I think it might be because people are starting to notice companies like EA/Activision are rushing out unfinished games and making you pay off the rest in DLC. Which at first wasn't too bad because games started out about 90% finished and the DLC was worth getting, but now games are coming out almost completely unfinished, but at full price. Then of course because every dame is trying to rush out to be multi-plat, they've started focusing more on quantity over quality. Look at Batman: Arkham Knight, where they rushed out the PC version, only making a buggy unplayable mess and this isn't uncommon.
The other issue is that they are trying to "reinvent" their games, but aren't really thinking these "reinventions" fully through. Look at Metal Gear, there actually could be a fun way to add zombies to the mix, but instead they changed the game so much that it doesn't even look like the source material. Or even Federation Force, which actually was an OK game, but here really was no reason to slap on the Metroid name to it. So adding to the rushed/unfinished games, we are now getting spinoff that don't even make sense and only appear to be riding on the coattails of more successful games.
The final issue is hype. No Mans Sky is a great example of where hype actually killed the game. People are getting more and more hyped over gaming, which is both a blessing and a curse. It's nice to know that we are no longer the minority in the world and that this hype will keep gaming going, but it's also putting high expectations on games. Look at No Mans Sky again, when it came out it didn't live up to the hype built up around it. It was still the same game were promised, but the hype made it something bigger. This is becoming a big issue in gaming because games are being hyped up so much and when they don't live up to the hype, they crash harder than ever.
I don't think gaming has peaked though, but I do think the community has peaked. We are are starting to notice the flaws we overlooked. Things that were once acceptable in the past are now starting to become glaring flaws.
The other issue is that they are trying to "reinvent" their games, but aren't really thinking these "reinventions" fully through. Look at Metal Gear, there actually could be a fun way to add zombies to the mix, but instead they changed the game so much that it doesn't even look like the source material. Or even Federation Force, which actually was an OK game, but here really was no reason to slap on the Metroid name to it. So adding to the rushed/unfinished games, we are now getting spinoff that don't even make sense and only appear to be riding on the coattails of more successful games.
The final issue is hype. No Mans Sky is a great example of where hype actually killed the game. People are getting more and more hyped over gaming, which is both a blessing and a curse. It's nice to know that we are no longer the minority in the world and that this hype will keep gaming going, but it's also putting high expectations on games. Look at No Mans Sky again, when it came out it didn't live up to the hype built up around it. It was still the same game were promised, but the hype made it something bigger. This is becoming a big issue in gaming because games are being hyped up so much and when they don't live up to the hype, they crash harder than ever.
I don't think gaming has peaked though, but I do think the community has peaked. We are are starting to notice the flaws we overlooked. Things that were once acceptable in the past are now starting to become glaring flaws.
