# Gaming is Dead, and Here's Why



## Ryukouki (Jul 6, 2014)

Anyone that knows me knows that I’ve been unfortunately busy with my life to seriously game anymore, but lately I have been feeling that I haven’t been missing much in the gaming world. I feel like gaming that I have known for the past decade is dead, and it's due to a number of factors. Some of the biggest factors that I thought about are innovation, the rise of sequels and ports, and the price hike on the new consoles as they come out. There's more to my theory than what I just mentioned, but I want to keep this portion quick and to the point. So, let's have at it, and get into this idea that I seem to have.

[prebreak]Continue reading[/prebreak]

The Lack of Innovation in the Current Generation

Current game consoles don’t innovate half as much as they did in the days past. In the previous generation, we had features that we didn’t really know that much about. We had dual screens on the Nintendo DS, we had a relatively powerful console in the palm of our hand with the Playstation Portable, we had the interactive remote controller with the Wii, and the high definition gaming experience on the Playstation 3 and XBOX 360.



​Personally, for me, that generation felt like the golden years of gaming. Games were continuing to come out on frequent bases and sold very well to their audiences. I was able to get involved in the majority of these consoles and enjoy them immensely for hundreds of hours of gameplay, back when I actually had the time to be able to be able to play a lot of games. And with the current generation of consoles that have rolled out…

…gaming fell flat on its face for me. I felt little to no motivation to really go out and experience the consoles because they all felt the same to me. The Nintendo Wii U was a catastrophic disaster that shouldn’t have happened, instead hanging in suspended animation between mobile tablet platform and console. The Nintendo 3DS, which could let viewers play games in stereoscopic 3D, became a gimmick that ended up hurting players and forced Nintendo to release the Nintendo 2DS. The PS Vita was just a random, out of nowhere successor to the PSP that, despite its fancy features and beautiful OLED touchscreen module, fell short of its audiences. I picked one up the other day for fun after reading that article written by our Foxi4, But Foxi, Why Would I Want A PS Vita. Well, that and it was my birthday and I needed to treat myself to a bit of fun. The XBOX One rolled out and it just felt like an HD gaming machine. The Playstation 4 felt the same way. These consoles may have rolled out and sold like hotcakes to a big reception, but they lacked that certain “oomph” that the previous generations had.

The way I feel right now about innovation is that the current generation that we are in just didn’t do that much innovating, instead focusing on adding more graphical power and processing power into a relatively nice looking package. It feels like the craze is to just go as hard as one could into the 4K viewing territory, which I personally have no real interest in. Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t really see the whole deal with HD gaming going into the super-realistic world that we seem to be moving towards right now. Things could keep going as they are, but the current generation felt like a minor jump in innovation when compared to previous generations. Innovation also seems to be failing video games, too.

When thinking of video gaming innovation, the experience lately has fallen flat as well. Why? We have mobile gaming now that can offer some sort of competition to the big console games. Sure, we have huge titles like _The Last of Us_, _The Elder Scrolls,_ and other exceptional titles that made a great effort and succeeded in creating a whole new idea, but more often than not games are just following the money and recycling the same concepts over and over again. Is _Destiny of Spirits_ for the Playstation Vita doing anything exceptional? It looks pretty and all, but what good is the game when compared to mobile powerhouse giants like _Puzzle and Dragons,_ which roll in millions of dollars of cash every single day? In addition to games lacking innovation, games seem to be recycling old material, following the money, and creating sequels or prequels, or in-betweens and ports that no one really wanted.

Sequels and Ports – No, Please Not Another One!

Modern gaming feels dead because a lot of games seem to just be repeats of older franchises. They also get ported over too many times on too many different platforms. Do I need to list all the different occasions in which _Final Fantasy IV_ has been remade? And with each subsequent rerelease, the price barely goes down. And yet, we still buy them anyway because why the hell not?! Or, better yet, the sequel struggle that existed with _Final Fantasy XIII_? A game that communities felt deserved no more discussion, which ended up getting two sequels much to fans’ dismay. Do we really need more of that? Does that scream innovation? Or does this simply scream “lazy” to developers?



 
When it comes to ports and sequels, we need to look no further than Square Enix. I once respected this team because they used to make fantastic games. We all have played _Final Fantasy_ in one way or another. They’ve sold plenty of copies, but now it seems that they’re completely dead and rereleasing games onto their mobile platform, which seems to not be doing such a great job. Instead of creating another grand adventure, a proper swan song for an amazing franchise, they have graced us with an HD collection of Final Fantasy XIII trilogy, which was already in very-close-to-HD graphics to begin with. Come on! Create an HD remake or port over something that really matters. And speaking of ports…

Ports are killing off games too. Looking at the library of games for the newest generation, they’re just rehashes of older material – sports games, sequels, or ports. _Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Sigma II Plus_ for the Playstation Vita? Ported over from the original XBOX. Yeah, that big bulky black and green hunk. How about _Street Fighter IV_ and its many rereleases, DLC, and ports? The Nintendo 3DS got a port of the game, the mobile got a port of the game, everyone has it. It just feels so damn lazy now that it’s not even fun anymore, and I don’t understand why people, me included, still throw their money at the developers for doing it. And they’re so expensive it’s a wonder why we’re crazy enough to do it. Which leads nicely into my next part of the discussion – pricing things properly to get more people into the game.

Price – Why Would I Throw THAT Much For This?!

Gaming is falling short because of pricing. It’s a dead zone. For machines that don’t really feel like they’re innovating or doing that much, besides adding extra processing and enhanced graphical experiences, they have extremely high price tags. I would personally love to pick up some next generation consoles, for the sake of having them, but I can’t quite justify yet, as a broke college student, dropping $500 on an XBOX One or $400 on the Playstation 4. Look at the Nintendo Wii U, it’s basically a Wii with a godawful looking tablet controller. And it’s like $300, with the controller being about $180. It’s ridiculous, and the point of entry on these systems is absolutely insane to think about when compared with the older generation… well, maybe not quite so much in the early days, but even so, the prices just felt much more reasonable. And my argument will quickly fall apart when people realize that I’m typing this on an Apple MacBook Pro, which to some people makes me the lowest swine of this Earth. I don’t care, I’m totally proud of it. Let’s cut things short here and move onto the next section. Games lately don’t seem to be complete anymore.

The Plague of DLC and Microtransactions

Remember the old days in which we used to be able to buy a game, and take it home, open it up right away, and have access to the full game content from right off the bat? Those days seem to be long dead as more and more games require some kind of payment to unlock more content and goodies, things that should be a given. Like, costumes or stages. I said above that I purchased a Playstation Vita. Having looked at the Playstation Network store, a lot of games that I looked into have different charges to access, things like $1.99 payments for costumes or stage music. The little things that don’t really matter, but at the same time, prevent the disk from feeling like a “full package.” I find it silly that these things now have a money value attached to them, instead of completing an objective in game to unlock it. Games are slowly becoming more payment heavy, and with some games charging egregious prices (I’m looking at you _Theatrhythm Final Fantasy_) they end up costing more than the game itself.



_I think all the songs cost more than the game itself..._​ 
I’m all for content, but I’m against it being a requirement for players to pay money towards. Even though I will more than likely buy it anyway. Games are becoming quite expensive as each new console rolls out, and some of these content updates are absolutely absurd to have to pay for. It’s one of the main reasons why I don’t want to buy fighting games anymore, because, as _Dead or Alive_ or _Street Fighter IV_ have shown, they get rereleased with an Ultimate pack or some kind of DLC upgrade. By forcing us to have to purchase these amenities that should have been provided from the start, gaming itself has become a medium that’s too money focused and with no real heart left to give to the players. And for us players, we really like to see showcases of our games at those big conventions like E3, which have faded in interest throughout the years.

Big Gaming Conventions Are a Thing of the Past



​It seems that with each passing year, despite overwhelming numbers at each gaming convention, the overall interest just seems to be declining in favor of using social mediums to reach out to the gamer base. With teams like Nintendo opting to use their Nintendo Direct medium as a way to tell players about their latest trends, gaming convention interests have died out and as a result, I feel like it is really hurting the industry. In the line of work that I pursue, face-to-face contact is vitally important in getting the message out to people, and hiding behind a screen just doesn’t do justice to the big hype trains that gaming conventions used to be. Remember the announcement of _Twilight Princess?_ I haven’t seen an announcement that crazy in quite some time. Here’s a little bit of nostalgia for you guys.

Don’t you miss that already? What happened to those?! With the waning interest of gaming conventions, gaming itself is becoming less and less interesting. The developers of such titles really need to pack an oomph factor to get us interested in what the have to offer.

Developers – You Need to Focus on US!



_We fans wanted two sequels of the worst game ever, right?_​​We act with our wallets. It’s no surprise there. We see games getting cancelled due to lack of funds or interest, or not being released in the West because of a poor sales factor for their audience. Gaming really is too focused on money nowadays that it’s a bit sad to see game quality drop in such a way. When we see our favorite titles ending up as a digital only feature, some of us hate it because we wanted the real thing in our hand as a memento of what it took to get the title. And digital only kills resale, which some of us may like to do so that we can give back in a sense to another person. And speaking of digital… we see the PC starting to really have a huge foothold in our gaming sights.

PC Gaming and Mobile Gaming

Man, PC gaming? I don’t really have a lot of authority here in the matter, as I have a Mac, and a lot of people love saying that Macs are not capable of gaming, but oh well. From what I do know, though, and from what I have observed, I feel that gaming is dying, or heading in a bad direction, with the rise of computer and mobile gaming. It’s cheaper to upgrade a PC component most of the time than it is to upgrade an entire console and paying the premiums to keep the console going (Like those Vita memory cards!). Mobile gaming is short, sweet, and to the point and with so many people getting into smartphones, the overall gaming quality has dropped since then.



_This game took in $50,000 every day._​​​Even though I’m a huge fan of mobile gaming and being able to play in short bursts on the go, I feel like it’s more effective and at the same time it kills gaming because people can take shortcuts, hopefully create a one hit wonder, and make huge money off of that. Look at _Flappy Bird,_where the creator rolled in around $50,000 a day off of the game. Is this where gaming is going to go for the next several years? More towards mobile?

Geez, Windbag, I’m Bored! When Will You Finish?

I sound like a broken record now, don’t I? I can be declared certifiably insane after this piece, right? But I truly feel this way. I can’t attach to gaming anymore like I used to. Do I have occasional splurges where I play for hours on end? Yeah. Nowadays, I can’t play for more than half an hour a week without losing interest in gaming. While you might say that I’m growing up and taking a priority to my own personal responsibilities, I’m still young at heart and I love doing these things, and would love to continue to do so, but gaming just isn’t that interesting anymore because of the path it is taking – expensive consoles, lack of innovation, too many sequels and ports, downloadable content, micro transactions, developers taking too little time to really interact with their audience, and the mobile and PC gaming platform taking heavy footholds in the gaming industry. I want to see gaming change and I want to see it go back to the days of old where things were worth hyping over. Do let me know what you think about my theory in the comments below!


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## TyBlood13 (Jul 6, 2014)

We just had this thread, and it went to the EoF for a good reason


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## Ryukouki (Jul 6, 2014)

TyBlood13 said:


> We just had this thread, and it went to the EoF for a good reason


 

 Did we really?! I'm kinda not seeing it in the EOF.


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## natkoden (Jul 6, 2014)

It all happened with the PS3/360 combo, not with this generation. And it just started, so... can't say much.


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## TyBlood13 (Jul 6, 2014)

Ryukouki said:


> Did we really?! I'm kinda not seeing it in the EOF.


http://gbatemp.net/threads/video-games-are-dead.367262/


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## Ryukouki (Jul 6, 2014)

TyBlood13 said:


> http://gbatemp.net/threads/video-games-are-dead.367262/


 

Oh that one! That one kinda seemed like a hate rant though...  And it didn't really do anything to justify itself...


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## Foxi4 (Jul 6, 2014)

I find the whole notion that gaming has to be innovative flawed at best. Innovation is all fine and dandy when it's _good_ innovation. Sometimes, or in fact most of the time, you don't have to be innovative in what you're doing - you just have to be _good_ at it. Fixing things that aren't broken is not necessarily a good idea - the primary reason why games like Final Fantasy lost a lot of their original appeal _is_ the fact that the developers went the _"innovative"_ route and instead of focusing on the gaming aspect of things they began shoehorning in crappy stories of whiney protagonists that nobody really cares about.

When you come down to the basics of gaming, you realize that a good game poses a challenge that you, the player - your task it to overcome it. Participating in this task is supposed to entertain you and succeeding at it is supposed to give you the sense of achievement, pleasure springing from defeating the odds stacked against you. Many, many contemporary games completely forget about that - they focus solely on reciting the story to you and the gameplay is just treated as an interactive element in-between of cutscenes. This is not the way to go about it, games are not movies. Story elements need to be effectively intertwined with gameplay, otherwise you don't feel like a part of the process, you're just a passive observer. You're not _"in"_ the game.

Of course I'm just ranting here - you could write a whole article about how many games just don't have gameplay these days or gameplay is so poorly executed that you kinda wish it wasn't there at all. My point is, innovation isn't always good - sometimes immitation and improving upon the original, a process of fine-tuning and polishing the formula, is far better.


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## Duo8 (Jul 6, 2014)

Why do you have to cause more shitstorms?


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## Gahars (Jul 6, 2014)

The games industry is becoming Hollywood, for better ("We're in the money! We're in the money!") and for worse (The avalanche of sequels, reboots, adaptations, brand cash-ins, etc., the unsustainable inflation of budgets, and so on).

Okay, that's sort of insulting to Hollywood, but you get the idea.

As with the film industry, there's a whole lot of absolute shit being shoveled out onto the market. On the bright side, though, a handful of the big budget stuff can be loads of fun, and there's always the independent/foreign scene if you want to experience the experimental, groundbreaking material (and adjust your beret, you big, fat hipster).


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## Ryukouki (Jul 6, 2014)

Duo8 said:


> Why do you have to cause more shitstorms?


 

It's not even that. Here's the thing with me. I like the idea that websites dedicated to gaming should be about news and entertaining materials. I've written editorials under another site and pseudonym, where I was basically forced into a small box and view point, writing about really bland subjects. Subjects that didn't bring any discussion points to the table. Subjects that only scored about a hundred views in a single day.

However, here, I have the ability to write freely about whatever I so choose, and I'm not being given any restrictions. I choose to write materials that actually engage the reader and force them to think about things a little bit more. I'm not going to make any kind of difference writing boring topics. The views tell me a lot about how each subject did. The boring ones only pulled in a couple hundred, while really intense topics pulled in _several thousand, _because it's so polarizing and because the idea behind each article is so outlandish. It's a different spin on things that I like to throw at it. The result is a webpage traffic success because people want to hear about what I've got to say, even if it's crazy, even if it may be wrong or so flawed. Things that are sensitive get viewership and highly interesting discussion, that's all there really is to it.


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## Sicklyboy (Jul 6, 2014)

My 90 hours on payday 2 over the past two weeks begs  to differ ;o;


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## MarkDarkness (Jul 6, 2014)

> Personally, for me, that generation felt like the golden years of gaming.


Because you lived that generation. It's the same as people who lived in the one before that, and before, and before... it just means you are getting older, not necessarily anything else. Ask anybody from the NES generation what the Playstation-64 era was like... "Too many graphics! Not enough gameplay! Games were too easy!" and so on. On the other hand, somebody from the Playstation-64 era will say it was "the golden years of gaming", because graphics were better, there was so much gameplay, and games weren't wasy like they are today.

Also, and more to the point, the return of PC gaming is the opposite of bad... it has meant for years now giving freedom back to small and medium developers, which goes exactly against the point you are making about huge publishes/developers only caring about money and microtransactions. Without PC gaming, there would be no indie studios or great upcoming medium studios developing original games... the very same games that now the big 3 are running after like mad... half the PSVita library of games is made up of indie PC games!

I understand where you are coming from, but you should really rethink your ideas on PC gaming... it's what's setting gaming free and assuring it's not coming to an end (or dies as you put it). Au contraire, it's easier every day to make a good game on your basement, and now there's Steam Greenlight, Kickstaster, GOG, the Bundles...


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## Foxi4 (Jul 6, 2014)

Sicklyboy said:


> My 90 hours on payday 2 over the past two weeks begs to differ ;o;


This is because Payday 2 is a relatively good game. It's not shy about what it is and it doesn't pretend to be any more than that - you're a burglar, grab your burglar friends, steal sh*t and shoot police officers in the face. It's simplicity itself and that makes it appealing. It doesn't really require any elaborate setup - gameplay is king and the only thing that matters is whether you're good at being a virtual burglar or not rather than whether you had the patience to read through 193652 index entries about stuff you don't care about. _;O;_


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## Ryukouki (Jul 6, 2014)

MarkDarkness said:


> Because you lived that generation. It's the same as people who lived in the one before that, and before, and before... it just means you are getting older, not necessarily anything else. Ask anybody from the NES generation what the Playstation-64 era was like... "Too many graphics! Not enough gameplay! Games were too easy!" and so on. On the other hand, somebody from the Playstation-64 era will say it was "the golden years of gaming", because graphics were better, there was so much gameplay, and games weren't wasy like they are today.
> 
> Also, and more to the point, the return of PC gaming is the opposite of bad... it has meant for years now giving freedom back to small and medium developers, which goes exactly against the point you are making about huge publishes/developers only caring about money and microtransactions. Without PC gaming, there would be no indie studios or great upcoming medium studios developing original games... the very same games that now the big 3 are running after like mad... half the PSVita library of games is made up of indie PC games!
> 
> I understand where you are coming from, but you should really rethink your ideas on PC gaming... it's what's setting gaming free and assuring it's not coming to an end (or dies as you put it). Au contraire, it's easier every day to make a good game on your basement, and now there's Steam Greenlight, Kickstaster, GOG, the Bundles...


 

Heh, I did say I would have little to no authority when it came to PC gaming, as I don't really have a gaming PC to begin with.  I'm sure that when I pick up something that can play higher than 30 FPS at 800x600 resolution I'll come around.


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## GameWinner (Jul 6, 2014)

It's only dead right now because Persona 5 has yet to be released.


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## Kane49 (Jul 6, 2014)

Gaming isn't dead, you're just old.





Duo8 said:


> Why do you have to cause more shitstorms?


 
Shitstorms ? people use that term way to liberally lol


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## Ryukouki (Jul 6, 2014)

Kane49 said:


> Gaming isn't dead, you're just old.


 

I'm only 21, 21 as of today, actually.  You make me feel like a grandpa like that.


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## Kane49 (Jul 6, 2014)

Ryukouki said:


> I'm only 21, 21 as of today, actually.  You make me feel like a grandpa like that.


 

Congrats on being old then


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## 59672 (Jul 6, 2014)

Last gen was the one that killed gaming.

It introduced dlc, it popularized extremely 'casual' or 'accessible' games on a variety of platforms which are not dedicated gaming devices, last gen consoles introduced nothing much except from nintendo of all companies for innovating (motion controls and touch screen gaming) though it's arguable how much if at all it contributed to gaming overall. Xbox 360 and ps3 lived far too long and were far too weak compared to PCs far too fast, this gen of course being only worse, not that it was anything new last gen though for that to happen.

And even suggesting pc gaming is a bad thing is insane, what it means most of all is that people are no longer being forced down to certain devices, being forced to play a single way, or even being locked down to certain ecosystems. Even though Windows PC gaming is the one seeing the bulk of the growth, it's not exclusive for them. Linux and OSX are getting more games than ever, but I wouldn't say OSX is a good platform for gaming, just as how locked down you are hardware wise, you cannot (legally) just install osx on any computer you build/buy and apple doesn't make a gaming computer, which there is really no reason for them to make. 

I'm not going to nitpick every bit and piece (ie 2ds suggesting that the 3d part of the 3ds is a failure, just that they released a budget model that happens to exclude a feature some do not care about) but gaming is not dead or even dieing, just the way you like it is. Things are changing but not all of it is for the worst.


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## osm70 (Jul 6, 2014)

Look at this:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cxhs-GLE29Q


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## CathyRina (Jul 6, 2014)

osm70 said:


> Look at this:
> https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cxhs-GLE29Q


 
damn you I wanted to post that too xD


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## The Catboy (Jul 6, 2014)

You pretty much summed up what I have been saying for the past who knows how long.
But it's the Gaming Conventions that really upset me. I miss the old E3 so much! Watching the latest E3's have just been painful. It's become, M$ failing at being "hip," Sony failing at being entertaining, and Nintendo being like, "So here's some games, watch the rest on our Nintendo Direct!" Like it's become un-watchable at this point.
I remember enjoying games, not just buying a system and waiting months to years on end for games only to have them be meh.

Also Yoshi's New Island happened and I am still bitter about how bad that ended up being.


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## Sarvesh50 (Jul 6, 2014)

Lack of innovation i don''t really know what would have made the next gen consoles more innovative but Sony is still working on Project Morpheus. 
And for the X1 having access to the X1 system while watching tv is nice too.

I bought my PS4 a week ago with watchdogs. Now i am looking for games that really attract me and i can't find them Only Infamous second son made me feel kinda happy.
So i was checking release dates for the upcoming games for the ps4 and than i saw that there are a few High quality games dropping this year.
This gen(PS4 X1) is still in development things will get better for sure.

About those shitty sequels there will be always shitty games among the good ones right every gen had them.

The thing about the gaming conventions is simple why would i go to one if i can stream it to my home. Why would i try the games there if they release demo's in the virtual stores of our consoles?

There's a big movement towards mobile gaming because there's a bigger audience i am sure that more people own a smartphone than a console. But the thing is mobile games will never ever give that quality feeling that the consoles or pc's give it just isn't same. Flappy Bird was a big hype getting a lot of media attention and that's why people tried the game. Also people liked it because they could brag about who could tap better on their screens. I didn't install Flappy Bird and i didn't play it. Why? It didn't feel like a game to me it wasn't something i liked and i knew that the hype would fly away.

I understand your feeling games don't attract you anymore like they used to people say your getting older but that's not it. It's because you have seen it before and have done it before the sequels seen it and done it before... a new game well that's a copy or ripoff or upgrade off that game. There isn't any new thing to experiment with. While others who started gaming after you have things to explore they have to see things they didn't experience before.

Things will get better because the Gaming industries is still one of the biggest/fastest growing industries some companies will fuckup and other will learn of their fuckup.
Things will get better for sure.


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## Black-Ice (Jul 6, 2014)

Ryukouki said:


> _We fans wanted two sequels of the *worst game ever*, right?_​​


 
You're trying real hard to make me hate you


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## the_randomizer (Jul 6, 2014)

Black-Ice said:


> You're trying real hard to make me hate you


 

Older Final Fantasy games > Those ones


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## calmwaters (Jul 6, 2014)

I hope this article gets more views. I've heard these arguments before many times, so there must be some truth behind them. I also believe indie developers make games that aren't sequels or ports, but nobody really cares about them; they care about big budget games like a certain shooting title, Just Dance, Mario, blah, blah, blah. I haven't been gaming too much lately either, but it's because I'm busy with Chrono Trigger and school. Now here's an example of a great game: the animations were simple to make, letting them focus on the story. And the entire plot was carried by written dialogue and music. And I feel an amazing sense of accomplishment when I defeat the pink Nu. But anyway, I've come to the assumption that when a game is released, it is carried by journalists who give rave reviews about it and that makes thousands of people buy it, letting the game company make its millions.

Is the MacBook Pro the equivalent of a Windows laptop? Or notebook or whatever the hell they call them nowadays? I want one of those Apple laptops, but I'm another broke college student.  Frankly, the idea that people will shit on you because you have a certain electronic device is really stupid. I have a toaster oven in my kitchen, but people don't shit on me because it's a different brand from their own (or they don't have one because they're inferior to other kitchen appliances). And I might remind people that PC stands for Personal Computer, NOT Windows. And just because your personal computer can play games doesn't give you the right to sneer at people who can't play games on their personal computer.


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## Hop2089 (Jul 6, 2014)

PC gaming has not killed the industry in the slightest, in fact it has helped sometimes.

Mobile

West: It hasn't made a huge dent but if it continues, it could destroy the industry here. Unlike in Japan, there are mobile games that aren't pay to win and/or money pits.

East: We're at the point of no return, mobile has pretty put the industry there on life support and it's mostly due to the business models, currently there are no mobile titles that aren't a huge money pit or aren't pay to win. The worst thing is that the business models used aren't even legal under Japanese law, so players are basically putting money in lawbreaking CEO's and shareholders' pockets. So how do the developers get away with this? The issue here are the users, a lot of Japanese users don't think things through, most mobile games have tons of cute mascots, moe, and lolis and people buy into the games not knowing it's a huge obvious money pit that requires hundreds to be spent by each user and since the consumers aren't thinking straight they get their money fast and it doesn't help that almost all Japanese mobile games are cheaper than meth to produce and many can be more addictive than meth. The developers take advantage of the ignorance and churn these games out every week.

There is a second problem with mobile in Japan, oversaturation, the mobile market in Japan is primed for a crash due to severe oversaturation, since many devs are hopping on the mobile bandwagon and there is very little regulation on the quality and such so you can make absolute garbage and get away with it in Japan and it could still make some money. Once the masses start thinking straight again and realize what they are contributing to, it's not going to end well for mobile developers. The only downside is if mobile goes under this way, the East is done when it comes to gaming for good.

The third problem is predatory advertising and mobile's affect on the quality of other media, mobile by design is predatory, but the content of said games makes it 10x worse because you'll have people opening their hearts and wallets by the millions just to see more of that content. When it comes to mobile affecting other media it's a double edged sword, you have your [email protected] titles (Cinderella Girls and Million Live) helping promote and create new anime, manga, and even helping the console titles a little however you get shit like Fantasista Doll and most likely Girlfriend (Kari) which the mobile game resulted in the anime degrading in quality because the production staff decided that the viewer needs to play the game to enjoy the series.

Japan is on borrowed time when it comes to gaming, while there are good games coming out this gen, I believe this is the last generation for them.


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## the_randomizer (Jul 6, 2014)

calmwaters said:


> I hope this article gets more views. I've heard these arguments before many times, so there must be some truth behind them. I also believe indie developers make games that aren't sequels or ports, but nobody really cares about them; they care about big budget games like a certain shooting title, Just Dance, Mario, blah, blah, blah. I haven't been gaming too much lately either, but it's because I'm busy with Chrono Trigger and school. Now here's an example of a great game: the animations were simple to make, letting them focus on the story. And the entire plot was carried by written dialogue and music. And I feel an amazing sense of accomplishment when I defeat the pink Nu. But anyway, I've come to the assumption that when a game is released, it is carried by journalists who give rave reviews about it and that makes thousands of people buy it, letting the game company make its millions.
> 
> Is the MacBook Pro the equivalent of a Windows laptop? Or notebook or whatever the hell they call them nowadays? I want one of those Apple laptops, but I'm another broke college student.  Frankly, the idea that people will shit on you because you have a certain electronic device is really stupid. I have a toaster oven in my kitchen, but people don't shit on me because it's a different brand from their own (or they don't have one because they're inferior to other kitchen appliances). And I might remind people that PC stands for Personal Computer, NOT Windows. And just because your personal computer can play games doesn't give you the right to sneer at people who can't play games on their personal computer.


 

Here's the funny thing about the Macbook, it's just a laptop with a different OS on it, that's it. Apple will charge a premium for it because you're buying the brand itself, kinda like Nike shoes. The laptop/notebook isn't much different than one with a Windows OS on it   That's where the whole argument between PC and Mac gets skewed, people think that they're different when Macs are still PCs, the difference is in the OS, too bad most people will never see it that way


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## CathyRina (Jul 6, 2014)

the_randomizer said:


> Older Final Fantasy games > Those ones


 
Although after playing FFX I really dunno. It too has these streamlined corridors everyone hates in FF13 yet somehow FFX is praised and FF13 hated to death for it. And the Remaster is really a joke since its just a re-release without fixing any of the problems to make the game appealing to newer audience.


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## TemplarGR (Jul 6, 2014)

Let me start by saying that innovation is overrated. A game doesn't need to be innovative in order to be good, as long as it is well made and not a regression from previous good games.

The problem with modern gaming is that today decisions about games are made by people who don't really like games, and don't play them.

These people view video games as a commodity. Their only goal is to maximize profits in order to get their bonuses. If they could sell literally sh1t to gamers for 100$, they would in an instant. They don't care about their customers.

Actually, most big game publishers today deliberately make their games not-fun, because if a game is genuinely good it will last long, and the victim.... sorry the gamer won't need his next "fix" immediately, thus reducing potential income... They want you to buy into the hype, go pay 60$ for crap, get your 5-6 hour fix, then go buy the next one... They are like drug dealers...

If you think about it, it makes sense. They don't need to spend money and time to make a good game, all they need is good graphics and some bribes to "journalists" to hype their products.

That is why gaming is dying a slow death. Since i am a gamer for 25 years, i have actually experienced the decline because i was already mature enough when it began and i noticed it.

Take any genre, ANY, ignore the graphics and the technical limitations and focus on gameplay, content, and actual effort/polish or "soul" of a game. You will find that current games are worse than their predecessors...

The only big company still somewhat decent is Nintendo. And the only good console out there right now is the 3DS. This is not because Nintendo improved over the years, it didn't, but because it didn't decline much, since they have a traditional mindset... All others produce sh1t and only sh1t, with fancy graphics...

We may see a repeat of the Video game crush in the not so distant future, and it may be Nintendo that will save gaming again...


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## Arras (Jul 6, 2014)

calmwaters said:


> I hope this article gets more views. I've heard these arguments before many times, so there must be some truth behind them. I also believe indie developers make games that aren't sequels or ports, but nobody really cares about them; they care about big budget games like a certain shooting title, Just Dance, Mario, blah, blah, blah. I haven't been gaming too much lately either, but it's because I'm busy with Chrono Trigger and school. Now here's an example of a great game: the animations were simple to make, letting them focus on the story. And the entire plot was carried by written dialogue and music. And I feel an amazing sense of accomplishment when I defeat the pink Nu. But anyway, I've come to the assumption that when a game is released, it is carried by journalists who give rave reviews about it and that makes thousands of people buy it, letting the game company make its millions.
> 
> Is the MacBook Pro the equivalent of a Windows laptop? Or notebook or whatever the hell they call them nowadays? I want one of those Apple laptops, but I'm another broke college student.  Frankly, the idea that people will shit on you because you have a certain electronic device is really stupid. I have a toaster oven in my kitchen, but people don't shit on me because it's a different brand from their own (or they don't have one because they're inferior to other kitchen appliances). And I might remind people that PC stands for Personal Computer, NOT Windows. And just because your personal computer can play games doesn't give you the right to sneer at people who can't play games on their personal computer.


The main problem about them is that they're generally way too expensive for what they offer. They're not bad, just overpriced - just like he complains the new consoles are 
(honestly though the new consoles aren't even THAT expensive for the hardware they have IMO, and it's not really that different from last gen prices either.)


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## Foxi4 (Jul 6, 2014)

Contemporary consoles are not expensive and games are cheaper than they ever were _(not accounting for cheap-ass budget games for Speccys or other 8-bit computers which were mostly unplayable garbage coded by one teen programmer in a dark basement)._ If you look back at previous generations and account for inflation you'll quickly realize that gaming has never been as cheap as it is now. Back in the NES days getting a video game for $20 was a pipe dream and getting _a playable one_ was a success in and out of itself, having all the coding diarrhea released for the system in mind. $399 is not much to ask for, we've seen prices far higher than that.


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## calmwaters (Jul 6, 2014)

the_randomizer said:


> Here's the funny thing about the Macbook, it's just a laptop with a different OS on it, that's it. Apple will charge a premium for it because you're buying the brand itself, kinda like Nike shoes. The laptop/notebook isn't much different than one with a Windows OS on it  That's where the whole argument between PC and Mac gets skewed, people think that they're different when Macs are still PCs, the difference is in the OS, too bad most people will never see it that way


 
That's what I thought. I've always wanted one because I prefer laptops to desktops. But just what OS runs on those?


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## Ziko (Jul 6, 2014)

Ryukouki said:


> I'm only 21, 21 as of today, actually.  You make me feel like a grandpa like that.


I'm about to turn 25 this year myself. I'm starting to feel a bit old myself.


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## the_randomizer (Jul 6, 2014)

calmwaters said:


> That's what I thought. I've always wanted one because I prefer laptops to desktops. But just what OS runs on those?


 

Macbooks and Macs will run Mac OS, everything else will either be Windows 7 or 8/8.1, typically.


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## Ziko (Jul 6, 2014)

Hop2089 said:


> PC gaming has not killed the industry in the slightest, in fact it has helped sometimes.
> 
> Mobile
> 
> ...


 
The Japanese gaming industry didn't used to be this messed up but boy in recent years, I've seen the downward spiral. In fact, about the whole gambling thing, the laws were changed somewhat due to the gacha system that was in place with a lot of mobile games but it didn't curb some developers from doing it anyway. Also, I'm tired of seeing the same types of games come out of Japan as well like these hunting games such as Monster Hunter and Freedom Wars. They all just are reskins of the same BS and in fact it's debatable whether that genre of games will even survive in the long run because of the number of them. Also the JRPGs are getting pretty bad as well. I'm sick of seeing girls and more girls as well as these games that seem to blend in too many elements of various other genres and the end result is a hot mess.


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## emigre (Jul 6, 2014)

tl;dr: OP is a grumpy old man who wants us to get off his lawn


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## Foxi4 (Jul 6, 2014)

emigre said:


> tl;dr: OP is a grumpy old man who wants us to get off his lawn


Ryukouki confirmed Mr.Wilson.


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## Mario92 (Jul 6, 2014)

Only problem I have with this article is that WHY are you putting PC and Mobile on same sentence? From selection standpoint they differ completely and if game is released on both platforms PC is usually the one getting version of the game without microtransactions.

Otherwise I mostly agree on points and that maybe why PC popularity is still rising and steam is breaking user records time after time. This gen is just minor upgrade to last gen without backwards compatibility which isn't that exciting. Because developers need to make this gen consoles look good they are downgrading PC version to look almost the same, best example is Watch_Dogs but also other games like Murdered and Wolfenstein look almost identical and even have FPS locks in place.

Why does rise of PC gaming make overall gaming head in the wrong direction? PC does give best versions of the games, cheaper and with most options and makes them look and play even better with cheaper upgrade. Or did you perhaps mean the shitty Early Access and Greenlight programs on Steam?

People hate Early Access and Greenlight because they are missused and there's minimal competition to Steam so they don't have to do anything about it. That's why we get games that are buggy and unplayable. However it's again PC we are talking so we can use e.g. Enhanced Steam to look up metacritic user score, total count of positive/negative steam reviews, users playing now/peaks, direct link to PCGW for information how buggy the game actually is, big warning if game has extra DRM, etc. and also ability to completely disable Early Access titles on store! It also removes old games from new releases.
So even if there are decent amount of shitty games on PC and Steam, we have means to fight back at them!

Let's hope PC gains popularity and that Nintendo is still around making new fun ways to play the games.


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## cearp (Jul 6, 2014)

thanks for the ridiculous, 'hard hitting', quirky head line that really wants me to find out WHY 'gaming is dead'.
now, back to the real world.


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## omarrrio (Jul 6, 2014)

>Gaming is Dead
>Posts Consoles pictures
Pls leave


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## Ryukouki (Jul 6, 2014)

calmwaters said:


> I hope this article gets more views. I've heard these arguments before many times, so there must be some truth behind them. I also believe indie developers make games that aren't sequels or ports, but nobody really cares about them; they care about big budget games like a certain shooting title, Just Dance, Mario, blah, blah, blah. I haven't been gaming too much lately either, but it's because I'm busy with Chrono Trigger and school. Now here's an example of a great game: the animations were simple to make, letting them focus on the story. And the entire plot was carried by written dialogue and music. And I feel an amazing sense of accomplishment when I defeat the pink Nu. But anyway, I've come to the assumption that when a game is released, it is carried by journalists who give rave reviews about it and that makes thousands of people buy it, letting the game company make its millions.
> 
> Is the MacBook Pro the equivalent of a Windows laptop? Or notebook or whatever the hell they call them nowadays? I want one of those Apple laptops, but I'm another broke college student.  Frankly, the idea that people will shit on you because you have a certain electronic device is really stupid. I have a toaster oven in my kitchen, but people don't shit on me because it's a different brand from their own (or they don't have one because they're inferior to other kitchen appliances). And I might remind people that PC stands for Personal Computer, NOT Windows. And just because your personal computer can play games doesn't give you the right to sneer at people who can't play games on their personal computer.


 

Honestly, the Mac isn't as bad as people make it out to be. Price point aside, of course.  For what I use this thing for, it's amazing. I also might be slightly biased because I paid for this using work money, so that made it more of a pride factor too...


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## TyBlood13 (Jul 6, 2014)

osm70 said:


> Look at this:
> https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cxhs-GLE29Q


>Game Theory

That guy is such a fucking idiot


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## omarrrio (Jul 6, 2014)

TyBlood13 said:


> >Game Theory
> 
> That guy is such a fucking idiot


 
WHY DON'T YOU POST MORE <3


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## Hop2089 (Jul 6, 2014)

Ziko said:


> The Japanese gaming industry didn't used to be this messed up but boy in recent years, I've seen the downward spiral. In fact, about the whole gambling thing, the laws were changed somewhat due to the gacha system that was in place with a lot of mobile games but it didn't curb some developers from doing it anyway. Also, I'm tired of seeing the same types of games come out of Japan as well like these hunting games such as Monster Hunter and Freedom Wars. They all just are reskins of the same BS and in fact it's debatable whether that genre of games will even survive in the long run because of the number of them. Also the JRPGs are getting pretty bad as well. I'm sick of seeing girls and more girls as well as these games that seem to blend in too many elements of various other genres and the end result is a hot mess.


 
That's a problem with entire Japanese gaming industry, it's gotten to the point they need sex appeal to sell these days, while it does pump out gems like Senran Kagura and a few interesting ones like Bullet Girls, it's just not needed in most genres, the games with fanservice that are turning out good are already games with mindless gameplay and the fanservice is there for what it is and not tacked on and I suspect that the all female casts are another reason these sell better than normal.  The problem with fanservice in RPGs is it's almost always tacked on ruining the appeal of both concepts, they just don't make the battle system or other concepts centered around the fanservice like Tacticslayer.  Also, all these harem games have got to go, like anime, these are getting stale and I just wish I played one with all female cast and cut out the generic mc.


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## Mario92 (Jul 6, 2014)

Ryukouki said:


> Honestly, the Mac isn't as bad as people make it out to be. Price point aside, of course.  For what I use this thing for, it's amazing. I also might be slightly biased because I paid for this using work money, so that made it more of a pride factor too...


Apple products are good in way that they simply work. That's good, but not worth extra 1000€ in price and can't even play all games so nobody even bothers to try them out. Same with iPhone, they simply work but I can get much better phone for margin of the price when I just do some research. 
Apple products are expensive foolproof devices to put it out nicely and isn't exactly best choise for gamer. 



Hop2089 said:


> Also, all these harem games have got to go, like anime, these are getting stale and I just wish I played one with all female cast and cut out the generic mc.


 
Oh god yes! All it does in west make stereotypical thinking of eastern media even more stereotypical.


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## shadow theory (Jul 6, 2014)

Just to present a counter-point:

*THE LACK OF INNOVATION*
I think your piece really underscores how subjective this can be. You bemoan the 3DS 3D capability as "gimmicky" but champion the DS's dual screen setup. The DS also featured touch screen capabilities that were largely gimmicky and beyond the first couple of years the touchscreen became less of a gameplay feature and more of a way to nagivate menus. Hell, the second screen has become the home of menus and maps, which while handy, have small impact on the way the game plays. 

I also think it's pretty temporally subjective. When we went from Atari to Nintendo, from Nintendo to SNES (or likewise from Master System to Genesis) the big change was mostly in raw power. If anything the new consoles are consistent with the trend. 

*SEQUELS AND PORTS*
Again, at times this seems like it is affected by whichever generation you came into gaming. Sequels and ports have been an issue pretty much since the Super Nintendo generation. Large companies like Capcom, Konami, Nintendo, Sega have all pinned their caps on making iterations of their best selling series. At this point we were already on the fourth Final Fantasy, the seventh Megaman, etc. This isn't to say that even then they weren't repackaging games into collections. How many times did Sega give us Golden Axe before we got to the original Xbox release? Five times? Street Fighter 2, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo? 

*PRICE*
If you adjust for inflation actually all the consoles are on the high end of what consoles have cost in the past (Looking at US pricing). Add to this a climate like Steam where games can get steep discounts and gaming in a lot of ways has become cheaper than it used to be. 

*DLC and Microstransactions*
I will agree that these have effected games in a negative way. However DLC is not a new concept to gaming either. DLC is really the new form of delivering what used to be disk based upgrades. How many level packs came out for Doom? The bang for your buck used to be much better, especially considering sometimes these things were completely free, but they worked in the same manner. How many times was Doom reskinned and sold as different games? Chex Quest was a good example. 

So yes, DLC can make developers lazy and make them release games with missing content on purpose (See Street Fighter x Tekken) but it is not necessarily a new issue. 

*Conventions*
This is something that has changed in the face of the different way we get information. I remember as a kid getting issues of Ultra Game Players and reading all about the news from E3. Perhaps if you happened to live near the venue you got to go, but for the large majority of us, we later saw the news in the form of newsprint in magazines. The internet has allowed us to engage and interact with those wanting to show games and that connection has proven to be more popular--and so game companies have followed suit by shaping the way they market their games accordingly. I'd much rather see the games than hear about them later by someone else's recollection. 

Anyway, just a thought.


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## Kayday (Jul 6, 2014)

Money will always be why we get ports, remakes, sequels, prequels, etc. If people are still buying them, why should they stop making them? Change the subject from gaming to movies, sports, music, etc. You can say the same thing. Whatever makes the most money.

I'm self employed with a retail business. I would love to bring different items in my shop but they don't make me the most money compared to the old boring everyday items. I see game companies/developers in the same situation.

Bad thing about growing up. When you were younger, you had all the time to play all the games on every system but couldn't afford to buy them all. Now that you're older, you can afford all the games on all the systems but don't have time to play them. What a life.


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## CathyRina (Jul 6, 2014)

Gaming is far from dead.
In fact it's more alive than ever.
I don't see console gaming going for 4K in the next 10/12 years. Currently games struggle at increasing the graphical quality while maintaining the 1080p resolution with a good framrate. Look at MK8, it runs at 720p because they couldn't optimize it enough to look as great on 1080p with the same frame rate. And frame rate is very important because it can cause input lag thus making games harder and unfair.
Also I don't see how smartphones are gaming relevant. This platform is absolutely terrible for gaming.
The touchscreen uses isn't precise at all. Like when I try to play Plants vs zombies 2 on my Samsung galaxy 3, because I'm on a toilet, I often miss the button because, surprise, my thumb is fat and not transparent.
And I can't use a touchpen like if I do with DS, 3DS and Wii U because of the weird touchscreen technology that will react only to fingers and pens that have to be bought separately because its a phone and not a gaming console with gaming in mind.

The micro-transactions thing is really killing games though. Every time I hear a big company announcing a F2P title I think "yeah, another game that will have more micro-transactions than game value". If they want to make you buy a game after playing a good portion of it then why not making a Demo?
I really miss the old days when you simply download a Demo of a game which shows a part of the game that summarizes the whole game feature-wise into a 30 minutes gameplay presentation or even shows demo exclusive levels like in Jedi Knight 2. Most demos are just a lazy "play the first 30 minutes of the game" that in most AAA titles doesn't show all the features that a game has and give the player a wrong picture about the game. Heck, the European PSN store on PS3 doesn't even have a extra subcategory for Demos while the Japanese does. Why is that? there are also some games that in Japan have demos but in Europe don't. why? For example Rayman Legends has a demo on the Japanese Vita PSN but in Europe it doesn't even though Rayman origins has. This question is really killing me and Legends did demos right. If not for the Demo on the E-shop my friend wouldn't have bought it on Wii U.
Same goes to DLC's. I really don't like those. Devs should go back to Addons and Addins and create packs that justify the pricetag instead of small portions of content that combined together are more expensive than a addon would be or are more expensive than the game itself.


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## Tom Bombadildo (Jul 6, 2014)

>Upgrading PC components being cheaper

 

As an avid (and cheap) PC gamer, in the past 3 years including the original price of my original desktop, I've spent _~$700 (_soon to be $900-$1,000 when I replace my aging CPU) in _3 years_ just trying to keep up with PC gaming. And this is just budget crap, not top of the line i7 with a GTX Titan blah blah stuff. If ~$1,000 in 3 years is "cheaper" than a one time purchase of $300-$500 (not counting games/peripherals/hardware defects that call for replacements) that will potentially last 8+ years then I guess we're living in opposite world  

Also, PC gaming hasn't "harmed" gaming in general at all, no idea where you got that idea  PC gaming has been around longer than console gaming has and, if anything, _increased _gaming audiences throughout since PCs are more widespread nowadays, and while they aren't all going to have Titans and Intel i69's in it they're still capable of enjoying all the little indie games and junk that run on bare-minimum specs. 

Also, mobile gaming is doing so well because it's not marketed just for the "core" gaming audience, it's marketed towards anybody with a smartphone (read: a shit ton of people) that gets bored sometimes (read: a shit ton of people). It'd be like saying store-brand crap coffee is killing off all coffee because more people buy store-brand crap than premium Colombian. 

Regarding prices, gaming nowadays is relatively cheaper/the same as it was ages ago, especially when you account for inflation regarding the previous consoles. Plus we have all of these bundle sites and huge game sales and what-not that weren't ever around back in the day (at least, not to this extent) that makes gaming just insanely cheap. Hell, people nowadays have hundreds of games they will never play that they bought just because they were cheap as hell on Steam or were in a $5 bundle on Bundlestars/Humble Bundle. 

As for the rest of your points, I think it really depends entirely on opinion at some point and it'd just be silly to argue over them. "Innovation" doesn't automatically = good the same as lack of innovation =/= bad, sequels are a-ok as long as they bring something new to the table that expand upon the original game, ports are nice to help bring the game to every single gamer and while I think all these "HD re-releases" and stuff are pretty "lazy", it's still not a bad way to get across to the nostalgia audience or to even brand new gamers who haven't been around as long.


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## vayanui8 (Jul 6, 2014)

I wouldn't say gaming is dead, and I wouldn't blame the new generation for the medium's current shortcomings. Most of the current problems didn't just appear with the new generation, they started in the previous one. The casual games are certainly hurting the quality or products coming out of the industry, but they aren't entirely responsible. The previous generation started all of the trends that are currently hurting the industry. The ps3/360 started the whole HD remake craze, which was actually rather well received at first. People were glad to see some old favorites with nice new graphics. Now the developers want this success again, but they are being foolish and using games that are too recent. The wii showed how much potential money could be earned through the casual gaming market, and the mobile market then took advantage of that audience. The issue with the current generation isn't that this generation is killing the industry, its that its trying too hard to imitate the strategies that worked in the last one. People are tired or the cash grabs that started last generation, but the developers haven't realized it yet. They will catch on eventually, but that won't be for a few years just like it took them a few years last generation to optimize they're way to milk its ideas.

tldr: The issues started last generation and the devs run on a different cycle than the hardware does

As to the mac argument, I don't think the issue is with the macs themselves as with the sheep that refuse to accept the fact that they're device isn't 10x more powerful because it has a fruit on it. There are actual people in the world that believe that apple products have better specs than other products, and it gets on people's nerves. Since those people are rather vocal, people who understand the OS is the real difference tend to get on edge around mac fans and try to explain the facts in a rather rude manner.


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## goober (Jul 6, 2014)

These arguments are basically said every new generation...


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## GamerzHell9137 (Jul 6, 2014)

Black-Ice said:


> You're trying real hard to make me hate you


 

XIII is actually good ;OOOO;


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## TyBlood13 (Jul 6, 2014)

GamerzHell9137 said:


> XIII is actually good ;OOOO;


Don't joke about that


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## Ashtonx (Jul 6, 2014)

Been watching the market for ~20 years... there's been many times like this and articles about end of gaming for as long as i remember... it'll pass. But i get your point, there's been a lot of disappointments lately and dlc are annoying.. Well there's always piracy if the developer wants to fuck you up with over priced dlc. So long as piracy is alive publishers can't keep fucking up for too long or they'll start losing money. I'm guessing at some point pc/console gamers will wake the fuck up, and all that dlc and micro transactions crap will go back to cellphone market and facebook shit.

Dunno how long it'll take i guess maybe 5 more years ? assuming anti piracy fascist wont get too much power.

As for games I'm guessing this year will suck, next year will be a bit better, next 2-3 will prolly be awesome again.. problem is most of the best studios that actually make great shit release games at pretty much same time, and years in between are mostly covered by milking software.... or mediocre games. As for consoles - well i'm guessing this generation will be screwed... maybe i'm getting old but to be honest it's the first time i was not hyped for any of the current new generation consoles... dunno maybe once they have deccent library i'll be tempted but unlless sony/ms will figure something out to liven up the industry this generation will be fucked... i won't mention nintendo since wii u is already dead in my opinion... there's still some minor hope for 3ds but prolly only if nintendo won't screw up this one too...


Still thats for consoles, pc's are a different story and so are games.. I'm guessing current crisis will force the devs to wake the fuck up.


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## Jayro (Jul 6, 2014)

I would be more inclined to play on mobile platforms if big name developers would get off their lazy self-righteous asses and port their games to Android and have an ACTUAL STEAME STORE FOR MOBILE GAMING!!!!!


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## Clydefrosch (Jul 6, 2014)

i think you've just grown up and you're now a joyless adult D:


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## Ryukouki (Jul 6, 2014)

Clydefrosch said:


> i think you've just grown up and you're now a joyless adult D:



Wake up, eat, research, work, study, repeat...


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## ibis_87 (Jul 6, 2014)

Well, I started gaming when I was 3 years old, on the NES, brought to me by my father from Japan (for a reason still unknown to me it was a NES, not a Famicom). I'm 26 now and I don't feel like gaming is dead. 

First, you can never underestimate technical progress. Everyone likes good looking games. We still are to get 1080p at 60 fps. The graphics are not photorealistic yet. Games like The Order: 1886 and Uncharted 4 do impress. I began gaming with games that told me that a blue square on the screen was my character and that red square - his enemy. Today I boot Watch_Dogs on the PS4 and see an almost real city, where I can go anywhere and do virtually everything.

Than again, we are going to see new types of gameplay. There will be more non-linear and open-world games - the tech is there now. Online will be blending with offline play. VR is clearly the next big thing to happen. We now have a choice: to get a $60 AAA blockbuster or go play a $5 indy, both of which are interesting and entertaining in their own way. 

As for Nintendo, their flagship series are entering the era of HD. The quality is still there, but say Mario Kart is now pixel-perfect pretty. Zelda in now truly open-world - for a long-running Nintendo fun there's just so much to experience. 

There are problems, though. DLC and F2P are the first to come to my mind, but I never actually thought of them as an issue. I've never purchased a single piece of DLC and never felt my experience was somehow reduced. As for F2P, it's meaningless on a hardcore gaming market, as people there are serious about their hobby and are ready to pay relatively big money for good games. As for smartphones and tablets - well, it's primarily a casual gaming market, so I just pay little attention to it. I still get some yummy things though, like DQ8 or TWEWY on the go in 1080p on my Galaxy S5.

It's tougher for dedicated handheld platforms, but on the other hand the 3DS is healthy and is living on - the only problem is dedication and the willingness of the maker to support their system. The 3D tech might not have caught all the fire, but great games are still there. It's a worse story for the PSV, but it's a matter of Sony virtually dropping the support - a softer "Dreamcast scenario", which has little to do with the death of gaming.


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## Ashtonx (Jul 6, 2014)

i doubt seeing how i keep on playing old games a lot ;p

This year sucks ? who cares, there's still over 300 games in my backlog.

as for android porting - problem with android is that phones/tablets for this platform suck as gaming platform...
after using my tf300 for 2 years i pretty much gave up on android gaming.. I only use it to read or watch something now.
Rather i don't see a point for devs to even bother with platform where you can't even find a decent software since it's overloaded with crap on every corner (play store). Why would they invest shitload of money and have to compete with 100 cheap chinese farmville clones who seem to generate more money because they're "free to play".


Besides i'm guessing steam streaming service will cover that in near future ;p


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## tatripp (Jul 6, 2014)

I disagree with almost everything from this article. What I agree with is the section on microtransactions on DLC. Those suck (most of the time). DLC should be used to fix glitches that were not caught and to add more content. DLC should not be used to fix incomplete games for extra money.
Microtransactions just shouldn't exist.


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## XDel (Jul 6, 2014)

While I don't think that Nintendo is part of this problem, I do think that the problem really began to take hold with the 360 and PS3 when gaming began to become more main stream and began to market to different demographics than before.


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## Reecey (Jul 6, 2014)

My personal view on it all is? I don't think there will ever be a day as when the NES was first released and the very lucky few ones out there could actually go out and afford to buy one and take it home and play Duck Hunt or Super Mario Bros on the little 12inch, those days have gone in my opinion!!!. Lucky enough for me back then I won a competition in the Daily Express news paper, back when the NES was first released and also had a TV thrown into the prize, now my Mum & Dad managed to keep the box away until Christmas day for me, undercover  and when Christmas day came and I was totally convinced it had not arrived and I was so disappointed I was so upset my day was ruined but my parents sprang the surprise on me later on in that day and when me and my older brother set it up and played Super Mario Bros, first level for the first time, it was like WOW!!! and that moment in my mind will never be beaten and matched! Its a great little true story that I shall cherish for the rest of my life  also just wanted to say, the magic part about it all, I have still got the Daily Express letter today!


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## Flame (Jul 6, 2014)

gaming is dead, long live gaming.




you know what killed gaming for people?

life and greed... we want thing more and more these days.. the best looking chick, with that sports car with a 6 figure salary. in reality all we have is pokemon and our R4 clones.


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## AkiraCast (Jul 6, 2014)

This current gen is pretty much an extension of last gen, PS4 is PS3.5 and Bone is Xbox 360.5, Wii U could be argued to be Wii.5 but It's not even a console about the motion control anymore. Imo the Wii U is the only current gen console worth getting, it's the only one with games that are still all about gameplay and also no one gave Wonderful 101 the time of day and it's a brand spanking new IP


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## Saturosias (Jul 6, 2014)

I seriously don't understand all this hate for FFXIII --- there's so much flak given just because of its linearity, yet I don't see anyone pointing out other major flaws with it; the characters aren't really less "deep" than previous ones and the story is typical "save the world" _*like the other Final Fantasy games*_. The paradigm battle system was executed quite well. Likewise, I don't see why people keep saying that FFVII is the "best final fantasy of all time"... it has not aged gracefully, at all, and there have irrefutably been improvements on the franchise since those times.

People can complain all they want about the "just mash x and grind to win" but truthfully you could do that in any Final Fantasy games. Not living up to your expectations =/= "worst game ever".

... also, having "Reporter" status doesn't mean everything you write should be front-paged.


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## Mariko (Jul 6, 2014)

Ryukouki said:


> Anyone that knows me knows that I’ve been unfortunately busy with my life to seriously game anymore, but lately I have been feeling that I haven’t been missing much in the gaming world. I feel like gaming that I have known for the past decade is dead



Even though I did read your rant, I feel that this quote is as far as anyone would need to read to get the gist of it. Why? Here's how I would interpret the quoted text: I've had more important things to do in my life, as games aren't number one any more, and when I had some time off and nothing better to do, I decided to go back to gaming. Whoops! Looks like I'm not ten years old any more, and since I've been there and done that, nothing really gets me going. Here's what's wrong with the world, because there sure as hell is nothing wrong with me.

This happens a lot. People blame the industry, because what's easier than blaming someone for something that's not their fault? Seasoned gamers ale like drug addicts. They've been mesmerized by their drug of choice, and ever since then, they've been chasing that first high. The only problem is, it never comes. You look at young kids, having a complete blast, playing something you'd classify as "the worst games ever", and you wonder if you'll ever be that way again. Tough bananas. You won't be.

People focus way too much on sales charts, financial reports, metascores and all that bullshit. Did you even care who made the damn games, when you were having the time of your life playing games as a child? I know I didn't. Who gives two shits about Nintendo's financial situation? Pick up a game and play it. If you feel that there aren't any games out there that you feel drawn to, newsflash, you don't like games the way you used to. You can try and convince me that turd muffins are delicious, but I would never ever try one. Turd muffins aren't for me, and this is how I know I'm not a turd muffin person. Losing interest in games, and feeling that none of them appeal to me, would mean I'm not a games person.

The fact that you're 21 doesn't mean a thing. Maybe you've just experienced enough to start feeling the way you do about games? It's not the DLC, and it's not the console prices. It must be you, and it is you. Besides, you're obviously not the target audience, anyway. Neither are most of us. People keep saying Transformers movies are shit, but we're on a fourth one, and they've made millions upon millions of dollars. How did your favorite underground movie do? The one you feel deserves way more attention, because it more important than some CG robots. Exactly. Thank you. Good night.


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## CathyRina (Jul 6, 2014)

Saturosias said:


> I seriously don't understand all this hate for FFXIII --- there's so much flak given just because of its linearity, yet I don't see anyone pointing out other major flaws with it; the characters aren't really less "deep" than previous ones and the story is typical "save the world" _*like the other Final Fantasy games*_. The paradigm battle system was executed quite well. Likewise, I don't see why people keep saying that FFVII is the "best final fantasy of all time"... it has not aged gracefully, at all, and there have irrefutably been improvements on the franchise since those times.
> 
> People can complain all they want about the "just mash x and grind to win" but truthfully you could do that in any Final Fantasy games. Not living up to your expectations =/= "worst game ever".


 
It's not the worst game ever there is some quality value to it. The game looks pretty as fuck and those facial animations are really neato. unless we speak of the sequels of course, these don't even have the positives from XIII.
But the plot is really dumb. Our group of protagonists doesn't know what to do for about 60 Hours of the game and for the rest 20 hours decide to save the world by doing exactly what the enemy wanted them to do which leads cocoon to fall and some deus ex machina ragnarok bullshit turning into a crystal pillar. Characters like Hope and Sazh finished their tiny character development midgame and characters like Lightning, Fang, Vanille and Snow never had development to begin with. And in FFXIII the gameplay literally does everything for you. This could've been fixed if they only adding the "auto-choose" button on lower difficulties, but they didn't. They didn't even in the sequels. Because the game does give you the option to select manually. And if it was any other franchise people wouldn't care as much but we are talking about a big title like FF that sold well even though it's not great. And like with phill fish people probably only hate this game for its popularity.


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## WiiCube_2013 (Jul 6, 2014)

I've not lost all hope for the 8th generation consoles as they have physical games and potential to be great, although in terms of great games they are quite scarce unfortunately.

As it stands right now all my interest are on the games released for the Wii U and for what it's worth they're not really many, but they do provide hours of fun. I'm really hoping that in 2015/16 there'll be a must own game for me that's a PS4/XO exclusive.

Exclusives for me are what make a console worth owning.


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## Steena (Jul 6, 2014)

Problem is always popularity. Once a thing goes mainstream, and the general public gets an interest to it just to bandwagon onto the new cool thing, that's where the exploiting and the bullshitting starts to become a core part of the industry.

The aforementioned category is also much easier to exploit on every level. Most non-enthusiasts just care about being 'in' and exclusively play what is popular, which must mean is an indication of universal quality; they don't want to dedicate the time to do research or acquire a taste of their own through playing a multitude of titles across several systems. They just grab the skyrim and the cod because gamestop advertised them the day they went in, and call it a day.

What you need to do is just look for developers who aren't out there to scam people or think about profit first, and quality later. Infact, I'm betting that a lot of people who claim "gaming is dead" don't even touch certain games because of petty reasons such as poor marketing, poor exposition, no handholding, harsh difficulty, or poor polycount.


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## Foxi4 (Jul 6, 2014)

The music industry made huge strides in the digital switch and these days most people download their music - if they buy discs then it's either for the sake of collecting or using them in obsolete car radios. The same can be said about the movie industry which is gradually putting more and more emphasis on streaming rather than physical releases. Games will obviously follow - the trend is pretty plainly visible with services like Steam breaking sales records.

I still think fondly of collecting physical releases, but these days most of my games are digital downloads and that's not necessarily a bad thing - I'm not paying the _"Retailer Ransom"_, I enjoy a myriad of sales, I have all my games available at the touch of a button without even having to get up to switch discs or cartridges and I don't have to pay extra for the physical medium and all the costs involved in making and distributing it.

Whether we like it or not, digital distribution is the future and perhaps we should embrace it rather than fear it - at the end of the day, no physical disc drive or cartridge slot equals cheaper systems - every little helps in that regard. The trade-off are _"used games"_, but perhaps a system of trading digital purchases easily could be worked out eventually.


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## CathyRina (Jul 6, 2014)

Foxi4 said:


> The music industry made huge strides in the digital switch and these days most people download their music - if they buy discs then it's either for the sake of collecting or using them in obsolete car radios.


But in case of music in my opinion the benefit of switching to digital was that you can choose which song to buy. Why pay 15€ for a entire album if you only like 3 songs from it that cost 2€ individually?
Don't get me wrong I like digital distribution but I don't want physical to go away entirely. After all in steam you don't get to meet random people while purchasing a game and start a conversation about it and have social interactions.


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## Foxi4 (Jul 6, 2014)

XrosBlader821 said:


> But in case of music in my opinion the benefit of switching to digital was that you can choose which song to buy. Why pay 15€ for a entire album if you only like 3 songs from it that cost 2€ individually?
> Don't get me wrong I like digital distribution but I don't want physical to go away entirely. After all in steam you don't get to meet random people while purchasing a game and start a conversation about it and have social interactions.


To many people this is actually another _benefit_ of digital distribution - they don't have to interact with _anyone_ to get what they want. No having to go to the store to grab games, no standing in queue behind a dozen sweaty people in line who are as impatient and irritated as you are, no getting pissed off at the cashier for taking a hundred thousand hours chatting with one of his/her gaming friends at the register instead of serving you, everything available right there from your couch and playable within minutes _(since both the Xbox One and PS4 support playing games as they download)_. It's dreamy, really. If I want to socialize with people, I go to a pub, not a video game store.


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## CathyRina (Jul 6, 2014)

Foxi4 said:


> To many people this is actually another _benefit_ of digital distribution - they don't have to interact with _anyone_ to get what they want. No having to go to the store to grab games, no standing in queue behind a dozen sweaty people in line who are as impatient and irritated as you are, no getting pissed off at the cashier for taking a hundred thousand hours chatting with one of his/her gaming friends at the register instead of serving you, everything available right there from your couch and playable within minutes _(since both the Xbox One and PS4 support playing games as they download)_. It's dreamy, really. If I want to socialize with people, I go to a pub, not a video game store.


 
I'm a anti alcoholic so you'll never see me in pubs.


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## Social_Outlaw (Jul 6, 2014)

Foxi4 said:


> To many people this is actually another _benefit_ of digital distribution - they don't have to interact with_anyone_ to get what they want. No having to go to the store to grab games, no standing in queue behind a dozen sweaty people in line who are as impatient and irritated as you are, no getting pissed off at the cashier for taking a hundred thousand hours chatting with one of his/her gaming friends at the register instead of serving you, everything available right there from your couch and playable within minutes _(since both the Xbox One and PS4 support playing games as they download)_. It's dreamy, really. If I want to socialize with people, I go to a pub, not a video game store.


 
I hope physical releases stay for a long time because what if some people don't have the options we have like to get online and stuff? Also while I do agree on digital is the future, we still need to keep physical releases as a secondary option.


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## Foxi4 (Jul 6, 2014)

XrosBlader821 said:


> I'm a anti alcoholic so you'll never see me in pubs.


Bowling alley then. I don't know, a restaurant. Some place designed for social interaction, not necessarily a store. When was the last time you called up your friends and said "hey, let's go hang out in a store!" - probably never. A mall, maybe - malls have attractions and you can window shop all day, but a video game store? There's only so much you can see in one. I suppose RPG stores are an exception here since some have dedicated tables if you want to play a round or two, but that's not video games, so... 


Logan97 said:


> I hope physical releases stay for a long time because what if some people don't have the options we have like to get online and stuff? Also while I do agree on digital is the future, we still need to keep physical releases as a secondary option.


It should definitely stick around for all those players who like to collect physical releases, but I think the shift towards digital will continue to be as strong as ever simply because of the convenience.


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## Taleweaver (Jul 6, 2014)

Let me start with the most important thing here...

Ryukouki: happy birthday, man. Hope you have a great one. 


Now...as to the article...

I also wanted to link to that gaming theory video. It's pretty unfair to say you dislike the lack of innovation in one face while pointing out the innovation current generation does bring as a shortcoming. I've gotta say it: I like the wiiu controller. And while that kinect or the PS4's touchscreenbarthingy isn't my cup of tea, they still hold somewhat of a potential (okay, the kinect not so much). But the real innovation is on mobiles. In retrospect, a hit like angry birds was bound to happen sooner or later (hint: it used the touchscreen and the limited time players had to its full potential).

The sequels and ports...meh. I would understand complaints if this was at the cost of other games, but that's hardly the case. Yes, I'm aware that square enix has a lot of franchises they don't utilise, but I was actually talking about the FLOOD of indie games that come out. Even if the majority of those are clones and wonky ideas, there are some real gems in those (I recently discovered rogue legacy. It's awesome. And I can already name so many of those that I'm starting to wonder if I would even miss AAA studio games if they didn't released games anymore).
(besides...if it wasn't for me knowing and loving the incredible machines, I would probably never have given contraption maker a second glance)

Same goes for the price, by the way. And really...that is only a complaint because gaming is a luxury item in a global crisis. Gaming used to be much more expensive. And even then: nowadays, launch day is about the only day that a game goes at full price.

DLC and microtransactions...yeah. so? Just don't buy those games. There are still plenty of games that don't follow that model, of where the game isn't crippled without it.

Big gaming conventions...erm...I've never quite followed those, to be honest. E3 is a fun period, but I often only play games from them years later. It's certainly changing in favor of social media, but I think this is also caused by devs shooting themselves in the foot. You can only sell the sky so many times without people noticing something's wrong. In other words: too many developpers created a hype (or let the people do it) for a game that wasn't that great. The end result is...who or why would even want to know about games those first seconds? What's so special about the first one knowing about a game when it's hardly minutes before the rest of the world does?

I don't get the part where developers spend the resources on the wrong things. Or rather: I WOULD get that part if it wasn't for kickstarter.

PC gaming...erm...I've got to say I've got a double feeling with all those sales and giveaways. Gaming is certainly in a crisis right now, and devs certainly feel it. The transition into mobile gaming is sort of an outcome of that: it's easy to develop for and has a MASSIVE market. So yes, that part of the market is more likely to survive than the AAA-studios (no, I'm not kidding here).
The thing is: WHY is flappy bird making the huge money?
I haven't played it, but from what I see, it takes games back to its roots. And that could be the future of gaming. To explore what can be done with a tight or minimal budget that is yet fun to play.


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## CathyRina (Jul 6, 2014)

Foxi4 said:


> Bowling alley then. I don't know, a restaurant. Some place designed for social interaction, not necessarily a store. When was the last time you called up your friends and said "hey, let's go hang out in a store!" - probably never. A mall, maybe - malls have attractions and you can window shop all day, but a video game store? There's only so much you can see in one. I suppose RPG stores are an exception here since some have dedicated tables if you want to play a round or two, but that's not video games, so...


 
I was talking about meeting new people not meeting with friends. Going to bowling alleys and restaurants alone to meet new people is like wearing a forever alone shirt. I wouldn't like if a random dude would show up and asked me if he can join in unless it's a female.


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## Foxi4 (Jul 6, 2014)

XrosBlader821 said:


> I was talking about meeting new people not meeting with friends. Going to bowling alleys and restaurants alone to meet new people is like wearing a forever alone shirt. I wouldn't like if a random dude would show up and asked me if he can join in unless it's a female.


Y'know, with the contemporary trend to include social functionality into games, chances are that you don't even need to leave your house to find people with common interests. I mean, even the 3DS and the PSVita log other 3DS and PSVita systems once you pass by them - you can literally amass a list of friends that live near you just by walking around town.

I mean, I see your point, it's just that whenever I shop, other people butting into my business are annoying me rather than pleasing me with their presence. I even find it irritating when the shop assistants ask me if I'm _"looking for something in particular"_ or if they can _"help me" _- the answers are invariably _"I'm browsing (as you can plainly see)"_ and _"No, thank you (unless you mean help by leaving, in which case yes, you can)"_ - I just want to shop in peace! 

To conclude, I like being _in_ video game stores because y'know, I'm surrounded with games, but I don't necessarily want to be approached by anyone.


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## CathyRina (Jul 6, 2014)

Foxi4 said:


> Y'know, with the contemporary trend to include social functionality into games, chances are that you don't even need to leave your house to find people with common interests. I mean, even the 3DS and the PSVita log other 3DS and PSVita systems once you pass by them - you can literally amass a list of friends that live near you just by walking around town. I mean, I see your point, it's just that every single time I shopped in a store, other people butting into my business were irritating me rather than pleasing me. I want to shop in peace!


 
Oh yeah, the street pass function with hyper realistic Mii's that will tell you who from the hundreds of people I walked past today has a 3DS. I mean I meet Godot from Ace Attorney on a regular basis yet still I haven't seen anyone with weird goggles, white hair and a fetish for coffee. And on Vita they don't even use avatars and I doubt I'll ever meet someone named Killeraffe (Killermonkey). But at least Vita allows sending friend requests and messages to these random people, 3DS doesn't.


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## Foxi4 (Jul 6, 2014)

XrosBlader821 said:


> Oh yeah, the street pass function with hyper realistic Mii's that will tell you who from the hundreds of people I walked past today has a 3DS. I mean I meet Godot from Ace Attorney on a regular basis yet still I haven't seen anyone with weird goggles, white hair and a fetish for coffee. And on Vita they don't even use avatars and I doubt I'll ever meet someone named Killeraffe (Killermonkey). But at least Vita allows sending friend requests and messages to these random people, 3DS doesn't.


It doesn't? I was pretty sure that you could message people now via MiiVerse - maybe it's only reserved to friends only. As far as the whole avatar/anonymity thing is concerned, nothing's stopping you from sending the forementioned friend request saying that you're a gamer from the neighbourhood, you two just Street Passed and if he/she fancies a game of _*insert title*_, you're open to have some fun together. Online is a powerful thing, y'know - once you know the person better, you can meet in real life if you please. I do see your point, I'm just not that kind of a shopper. Approaching me in a store because I seem to have similar interests would result in creeping me out - _"thanks, that's very nice of you Mr.Total Stranger, I'll be on my way out now"_.


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## CathyRina (Jul 6, 2014)

Foxi4 said:


> It doesn't? I was pretty sure that you could message people now via MiiVerse - maybe it's only reserved to friends only. As far as the whole avatar/anonymity thing, nothing's stopping you from sending the forementioned friend request saying that you're a gamer from the neighbourhood, you two just Street Passed and if he/she fancies a game of _*insert title*_, you're open to have some fun together. Online is a powerful thing, y'know - once you know the person better, you can meet in real life if you please. I do see your point, I'm just not that kind of a shopper. Approaching me in a store because I seem to have similar interests would result in creeping me out - _"thanks, that's very nice of you Mr.Total Stranger, I'll be on my way out now"_.


 
No it doesn't. Which pisses me off the most about the 3DS.
On the Wii U you can message other people afaik but friends only. I dunno if you can send friend requests, probably yes but the 3DS version can't. You can't send people messages, even friends, since the shutdown of this Swap note app or whatever it's called in english. And on 3DS Mii verse you can only follow other people's post like some sort of twitter. Literally the only way to contact friends on the 3DS is to call them over to Animal crossing, which has a chat function, or Heroes of Ruin, a really bad game that uses DS quality voice chat. 
Nintendo probably did this because of these pedos using swap note to contact children but even then why can the video chat function on Wii U exist and a drawing mailing app gets the ban hammer? Nintendo is a mystery on it's own I guess. *insert please understand here*


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## Foxi4 (Jul 6, 2014)

XrosBlader821 said:


> No it doesn't. Which pisses me off the most about the 3DS. On the Wii U you can message other people afaik but friends only. I dunno if you can send friend requests, probably yes but the 3DS version can't. You can't send people messages, even friends, since the shutdown of this Swap note app or whatever it's called in english. And on 3DS Mii verse you can only follow other people's post like some sort of twitter. Literally the only way to contact friends on the 3DS is to call them over to Animal crossing, which has a chat function, or Heroes of Ruin, a really bad game that uses DS quality voice chat.
> Nintendo probably did this because of these pedos using swap note to contact children but even then why can the video chat function on Wii U exist and a drawing mailing app gets the ban hammer? Nintendo is a mystery on it's own I guess. *insert please understand here*


Nintendo is just being historically terrible with online services, they really need to step their game up and understand that a few isolated incidents don't mean that we should revert to the stone age because communication is dangerous. They've made huge strides with MiiVerse, but they're still lagging behind in other areas of player-to-player interaction.

I also just had a short chat with my girlfriend about the store things, here are the results:


> *Her:* Look, I see it like this. I will sometimes go into a store, wanting to buy a game but don't know which one to get. I overhear some stupid woman going to buy her kid a shitty game like brain training because it's educational... I say no, go for Mario Kart. It'll prepare them for the roads for when they're older. Or talking parents out of buying CoD for their kids because I'm evil.
> *Me:* XD I like the latter part, this pleases me.
> *Her:* Babe... I have done that at least 10 times... XD I even made 1 woman switch on parental controls on the Xbox to limit their kid's usage online to one hour a day.
> *Me:* I want to publish snippets of this conversation so hard now, you are the perfect social shopper. XD
> ...


She is my rock.


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## Subzero100 (Jul 6, 2014)

*"Gaming is Dead"*


Wow surprise there as i've know this since before the xbox 360, and its not just due to lack of innovation it's the actual games themselves. Anyone can say that call of duty is blame for this, but it's the endless sequels that people keep buying every year. I remember back when the snes was out we got virety with games like street fighter II, Mario world, star fox, f-zero etc. Where now such a thing doesn't exist anymore, and i don't think these companies care about real gamers which is apparent with the loads of crap you get compared to anything of real quality. I envisioned all of this way back when the ps2 came out, and that's why i stock piled every good rom i could find for all the real classic systems for just a occasion.....and now that day is here.


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## CompassNorth (Jul 6, 2014)

Sicklyboy said:


> My 90 hours on payday 2 over the past two weeks begs to differ ;o;





Foxi4 said:


> This is because Payday 2 is a relatively good game


 The game might be decent, but the developers and how they're handling the game only support the idea why gaming is "dead", not oppose it. 

Anywho I'm going to have to disagree with some points of the article which probably has been said, but tl;dr some of these post so fuq dat
I could be completely wrong here, but how innovative was the SNES from the NES, GBA to GB(C), ect?  You said current gen consoles didn't really do much innovating and focus on beefier hardware, but didn't some of the most beloved consoles do this as well?
(Also come on really? We both know the 2DS was not invented because the 3D was hurting's people eyes as it was purely optional. The 2DS is only capable of producing mono sounds, did having stereo sounds mess up people's ears? Did the Wii having gamecube ports and having internet connectivity bother people so much Nintendo had to make the Wii Mini?)  

The rest of the article I can understand your point.
Gaming isn't dead, it's just not what it used to be.
It's a industry where most companies have the profits in mind, not the consumer.


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## CathyRina (Jul 6, 2014)

Foxi4 said:


> She is my rock.


 
You have an awesome girlfriend.


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## vayanui8 (Jul 7, 2014)

XrosBlader821 said:


> No it doesn't. Which pisses me off the most about the 3DS.
> On the Wii U you can message other people afaik but friends only. I dunno if you can send friend requests, probably yes but the 3DS version can't. You can't send people messages, even friends, since the shutdown of this Swap note app or whatever it's called in english. And on 3DS Mii verse you can only follow other people's post like some sort of twitter. Literally the only way to contact friends on the 3DS is to call them over to Animal crossing, which has a chat function, or Heroes of Ruin, a really bad game that uses DS quality voice chat.
> Nintendo probably did this because of these pedos using swap note to contact children but even then why can the video chat function on Wii U exist and a drawing mailing app gets the ban hammer? Nintendo is a mystery on it's own I guess. *insert please understand here*


If you pass by someone multiple times you can send them a short message, but its not much.


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## CathyRina (Jul 7, 2014)

vayanui8 said:


> If you pass by someone multiple times you can send them a short message, but its not much.


 
Yes, a personal greeting that will be send the next time you meet if you meet again.
Also not long enough to be useful even if you meet again.


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## vayanui8 (Jul 7, 2014)

XrosBlader821 said:


> Yes, a personal greeting that will be send the next time you meet if you meet again.
> Also not long enough to be useful even if you meet again.


Didn't say it was good, just said it technically existed lol


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## Foxi4 (Jul 7, 2014)

Yeah, Nintendo needs to revamp their whole approach towards player-to-player communication. Sure, allowing players to communicate with each other over their system opens the doors to some abuse _(as any method of communication does)_, but the convenience of millions should not be sacrificed because of the abuses of a few - if anything, they just need to implement a good reporting system and hire a proper moderating team to look through reports of suspicious activity. I'm sure law-breakers of all sorts use cellular phones, but you don't see mobile providers shutting their doors because of it.


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## vayanui8 (Jul 7, 2014)

Foxi4 said:


> Yeah, Nintendo needs to revamp their whole approach towards player-to-player communication. Sure, allowing players to communicate with each other over their system opens the doors to some abuse _(as any method of communication does)_, but the convenience of millions should not be sacrificed because of the abuses of a few - if anything, they just need to implement a good reporting system and hire a proper moderating team to look through reports of suspicious activity. I'm sure law-breakers of all sorts use cellular phones, but you don't see mobile providers shutting their doors because of it.


Its like how they disabled swapnote because people were using it to send porn. They're too afraid of hurting they're family friendly image so they attempt to solve it in a way that's harmful to the consumer. They should think of an permanent solution instead of continuing to put it off with weak temporary solutions


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## Sicklyboy (Jul 7, 2014)

CompassNorth said:


> The game might be decent, but the developers and how they're handling the game only support the idea why gaming is "dead", not oppose it.[...]


 

I'm assuming you mean on the amount of DLC.  Yes, DLC is everyone's favorite thing in the world, paying for extra content that doesn't ship with the game.  More money on top of what you already spent.  If the DLC is quality, like a good few of them are for Payday 2, I don't mind it.  You know, years and years ago we had these things for games called "expansion packs".  They were these things that you'd go to the store and pick up usually about a year after the game was released, they required the base game to play, and they often cost about what the original price of the game did sometimes, but they added a metric buttload of content.

DLC is last decade's expansion packs.  You're still buying extra content for the game, although in much smaller chunks.  The price is (usually) much smaller to go along with that.


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## Foxi4 (Jul 7, 2014)

vayanui8 said:


> Its like how they disabled swapnote because people were using it to send porn. They're too afraid of hurting they're family friendly image so they attempt to solve it in a way that's harmful to the consumer. They should think of an permanent solution instead of continuing to put it off with weak temporary solutions


Pretty much.

Messenger does not work properly and can be abused, this is a problem.
Shut down the messenger.
There is no problem.
I wonder what the fan reaction would be like if they solved the Wii U issue in the same fashion.

Wii U doesn't sell well aside from the occasional spike due to a first-party release, this is a problem.
Shut down production.
There is no problem.
You can only hide your head in the sand for so long, the reality always catches up with you in the long run. Obliterating a service does not fix the service's problems, it just leaves a void.


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## CathyRina (Jul 7, 2014)

Foxi4 said:


> Yeah, Nintendo needs to revamp their whole approach towards player-to-player communication. Sure, allowing players to communicate with each other over their system opens the doors to some abuse _(as any method of communication does)_, but the convenience of millions should not be sacrificed because of the abuses of a few - if anything, they just need to implement a good reporting system and hire a proper moderating team to look through reports of suspicious activity. I'm sure law-breakers of all sorts use cellular phones, but you don't see mobile providers shutting their doors because of it.


 
It's funny though because I remember ninty fanboys being totally fine with removal of swap note because "oh the poor children". Ninty totally didn't had any other way to solve the problem.
I really hope that the hacking scene will finally reach a point there flashcards are usable on updated systems because a chat/PM homebrew is what the 3DS needs.
Until then we can use Social Neko which is 3DS specific website with browser chat but I haven't tried that out yet. It probably wont be as good as a homebrew could be. I remember using facebook chat on 3DS once and 3DS has this stupid pre smartphone text based facebook. The only CSS design is the banner and in some languages it don't even work.


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## Foxi4 (Jul 7, 2014)

XrosBlader821 said:


> It's funny though because I remember ninty fanboys being totally fine with removal of swap note because "oh the poor children". Ninty totally didn't had any other way to solve the problem. I really hope that the hacking scene will finally reach a point there flashcards are usable on updated systems because a chat/PM homebrew is what the 3DS needs. Until then we can use Social Neko which is 3DS specific website with browser chat but I haven't tried that out yet. It probably wont be as good as a homebrew could be. I remember using facebook chat on 3DS once and 3DS has this stupid pre smartphone text based facebook. The only CSS design is the banner and in some languages it don't even work.


I don't think homebrew can fix this problem efficiently - the great majority of users do not use homebrew and don't own hacked systems or flash carts. You'd have better luck with the website, but that's also terribly niche. The problem needs to be addressed by Nintendo and PM'ing functionality should just be integrated into the OS, there's next to no reason why it shouldn't be there. We live in the 21st century, our consoles are online almost 24/7 and we don't get the option to communicate with one another without resorting to external means of communication? That's embarrasing.

Anywho, let's not derail the thread and head back to the subject at hand - gaming and why it's supposedly dead. I don't want Ryu hunting me later.


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## DrOctapu (Jul 7, 2014)

PC gaming's going pretty well, what with virtual reality, 4k, and the huge number of amazing looking indie games coming out soon. Consoles are definitely on their way out though, this generation is mediocre as fuck.


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## chyron8472 (Jul 7, 2014)

I agree that the reason why you think gaming is dead is because you don't make use of Steam or GOG. Actually, many Steam and GOG games are, in fact, also available on Mac. But yeah, you're not a member of the glorious PC gaming master race, and that's the _real_ problem.

Besides, this new console generation has only just started, and you might change your mind when Nintendo gets their act together and actually releases games for their current console.


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## Ryukouki (Jul 7, 2014)

Foxi4 said:


> Anywho, let's not derail the thread and head back to the subject at hand - gaming and why it's supposedly dead. I don't want Ryu hunting me later.


 
Too late. I'm outside your door.


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## Roamin64 (Jul 7, 2014)

You forgot to mention that most games come out incomplete and buggy, and we end up being beta testers waiting on patches to fix launch problems.


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## NakedFaerie (Jul 7, 2014)

I"m a gamer that started with the Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC464 so I've been gaming for more than most of you here have even been alive.
There are lots of reasons I see that make Gaming not as good as it was 10 to 20 years ago.
The main reason I see is money. The game developers are no longer in it to make a good game they are in it for the money. You see with games like Battlefield and Call Of Duty as they aren't good games they are just money makers. I do like COD and I for some unknown reason buy Battlefield but I hate it. I guess I just hope it will be better than the last but it never is. But COD has a great story and I think its got good gameplay compared to Battlefield its a lot better but the way they price it then add extra DLC and In App Purchases make it a huge money maker and give it a huge pricetag.
I remember years ago we all complained about the price of games here in Aus when they reached $120AUD. They ended up dropping to $80 BUT they added high priced DLC and made a part of the game that DLC so when you paid for the full game it ended up more than $120 so to you it looks like your paying for a cheaper game at $80 but you buy the DLC so it now costs you $150. See, you are a huge sucker and giving them money they DONT deserve.

I remember all those LAN sessions and online multiplayer sessions of Quake 2. That was an awesome game and online was so much fun. As you can see by my avatar thats the Quake 2 skin I use. A Naked Faerie. Back in the Quake 2 days nobody would shoot a naked woman so I won lots of games. These days they will happily shoot anyone wearing anything or nothing. People dont care for skins. It doesn't matter if your a fat naked woman or a tall robot or hitler you will all get shot in the back. Online gamers are no longer in it for the fun, they are in it for the stats. They want to level up quickly and be number 1. Back in Quake 2 I didnt care if I was number 1 or last I had fun, I enjoyed gaming with friends or online. I liked to see what skins people chose and the mods they did. My friend was a fat naked woman and he won lots as he would run up to someone and they wouldn't be moving as they were laughing  at the fat naked woman. It was hilarious so see him running past then see all the other players just stop.

So its not just the game devs and their money hungry ways its also the gamer that has killed gaming.
Even singleplayer games have been ruined by society. What is with all the gays wanting everything to be gay? The last I heard is that Tomatchai (I know I spelt it wrong) game as its got only straight people in it and the gays are complaining there are no gays in it. F! OFF! ENOUGH! Get back in the closet and leve the game devs make good games not gay games. If they want to make it with straight people its THEIR choice. If you dont like it then DONT BUY IT! F! OFF!
Thats 1 reason why I love Postal 2. It does have gay people in it, in a gay bar. And what is the first thing I do in that game? Fill the bay with petrol and set it alight and burn those F***ers. I hate them trying to push their filth onto everything.

Another thing gamers are doing is paying for DLC. STOP IT! If you dont buy it then they will stop it. If we all stopped buying DLC they will make it free like it started out as and how it should be. And who likes paying twice for anything? You brought the disc so you have the DLC on the disc already then you have to pay to play that part? WTF? If its on the disc it should NOT be locked down as you've already paid for it. And DLC should NOT be made alongside the game, thats called part of the game and should be on the disc. 
DLC started out as a thank you for buying the game and here is a big of support from the devs who listen to its gamers and wants to continue the game. Its usually made AFTER the game is released and free as a thanks.
These days DLC is made and announced when the game is announced. THATS WRONG! and proof they are after more money. When Assassins Creed 4 was announced about 1 month later they announced the DLC. The game still had about 9 months before release and they are already saying about DLC.Thats whats wrong with it, proof the devs no longer care for gamers and only in it to make money.

So to end my speech its not just money hungry devs its also YOU that is to blame. STOP buying DLC, STOP buying Battlefield and COD, START enjoying gaming. Prices will drop if you force them, online gaming will get more fun if you stop and look and start enjoying it.


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## NakedFaerie (Jul 7, 2014)

Roamin64 said:


> You forgot to mention that most games come out incomplete and buggy, and we end up being beta testers waiting on patches to fix launch problems.


 
I forgot about that. We are buying beta games these days. Proof is Day0 patches. If it was finished and tested there would be no need for a Day0 patch. Its not like they have many devices to make it for, its the exact same console so no good reason to release it in beta. Thats also proof they are after money releasing it to the public to be free beta testers and get it out at the announced date not at finish of making the game.
Perfect example is Kilzone Mercenaries on Vita. It came with a 1.5GB day0 patch proving the cartridge is a beta.


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## Subzero100 (Jul 7, 2014)

Woah are u writing in response to the topic or typing out your essay??


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## Sefi (Jul 7, 2014)

How did console prices "seem more reasonable" to you?  With inflation they are close to what today's consoles sell for (on average).  Playstation today would cost MORE than Playstation 4.

http://kotaku.com/36-years-of-console-prices-adjusted-for-inflation-1485353267


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## Pedeadstrian (Jul 7, 2014)

I would reply to NakedFaerie, but I'm guessing his post will be deleted fairly soon, so I'm just gonna go ahead and skip that trainwreck.

Ryu, you're getting older. That's pretty much it. I know a lot of people have already said that, like they've said that the problems you mention have been in existence for longer than you think. Of course, there are problems with gaming nowadays. There always have been, and there always will be. Some people don't like oldschool platformers that require you to be at the exact edge before you jump or you die over and over. That's fine. Some people don't like games that are mostly if not wholly QTE-based. That's fine, too. Gaming, like everything else, follows trends. You need to either adjust with the gaming trends, give up gaming, or get some Prozac.

P.S. I hate coming across these articles late. My opinions are always written already by people like Foxi and Gahars. Damn you two...


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## zeello (Jul 7, 2014)

NakedFaerie said:


> I forgot about that. We are buying beta games these days. Proof is Day0 patches. If it was finished and tested there would be no need for a Day0 patch. Its not like they have many devices to make it for, its the exact same console so no good reason to release it in beta. Thats also proof they are after money releasing it to the public to be free beta testers and get it out at the announced date not at finish of making the game.
> Perfect example is Kilzone Mercenaries on Vita. It came with a 1.5GB day0 patch proving the cartridge is a beta.


wow and this right after hearing that AC Liberation has mandatory AR mini games. The Vita full retail library just keeps looking like more and more of a mess.

Also the saying is "a delayed game is eventually good but a bad game is bad forever"
It seems game companies do not take this to heart. They may be in it for money but they do not seem to realize the extent they genuinely seem to be destroying their own brand by systematically releasing unfinished games every time.


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## chyron8472 (Jul 7, 2014)

NakedFaerie - I'm not sure that people _are_ going to stop.

A lot of people complain that GameStop is primarily responsible for the used game market taking money out of the hands of console game developers. The _truth_ is that it is the fault of people who sell their games to GameStop for pennies on the dollar.

The game cost $60 when you got it. If you sell it to GameStop, you'll be lucky to get $10 for it. SO DON'T DO IT. But people will do it anyway because they are foolish. It's not GameStop's fault for capitalizing on their foolish spending habits.


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## zeello (Jul 7, 2014)

I was considering trading in the 8gb memory stick at GameStop straight out of the box, problem is they'd make my sign up for some pro rewards bullshit that I don't want to deal with. And I did sign up once but they got it wrong or something. And the last time I traded games they gave me a puzzlingly low amount. Like I expected low but this was low.

I liked GameStop because you could get PSP games for 3 bucks. They sell a lot of cheap games so I like them in principle.

One problem is that GameStop tries to push preorders on everyone. Even for digital games you can preorder. What the hell is that. And peoole actually do it. Gaming is a joke. People act like "oh I bought the disc I deserve all the content, not pay for dlc", but that's suggesting that a game is a tangible object or that gaming is about things. Its not. Buying a game is akin to going to a concert. It's a social thing in a way rather than a tangible product.


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## hollowpnt (Jul 7, 2014)

Sure is the popular thing to do to call industry or platform "dead" nowadays, especially since gaming has reached an all time high in popularity. If you want to complain about the lack of innovation so be it, but "dead" is a very inaccurate word to define the current state of the industry.


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## assassinz (Jul 7, 2014)

Gaming isn't dead. It's just that there aren't too many good titles worthy of our time and money on any of the latest consoles. 

Gaming is more mainstream these days with every man, woman, and child toting around a smartphone, but I feel there aren't enough new game ideas being introduced. Just new technology with higher specs but lacking quality titles.

But I guess age does have something to do with opinion. For the youngsters, the latest consoles and games are some of their first experiences with gaming genres and styles the adults have seen done before. So the younger gamers aren't as critical, but they also don't have as much expendable income as us "experienced" gamers.


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## gifi4 (Jul 7, 2014)

I absolutely loved The Last of Us. The game was definitely worth my money.
I've heard the DLC is just as great. Did I buy it? No.

Most times, I can't justify the purchase of DLC unless it's full blown like the GTA IV expansion DLCs.


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## CompassNorth (Jul 7, 2014)

Sicklyboy said:


> I'm assuming you mean on the amount of DLC. Yes, DLC is everyone's favorite thing in the world, paying for extra content that doesn't ship with the game.


Yes, and no.

I'm not really sure when you picked up Payday 2, but when the game released it stirred up a lot of controversy.

Overkill promised things that were not included in the game upon release.
One of these was safe house customization, as you know when you start up the game and first go to your safe house Bain informs you that upgrades will viable in the future. The devs did say that safe house customization would be in the game, but later went back on their words saying they never promised the feature angering many fans. 
During the cloaker updater Overkill thought it'd be nice to insult those who wanted the feature they promised.
"I got your safe house right fucking here, now go to the forums and cry like the little bitch you are"

Another one was having more weapons such as sniper rifles and more shotguns, but those were not released in the game, instead they came out as DLCs.

The games release was surprising to a lot of people due to the fact that it came out straight after beta. Consumers/Players were confused and furious and they decided to take this out on the forums since it wasn't that different from beta., but all they got were bans. Even the non-hostile consumers/players were banned. 

And beta/non-DLC Payday 2 feels like an incomplete game, the game was either rushed or the developers are liars, and now they're relying on DLCs to get the experience. They said the game would only have 5 DLCs, we have 7 paid ones. So while I don't have a problem with DLCs, I dislike how Overkill is using them to get the experience that they promised the consumers/players would get in the base game. 

And then there are the minor things such as the "exclusive items" from the higher priced criminal edition that turned out to be...not exclusive! 
And then there's overkill using the community to save as much money as they can such as asking them to translate and do voice acting for the game.


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## Vipera (Jul 7, 2014)

What was the big innovation between PS1 and PS2? The high definition was not that high, yet it had great games.
If we had games that don't take many risks nowadays is because gaming has become too much of a big deal to make false steps. And when you do you are going to get trashed anyway, or no one will play your game but they will sure as hell be bitching about how great you were 10 years ago when the game no one played came out (hey, just like art!).
I see the price as fair as in the past. My uncle bought the PS1 for around 1.000.000Lir (that's around 568Eur) when it first came out. The games were cheap (from 30.000Lir to 50.000Lir -15Eur to 25Eur-) because CDs were cheap, and if you wanted a SNES game you had to pay triple that price.
As for the DLCs...really? You are going to take a music game as an example? That's probably the only genre that deserves to have DLCs!
If you want to see innovation, there are too many risks involved in both hardware and software. And that's entirely most of the consumers' fault, as they would bitch about a game when it comes out, pirate it, bitch some more, and after half a decade they say it's the best thing ever. How many copies do you think Xenoblade, Solatorobo, Madworld and The World Ends With You sold? With so many praises from the internet you'd think they made more money than Half-Life 2, but in reality we were lucky enough they were released outside Japan in the first place.


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## CathyRina (Jul 7, 2014)

Vipera said:


> How many copies do you think Xenoblade, Solatorobo, Madworld and The World Ends With You sold? With so many praises from the internet you'd think they made more money than Half-Life 2, but in reality we were lucky enough they were released outside Japan in the first place.


 
I really like to see where you live because where I come from literally no ass is talking about these games.


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## Blazer (Jul 7, 2014)

^Xenoblade and TWEWY are definitely critically-acclaimed games

you have to be on "the right part of the internet" to hear about them but still

that aside

I disagree with the first post

gaming might seem like it's dying to you and it's probably not nearly as good as it used to but there are still some good things coming out here and there

just don't expect systems with as great line-ups as the PS2, PS3, Wii, and DS anymore, because the costs to make games is significantly higher and the way of making them has changed (focus on money over gameplay etc. unless you're into indie games which often lack the budget, experience, or execution to actually be good--not entirely true but there are just as few gems in indie games as there are non-indie games, lol)

in other words, IMO gaming is not dead it is just not in any kind of golden era anymore as innovation has hit somewhat of a stump and developers/business priorities and decisions... aren't going so well, to say the least (though if you ask me the 3DS has got some great games, the Vita is a great piece of hardware that could be even more awesome if it had more games, and the Wii U already has a great line-up of games and is about to get a bunch more amazing ones)


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## pasc (Jul 7, 2014)

I mostly agree on this....

The GBA was the last handheld I enjoyed (truly).... 

The devs aren't trying anymore, and smartphones are the biggest killer ever 

RIP gaming.


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## R4Liam (Jul 7, 2014)

I know it's been said already a few times but I'd say that the curse of growing up has something to do with it, and you're slightly younger than me so it makes me sad to notice I'm not the only one feeling that vibe. The way I'd put it is it's like visiting a theme park you used to love as a kid and finding all the rides have changed and they were a lot bigger and faster back in the day (of course they looked bigger because you were smaller). When we are young we are experiencing brand new things for the first time and they are a pleasure to our senses but as we get older we kind of become anaesthetized to it all. 

That being said I can't stand all the DLCs that are unjustified and the micro-transactions that plague the mobile gaming systems (I made a thread about it the other day actually). E3 was so boring for me this year and I won't be getting a 'next gen' gaming console any time soon. Currently I am invested in the PC gaming side more than anything, prices can be great; look at the Steam summer sale and a little site called G2A.com which gives you the option to give some of your money to charity. I bought Burnout Paradise for like £1 on that site! I still have big hype for some games like the Ruby and Sapphire remakes and I even hold a torch for the new CoD coming out! I know!

But yeah, I kind of agree with the OP on this one.


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## Arras (Jul 7, 2014)

NakedFaerie said:


> I forgot about that. We are buying beta games these days. Proof is Day0 patches. If it was finished and tested there would be no need for a Day0 patch. Its not like they have many devices to make it for, its the exact same console so no good reason to release it in beta. Thats also proof they are after money releasing it to the public to be free beta testers and get it out at the announced date not at finish of making the game.
> Perfect example is Kilzone Mercenaries on Vita. It came with a 1.5GB day0 patch proving the cartridge is a beta.


To be fair, they can do testing, then decide it's good and ship it, but when it's being manufactured (which can take months) they may find more bugs (because it's IMPOSSIBLE to find all bugs nowadays. Don't delude yourself into thinking it's simply laziness. Games and all software really have gotten so complex with so many different interactions that it's impossible to test every single case.) and quickly release a patch before the game gets to the general public. If anything that's a good thing.


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## yuyuyup (Jul 7, 2014)

Yeah the Wii U is just a Wii with a tablet controller, that's brilliant


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## Bimmel (Jul 7, 2014)

Hm.. I'll make this short. The things you speak of are real and for the most part truth.

As I read your article it reminded me a bit of myself. A year ago there was a point were I thought I could not get into gaming again. And until today I don't think I am. Not really at least. Before I could play for hours, not getting tired of it. Today I play 1 or 2 hours and I have enough for the week. Something changed - not only with gaming - with me. That's nothing bad 'cause I can use my time for something else, but thats how it is I guess.

Or are you sure that you did not change over that time?


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## ibis_87 (Jul 7, 2014)

I'd pour a little oil in the fire and say that modern gaming is what most gamers want it to be. A lot of people in the theread are crying out for innovation - but look at the sales figures. CoD games sell a bunch. NFS games sell a bunch. FIFA games sell a bunch. "Dudebro" hits sell a bunch. Innovative games may sell well or may sell quite poorly - look at all those innovative games that have flopped, like The Wonderful 101, Hotel Dusk, Madworld . Years ago, after the 80-s game industry crises innovation was sparked by people's refusal to buy clones of several game concepts on a whole lot of different platforms. We do not see this now - those big-budget hits we are cusring still sell a lot. So, it's just what the majority wants. We are the "old school minority", and thet's just it. Motion control gaming, the only real innovation of the last generation was not accepted. Stereoscopic 3D was not accepted. But HD-graphics were. An Average gamer can never dish $400 for a console that doesn't have a CoD game, a FIFA game, a Battlefield game or an Assassin's Creed game or a Mario platformer. There's no real demand for innovation - that's why it has mostly gone indy.


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## Guild McCommunist (Jul 7, 2014)

REMEMBER THE 90'S??????????

GAMES WERE SO MUCH BETTER IN THE 90'S.

GAMES NOWADAYS JUST AREN'T AS GOOD. THE NINETIES.

REMEMBER POKEMON???????????????????

REMEMBER OCARINA OF TIME??????????????????????????????????????????????

THE NINETIES WERE SO GOOD.

Holy shit this wank.

Gaming nowadays has a lot of shit but it always has. We just don't want to think about when it was bad ten years ago or twenty years ago.

Play the games you like, don't play the ones you don't. Even then, it's a hobby, if it dies I'll find something better to do with my time.


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## osaka35 (Jul 7, 2014)

It seems like pretty much everything you're saying can apply to the film industry as well, yet I don't see anyone saying "movies are dead".


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## kirokun (Jul 7, 2014)

Apparently gamers don't want innovation... they say they do but usually disregard it once available.
Basically gamers don't know what they want.


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## Black-Ice (Jul 7, 2014)

Guild and Osaka's posts summarize my thoughts perfectly,


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## CathyRina (Jul 7, 2014)

osaka35 said:


> It seems like pretty much everything you're saying can apply to the film industry as well, yet I don't see anyone saying "movies are dead".


At least movies don't have DLC's an microtransaction


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## Deleted User (Jul 7, 2014)

Because a Developer sure wants to cater to that Hardcore audience, rather then the money pile of 12 year olds and their parents. Why would a business, out to make money (because it's a fucking business), make vidya games targeted to an outdated audience of neckbeards?


Also, "Gaming on PC" is totally dying. It's not like, Valve have literally started profiting off virtual (free) trading cards. And how do people earn trading cards? *Buying games and playing them.*
Gaming is going nowhere, it's more profitable then ever.


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## joepassive (Jul 7, 2014)

you wrote all of that because you are upset you can't get these console, because ur a college student.
when you leave college, go get a job and buy 'em all.
i'm a nintendo fan, so i own a 3ds and a wii u. why? because i can, financially.
stop whining, god.


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## osaka35 (Jul 7, 2014)

XrosBlader821 said:


> At least movies don't have DLC's an microtransaction


 
Very true. Though one could argue that movies you can get in 3d, or 3d IMAX, by paying more are parallels. I like 3d IMAX movies, so comparing it to micro-transactions make me a sad panda, but I can see it.


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## Hells Malice (Jul 7, 2014)

Welcome all to this weeks installment of: Gaming is dead.

Seriously, like every goddamn week.
It's getting old guys. Gaming isn't going to die, get over it.


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## Foxi4 (Jul 7, 2014)

Guild McCommunist said:


> REMEMBER THE 90'S??????????
> 
> GAMES WERE SO MUCH BETTER IN THE 90'S.
> 
> ...


Pretty much. This is the old grandpa attitude of _"ah, X used to be so much better"_ when it only seems like it because you remember the good parts of it. People dealt with just as many, if not much, much more shitty games. LJN? Crappy 5 quid Amstrad/Speccy/C64/Amiga/Atari games that barely worked? These were the nightmares of the early nineties. All that's really changed is the technology which is infinitely better and the scale which is far larger. I bet million bucks that if we took a journey back in time and showed a PS4 to a random gamer in the late 80'ies/early 90'ies, he'd first cream himself and then die of heart attack at the sheer thought that this is what gaming will look like in the nearby future.


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## CathyRina (Jul 7, 2014)

Foxi4 said:


> Pretty much. This is the old grandpa attitude of _"ah, X used to be so much better"_ when it only seems like it because you remember the good parts of it. People dealt with just as many, if not much, much more shitty games. LJN? Crappy 5 quid Amstrad/Speccy/C64/Amiga/Atari games that barely worked? These were the nightmares of the early nineties. All that's really changed is the technology which is infinitely better and the scale which is far larger. I bet million bucks that if we took a journey back in time and showed a PS4 to a random gamer in the late 80'ies/early 90'ies, he'd first cream himself and then die of heart attack at the sheer thought that this is what gaming will look like in the nearby future.


 
I literally play with that though on regular basis with my friends. Most of the time we come to a conclusion that people would randomly die of what looks like heart attack. And then we continue rambling about foxdie.
Man I should really take a break from this series.


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## Veho (Jul 7, 2014)




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## Trevor Belmont (Jul 7, 2014)

Gaming will be considered "dead" once the line between actual, hardcore gamers (you know, people who know and enjoy the classics from the 70s on up) and the casual, soccer mom, teeny-bopper, "bored", ADD / candy crush-aholics are considered "gamers".

On THAT day, gaming will cease to be gaming and gaming will now be just another mindless medium for all those empty-headed drones to put money into for some instant (and short-lived) gratification.
Pretty much like modern day Hollywood movies. :-)


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## Metoroid0 (Jul 7, 2014)

Very much like it, and agree with it!


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## Metoroid0 (Jul 7, 2014)

Trevor Belmont said:


> Gaming will be considered "dead" once the line between actual, hardcore gamers (you know, people who know and enjoy the classics from the 70s on up) and the casual, soccer mom, teeny-bopper, "bored", ADD / candy crush-aholics are considered "gamers".
> 
> On THAT day, gaming will cease to be gaming and gaming will now be just another mindless medium for all those empty-headed drones to put money into for some instant (and short-lived) gratification.
> Pretty much like modern day Hollywood movies. :-)


 
Truth!!!


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## NakedFaerie (Jul 8, 2014)

joepassive said:


> you wrote all of that because you are upset you can't get these console, because ur a college student.
> when you leave college, go get a job and buy 'em all.
> i'm a nintendo fan, so i own a 3ds and a wii u. why? because i can, financially.
> stop whining, god.


Who you said that too?
I got all consoles except for xboned as I dont want one.
I've been gaming for over 30 years so I've seen good games come and go and these days there are a lot of good games but there is more crap than good games. 95% of Nintendo games are crap compared to the same gen. Wii to PS3, WiiU to PS4, 3DS to Vita. DS to PSP. Nintendo have never had the same amount of quality good games. (Thats my opinion not yours)
But that said there is still lots of crap on all consoles. Just because they can make a game doesn't mean its going to be any good. But there will always be suckers to buy the games good or bad. I've brought a lot of games some really bad but I enjoyed and others hated so in the end its up to the individual if its a good game or not.

So is gaming dead? nope, it will never be dead as long as there are people to buy games and consoles to play the games.


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## R4Liam (Jul 8, 2014)

If you think all old games were great, I'll point you to the Angry Video Game Nerd


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## Pedeadstrian (Jul 8, 2014)

NakedFaerie said:


> Who you said that too?
> I got all consoles except for xboned as I dont want one.
> I've been gaming for over 30 years so I've seen good games come and go and these days there are a lot of good games but there is more crap than good games. 95% of Nintendo games are crap compared to the same gen. Wii to PS3, WiiU to PS4, 3DS to Vita. DS to PSP. Nintendo have never had the same amount of quality good games. (Thats my opinion not yours)
> But that said there is still lots of crap on all consoles. Just because they can make a game doesn't mean its going to be any good. But there will always be suckers to buy the games good or bad. I've brought a lot of games some really bad but I enjoyed and others hated so in the end its up to the individual if its a good game or not.
> ...


He was saying that to the OP. Obviously, if you have been gaming for 30+ years, the chances of you being a (poor) college student are rather low.

Also, I think the main (if not only reason) people say games are crappier nowadays is because, well... there's a crapload of them. For every awesome game out there, there's dozens of not-so-awesome ones. If every tenth game was an Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, or other huge game that has millions of people enjoying it, this thread wouldn't even exist.


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## Guild McCommunist (Jul 8, 2014)

joepassive said:


> you wrote all of that because you are upset you can't get these console, because ur a college student.
> when you leave college, go get a job and buy 'em all.
> i'm a nintendo fan, so i own a 3ds and a wii u. why? because i can, financially.
> stop whining, god.


 

He has one point (arguably two with the microtransactions but that's more complaining about it being a thing, not price) relating to prices.

Is that a mountain I see? Nope, it's a molehill. Sorry.

Stop being a twit.


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## Fronic (Jul 8, 2014)

Veho's image is so true. The thing with games is it has become as large as movies and so it caters to the masse. Now we don't have the challenge and fun we used to have in a majority of our games. The fun is still there but now games are an alternate conduit for a story and so many games are very casual, especially the big names(I noticed someone mentioned Mass Effect, which is silly easy on the hardest difficulty but the story is a big appeal). And now we have games being mass produced which offer very little in later revisions like COD, which I tend to get every 3rd or 4th game because it actually feels like they progressed to something new. And then micro-purchases which are half bad and half good. Some bring amazing after market additions and some give you a chance to play a game for free and support the devs; but way too many are used to drain every penny out of a game and offer far too little for changing the experience, instead pulling from weird consumer desires. Personally, I am extremely cautious with my purchases and tend to stick with Nintendo for my consoles because I like to have fun and PC for the challenges, not that eventually I won't get a PS4 and/or an Xbone. I am a gamer after all.

Does any of this mean games are dead? They are dead as much as good movies are dead, there are always gems.


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## JaapDaniels (Jul 8, 2014)

gamers want innovations but not the kind the industry gives us! we gamers don't need 4kHD to feel the adrenaline in a race or shooting game... we need adrenaline in the game! so the game itself need to be an adventure, the controller must fit the game... no one realle needs better graphics if the game has nothing to get my mind set... yes it was better in the 90's then the game industry and gamers spoke the same language, they lost this... althought Nintendo did try to listen (boy that's working out great now with philips... finaly in 15 years a console and the games and the controllers al working together to get me a new experience... and there you have it... philips is distroying the only good console in 15 years)...
pacman was great, not for the graphics, but it gave me a reason to go the extra mile! this aplies to tetris, mario, sonic, pong... yes i know not everyone knows these games because they look old... play them once and you'll still get addicted.
visual games look great and meke you wanna buy for wat you see on the cover, but you'll only play it twice.
a game needs to be nearly impossible, needs to feel like you can be a winner... games need to be simple at the same time (at least for our male gamers, like me) i mean'you'll need a clear vision for what needs to be done to finnish the level you're playing.
last thing i miss, i know it's hard to hear but games like "the punnisher" were great for you could be the bad boy, the worst one andstilldo nothing wrong to noone in real life.
i haven't seen many games that were great in years! all great industies for pc were bought by EA, and the distroyed it by cancelling all games in progress (like dungeon keeper 3 (i'm still waiting!), need for speed (i mean the great ones the last one was _Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005) not the fake one called the same name sold now a days)._
i like adventures and detectives, thought i found one called NCIS, wel this was really something.... doing a DNA test on a photo????
really if the game is in the real world, keep the story real, if it'sfantasy, let your mind go!
please gimme monkey Island 5 by lucas arts (not the rip of by tell a tale), dungeon keeper 3 by bullfrog, pong  with a story, tetris with evolution like story, killer instinct 3, carmagedon 3, the punnisher 2, stunts 2, hot rod 3...
you'll get the picture i think.
as for online... i don't see the extra, never did... except for achivements in steam! my friends se my latest score in our common games, this means war...
fun war


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## CathyRina (Jul 8, 2014)

JaapDaniels said:


> gamers want innovations but not the kind the industry gives us!


 
The rising sales of not innovative games tell something different.

I see where you are coming from. You should try some lesser known games. Mainstream games don't want to take risks that much anymore


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## Foxi4 (Jul 8, 2014)

I don't know what you're talking about Fronic, the 90'ies were the best. Thinking back to such hit titles like Superman 64 or Daikatana makes me feel all giddy on the inside.


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## Hyro-Sama (Jul 8, 2014)

Nintendo 64 the best console ever. Can't even handle its swag. Donkey Kong 64 is the shit. Better than gay PS1. Get on my level, bitch. #Hardcore #SwagOverload #Nintendo4lyfe #Marioislove


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## groit (Jul 8, 2014)

gaming is not dead... its going to be part of our lives forever


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## NakedFaerie (Jul 9, 2014)

Last post about this.
If anything is going to kill gaming is mobile games. Not 3DS or Vita I'm talking about stupid little IAP games like iPhone and Android games. Those addictive games you play on the bus to school or on the train to work. those pathetic free to play but high priced stupid In App Purchases games. they totally suck and they are ruining gaming for all of us. And Freemium games (I hate that word) are the worst. Where is costs $100+ for in game credits or clothes or something stupid like that.
Even good mobile games suck as you need a controller to really play. The only good mobile games I've played are the car games as tilt is a good car controller but FPS are stupid as you cant feel the buttons as there are none.

So is consoles killing games? no. Are gamers with DLC killing games? no but they are making them more expensive by paying for stupidly priced DLC. Are mobile games killing games? YES! Along with IAP. (In App Purchases)

These days to be a gamer is many things but a true hardcore gamer is the old type of gamer. Someone that sits in front of a screen with a controller (or keyboard and mouse) and plays games not a bus sitting, phone holding, money wasting moron.

I'm an real hardcore gamer. I have multiple monitors, multiple consoles, countless games and a huge pile of games unfinished that "I'll finished it one day" keeps coming to mind. (I do finish about 90% of games I start)
When I say "The PC version looks heaps better than the PS3 version" you know I'm looking at both side by side and can see which is better. Not like seeing a youtube video and run to the other room and see it on the big TV.


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## LadyHylia (Jul 9, 2014)

This is lies!


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## Minox (Jul 9, 2014)

No, gaming is not dead. You're just finding yourself filling your own life with other things you deem important.


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## Sterling (Jul 10, 2014)

"The Lack of Innovation in the Current Generation"

Here's the thing, innovation doesn't sell. It's not that there's no innovation, it's because we don't buy it. MattPat from GameTheory does a great video on the subject.



Nintendo has at least tried to do something new, or fresh with their system and IPs. Any they've only been reinventing the gaming wheel since the beginning. Some things worked (The Wii, the Gameboy, 3DS), and some things didn't (Virtual Boy, N64, and blah).

Sure, sequels make their franchises. Nintendo makes full use of them. But all the numbers point to the fact that "fresh and new" doesn't sell. You want innovation, go buy a WiiU. It does something all the other consoles don't, and despite the similarities to a tablet, it is not a tablet. If that's not the definition of trying to innovate, you're perspective is a little twisted.

If Nintendo hadn't added more power, you'd be hearing no end to the complaints. The truth is, the system has plenty of power, but Nintendo don't make anything easy for the third party developers. They're stuck in their own self-absorbed world of 'innovation' that they can't keep up with the times. This is a perfect example of where the desire to innovate impedes progress.

...

"...The Last of Us..."

The Last of Us? Innovative? Hahahaha, that's not true in the slightest. What we see and what we get is a new IP that took the survival aspects of games like "I Am Alive" and sound based stealth systems of previous games and applied them to a big-budget production. It did what it did very well, but innovative is the last thing I think of.

The Elder Scrolls is another game where innovation is not the name of the game. I love TES, but it's the same game every time. Which is what I want! There's no need to innovate because I don't play TES for anything but the world and immersion.

In the current market, games that are advertised as innovative and new are bold faced lies designed to get you behind them and mask their inspirations.

...

"Sequels and Ports – No, Please Not Another One!"

We're at a transitional phase in gaming where we're torn between the likes of the PS360Wii and the PS4ONE. The ports are a good thing because they're low risk cash ins that also happen to let developers get to know the systems with little risk. If Nintendo were smart, they'd hurry up and release an amazing first party title, and clean up their act with third part developers.

...

"Price – Why Would I Throw THAT Much For This?!"

The price is the one place where I cannot blame them. Unless your console physically ruins itself, how often are you going to drop five hundred onto the hardware? In a perfect world, once. The consoles are in it for the long run, so price here is simply once versus a PC which you need to upgrade to keep with the games you want.

...

The Plague of DLC and Microtransactions"

DLC? Now I think you're nitpicking a bit. I'm fine with DLC like cosmetics and micro-transactions for the weak willed individual. Sure, there are too many games out there that don't give any meaningful DLC, but the ones that do are also the ones that get my money. Don't like it, don't play it. Vote with your wallet and these companies will get a hint.

...

"Big Gaming Conventions Are a Thing of the Past"

While I've never gone to a gaming convention, I don't think this particular argument holds much water. E3 and the like aren't going anywhere. We might see more Nintendo Directs and things instead, but we won't see E3 going anywhere. It's too much of a publicity stunt to just up and leave.

...

"Developers – You Need to Focus on US!"

I've never seen the issue with Digital Downloads. It's more convenient, and if you want a memento, go get the limited edition game they always have. I much prefer my console games to have a physical copy, but PC hasn't even registered on my radar since Gamestop limited their physical selection to like two shelves.

...

"PC Gaming and Mobile Gaming"

Flappy Bird is an anomaly of the internet (like potato salad kickstarter). It became a hit when famous Youtubers put it in the spotlight and not because it was anything special. Mobile gaming as a whole is just catering to a different demographic. In fact, you're specifically contributing to the perceived problem by encouraging the shift in the spectrum dynamic.

...

You're right that gaming is on the decline, but it's not the fault of the industry, it's the fault of us. Maybe you're at the point where all of us will be? A point where time is better spent doing something else to make your life better. It's a shift in priorities. As us gamers get older, we tend to make better decisions on how we spend our time.

All you've gotta do is find that one game to rekindle your passion. It might not happen, but if the world ran on 'mights' we'd be fucking DOOMED LIKE NINTENDO!


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## the_randomizer (Jul 10, 2014)

Hyro-Sama said:


> Nintendo 64 the best console ever. Can't even handle its swag. Donkey Kong 64 is the shit. Better than gay PS1. Get on my level, bitch. #Hardcore #SwagOverload #Nintendo4lyfe #Marioislove


 

Hell yeah it was, N64 has some freakin awesome games


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## GiantSapling (Jul 10, 2014)

I've felt the same way since the last generation - I mean the last game I managed to bring myself to complete was Halo 3 (which ofc had DLC).I'd rather just waste $5 on a 30 minute game for ios at this point. That way I get to feel like I spent my money on SOMETHING at least.


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## Social_Outlaw (Jul 10, 2014)

1. Console gaming isn't dead, It's just not a primary source no more just like Physical releases. When 7th gen consoles first came out, many people were buying it, but as soon as smartphones came, things started to change. Consoles isn't going to sell like they use to because smartphones can do the half the things that consoles can do on your hand, for once the smartphone can pull off with graphics, and videos all with a simple touch. Also in addition we have stupid games like Flappy bird, and people make thousands, and millions, but I actually look at a good way because these stupid games just give us time to waste if something takes to long.

2. The PS3 price was originally $600, and the Xbox360 was $399 so what did you expect when 8th gen consoles came out? People was still buying them at that price, so I don't think that's really an Issue any more. Also everyone knows that consoles prices has been up to par with PC'S lately so really it shouldn't be a problem.

3. Now I agree on what you say saying about DLC and Microtransactions. I really wouldn't care if it was on a phone, but to have it on a console? That really defeats the purpose. Sure we get a few additional items, but why should it the cost more? It's already in the game, which make it worse, so why should I pay? I rather keep it original like beating a hard ass level, unlock, and feel like a boss in the end like every gamer use to do.


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## Guild McCommunist (Jul 10, 2014)

Are people such whiny bitches that they care more about "innovation" than "good games"? Every game took an aspect from another game at one time or another.

Like The Last of Us is probably one of the better games ever made, "innovative" or not. Are we going to complain that it's "not innovative" despite the fact it was masterful?


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## Sterling (Jul 10, 2014)

Guild McCommunist said:


> Are people such whiny bitches that they care more about "innovation" than "good games"? Every game took an aspect from another game at one time or another.
> 
> Like The Last of Us is probably one of the better games ever made, "innovative" or not. Are we going to complain that it's "not innovative" despite the fact it was masterful?


 
Dude, I was pointing out the fact that it wasn't innovative despite his post saying otherwise. You can't complain about a lack of innovation and then point to gaming done right and say it was innovative. That being said, I think the Last of Us tries really hard to cover up its flaws, it definitely doesn't deserve your, "...one of the better games ever made..." remark.


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## Subtle Demise (Jul 10, 2014)

I blame online piracy


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## emigre (Jul 10, 2014)

I love The Last of Us and think it is an absolutely fabulous gaem. Dem feels man, dem feels.


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## LadyHylia (Jul 11, 2014)

How can someone say Gaming is Dead when the economy is making so much money of the systems and the sales? I'm not good with numbers but it speaks for itself in the communities and the love ppl have for gaming wether it's online or offline. It's a huge part of our culture now and it's only going to get stronger. 
<3 always a gamer


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## Taleweaver (Jul 11, 2014)

LadyHylia said:


> How can someone say Gaming is Dead when the economy is making so much money of the systems and the sales?


Two things:
1. The 'gaming is dead' is more to be read as 'gaming as I like it is dead/dying'. It's undeniably evolving, and while many disagree, those disagreements don't very much counter the arguments for it.
2. it sure is a huge economy, but the sales figures don't exactly reflect a healthy situation. Consoles are sold below construction costs, games quickly lose their value and more than a few gaming studios either go bankrupt or are forced into merging with other teams to stay afloat.


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## WhiteMaze (Jul 11, 2014)

I have to agree.

A world where Flappy Bird becomes a worldwide success is a broken world.


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## zeello (Jul 11, 2014)

saying that flappy bird is killing gaming is like saying vids of giggling babies on youtube is destroying cinema


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## WiiCube_2013 (Jul 11, 2014)

The 8th gen still is quite dry and bland, but there's hope that it'll get better along the road. I just want SSBU+B2 and then move to 2015.


Foxi4 said:


> She is my rock.


 
It's good to have imaginary friends, good on ya, Foxi4.


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## DarkCamui (Jul 11, 2014)

LadyHylia said:


> This is lies!


 

http://lurkerfaqs.com/boards/400-current-events/63357529/ is that you?


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## filfat (Jul 11, 2014)

I was just flashing by your text and instantly saw that you have a Mac... that did really turn me off... 
Seriously you make some good points.


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## TyBlood13 (Jul 11, 2014)

Subtle Demise said:


> I blame online piracy


AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

No.


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## Trevor Belmont (Jul 12, 2014)

Flappy Bird is nothing more than a glorified, Nintendo Game & Watch game but with improved graphics. I would have to agree that cheap thrill / quick fix type of games such as this aren't entirely to blame, however, they sure are aiding in the DE-evolution of gaming on a much broader scale.

Especially when taking a more in-depth investigation of these changes, even within merely the last decade or so.


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## CompassNorth (Jul 12, 2014)

WhiteMaze said:


> I have to agree.
> 
> A world where Flappy Bird becomes a worldwide success is a broken world.


Yes, how dare simple addictive gameplay become a success.
Mario should have never received the popularity it had, nor Pac-Man, or arcade games, ect


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## Lucas.d (Jul 12, 2014)

I agree that some inovations of this generation are futile, like the tablet-like controller of the WiiU and caring to much about High Definition, but more than this, what is making video gaming different than it was in the past, in my opnion, are the costs to produce a game. I think that the cost lie not in the algoritms itself (AI like and so), but in the production of High Definitions graphics, what, in my opinon, are useless. Too much companies are caring too much about its video game look like reality, they have to spend much money to create such graphics and to profit they have to sold more video games than ever was sold in the History. Look back in the ages of SNES, PSX and PS2, they have not much graphics, video games sold less and, even so, there was too much games in the shelfs. Look in the Nintendo DS, low graphics, too much (good) games, good profit.

Gamers do not always want graphics, what we want are fun, good stories and good gameplay. Some inovations are dispensable, like the 3D of the 3DS, but it may be somehow fun, if used in the right way. Like was said, XboxOne and PS4 are just "more High Definition graphics to what we already saw in the previous generation". So, why not remain in the past generation, but make better games? Even the WiiU have not much to add but the HD graphics; nobody cares about its coltroller tablet appearance.

Mobile gaming are another "cash-making, few time of fun" (nobody's playing Flappy Bird anymore) that can be compared to DLC based games, like music and dance games (beside, in my opinion, Wii's Just Dance are more fun than mobile gaming). These kind of game will never be compared to the horde of classics the 1st-4th generation had, and its games must had be hard to produce back then, but sold less than the best selling games of this decade, became classics and made money. Not because it look like reality, but because they were, basically, fun in much ways: it was fun to play, had fun stories and so on. Nowadays games just care about being reality-like, has no story we care about and make we compete online for useless achievements. I beliece games can be good as they were in the past, they just have to learn with its predecessors.


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## Requios (Jul 13, 2014)

At this point, indie gaming has started taking the reigns. Unfortunately though, there are so many developers that are just looking to make an easy dollar for as little work as possible, and sadly, they do, because mobile gamers seem to be easily entertained. There are, however, those precious gems, such as Terraria, Transistor and Journey, much like how there are those precious gems that come from AAA developers.

Anyway, I think we're coming to a shift where the AAA developers are going to be few and far between (it's already becoming like that now) and Indie Developers will, essentially, be taking over the market. And unfortunately, there's too many of them that seem to be ruining it.


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## WhiteMaze (Jul 13, 2014)

CompassNorth said:


> Yes, how dare simple addictive gameplay become a success.
> Mario should have never received the popularity it had, nor Pac-Man, or arcade games, ect


 
Nice. Nice comparison.

Pac-Man was a simple addictive gameplay, because it was released in 1980. 90% of games were simple and addictive 34 years ago. Because technology didn't allow for much.

Flappy bird on the other hand, is a quick cash-in that got lucky.

Nothing more to it.

Its a money maker. No love, no story, no hard work put into it what so ever.

I think there's a pretty obvious difference between the two.


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## CompassNorth (Jul 14, 2014)

WhiteMaze said:


> Nice. Nice comparison.
> 
> Pac-Man was a simple addictive gameplay, because it was released in 1980. 90% of games were simple and addictive 34 years ago. Because technology didn't allow for much.


Time and technology has nothing to do with simple addictive gameplay, you can make terrible games back then, and you can make terrible games now.
Also you're wrong in saying that "technology didn't allow for much" We already have full-fledged turn-based RPGs in the early 1980s



WhiteMaze said:


> Flappy bird on the other hand, is a quick cash-in that got lucky.


How is it a cash grab?
There's no in-game cash shop, and the ads rarely appear. This does not affect it's gameplay at all.



WhiteMaze said:


> Its a money maker. No love, no story, no hard work put into it what so ever.


...What does this have to do with anything? How does the development of the game effect the quality of it's gameplay?



WhiteMaze said:


> I think there's a pretty obvious difference between the two.


No, there isn't.
Flappy Birds is a success because of it's simple and addictive gameplay, it does not matter of it's development history, if it's a cash grab, what time it came out, ect.


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## Hells Malice (Jul 14, 2014)

WiiCube_2013 said:


> It's good to have imaginary friends, good on ya, Foxi4.


 
She's not imaginary.
He specifically said it was his pet rock.

Jesus WiiCube pay attention man.


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## TFerdo (Jul 15, 2014)

It's definitely not dead. It's the largest entertainment industry in the world and is bigger than it's ever been. What's happening is that it's going through a big transitional period. The middle range developers all went bust, the big developers have been spending more and more (and making fewer games) and the indies have filled in all the gaps. I think what will happen is that the AAAs will need to seriously reign in their spending. The graphics budgets are unsustainable. Then the most successful indies will grow and grow and fill the space left by the mid-range devs. And things will more or less be back to the way they used to be.


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## zerofalcon (Jul 15, 2014)

More like "my gaming hobbie is dying". For today standards a lot of people still have fun with lots of games (including all the shovelware-microtransaction ones). Don't get me wrong, I prefer retro games instead of the new ones, but that doesn't imply that games are awful right now, that doesn't justify that we as retro gamers are a path to follow for younger audience. Just play or re-play the games that still are fun to you.


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## Subzero100 (Jul 26, 2014)

assassinz said:


> Gaming isn't dead. It's just that there aren't too many good titles worthy of our time and money on any of the latest consoles.
> 
> Gaming is more mainstream these days with every man, woman, and child toting around a smartphone, but I feel there aren't enough new game ideas being introduced. Just new technology with higher specs but lacking quality titles.
> 
> But I guess age does have something to do with opinion. For the youngsters, the latest consoles and games are some of their first experiences with gaming genres and styles the adults have seen done before. So the younger gamers aren't as critical, but they also don't have as much expendable income as us "experienced" gamers.


 

excellent answer too bad there are only a few people out there that realize this.


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## JaapDaniels (Jul 30, 2014)

i just tell you that the market is not a good reflexion on the situation... it might be that innovation ain't selling good, that could be... but that means i don't see it at the places it gets selled. the back to the market: the marked is echoing what people expect based on earlier experiences now, this will go on for some years, but it is going straight for a heart attack. you can disagree to me... but read this back in about 3 years...


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