Are gamers expectations too high?

I've probably put in more time gaming that the majority of the ppl on this site, not to start an argument or anything just saying that I've played my fair share of games having been an avid gamer for 15+ yrs. Anyhow I see so much hate across the forums for game that I considered good. Not great, not amazing, just good games that I was satisfied with. Yeah they had their flaws and I had my irritations playing them but overall they were good games. Now for the sake of keeping with the topic and not starting a *insert game here* bashing thread I think that too many ppl now adays have too high of expectations for games, especially sequels of games. As far as I see on the forums unless a game is the first of it's kind, low budget, made by a developer hardly anyone knows about, and something that takes longer than 20+ hrs to beat then ultimately the game ends up sucking among the masses.

I've been gaming since 1984, back when I was 5. A fair while longer than 15 years.

Aye, many people these days, especially younger gamers, have very high expectations that they shouldn't have in the first place. They constantly demand that every game bea Halo/COD or some other shooter and they expect perfection and to be catered to because they're so impatient and used to having life handed to them on a silver platter.

There is no such thing as perfection, to expect such is to set yourself up for disappointment.

The expectations are made by the developers and the companies that release the games. As long as they keep trying to out-do each other then "gamer expectations" will continue to rise. I, myself, have little expectations. Dragon Quest remakes make me happy. :P

If there were no high expectations, there'd be no advancement or evolutions in video games. Thats my opinion on it. Thats how you drive the industry forward. Aiming at those high expectations is what devs should be doing. If they don't, we're just gonna keep on getting CoD and Halo rehashes that do nothing to push the industry forward.

Yes they are. Heres a little part of my blog I have linked in my sig which is how I feel about games today...

Fun was all that used to matter. We didnt care if it broke new ground, revolutionized the gaming world or added a hundred new features. As long there were new levels to explore and we had fun while doing it we were happy. Now if a game doesn't "reinvent" itself or add a bunch of new stuff we complain and label them as average or boring or disappointing.

Peoples expectations are waaaaay too high. Not that its entirely their fault. Game companies have always pushed themselves to make things better and better but we should still be mature enough to know that not everything is going to be an epic-earth-shattering-phenomenom and it doesnt have too be.

You can read the whole blog if you want but I just picked this as it seemed to fit more with the thread.

Gamers should quit hyping stuff up to the point they're frothing in the mouth and simply wait for a game to be released.

Take Crysis 2. I didn't partake in any of the hype because I knew if that game will be anything like the original in open and destructible environments, there's no PC in the world that would be able to run it acceptably. My expectations for Crysis 2 was modest. Now, I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

Honestly, its only here. Outside of GS, people won't attack all of it's flaws, they won't call a game garbage just because it's not like the previous game in the series, and won't hate a developer because they made one bad game. It's a different world out there. mrmusicman247

[QUOTE="mrmusicman247"]Honestly, its only here. Outside of GS, people won't attack all of it's flaws, they won't call a game garbage just because it's not like the previous game in the series, and won't hate a developer because they made one bad game. It's a different world out there. killinserially

I think It'd be more accurate to say that the internet isn't the best place to judge the expectations of a whole group of people.

[QUOTE="killinserially"][QUOTE="mrmusicman247"]Honestly, its only here. Outside of GS, people won't attack all of it's flaws, they won't call a game garbage just because it's not like the previous game in the series, and won't hate a developer because they made one bad game. It's a different world out there. loveless9

I think It'd be more accurate to say that the internet isn't the best place to judge the expectations of a whole group of people.

all i want is a good game with decent graphics, sound, story and play control given to me completed (that is, no dlc the day after its released and its not really dlc, its just an unlock key for something on the disc ahem capcom)

honestly, i think gamer expectations are too low. thats not to say average games arent average or good games arent good. its just that there are countless dated conventions still being implemented in gaming today that gamers never really question (or if some games do away with them, they get heated backlash). i think you can have high standards but still appreciate a game thats "merely good."LoG-Sacrament

I agree completely. Gamers seem to be satisfied with less and less with each passing year.

I think it depends on genre.

If you take your average shooter and are pretty clear on the goal, you'll most likely appease your audience. There are always going to be those people that don't understand technical limitations and think military shooters should be as epic as real war, and that every gun in the world should be in the game, but if you look at the success of Call of Duty, or Battlefield, or even Rainbow Six, they keep people happy. And to the people complaining about these games, go right ahead. Like it or not, these games are expanding and adding more features with each new installement. Battlefield may have lost the 64 player count with Bad Company 2, but increased it with graphics, bullet physics, sound design, and of course destruction. Considering it looks like they're keeping this and bringing back other staples from the series into Battlefield 3, expectations are high, and they should be. Call of Duty might be a rehash every year, but they're adding game mods and customization features and expanding on what makes their audience happy.

But then look at RPGs. Compare Baldur's Gate to Dragon Age, Morrowind to Oblivion, or Fallout 2 to New Vegas. There's simply more to do in older titles. Of course new titles demand a lot out of developers. Motion capture takes longer than designing a sprite, you have to record voice work instead of just writing walls of text the player will read, and of course all that jazz with perspective and lighting effects. I get all this, and that games can be tougher to make these days because there's more that has to be done. At the same time, I want to use spears in an Elder Scrolls game again damn it! It makes sense that the games have to sacrifice certain things in order to improve other areas, but when it does that the sequel (or spiritual successor) should continue improving instead of downgrading. Not to kick 'em when they're down here, but look at Dragon Age 2 and how much was simply removed from the first game. So of course, expectations waver. Example: Part of me wants Skyrim to be awesome and bring back what I loved about Morrowind. High expectations. Then I read that they've once again removed skills and abilities, so my expectations are low again

depends on the price of the game really .In the end of the day when u drop 60 bucks on a game u expect it too be good. 60 bucks is aquite abit of money if u put it in perspective just like buying coffee from a coffee shop. Say if u buy 5 games over the course of 6 months and they cost 60 bucks each . that ends up tottaling over 200 bucks. So people have high ecpectations cause they are spending alot of money (plus the hype) on a game. Its different whem a game is 15 bucks cause the gamer treats it like a 15 buck game inless they find out its actually quite a good game and enjoy it.

Too sum it up gamers have high expexctaions because gaming is expensive

I think they expect thing to be their way. THey need go through menu to deal items and they do not like so they whine about the game not meeting their expectation.

Yes and no.

I've probably put in more time gaming that the majority of the ppl on this site, not to start an argument or anything just saying that I've played my fair share of games having been an avid gamer for 15+ yrs. Anyhow I see so much hate across the forums for game that I considered good. Not great, not amazing, just good games that I was satisfied with. Yeah they had their flaws and I had my irritations playing them but overall they were good games. Now for the sake of keeping with the topic and not starting a *insert game here* bashing thread I think that too many ppl now adays have too high of expectations for games, especially sequels of games. As far as I see on the forums unless a game is the first of it's kind, low budget, made by a developer hardly anyone knows about, and something that takes longer than 20+ hrs to beat then ultimately the game ends up sucking among the masses.

trodeback

Yes, just look at what happened with Crysis 2 and Marvel Vs. Capcom 3.

It depends on the game, its genre, and its fanbase. A lot of gamers have way too high of expectations, and not expectations of true game quality, but expectations that the game will cater to their needs perfectly (this is why many RPGs are losing complexity). Then, on the other hand, gamers in some cases are starting to develop far too low of expectations, accepting one game after another with no true innovation.

If anything, gamers tend to have surprisingly low expectations and standards, in my opinion.

It's a different world out there. mrmusicman247

my expectations are that if u are going to throw 10's of millions of dollars at a game...and u expect me to pay 60usd for it...it should be a full game adn should be nearly perfect when it comes out...and should run well and be well optimized and have a full length campaign...dragon age 2 is a full dissappointment for me...and it is why i will never buy a bioware game again...at least not on pc...60usd for a 20hour campaign with no difficulty and dlc released same day...that isnt well optimized and looks horrible compared to the performance im gettin...not to mention that they released a texture pack day one...for 60usd...a single player rpg should be easily 50+hours and should run decently...especially with the hype and money put into the game...an mp game i can see it havin a short campaign...but sp only should be long for 60usd...games that blizzard release are nearly perfect on release...or they just need balancin as the game goes...and they are in development for a good amount of time compared to most other companies games...my expectations are that if u are gonna spend millions of dollars on a game...it should be nearly perfect and the best d*** thing to come out of ur studio(meaning it should be BETTER NOT WORSE than the previous iteration) and if i pay 60usd for the game...it shouldnt have day 1 dlc...and if u feel like adding to it...make an expansion pack...not dlc...no one wants it...and it should be long enough that i dont feel jipped after playin it...

Umm.. well, the expectations of the casuals are what matter saleswise, as they have lower standards than most. That's why ME 2 and DA 2 got dumbed down because Bioware wants to reach a larger audience, and that's why COD still sells extremely well, because the majority of its fanbase doesn't have any expectations for it to change. So yeah, gamers aren't setting their expectations high enough.

If there were no high expectations, there'd be no advancement or evolutions in video games. Thats my opinion on it. Thats how you drive the industry forward. Aiming at those high expectations is what devs should be doing. If they don't, we're just gonna keep on getting CoD and Halo rehashes that do nothing to push the industry forward.

ChubbyGuy40

IMHO, game developers should just shut out the noise that comes from rabid fanbois.

I want to play a game that is the result of a designer's and writer's vision, not a game designed

by a committee of whiny gamers.

IMHO, game developers should just shut out the noise that comes from rabid fanbois.

I want to play a game that is the result of a designer's and writer's vision, not a game designed

by a committee of whiny gamers.

Ricardo41

In short yes. Too much demand for things in games. If its a franchise or a company that is known for doing X then god forbid help that new game. Change too much: It's bad. Change too little: "I played this game already!" Does not have X thing or X character: "The game is bad." Although on a related but not related note I do kind of support that Day 1 DLC is annoying.

IMHO, game developers should just shut out the noise that comes from rabid fanbois.

I want to play a game that is the result of a designer's and writer's vision, not a game designed

by a committee of whiny gamers.

Ricardo41

I agree with you 100%. Although I think they should listen to their fans but not try to cater to every single persons individual persons needs. Case in point fighting game series.

Let's be honest: As soon as Deus Ex HR hits the shelves, a good chunk of comments are going to be along the lines of: Why didn't they just remake Deus Ex with better graphics?

Ditto for Max Payne 3.

If you were to put fanbois in charge of gaming development, the whole gaming business would still be stuck in 1999.

the whole gaming business would still be stuck in 1999.

Ricardo41

Agreed. I've been gaming for more than a decade myself, enjoying all kinds of games. I think it's a slap in the face to all the people who put in hard time on developing a game when people take them for granted, call them "boring", hurry through them just to beat it faster than their friends will, nit pick them to death over petty problems and so on.

I'm not saying people don't have the right to be disappointed in a game, especially when they've had very high hopes and have anticipated it for so long. I've been disappointed in several games this gen myself, but gamers should at least acknowledge the good things in most games instead of constantly focusing on the negatives.

Expectations i need for certain games to be fun for me.

Platformers need to have Multiple gameplay styles, uniqueness, & Gradual difficulty

Anime RPGs need to have a human main character who's between 10 & 12 or otherwise, unique battle systems & great music

FPS games need to have online modes, sub-weapons like grenades, & Spots to camp in

Any game without those things usually don't catch my intrest.

I agree with this:

When it comes to gameplay, the most important aspect of a game, expectations are far too low.

@Nintega94: Please don't revive old threads. Thanks.