Next Gen Theory - the games industry ran out of ideas?

Theory - "Next-Gen Gaming has become a franchise within itself. More and more games are being released - with more and more similarities than any before them. Since when did Next-Gen mean a reboot of previous games? I've come to realise that the 7th Generation of gaming has become obsessed with Graphics, Console Warfare and Profit. My theory stands that - games are not as good as they used to be - due to an industry that ignores the publics points of view, personal needs and ideas."

In order to proceed with my analysis of the 7th Generation we must first take a journey back in time - to where it all began. The 1st Generation and 1972.

It started with Ralph Baer - a man convinced in creating an interactive television - so with his team at Sanders Associates - he began work on and completed in creating a two player video game "Chase" - in which 2 dots chase each other across the screen. After a demonstration the project received funding - this was used to create the very first Light Gun - and game wherein targets moved by the other player had to be shot at. It was only when Bill Rusch joined the team that things started moving - when the first true game was created on the console Magnavox Odyssey - a ping-pong game which later was redeveloped for arcade and home use - better known as PONG. The first true funded home console was born - and shipped on release at Us $100 in May 1972. The history of computer gaming had begun.

The 2nd Generation 1976 - 1983 saw the release of the classics - the true stepping stones of todays works - "Asteroids" "Breakout" "Donkey Kong" "Frogger" "Pac-man" "Space Invaders" and the first truly loved game characters in "Mario Bros". This was the early 8 bit era - the beginning of true gaming heaven - there were no Cell Processors or online play - there were the games - pure and not convoluted by companies dragging out the profit. It was in this era that Atari began its game console development with its first release - Atari 2600 - allowed by its success with PONG. Sega too began their career here - with their Sega SG-1000 - two names we still see today - and still having relative success - but for the same reasons?

The 3rd Generation came directly after the North American Video Game crash of 1983 wherein companies became bankrupt and the progression of the games industry looked to fail - there was too much development in progress for the fragile market and things began to get out of hand. A rival to the console world was also released - the Personal Computer (PC) became publicly available - its use of writable storage meant for more complex computer games. 3rd Generation (1983- 1992) - saw the first console battle - Sega vs Nintendo. NES vs Sega Master System both launched at US$199.99. Nintendo released Super Mario Bros on September 13th 1985 and before the year was out it became the highest selling game of that year - selling 10 million copies - then eventually 40 million copies - making it the highest selling video game of all time. So it was Super Mario Bros which launched the first world wide success in sales - its simplicity in game play made it attractive to many and the lovable characters became symbols of Nintendo's success. Atari however released "Gauntlet" - the first Dungeon Crawl arcade game - which soon was followed by newly started Capcom with Ghost's and Goblins - one of the most popular arcade games of the year - which then spawned a series of later games. Electronic Art's roots also lie here with their two releases of Adventure Construction Set and Racing Destruction set - which became hits following the success of their Pinball Construction Set. However - Commodore were lurking - and with the release of their newest personal computer the Amiga - began their lifespan of great gaming success.

In 1986 video gaming was taken to new heights. The advantages of consoles and pc's brought games into a spectrum and bitmapped texture graphics - spawning the titles such a "Bubble Bobble" and "Arkanoid" - which both spawned many sequels and remakes - but it was in this year that multi-million dollar franchise was born - "The Legend of Zelda" the sole spiritual runner of console role-playing games.

1987 - Capcom bring "Streetfighter" to the arcades, Konami Corporation release "Metal Gear" in Japan and Nintendo sequel Zelda with "The Adventure of Link (Zelda II)" But a rather unknown company facing bankruptcy had an idea - which nowadays can be said to be a series of one of the most successful games of all time - Squaresoft's "Final Fantasy" - all of these games can be seen on our shelves today - but have they progressed? Graphically yes, Audio yes but gameplay? Is the original essence still there? Or have these franchises been abused for corporate profit? 1987 - the beginning of Franchises.

1989 brought the arrival of a new Genre - the god games Genre - with Bullfrogs release of "Populous" and the first sim game "Sim City" - released by Maxis revolutionised real time gameplay. An unlicensed "Tetris" was also released. The commodore Amiga peaked for the first time with the release of "The Prince of Persia" and "Shadow of the Beast" showing what the new technology was capable of - excellent gameplay - superior graphics and vibrant audio capabilites brought these games into the light and placed them as milestones in the gaming atlas.

1991 - the year of my birth and a year of great gaming achievement and advancement. Sid Meiers "Civilisation" was first released and is still going strong today - a graphical remake of the original. Electronic Arts released "Road Rash" - the Motorbike racing game which revolutionised the Genre - bringing in the elements of rival bikers - on road battles and incorporating law enforcement penalties. Delphine software as released one of the first games to use polygons instead of sprites - "Another World" one of the first steps into 3d gaming. Yet another franchise was born - "Neverwinter Nights" - the first graphical MMORPG. Sega sought to strike Mario Bros had with their newest release - "Sonic the Hedgehog". All of these games can relate to the games of today - similar gameplay and all original ideas - games nowadays still seem to be copys brought forward to a new generation. "Final Fantasy 7" was released in Japan.

1992 - the first person shooter was born with Id Softwares "Wolfenstein 3d" the one which put the genre on the map. "Mortal Kombat" also stretched the limits of beat em ups - including a lot of gore - something previously unseen. The first survival horror game was released "Alone in the Dark" and the creating the template for the modern real time strategy genre was "Dune II"

1993 - "Doom" - the first person shooter god-father - which advanced 3d computer graphics forever. Probably the most influential game of all time - some 15 years ago - and still great to play now. Followed by Doom II in 1994.

1994 - "Warcraft" by Blizzard - an influence to hundreds of games. An original.

1995 - "Warhammer; shadow of the horned rat" by Mindscape was the first real time tactics game and the first fully 3d rendered real-time strategy/wargame.

1996 - a huge year with huge new releases. "Resident Evil" - invented the term survival horror. "Duke Nukem 3D" - a defining title for FPS. "Quake" - Advancing 3d graphics technology on Pc - started the franchise which has sold over 4 million games. "Crash Bandicoot" - the very mascot for Sony Playstation. "Tomb Raider" - the beginning of action gaming - first well-known female character Laura Croft. "Diablo" - enormously popular due for sequel on Next-Gen.

1997 - "Turok" "Dungeon Keeper" "Golden Eye 007" "Abes Oddysee" "Gran Turismo" - the originals- the best.

1998 - The Key Gaming year - some ten years before Next Gen saw the arrival of games like no other. The greatest game of all time - "Metal Gear Solid" - other releases include "Unreal" "Half-Life" all of which have seen life on next-gen consoles - but do they match the originals.

1999 - saw "Silent Hill" "Soul Calibur" "Unreal Tournament"

2000 - "The Sims" "Evolva" "Shogun - Total War" "Perfect Dark" completely unique games.

2001 - "Black and White" "Max Payne" "Ico" "Devil May Cry" and the beginning of truly great graphics. Games where thought linear and compulsive until the release of a somewhat new game which has influenced every single other since its release. A fully rendered 3d world - free roam - freedom of action - Grand Theft Auto 3 - a true Next-Gen experience - this was heavily the greatest achievement in gaming so far which stunned the public.

2002 - the gaming world is slipping. Not too much new here except the revolutionary "Splinter Cell"

2003 - "Call of Duty" "Beyond good and evil" "Manhunt" - so many sequels so little accomplishment

August 3rd 2004 - the birth of the Graphical era - technology at its finest - gaming at its scariest - the first person shooter returns to revolutionise the Genre yet again "DOOM 3."

2004 - saw the arrival of "Fable" - the first of its kind.

2005 - "God of War" and the last Awe Inspiring game of the PS2 - "Shadow of the Colossus"

2006 - present time .....Welcome to the next GENERATION of Gaming - say hello to HD and prepare to praise up the graphics because in the end - it seems that this is all a lot of the games have - good graphics - poor structuring - poor story telling - poor attempts at making a franchise last.

Next Gen Games Unqiue to Genre - "Bully" "Wii Sports" "Army of Two" "Assassins Creed" "Okami"

Very few unique games - a lot of remakes, sequels, franchises - all with updated graphics but very similar gameplay...

Read the list of games above - the time line of technology and think to yourself - are we really living in a next generation of gaming? Or is it a next generation of Graphics? The evidence seems to point to Graphics - but what are your thoughts?

Since when did Next-Gen mean a reboot of previous games? I've come to realise that the 7th Generation of gaming has become obsessed with Graphics, Console Warfare and Profit. My theory stands that - games are not as good as they used to be - due to an industry that ignores the publics points of view, personal needs and ideas.

Jamie_Robertson

The real problem is that developers are more focused on making games for themselves than for consumers. This leads to a developer creating a game which is full of art, story and mythos etc, which he thinks are awesome but which no-one else really cares about.

I certainly understand what you're saying, but alas, I must disagree. As has been discussed time and time again, popular franchises are a sure bet for a publisher looking to make a quick buck, as opposed to the riskier, creative, unique games. With the rising cost of games, it's no surprise that fewer major publishers are looking for something risky, as exemplified by Clover studios.

How, you might ask, in this economic environment, might these unique titles be realeased if not by major publishers, and on a 25+ million dollar budget?

In recent years, I've noticed a surge of unique titles, that often go the opposite way that major studios do. These titles are coming from smaller developers, and usually for, but not limited to, the PC market. Audiosurf instantly springs to mind. Created by one person, completely unlike anything else that came before it, and not to mention, fantastic. Then again, not all innovative titles are by indie developers. In some cases, just by small developers willing to take risks.

How about Sins of a Solar Empire? Rather than creating cranking out a sequel to one of their franchises, they did something different than they had ever done before. Different than anyone had ever done before. Developed on less than a million dollars, and met with both critical and commercial success, SoaSE goes against your theory.

I could write a paragraph about Stalker, the Witcher, or Portal, or something along those lines, but I think you get the idea.

Now then, back to indie games. More and more often, Indie games are garnering venues for distribution through the advance of technology. Examples of this are Steam, XBLA, or PSN. With the advent of downloadable games, it becomes more reasonable to create an entirely unique experience, and to have millions of people enjoy it. Again, these aren't developed by any major company, but rather, by people like you or me.

due to an industry that ignores the publics points of view, personal needs and ideas. Jamie_Robertso

Perhaps I repeat myself, but more and more often, the industry is becoming the public, and vis versa [sic]. The ideas provided by the public can be turned into a game by none other than the public itself.

So in conclusion, video games are not simply becoming graphical upgrades, that is only one facet of the market. If you want something unique, you just need to know where to look.

Edit: I write all that, and no one can do me the favor of keeping the thread alive. :cry:

yeah, i understand what ur saying. I hadn't heard of any of these games except Witcher - which did flick through my mind while i was typing my list - but i figured that it had been based along the same lines of fable - it being the first to explore the open evironment and upgradable characters etc... but witcher is indeed unique as well. as for the rest - i shall have to look into them - thanx - i still think the next gens - in particular the ps3 - need some unique titles - i struggle to find games i actually am interested in buying - i long for a masterpiece such as Legacy of Kain to become apparant :)

No they haven't.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH holy wall of TEXT!! :cry:

um yeah i think devs aren't as daring and original as they used to be

2004 - saw the arrival of "Fable" - the first of its kind.

2006 - present time .....Welcome to the next GENERATION of Gaming - say hello to HD and prepare to praise up the graphics because in the end - it seems that this is all a lot of the games have - good graphics - poor structuring - poor story telling - poor attempts at making a franchise last.

Next Gen Games Unqiue to Genre - "Bully" "Wii Sports" "Army of Two" "Assassins Creed" "Okami"

Very few unique games - a lot of remakes, sequels, franchises - all with updated graphics but very similar gameplay...

Read the list of games above - the time line of technology and think to yourself - are we really living in a next generation of gaming? Or is it a next generation of Graphics? The evidence seems to point to Graphics - but what are your thoughts?

Jamie_Robertson

commentary on the line in bold first: .... what? now i liked fable, but come on!

now that thats out of the way. i didn't read your history of good games because it didn't seem necessary. you go on to talk about next-gen games boiling down to "good graphics - poor structuring - poor story telling - [and] poor attempts at making a franchise last." first off, what do you mean by "poor structuring"? secondly, i don't see how you can say that we haven't made strides in storytelling in this gen. lastly, what does "poor attempts at making a franchise last." mean? it contradicts what you say later about their being too many remakes, sequels, and FRANCHISES.

i think your freaking out just a little too much. you'll have to elaborate on some points for me to actually have something to argue about. best of luck.

The industry has plenty of ideas, its just that companies are afraid to do something new because of the amount of money it takes to produce games like that. The last new successful IP was Gears of War, other than that the generation overall has been a generation of sequels.

Once companies are willing to risk some cash to do something new then we will start to see new IPs that have new things that expand the industry.

The industry has plenty of ideas, its just that companies are afraid to do something new because of the amount of money it takes to produce games like that. The last new successful IP was Gears of War, other than that the generation overall has been a generation of sequels.

Once companies are willing to risk some cash to do something new then we will start to see new IPs that have new things that expand the industry.

spidadragon1

But sequels is not always something bad. FF VI, MGS (sequel to MG saga), RE 4, DMC 3, MGS 4, Age of Empires 2, CoD4, SotC, etc. There are many sequels that are actually groundbreaking. Be it in story, gameplay, graphics, etc.

[QUOTE="spidadragon1"]

The industry has plenty of ideas, its just that companies are afraid to do something new because of the amount of money it takes to produce games like that. The last new successful IP was Gears of War, other than that the generation overall has been a generation of sequels.

Once companies are willing to risk some cash to do something new then we will start to see new IPs that have new things that expand the industry.

kenshinhimura16

But sequels is not always something bad. FF VI, MGS (sequel to MG saga), RE 4, DMC 3, MGS 4, Age of Empires 2, CoD4, SotC, etc. There are many sequels that are actually groundbreaking. Be it in story, gameplay, graphics, etc.

I never said sequels are bad, I said there are sequels because its already proven that it works so they keep making more instead of doing something new.

That also goes for music movies, and well pretty much everythingVendettaRed07

That's true I suppose. Me-tooism extends into all forms of media. If something is succesful, it is simply natural to try to emulate that success.

just a couple of corrections.

first) mgs is NOT the greatest game of all time. that title belongs to the original Half-Life.

second) this gen as well as HD gaming started in 2005, not 2006.

as for your topic question, yes developers ran out of ideas. why? because video games are over 30 years old. the same happened with tv, movies and music. nowadays, it's not the story or the "originality" of a game or entertainment media, it's how it's presented. the higher quality graphics and higher fidelity sound enthrall the gamer and in a sense brings them into the game, making feel as if they were there in the middle of the action of as if they were the protagonist. this is also why video games have become taken on a more cinematic element.

the video game industry is continuing to evolve, as are the consumers. this generation of games and systems is more of a transitional generation, where HD gaming is introduced to the living room (not counting pc's which have been in HD for twenty years); where surround sound is being fully utilized (just not by nintendo. the original xbox had ingame dolby digital while the ps2 only had it for cutscenes but this gen, ss is almost mandatory for the best gaming experience); and a new way of playing games became mainstream (i say mainstream because ms created the first motion sensing controller in 1992 for the pc; there also was a motion sensing controller for the ps but that was introduced around 1994 or a little later.)

next generation will see a huge increase in graphics and realism (including physics). how huge, just look at crysis, crysis warhead and far cry 2 and then remember that this gen has between 2 and 4 years left. meaning that next gens graphics will make this gen look like it was an hd version of xbox 1 and ps2. for those of you that have witnessed cinema 2.0 by amd, you know exactly what i am talking about. for those that haven't, please look it up. the unfortunate thing is that for these advances to happen, the prices of consoles must rise. hopefully we have seen the last of $500-$600 consoles and the nominal price returns to $300 ($400 tops). with computer technology advancing in the fashion that it is, we may see the xbox 720 with a graphics card that is better than the hd 4870 or the gtx 280 and for a lower cost.

this gen is nothing special. in many ways, it was just another upgrade, in other ways, it was a major let down. hopefully, ms, nintendo, and sony (if they decide to enter nest gen at all), will make the next so phenomenal, that we can all forget about this gen and dream of future possibilities.

[QUOTE="VendettaRed07"]That also goes for music movies, and well pretty much everythingagentfred

That's true I suppose. Me-tooism extends into all forms of media. If something is succesful, it is simply natural to try to emulate that success.

like apple when they first went into the mp3 market. the market was saturated with companies making mp3 players and apple decided "hey, me too" and the ipod was born. ironically, it was apple's attempt imitation that led to a huge surge in the mp3 market and an ever shifting trend towards all things digital in regards to media. though there were also many mp3 stores at the time, apple also introduced standardization in regards to music purchasing and portability. basically a one stop shop for music at high quality, low prices, and were legitimate songs, not crappy rips or songs with misleading titles that were so prevalent in p2p at the time *cough* napster *cough*.

apple also did the same with the iphone. they were not the first to introduce touch screen phones, palm was, and they did it years earlier. they were not the first to bring mp3's to phones either, they were there years before that (introduced by wither motorola, sony ericsson, or one of the pocket pc phone makers like hp). they were not the first to introduce internet for phones. they weren't the first for anything, they just made the phone look nice and marketed the crap out of it. truth is, before apple did anything, everyone else did everything and at lower cost. hell my lg vu has live streaming tv but watch apple as they introduce the third generation iphone with tv and try to proclaim that either they did it or that somehow theirs is better despite the fact that it is running on the same network and using the same streaming technology as the lg vu or the samsung access (media flo, also found on verizon.)

I disagree completely, games are getting better and better with each generation, of course if you're satisfied with that ancient "get a high score in pacman" gameplay then more power to you, you probably won't enjoy this gen, but gaming has evolved and become alot more complex and I love it, personally I fail to see how TC can bash current games for "poor storytelling" and yet praise the storytelling of the NES days, but anyways I'm personally enjoying gaming more than ever and if you aren't then maybe you've just grown tired of games and need to quit or take a break. One thing that's for certain though - if you're looking for Frogger-like gameplay from the supposed "glory days of gaming", I'm afraid you'll be waiting for a long time...death919

you do realise that gamerscores/achievements and ps trophies are just "next gen" versions of high scores right?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH holy wall of TEXT!! :cry:

um yeah i think devs aren't as daring and original as they used to be

LastRedMage

no, it would be a wall of text if it wouldnt have any paragraphs

[QUOTE="death919"]I disagree completely, games are getting better and better with each generation, of course if you're satisfied with that ancient "get a high score in pacman" gameplay then more power to you, you probably won't enjoy this gen, but gaming has evolved and become alot more complex and I love it, personally I fail to see how TC can bash current games for "poor storytelling" and yet praise the storytelling of the NES days, but anyways I'm personally enjoying gaming more than ever and if you aren't then maybe you've just grown tired of games and need to quit or take a break. One thing that's for certain though - if you're looking for Frogger-like gameplay from the supposed "glory days of gaming", I'm afraid you'll be waiting for a long time...cowgriller

you do realise that gamerscores/achievements and ps trophies are just "next gen" versions of high scores right?