Games have come a long way over the years but the basic formula and genres for games have not changed much. What we have been seeing though are a number of hybrid games that don't fit into the "box" of their genre. Mass Effect 2 (ME2) for example is a hybrid RPG/Shooter, having elements from both game genres. Other games like Borderlands or Fallout 3 are also hybrids, the distinguishing factor is the percentage of each genra. For example, Borderlands is perhaps 80% shooter and 20% RPG while Mass Effect is 60% RPG and only 40% shooter. Naturally these numbers are not exact but the important observation is that there is in fact a trend to incorporate cross genre features into modern games.

The future of gaming will no doubt be full of games that are made up of elements from multiple genres. This may not be a bad thing at all if it is done right. The hit games of today show that great success can be achieved if games are crafted in such a way as to balance elements to satisfy the gamer while not straying so far from the main genre. The great challenge for game designers will be to achieve this delicate balance.

I think that there will always be fans out there of "pure" genre games. Game studios need to be loyal to their fan base instead of "catering to a wider audience". The business strategy of reaching more people but trimming back games to make them "more accessible" may work at first but I think that eventually this line of thinking will only hurt the gaming industry. Games like Supreme Commander 2 are a prime example of this type of fan base neglect. Total Annihilation (TA) and Supreme Commander (SC) were more successful than the numbers suggested. The fan base of these games was made up of almost 99% hardcore gamers. The games were not considered a great success because of publishing blunders, early release, not enough balancing and testing etc. Gamers felt let down by the lack of support, DLCs and other promised features. Then years later, Supreme Commander 2 is released only to cater to a new audience. How do you think the loyal fan felt after spending years playing a game, talking about it and playing it with friends, sticking to it even through all the patches and balance issues, learning the economy system, longing for the bigger, better sequel and then... Supreme let down comes out. What a massive slap in the face to the hardcore fan.

Why then do game studios stumble sometimes and offend their most loyal fans? Could it be that maybe the crying wanna-be hardcore gamers are more outspoken than the hardcore gamers? Maybe. Consider this a call to arms then... hardcore gamers need to speak up and make themselves heard. The squeeky wheel gets the grease and if the only people out there speaking up are the crybaby snot nosed casual sugar junky quicky-game lovin mindless gamers, then THOSE are the people the game studios are going to be catering to.