Where is this industry going? Is it going to be the same old trends?

Is the game industry heading into a new direction? By 2012 and beyond, what will new handheld standards be like, what will console games include, will we have as diverse genres and games, or will we see more companies playing it safe and releasing what is effectively crap to please the masses?

The problem isn't that the mainstream don't like other genres and forms of games, it's that they aren't aware of them. There isn't a soul alive who wouldn't absolutely love Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. They just need to play them, hell simply be aware of them. The problem is no one tells them these things. Not to insult but there are certain unmentionable people that would rather argue and bicker incessantly on the Internet than actually spread the word on great video games. Word-of-mouth shouldn't be limited to movies and other works. If the movie industry can have sleeper hits, then so should video games. And I don't mean selling a couple hundred thousand, I'm talking millions. Because great games are enjoyed by all. Regardless of whether one preferts real time strategy to platformers to shooters to anything else. I don't think that's an impossible feat given how "huge" this industry has apparently become.

But at least that's the way I see it. Ah well.

Nothing much will change in the coming years. Mainstream publishers are going to play it safe 99% of the time; they'll rarely risk publishing a game that doesn't appeal to a large majority of their target audience. We'll be seeing new mechanics and such in existing genres, but with the industry being how it is, it's the indie game developers who will be the ones to work on stuff that don't quite fit into the mainstream. It's a shame too, since indie games really don't get much attention in general.silentexistence

Pretty much this. The bigger the industry gets and the more money gets spent on developement, the less likely mainstream developers are going to take chances on original ideas. It can probably only get worse as I see a lot of developers slimming some genres down in an attempt for "wider appeal". Personally, I'm going to pay a lot more attention to indie developers, and I think a lot of other people will too.

Basicaly good thing that Industry becoming larger and lesser prices and more to choose what to play, bad thing is that you will see every 2 months crap games like Call of Duty in countless expansions with same graphic engine. Because 3-4 companys will hold monopol and small companys wont make big deal in industry with talent and game mehanism. Like it was case with Dune 2. Today only 2 RTS games. Star Craft 2 and Naruto Alert 3.(irony).

in the pc market i expect alot more free mp games and alot smarter buisness models not tied to boxed stores. i see GFWL either getting a much needed clean-up or it will die, impulse will die, gogamer will probably perish as well.

in terms of pc game developement these are my ones to watch if you want something not "run of the mill" in-terms of something that isnt jsut a clone or reitteration of an existing franchise or game:

city-interactive

square enix

capcom

Unreal

people can fly might make a move but i doubt it

gamersfirst

mojang

and last the runt of the litter ubisoft

city-i and square have both shown that they can makes games for the pc and move units the problem is now can they improve their existing formulas and not act like whiney crybabies n cheat us at every turn under false pretexts

capcom has taken great strides expect them to move on the pc scene in a big way

unreal wants in but they havent walked enough for me to raise an eyebrow in their direction

gamersfirst.. they a cookin a somethin up and if your patient you may see something that NO system has ever scene guarantee it

mojang is breaking ice just by looking at it.. their on their strictly because it wouldnt be complete.

ubisoft is the dark horse because if somebody wakes the f--- up over there they might salavage their stake in that market.. or you will see them become console only.. which wouldnt be very good news for the gusy that once had more high pop. mp pc communities than most other developers on teh planet. people easily forget that once ubisoft n pc were cribbing so tight it was like salt n pepper.

the rest.. you can basically predict n expect the whole way home

i also predict ncsoft will make all their backlog F2P (as they already have for most of it) and i wouldnt be suprised if a few old favourites come crawling out of the cemetary they have out back for the likes of exteel and auto assault

People are getting their wish. Video games are becoming more like movies all the time. There is very little devaition from established genres, endless sequels, remakes, and relauches.

Look for innovation from poorers devs: Indie studios and Eastern European devs. The ones who were innovative and have now established a foothold (Crytek, for example) will play it safe, and continue to pump out dumbed down shadows of the products they once made.

Programming hi-def graphics is tremendously more expensive than what came before. When the next gen of consoles comes out and people are expecting another big improvement in graphics, games will get even more expensive to produce and publishers will play it even safer. More sequels, probably shooters. And even more online multplayer because then they can charge for map packs.

I can only hope there will be enough off-the-beaten-path type stuff to keep me interested.

I really don't like the direction the game industry is going, particularly the increasingly common practice of developers releasing unfinished games to the market, then selling the rest of the game as DLC. It is greed at its finest, as a developer charges you $60 for a glorified demo, then makes you pay another $30 to $100 to enjoy the whole game, but of course that whole game experience can never leave the confines of your console because it is all digital. So if you want to sell your glorified demo someday, the person who buys it has to repeat the cycle.

Another trend I see becoming increasingly popular is the move toward digital distribution of games, and moving away from physical distribution. We have already seen this push with lower budget IPs, and I believe bigger developers will start making the plunge with digital exclusive releases. No doubt, this will be to save money of publishing costs, but I also see it as a way of developers ensuring that every "copy" of their game bought is non-transferable and non-resellable by the person who purchased it. Going hand in hand with this, I see the used game market taking a hit in years to come, especially with newer released.

I guess overall you could say that the industry is moving more and more toward giving gamers less for more, and truly not giving you anything at all for your money with fully digital copies of games; you can't sell or trade a digital copy of a game even though you paid money for it.

One other trend I see continuing, as many have mentioned on her, is developers playing it safe by re-releasing old games over and over again as "sequels" when they are really just polished or tweaked versions of their predecessors. Innovative and original games will become less and less common, as developers like EA have proved you can re-release a game 20 times with only slight differences and still make millions of dollars everytime.

I don't mean to be the cynical old gamer, but I really do not like where the industry is headed, and I sicnerely hope that any of the above trends comes to a grinding stop, and starts going in a better direction. If not, then I will no longer be buying new games.

Is the game industry heading into a new direction? By 2012 and beyond, what will new handheld standards be like, what will console games include, will we have as diverse genres and games, or will we see more companies playing it safe and releasing what is effectively crap to please the masses?

The problem isn't that the mainstream don't like other genres and forms of games, it's that they aren't aware of them. There isn't a soul alive who wouldn't absolutely love Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. They just need to play them, hell simply be aware of them. The problem is no one tells them these things. Not to insult but there are certain unmentionable people that would rather argue and bicker incessantly on the Internet than actually spread the word on great video games. Word-of-mouth shouldn't be limited to movies and other works. If the movie industry can have sleeper hits, then so should video games. And I don't mean selling a couple hundred thousand, I'm talking millions. Because great games are enjoyed by all. Regardless of whether one preferts real time strategy to platformers to shooters to anything else. I don't think that's an impossible feat given how "huge" this industry has apparently become.

But at least that's the way I see it. Ah well.

thattotally

You criticize publishers for offering safe crap than say more people should play Mario? Okay....

Very few games sell millions because the tastes of gamers are incredibly diverse and gaming is incredibly competitive (this month there was Skyrim, Saint's Row, CoD, Rayman and no doubt a couple other games I am forgetting). Some genres and franchises are more popular than others, but for a variety of reasons (the primary one of which is the broad tastes of gamers) there is more variety on offer than ever before.

Also, its bizarre to assume that any quality game can be enjoyed by anyone. Tastes vary quite widely (which is why some genres are more popular than others) and any given game sells (and presumably appeals) to a minority of gamers.