Are games getting shorter?

My friend and I call it "Next Gen-itis"

It seems to me that with the higher standard of expectation for graphics, games have become quite a bit shorter when compared to last gen.

I think games hit their peak length for RPGs back in the PS1 era, when you had giants like Xenogears and Final FantasyVII taking long hours to complete all the content. FFVIII and FFIX got a little shorter, and FFX seemed to fly by.

As for action games though, last gen was its peak.

Resident Evil 4 was about double the length of RE5 - or at least it felt like it. It's for this reason that I think RE4 was the better game - it simply had more in it - and RE5's only saving grace in comparison was the amazing co-op element (And the graphics, of course.)

Metal Gear Solid 4 is another big title that felt significantly shorter. If you sat and watched all the cutscenes, it took about as long to beat as MGS3. However if you count only the game sections, MGS3, and even MGS2 to some degree were significanly longer depending on how good you are at racing through it all. (MGS4 had that artificially lengthened 3rd chapter that kind of throws the numbers off, but you know what I mean.)

Even new IPs seem to have less - what's there is great, and probably better than anything we played last gen - but it's still less (Looking at the 6 hours it took to beat Gears of War, for instance.)

HOw do you feel about this? Do you think games have gotten shorter? Why do you think this is?

Is this a bad thing?

Welcome to 2006.IronBass

[QUOTE="IronBass"]Welcome to 2006.TheElfChild

To me, at least with what I've done with my game times, even older games from last gen aren't really that long, clocking in mostly under the 8 hour mark. I believe that it comes down to two factors: Our personal experience levels with a game and how the developer develops the game. From my game design class, I've learned that there's a very, VERY big transition from plans on paper to actual execution. What might seem like 12-15 hours in theory in writing might only take 4-5 hours when you actually play the game.

[QUOTE="TheElfChild"][QUOTE="IronBass"]Welcome to 2006.Animal-Mother

To me, at least with what I've done with my game times, even older games from last gen aren't really that long, clocking in mostly under the 8 hour mark. I believe that it comes down to two factors: Our personal experience levels with a game and how the developer develops the game. From my game design class, I've learned that there's a very, VERY big transition from plans on paper to actual execution. What might seem like 12-15 hours in theory in writing might only take 4-5 hours when you actually play the game.

Legendaryscmt

[QUOTE="Animal-Mother"][QUOTE="TheElfChild"] Well... RE4 is a good example of that. The thing is, the standard for non-rpgs has become 5-10 hours rather than 10-15.TheElfChild

Welcome to 2006.IronBass

I think short games is a matter of perception. How much free time do you have for gaming? I only play on the weekends. So one or two games, such as GTA IV & Fallout 3, will last me for several months. I can buy new Xbox games, but they'll be put on the shelf for later as there won't be enough time to play them. Plus there are tons of games. If the game takes too long to finish, then you won't be able to play the other games.

So you want a game that is not too long & not too short, so you can balance out all the other games that are out there & also weigh in the amount of free time you have to play them. Not all of us have 4-5 days of free time in a row to play a game. If I had that, then I'd be knocking those games out left & right & would start to think the games were short. They aren't really.

This is actually something I have been thinking about a lot lately.

The stand-out example in my mind is Elder Scrolls: Morrowind compared to Oblivion. Morrowind was huge, with tons of quests, and was a lot more indepth than any of Oblivions stuff. Oblivion could have expanded on that tenfold and instead tried to push every extra pixel they possibly could. Gameplay > Graphics. The 360 and PS3 could do some massive projects if they focused more on depth than AMG TEXTURES!

Fallout 3 playtime: 275 hours

Oblivion playtime: 325 hours

Fable 2 playtime: 75 hours

Mass Effect playtime 62 hours

I'm gonna have to say no.

Fallout 3 playtime: 275 hours

Oblivion playtime: 325 hours

Fable 2 playtime: 75 hours

Mass Effect playtime 62 hours

I'm gonna have to say no.

heretrix

Not only games, but everything including music, movies, and books are getting shorter. All these things are also getting crappier. So basically things are becoming worse in general.

[QUOTE="heretrix"]

Fallout 3 playtime: 275 hours

Oblivion playtime: 325 hours

Fable 2 playtime: 75 hours

Mass Effect playtime 62 hours

I'm gonna have to say no.

mitu123

I'm a completist. Sue me. :)

Nice Cate Archer sig. I wish they'd get off their asses and bring her back. I miss the wit of those games.

[QUOTE="mitu123"][QUOTE="heretrix"]

Fallout 3 playtime: 275 hours

Oblivion playtime: 325 hours

Fable 2 playtime: 75 hours

Mass Effect playtime 62 hours

I'm gonna have to say no.

heretrix

I'm a completist. Sue me. :)

Nice Cate Archer sig. I wish they'd get off their asses and bring her back. I miss the wit of those games.

I dont know. Cuz i remember that when i was a kid i played Spyro 3 and Jak and Daxter for like 500 hours. but then again, it may have been because i was younger and not quite as smart in figuring out how to beat a game. For example, Super Metroid took me about 240 hours all together, but Uncharted: Drake's Fortune took me nearly 3 hours (my favorite game this gen so far). Now i do realize that uncharted is the shorter game, but not 237 hours shorter loltmacscores91

Fallout 3 playtime: 275 hours

Oblivion playtime: 325 hours

Fable 2 playtime: 75 hours

Mass Effect playtime 62 hours

I'm gonna have to say no.

[QUOTE="tmacscores91"]I dont know. Cuz i remember that when i was a kid i played Spyro 3 and Jak and Daxter for like 500 hours. but then again, it may have been because i was younger and not quite as smart in figuring out how to beat a game. For example, Super Metroid took me about 240 hours all together, but Uncharted: Drake's Fortune took me nearly 3 hours (my favorite game this gen so far). Now i do realize that uncharted is the shorter game, but not 237 hours shorter lolheretrix

[QUOTE="heretrix"]

[QUOTE="mitu123"] You listed RPGs, 75 hours in Fable 2, whoa.mitu123

I'm a completist. Sue me. :)

Nice Cate Archer sig. I wish they'd get off their asses and bring her back. I miss the wit of those games.

Since I don't care about value in this respect, I kind of prefer shorter games.. beats filler content

[QUOTE="heretrix"]

Fallout 3 playtime: 275 hours

Oblivion playtime: 325 hours

Fable 2 playtime: 75 hours

Mass Effect playtime 62 hours

I'm gonna have to say no.

Animal-Mother

Yeah so? He said RPGs are shorter too. And action games have always been kind of short. As for RE 4, I felt that it went on for too long anyway. I love that RE 5 was as short as it is. I think it has pretty good replay value. I'm still playing it coop to get all of the weapons.

Not every game has to be 50 hours you know. ;)

[QUOTE="mitu123"][QUOTE="heretrix"]

I'm a completist. Sue me. :)

Nice Cate Archer sig. I wish they'd get off their asses and bring her back. I miss the wit of those games.

heretrix

I think short games is a matter of perception. How much free time do you have for gaming? I only play on the weekends. So one or two games, such as GTA IV & Fallout 3, will last me for several months. I can buy new Xbox games, but they'll be put on the shelf for later as there won't be enough time to play them. Plus there are tons of games. If the game takes too long to finish, then you won't be able to play the other games.

So you want a game that is not too long & not too short, so you can balance out all the other games that are out there & also weigh in the amount of free time you have to play them. Not all of us have 4-5 days of free time in a row to play a game. If I had that, then I'd be knocking those games out left & right & would start to think the games were short. They aren't really.

jknight5422

Games have always been long or short, you just havnt played them lol

Admitedly Jade empire & Fable 1-2 were 3 of the shortest games ive ever played in my life !!, oh ninety nine nights was also short as hell.

When it comes to games like Fallout 3, the main quest may be short, but the entire game take LONG as hell to finish, its a tad overwhelming but in a good way, i never got how some people would put fallout 3 in the "short" category as if the side quests arent part of the game, a RPG like fable should have been longer, since its not open world and quest are limited. Mass effect is pretty short too, not as short as fable, but the main quest is pretty short, and going to planets in the mako gets repetitive after awhile

Developers are all too busy playing online multiplayer to care about the singleplayer.

this is what happens when fans want bigger graphics get over it this is why i own a wii and the others , not just the others because wii offers what last gen offered and more

You can try and plow through everything in Fallout 3, its still gonna take you hours & hours & hours & hours & hours & hours

xD sometimes during the game i didnt even wanna venture into buildings cause they'd be too huge & ill always go goddamit let me out of this friggin building

The majority of NES games can be beaten in one sitting - the ones that couldn't be were notable exceptionssubrosian

I was going to say this. On the overall scheme of things games on the whole are really about the same. I mean, I could beat Super Mario Bros. in a matter of minutes using the warps. But do something similiar in Oblivion or whatever and it's OMG TEH SUX.

You can try and plow through everything in Fallout 3, its still gonna take you hours & hours & hours & hours & hours & hours

xD sometimes during the game i didnt even wanna venture into buildings cause they'd be too huge & ill always go goddamit let me out of this friggin building

Euroshinobi

[QUOTE="Euroshinobi"]

You can try and plow through everything in Fallout 3, its still gonna take you hours & hours & hours & hours & hours & hours

xD sometimes during the game i didnt even wanna venture into buildings cause they'd be too huge & ill always go goddamit let me out of this friggin building

mitu123

[QUOTE="mitu123"][QUOTE="Euroshinobi"]

You can try and plow through everything in Fallout 3, its still gonna take you hours & hours & hours & hours & hours & hours

xD sometimes during the game i didnt even wanna venture into buildings cause they'd be too huge & ill always go goddamit let me out of this friggin building

Euroshinobi

[QUOTE="Euroshinobi"]

[QUOTE="mitu123"] Dude, RPGs are known for their long length, this is just games in general.mitu123

I like to think of the fable series as a wannabe Oblivion, it tries to be this great rpg, and the creator promises so much, and then its just crap.

[QUOTE="mitu123"][QUOTE="Euroshinobi"] What happened with Fable & Jade empire ? those were rpgs, and short as hell.

Euroshinobi

I like to think of the fable series as a wannabe Oblivion, it tries to be this great rpg, and the creator promises so much, and then its just crap.

I dont know. Cuz i remember that when i was a kid i played Spyro 3 and Jak and Daxter for like 500 hours. but then again, it may have been because i was younger and not quite as smart in figuring out how to beat a game. For example, Super Metroid took me about 240 hours all together, but Uncharted: Drake's Fortune took me nearly 3 hours (my favorite game this gen so far). Now i do realize that uncharted is the shorter game, but not 237 hours shorter loltmacscores91

[QUOTE="Euroshinobi"]

[QUOTE="mitu123"] And yet doing all the quests, including side ones did take hours, though not as long as Fallout 3.mitu123

I like to think of the fable series as a wannabe Oblivion, it tries to be this great rpg, and the creator promises so much, and then its just crap.

[QUOTE="mitu123"][QUOTE="Euroshinobi"] Really ?, Fable 2's sidequest took minutes to complete, The sidequest were short, the main quest was short, it wasnt open world, which was bad, Jade empire was just short, everything, there were only two locations and it was over lol.

I like to think of the fable series as a wannabe Oblivion, it tries to be this great rpg, and the creator promises so much, and then its just crap.

Euroshinobi