Either way, we're the ones that lose out. Look at how many companies have either died, been absorbed, or have frankly turned to shit.
Then you have companies that want to make COD money, and if they don't the game is considered a failure even when it sells well (looking at you, Square Enix).
And franchises that have been sold down the river. Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid etc, all operating below expectations, some more than others.
Then you have the Ubisofts of the world. The less said about them, the better.
At least we still have people like CDPR and Bethesda who do whatever the **** they like.