Innovation vs. Traditional gaming.

[Sterling]

The most? Hmm. With this generation came real console online, and then it had non traditional controls. I believe those to be the two major advancements in the industry. Whether the non tradition controls thing was actually a good thing is open to debate.

I'd say the Wii. Perhaps it was a good thing, perhaps not, but still the Wii.

Also Blaze163, you're wearing nostalgia goggles. in fact I'd go so far as to say you've never taken them off.

Nostalgia goggles remind me of the Gurren Lagaan {god dammit I hope I spelled that right} glasses.

 

[Blaze163]

Also Blaze163, you're wearing nostalgia goggles. in fact I'd go so far as to say you've never taken them off.

I've owned pretty much every console ever created by human hands, everything from the ancient Pong consoles through the golden age of Atari, the NES to the Wii and everything in between. I've given every single one of them every chance to impress me, fair and square. I enjoy a fair few modern games. My Xbox 360 gets a lot of use and I've had my share of fun with it. I can see the advancements modern gaming has made, I love the ability to download new content like the various Mass Effect 2 enhancements. But if I could only have one console with me on a desert island or something, it'd be my SNES. It's not nostalgia goggles to say that an old console is more appealing than a modern one. My SNES simply has the best selection of games for my personal tastes in my opinion They're the most enjoyable to play, even without high definition graphics. You don't have to like my opinion, but you do have to accept that I'm entitled to it. There's certainly no call for being a jerk.

 

[Midna]

It's not nostalgia goggles to say that an old console is more appealing than a modern one.

Oh by no means. I love retro gaming. i imagine your collection is a bit more expansive than mine, but I have a bookshelf and rubbermaid tub full of old consoles in my room right now. I love the SNES. My first and favorite games were on the SNES. I might even agree with your desert island choice.

It's just the general tone of your first post was "Grr, nothing is nearly as good as it used to be back in my day"
...
Hehe

 

[machomuu]

It's not nostalgia goggles to say that an old console is more appealing than a modern one.

Oh by no means. I love retro gaming. i imagine your collection is a bit more expansive than mine, but I have a bookshelf and rubbermaid tub full of old consoles in my room right now. I love the SNES. My first and favorite games were on the SNES. I might even agree with your desert island choice.

...I envy you so much right now...

 

[Nimbus]

I believe that the best kind of gaming is a mix of both. However I shouldn't really say this because I'm somewhat of a Retro Gamer myself. Motion Controls seem too gimmicky and frivolous for me to care half a "you know what" about. Then again I do like touchscreens, but not if they're the only control mechanisim.

The only problem is that they must be mixed just right, not too much or one or the other for it to be any good.

Quirky but memorable games also stand out, and I quite frankly enjoy those most of all.

 

[NES SNES V.B. N64 G.C. Wii WiiU]

I have to say for me it's a mix of both. Retro games are cool, but I wouldn't give up any of my 3 current generation consoles.
And I don't want to start a fan-boy war, but I have to say I enjoy my PS3 the most, the Wii although it has Mario just lacks the power and complexity of the 360 and the PS3, and I've always liked Sony over Microsoft.

 

[Hielkenator]

If you have been playing games since the 80's it a very welcome thing to have some sort of innovation.
And I don't mean graphics. That's been the case for over 25 years now....as well as storage media...
Then there was the mascotte war...finally gameplay won over..
New types of gameplay and interaction makes my day now..and how smart and creative things are.

I like to get blown away with graphics...but that certainly does'nt define this generation of games I think.
Diversity in presentation, graphically and sound wise are more important.
Not how many reflections there are or how many bullets are flying around....
Good examples are, World of goo, and yet it moves, kirby's epic yarn, art of balance, Hydroventure, Bonsai barber, etc.
Gets me hooked for hours, but not for the graphics....

I enjoy COD BO on my PC just as much as I enjoy warioland : Shake it!. For it's graphics.
But i prefer Wario because it's original, keeps me fresh. ( just an example ).
I hate Bo on Wii, it does'nt do the game justice for the lack of graphic power. That game need realism...
All of a sudden the game feels generic....on Wii, unfinished almost.
It fails on Wii because it lacks innovation. So those games I like to play in H-res on PC or Playstation.
Do I make any sense ?

Most immersive gameplay and graphical PRESENTATION IMO are games like : Metroid Prime Trilogy ( very old games FYI ! ), Super mario Galaxy 1 & 2, Zelda Windwaker GC, Zelda : a Link to the past, Resident Evil 4 Wii edition., Starfox Snes, Super mario World 2 Snes, Donkey Kong Country Series Snes, SuperMario Sunshine GC.

 

[choconado]

hmm. Reading between the lines, I see you clearly say that there are games that you've enjoyed quite a bit, that once you played it on the Wii (which probably means a graphical downplay, yet almost no reduction in actual gameplay) it occurs to you that the game feels generic. No chance there's any sort of bias towards good graphics there, no sir. (also, the Metroid Prime games are "VERY OLD" to you? Get out of any discussion of old/retro games. NOW. )

Blaze is right about the point when gaming started going downhill (towards the end of the PS1 life cycle). The way I've seen it this whole time, it's as if gaming companies collectively started taking their cue from The sub-team at Capcom in charge of the Street Fighter games. Wherein mild graphical upgrades and small tweaks to a game warrants treating it like it's the new sliced bread. This is especially true of some genres (I'm looking at you FPS, you're the flagbearer for this treatment. I remember when "Rise of the Triad" was hot doo doo just because you could jump) and it basically sucks the fun right out of gaming and makes a mockery of "innovation".

Honestly, I'd much rather play some cheesy shovelware that's mildly fun (YAY! I'M FLYING AN AIRPLANE WITH MY CONTROLLER, DERP! ) than the same stupid military squad simulator they've been remaking for a decade with slightly better looking shading. If that didn't make it obvious, the more innovative console is the Wii.

 

[Windaga]

As long as the game is fun, I really, really don't care.

Games that only require one button to play are fine with me, as are games that require you to get up and move. It's the experience that counts. I've probably had more fun playing Smooth Moves than any other game this generation, and that's not a game you can play with a standard remote - that's something that required new hardware - an innovation that came from both the controller and how the developer implemented it into the game. It was fun, and that's all that mattered.

 

[Midna]

choconado, I think you mean the end of the PS2 lifecycle.
The PS2 was glorious. I can barely count the number of amazing, new and creative games on that console.

 

[machomuu]

choconado, I think you mean the end of the PS2 lifecycle.
The PS2 was glorious. I can barely count the number of amazing, new and creative games on that console.

The PS2 is a system that gaming library-wise will never have an equal.

 

[choconado]

Very true, but at the same time, that was where the growing trend was noticeable. It hadn't become the industry standard, but it had become appallingly apparent as a disturbing trend in the ps2 era. By the time the next era rolled over, it was an epidemic.

By the way, in case you didn't see it, conveniently enough, cracked.com Weighed in on the matter just yesterday.

 

[Waflix]

I think innovation is good, but it shouldn't stand in the way of the traditions. Innovation should be an addition, not a replacement. Unless, of course, it replaces the specific part of the system that was bad.

The best console would be the XBox360, it has precisely enough buttons for a shooter game (unlike the PC), and I really like the achievement system; why doesn't the Wii have one? It should have one.

 

[Sterling]

Very true, but at the same time, that was where the growing trend was noticeable. It hadn't become the industry standard, but it had become appallingly apparent as a disturbing trend in the ps2 era. By the time the next era rolled over, it was an epidemic.

By the way, in case you didn't see it, conveniently enough, cracked.com Weighed in on the matter just yesterday.

Good god. I like that guy.

 

[Taleweaver]

Woooot!!!! Finally a poll around here that doesn't exclude PC's for being used as a platform.

Anyhow...I was thinking of voting "a mixture of both", though I'm slightly on the more conservative side...and the article choconado linked to got me so much agreeing that I flat out voted "Tradition roots are more important".

The irony is perhaps that this vote is not so much against innovation per se, but to what "innovation" currently stands for. Innovations nowadays aren't about gameplay but about visuals and audio. At best about controls. There is certainly creativity still out there. The problem is that lots of those guys have to work on games within that certain mold. They have to make sequels, or at least equals, to other games. I bet there 'll be a bunch of frustrated guys in those departments because their ideas are rejected because "there is no market for it". I bet that for every "portal"-idea that somehow makes it into the open world, ten similar ideas never make it out.