Were Sixth generation games more unique and original compared to this gen?

I think so, it seemed developers were more willing to take chances back than. Nowadays it seems most developers are terrified with the prospect of making a game that doesn't fit into a certain cookie cutter mold set by other previously successful games. This generation it seems every game is either a fps, a clone of another game that was successful or a sequel. I'm sure people will be able to name a few original games this gen like Mirrors Edge, Heavy Rain, Flower, Little Big Planet but they are very few and far between. What do you guys think?

I think so, it seemed developers were more willing to take chances back than. Nowadays it seems most developers are terrified with the prospect of making a game that doesn't fit into a certain cookie cutter mold set by other previously successful games. This generation it seems every game is either a fps, a clone of another game that was successful or a sequel. I'm sure people will be able to name a few original games this gen like Mirrors Edge, Heavy Rain, Flower, Little Big Planet but they are very few and far between. What do you guys think?

lordoftheleft

Why dont you try listing these amazingly original games from last gen?

I will go ahead and list them for you:

1. GTA3.

Why dont you try listing these amazingly original games from last gen?

I will go ahead and list them for you:

1. GTA3.

S0lidSnake

Shadow of the Colossus, Ico, Psychonauts, Okami, Katimari Demacy, Just look at the Dreamcast's library :o hardly any of those games would be made today.

D. Souls is pretty original imo aswell.

I don't think so.

[QUOTE="S0lidSnake"]

Why dont you try listing these amazingly original games from last gen?

I will go ahead and list them for you:

1. GTA3.

lordoftheleft

Shadow of the Colossus, Ico, Psychonauts, Okami, Katimari Demacy, Just look at the Dreamcast's library :o hardly any of those games would be made today.

That's true :)

indeed originality is over, welcome to the copy paste games

As in ps2 era? Heck ya. Rogue Galaxy, Dragon Quest 8, Tales of the Abyss.......This generation is missing unique games like these.

Only when you look back through pink goggles and ignore all the derivative crap there was last generation.foxhound_fox

Shadow of the Colossus, Ico, Psychonauts, Okami, Katimari Demacy, Just look at the Dreamcast's library :o hardly any of those games would be made today.lordoftheleft

When all you look at from today's games is Call of Duty, then yeah, there isn't anything like those games from this gen. But that's your fault, not ours or the industries... there are TONS of unique games out there. I'd personally say more thiis gen than last gen, solely on XBLA/PSN/WiiWare/Steam Indie too.foxhound_fox

What I'm referring to is major releases I'm not really talking about down loadable titles from XBLA PSN Steam or even Indie games. I said sixth generation so that also means I'm not talking about PC games either since PC hardware is constantly evolving and isn't measured in generations.

Who said Cod is all I'm looking at? I'm aware of just about every major game that comes out this gen.

You have to admit that there are significantly more mediocrity this generation than last. Just look at the so called best games of the year how many of them are sequels? How many of them are derivative of other games? This generation if a game is even the slightest bit successful for some reason it warrants a sequel. So that means less original IP's and less creativity because of the fear of deviation from the formula of what made the original game popular. Look at the Assassins Creed series how much longer is that gonna be dragged out? Ubisoft is essentially just making the same game over and over again.

And of course there has always been games that have been derivative even last gen, all I'm saying is it has become more prevalent.

What I'm referring to is major releases I'm not really talking about down loadable titles from XBLA PSN Steam or even Indie games.lordoftheleft

And of course there has always been games that have been derivative even last gen, all I'm saying is it has become more prevalent.

lordoftheleft

I dunno, I think it's just easier to remember the great games from previous generations as time helps the mediocre stuff sort of disappear. I mean, no one talks about all of the awful JRPGs on the previous consoles (mostly the PS2), or the glut of WW2 shooters, the dozens of Xtreme Tony Hawk knockoff titles, or the goofy platformers trying to ape Jak and Ratchet and Sly (Blinx comes to mind immediately).The PS2 in particular was a minefield of crap you had to navigate to get to the good stuff.

Though thinking about the previous generation brings up Final Fantasy, and there I would have to agree that series was far better last gen. This gen all we have is one FF abortion.

I always thought Psi-Ops The Mindgate Conspiracy was pretty original...

But in response to the OT, I think there are just as many original games this generation as there was last.

Everybody just likes to be cynical.

[QUOTE="S0lidSnake"]

Why dont you try listing these amazingly original games from last gen?

I will go ahead and list them for you:

1. GTA3.

lordoftheleft

Just look at the Dreamcast's library :o hardly any of those games would be made today.

All that comes to mind for the Dreamcast is Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2. Sonic is really(in my opinion of course) Sega's only good series and it's a damn good one(my favorite video game series).

Too many on xbla/psn/steam/wiiware to count.

And this concept of "it has to be a major release on a disc or it's not a real game" is insane. And by not including these titles, your cutting out a major part of the industry . You can't judge the industry as a whole if you cut out a huge part of it.

And even on the reatil side, there have been innovative games. Mirror's Edge, LittleBigPlanet, Boom Blox, etc.

Both generations have a lot to offer.

Well, considering the fact that games developed early on have the greater eventuality/potential to be much more influential than the later years' because there wouldn't have been a lot of old ideas already tossed into the drawing board to begin with, I guess you can say that, lol. I mean, nowadays, many games/game developers take old, established ideas/traditions and simply use their creativity to build a seamless, core gameplay experience on top of that, rather than actually work on the foundation itself, which makes innovative games that actually introduce something new/influential/unique to the table even more revered than ever these days, apparently. (Props to you, Dark Souls, Portal, Catherine, etc....)

On the other hand, a lot of other developers that actually attempt to make unique games tend to fail miserably sometimes, proving how good concepts can sometimes be executed so poorly, lol...(*cough* Mindjack *cough*) But nevertheless, I find any kind of game that could manage to catch my interest enjoyable, regardless of originality, imo. Of course, it would be crossing the line if a game implemented gameplay mechanics or plot synopses that were practically ripped off of another game (e.g. Secret Service :-P), though, although a handful have actually executed such tactics so well that they've become as good of a game as any other (e.g. Uncharted ;)); but of course, the latter is usually not something you'd want to constantly hope for, lol.

Whatever the case, that's my two cents, lol...sure, I suppose the majority of this generation's lineup of video games isn't as comparable to the sixth-generation's handful of unique products (which actually isn't completely true), but there's still been some pretty excellent releases in the past 7 years regardless, I'd think, and I'm more than fine with that. xP

No, not really... I mean, there were original games last gen, but this gen has original games as well. There's all the XBLA, PSN, WiiWare, Steam, IOS games, and then there's titles like Littlebigplanet, Mirror's Edge, and Scribblenauts (Seriously, am I the only one who thought this game was more unique then any other game this gen?)

Games like Minecraft, Trine, Magicka, LA Noire even tried something different, Portal, Skyward Sword with the cool sword controls, Team Fortress 2, Bastion, and more have come out this generation. All of them unique and original.

I agree, video games were a lot better back then. I still play my PS2 more than I play my PS3 or 360.

Today, every successful mainstream game is either a Call of Duty clone or Gears of War clone. I'm so sick of generic, repetitive shooters.

There are still a few gems that were produced this generation, those are games like Amnesia, Sonic Generations, Braid, Minecraft, White Knight Chronicles and Tales of Vesperia. Games that dared to be different. They're not as popular as Call of Duty, Gears of War, Killzone or Uncharted, but they definitely deserve more attention and respect.

It feels like there's no end to the PS2's library of awesome JRPGs. Unfortunately I've already played about all of the good JRPGs the PS3 and 360 have to offer.

I'm really disappointed in what the video game industry has become. Or is turning into. I blame Halo and Call of Duty for popularizing the console shooter. Developers pump out rehashed shooter after rehashed shooter every year, and most gamers continue to buy them.

Buying these shooters for $60 each is a huge rip-off considering the campaigns are typically very short. I'd say they range from 5 - 12 hours. That can be beat within a week.

[QUOTE="lordoftheleft"]What I'm referring to is major releases I'm not really talking about down loadable titles from XBLA PSN Steam or even Indie games.DJ_Lae

I think that ignoring those games makes the generational comparison kind of pointless, though - last generation had nothing comparable to those online stores (other than a handful of XBL arcade games) and many of the releases for XBLA and PSN would probably have been full retail games if that avenue wasn't available for them. Hell, some of them have been - Alien Hominid saw a retail release and some other games have been part of disc-based collections.

And of course there has always been games that have been derivative even last gen, all I'm saying is it has become more prevalent.

lordoftheleft

I dunno, I think it's just easier to remember the great games from previous generations as time helps the mediocre stuff sort of disappear. I mean, no one talks about all of the awful JRPGs on the previous consoles (mostly the PS2), or the glut of WW2 shooters, the dozens of Xtreme Tony Hawk knockoff titles, or the goofy platformers trying to ape Jak and Ratchet and Sly (Blinx comes to mind immediately).The PS2 in particular was a minefield of crap you had to navigate to get to the good stuff.

Though thinking about the previous generation brings up Final Fantasy, and there I would have to agree that series was far better last gen. This gen all we have is one FF abortion.

I'm not ignoring them, I don't have any problem with them. There is a lot more diversity on digitally distributed games since they cost a significantly less to create and are less of a risk. This is why I'm only focusing on the big budget releases. Just look at Kill Switch on the PS2 not a successful game yet it's cover based combat is a concept that is still used in many games to this day. Uncharted, Gears of War, Killzone 2, Deus Ex HR, Dark Void all employ that one concept. Innovative Ideals are risky so making a game that is based around them isn't considered financially sound, especially this gen since the cost of making a game has has increased dramatically. Games this generation cost so much to create that they have to be a hit right out of the gate just to cover the cost of their investment. So developers are a lot less willing to try anything out of the status quo, and when they do have a hit they milk it for all it's worth even to the point that they come out yearly Madden style. Just wait and see we'll be on Assassin's Creed 7 before this gen is done. This is not really something that can be disputed it's reality.

I do agree with you on FFXIII though:D

Today, every successful mainstream game is either a Call of Duty clone or Gears of War clone. I'm so sick of generic, repetitive shooters.GeoffZak

Then look beyond successful mainstream games... doy

I agree, video games were a lot better back then. I still play my PS2 more than I play my PS3 or 360.

Today, every successful mainstream game is either a Call of Duty clone or Gears of War clone. I'm so sick of generic, repetitive shooters.

There are still a few gems that were produced this generation, those are games like Amnesia, Sonic Generations, Braid, Minecraft, White Knight Chronicles and Tales of Vesperia. Games that dared to be different. They're not as popular as Call of Duty, Gears of War, Killzone or Uncharted, but they definitely deserve more attention and respect.

It feels like there's no end to the PS2's library of awesome JRPGs. Unfortunately I've already played about all of the good JRPGs the PS3 and 360 have to offer.

I'm really disappointed in what the video game industry has become. Or is turning into. I blame Halo and Call of Duty for popularizing the console shooter. Developers pump out rehashed shooter after rehashed shooter every year, and most gamers continue to buy them.

Buying these shooters for $60 each is a huge rip-off considering the campaigns are typically very short. I'd say they range from 5 - 12 hours. That can be beat within a week.

GeoffZak

It is pretty darn easy to find good PS1/PS2/PSP game just by shuffling through the store shelves, the same isn't so true with the PS3/Wii/360. You have to know what your looking for, because the abundance of shovelware this gen is ridiculous.

I think so, it seemed developers were more willing to take chances back than. Nowadays it seems most developers are terrified with the prospect of making a game that doesn't fit into a certain cookie cutter mold set by other previously successful games. This generation it seems every game is either a fps, a clone of another game that was successful or a sequel. I'm sure people will be able to name a few original games this gen like Mirrors Edge, Heavy Rain, Flower, Little Big Planet but they are very few and far between. What do you guys think?

lordoftheleft

Id agree. Everything seems to be an action game, or some sort of shooter. Games take so much more time & money to make than they ever have though& gamers these days dont buy anythingthat isntyour big, action,blockbuster games.

One game that doesnt sell can close down a studio. Every release is important & studios dont want to make a great unique game, only to lose thier jobs. The game industry is harsh & gamers these gnerationsseem to be real close minded.

Developers have to do what they have to do to stay alive. Gamers dictate what games are made & what games aren't.