What do you think is missing from gaming right now?

Could be wrong, but I felt like back in the day we had more variety of games that weren’t necessarily trying to be big blockbusters. Seems like the industry now is trying to chase trends instead of passion projects. Maybe some of that is captured now with certain games, but I’m talking about in general. What about you, SW? What do you think is missing from gaming right now?

Triple-A games that are not afraid of being games. Instead, we have games that are more passive entertainment than interactive. Luckily there are indies.

Imagination. So many games in the AAA tier are playing it safe. I mean, there have been good ones recently, but none of them are "outside the box".

When's the last time we got something like Haunting Ground from a mainstream dev.

Gaming journalists who used to focus on talking with developers for inside scoops and exclusive sneak peeks, these days they just post articles about what one person said on Twitter or 4chan.

We also used to get more varied opinions back in the days before people griped about video game journalism ethics and gaming sites magazines taking ad revenues influencing reviews, but I'd say these days gaming journalist engage more in circle jerks of conformity from each other than giving their own opinions, like they're afraid to do so.

We're missing a GOOD modern mech game. No offense to MGS, Titanfall etc. but it just isn't enough. I got that mech hunger and I hope my itch is satisfied August 24th!

A Sega console.

This.

It seems like the bigger the production budget, the more hands off the game becomes. I don’t like that

@SolidGame_basic: C'mon solid, let's be real here. You can't sit there and complain about the lack of variety, then buy and defend Sony's third-person action adventure games.

Geez, dude, have a little self-awareness, lol.

You seem to forget that I’m a manticore, a gaming entity so powerful that I don’t fit into one group. 😎

@SolidGame_basic: You defend Sony on here, you are a member of the SDF, it's comical that you complain about the lack of variety while buying (and defending) Sony's third person action adventure games.

You are a major part of your own problem. Like I said, you need some self-awareness.

A new Chrono game.

Well, I'd like to see more creative/weird arcade games like the ones this youtuber enjoyed in Japanese arcades.

Hardware to succeed the iphone/Android's dominance and technological prowess (relative to the portable market).

New iPhones are just minor tweaks, Apple had a big thing going with just mobile gaming but unlike traditional hardware game manufacturers they don't want to make revolutionary next steps like Microsoft or Sony.

Mobile gaming is just like if the original xbox came out and stayed popular for 16 years.

The mobile games I played I liked better than the typical 3DS/PSP game, I feel like gaming went from consoles -> portables -> mobile -> ?. The thing missing from gaming is the question mark.

A new sega console for example could theoretically be that, but I feel like it would probably just have the same problems all the old sega consoles did.

In the AAA space, I think we are missing soul.

Yes I know that is both a vague and kind of hipster answer, but the pendulum has swung too much towards the "business" side and too little towards the "game" side of things.

It's mostly all about profitability and how much they can milk the consumer. Games-as-a-Service while providing as little service as possible.

I'd like to see more soul in the AAA space. More gambles made, more risk taking, more passion projects, and more one-offs. Not every game needs to be something with a $50-milliopn budget that needs to make $500 million to be worthwhile. Set up satellite studios of 20-50 passionate developers and let them make some fun stuff. Some neat 10-20 hour singleplayer games. Some low-key multiplayer shooters. And so on.

In the independent space, they're fine...keep doing what you're doing. Especially you, Larian; Baldur's Gate 3 is a shining example of what a game can be when it's made for players and without the constraints of being owned by a publicly traded corporation.

We need more AA games, but gamers don't really play them and call them garbage. Yet the way AAAs are going I'll say that we just need games.

Oh and I think patience and understanding is missing from the receiving end of gaming; I think journalists and consumers are too critical, too impatient, too demanding, and have turned what should be a relaxing hobby into something that can be a major source of stress.

Lame streamers, dumb youtubers, clickbait articles, fanboys...it's all gotten quite toxic.

@kathaariancode: I'm about to start Remnant 2 and after that it will be Atlus Fallen, 2 AA games. And one of my favourite games last year was Evil West. So you can't count me in as one of those who turn their noses up at AA games.

Too many open world games with RPG and very less pure action FPS or third person games that are not movie games.

Developers that have integrity. So many developers are offering micro-transactions that are nothing more than unlocks. They're saying "Well come on, you don't actually intend to play the games you buy, so just give us some money and we'll play it for you." So if all you care about is unlocking the Dodge Viper from the beginning, I guess it may be appealing, but I'd like to think that gamers are smarter than that.

Moreover, developers are holding back content of their game; they are deliberately holding back content that they could have put in their game, and are offering it, you guessed it, as micro-transactions! Nintendo, who I thought had some integrity, have even done it! That's precisely what they did in Fire Emblem Engage. I was shocked and appalled when I found out about that. Honestly, it makes me not want to play that game (it's currently on my back-log).

It just makes them look like a bunch of money hungry dirt bags.

@mrbojangles25: This is a good point. The publishers have their problems, but they would take more risks if we consumers rewarded that effort more often. We lament the fall of Sega, but then don't show up when the do release a Vanquish, Binary Domain, or Resonance of Fate.

And when something new comes out that isn't perfect, the internet dogpiles on it. We expect everyone to make a Burnout 3 on their first try, forgetting that it takes lessons learned from from a Burnout 1 and 2 to get there.

What exactly is a "AA" game and how is it different from a "AAA" game?

Honest question.

The ideological-neutralness of gaming is missing to where there are ideological controversies in certain games, dividing gamers on ideological lines. Also, how toxic these controversies have become (no real debates, but vicious personal attacks) to where I avoid reading about them. It is not just gaming, but entertainment and sports.

Other issues like originality or over-focus on AAA games have already been discussed by other posters before me.

A quality multiplayer shooter that doesn't have its foundation set in an macrotransaction store.

Its so bad it feels to me that even in 10 years from now, there isn't gonna be a sinlge game like BF3, BC2, or any other titles like it. Its fucking sad.

I just wouldnt know, im a Switch gamer, not a PS5 gamer ;)

Good CEO's that actually care about the end product, not about squeezing out the most they possibly can from the IP they own and the human talent that is working for them.

Wouldn't even play Battlefield 2042, Modern Warfare 3 or Overwatch 2 if someone paid me to play them. Competitive shooters are dead to me.

Coop games are very much alive though: Darktide, Payday 3 and Helldivers 2 all seem like fun games.

And let's not forget that Killing Floor 3 is bound to be announced soon, I'm dying to play that with mates.

When it comes to AA I think of companies like Devolver or THQ Nordic. They don't have the budget or 500+ head teams that AAA gaming have, but they still make games that are a notch above indie.

Another way of distinguishing the two would be that AAA wants to market their games to every single gamer out there, will jump on every new trend if need be, while a AA game is fine to catering to a certain niche.

need more immersive sims

Budget control.

Also arcade racers and 3rd person hack n slash.

Like others said, the AAA scene sucks butt. There's absolutely no risk taking anymore, resulting in derivative and boring games.

Also wouldn't mind arcade racers, extreme sports games and competitive online FPSs that aren't microtransaction infested battle royale bullshit to come back.

Mooaar gamers, less fanboys. :P

So a city builder like Cities: Skylines would be AA?

Where would something like XCOM fall? Also AA? I feel like that might skirt the line a bit, especially with 2K as publisher.

Having developers that make the games THEY want to play, versus what will make investors the most money would be great.

But the bigger problems are the devaluing of entertainment, and the continued support from gamers who talk big, and then buy this bullshit anyway.

We need less manticores and more canticores.

@Pedro said:

@last_lap said:

@SolidGame_basic: C'mon solid, let's be real here. You can't sit there and complain about the lack of variety, then buy and defend Sony's third-person action adventure games.

Geez, dude, have a little self-awareness, lol.

NA they all feel like different games. I didnt say while im playing god of war man it feels like spidermen. days gone never said I feel like im playing ratchet and clank. hzd did I say I feel like im playing ghost or sackboy. nor did I say astrobot I feel like im playing returnal or demon souls. playing returnal did I say im playing uncharted.

they all have variety and have there own feel to them.

ghost is one of the best games I have played in years.

don't hate a great thing.

yet no one complains about every xbox first person view games.

grounded

sea of thieves

halo

red fall

and more

that's ok though.

Diversity

Each of the games you listed from MS is very different from the other. Sony games have become very formulaic in design and presentation, and that is the reason they are called ever so often on this forum. MS has done a better job of having variety; love or hate, you have Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Minecraft Legend, Psychonauts, Forza, Gears, Age of Empires, Flight Simulator etc. Hopefully, Sony starts pulling away from the formula but folks like you wouldn't give them the hint to do such.

really ratchet and clank, astobot, sackboy, returnal, god of war,GT7,demon souls all there own game.

hzd, day gones, ghost, and spiderman are the only ones open world games.

and there all great open world games.

Formulaic.

Optimism.

Gaming is now absolutely drenched in cynicism. A natural response to publishers being cynical. Even as I type this, 5 minutes ago CockStar shamefully charged £50 for a port of a 13 year old game.

It's a good thing people are becoming more aware of the absolute snake den of the industry. But at the same time it's all encompassing. Sapping the joy out the hobby.

Good thing I'm a retro gamer or the disappointment would be on the regular

Is it surprising with the state the videogame market is in? Too much budget- and indie crap lead to unhealthy conditions detrimental to bigger games. Well, detrimental no matter the size...

@Pedro: I'm glad you took on Giffords posts, I just can't be bothered trying to educate him.

@Pedro: " Triple-A games that are not afraid of being games. Instead, we have games that are more passive entertainment than interactive."

No wonder Uncharted 4 was a snoozefest.

And speaking of UC4. Even though I don't buy games based on review scores, I notice ever since the 360/PS3 era, games are now judge more on their story, characters etc than the actual gameplay.

Gaming is also missing competition in the sports genre. 2K and Madden aren't delivering.

A Lot off things:

Creativity - Very often I feel like I play the same game over and over again, even though it's not. And not neccsarily games from the same company. Companies seem to just follow the trend of what is going on viral, and selling great, which currently is RPG Games, with open worlds. They expect you to spend thousands of hours leveling up, but guess what? I'm sick of that! Your upgrading system SUCKS! Except Elden Ring, goes to show how talented Fromsoft are. What's the last creative idea of games you saw? it feels like all games are copying from each other, but why isn't there a new game with new concepts that every game copies from? Find a concept that hasn't been done in video games yet, like the Black Death. Why han't anyone made aa game about that? Try to to get insight from books, and writings made by some really talented writers.

Variety - Isn't it like most of our favourite game themes ion the past have becaame way less, or even dissappeared? Try to look back, you'll see that gaming truly have changed a little (not in a good way), there used to be a company for every genre of games. All I'm saying is there definitly needs to be variety. And creativity WILL bring variety.

Pacing- Just don't let me get bored and leave the game after 1 or 2 hours, please!

More releases - Used to be multiple releases per year. Now it's Multiple yearss per release.

Games at the right price. I ain't paying £70 for a brand new PS5 game.