With so many games being released nowadays the average person can assume that some games will be good, while others bad. I, the "average gamer" often look through Gamespot and check out the reviews of the not so good games that are released, and wonder, how WERE these released? One example of this is Spyglass Board Games, an Xbox Live Arcade game that was scored as a 5 on Gamespot. The game was given the demerit for being "stripped", feeling almost unfinished. I tried this game and must agree. The game can be simply stated as one word: mediocre (as the score states). While another could argue that is my opinion that this game is poor, with a broader view, it is easy to find a game on the recently reviewed list that receives a terrible score, like Deal or No Deal on the DS. The question I pose is: how and why are such games released, and why do they keep getting released?
As a small measure of proof, I counted the number of games receiving the Gamespot "Editor's Choice Award" for each year after 2002, the first year of the last PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube generation. The results are telling. The list goes: 2002-41 2004-37 2005-41 2006-21. And now, two-thirds of the way through 2007, there are only 11, setting a pace for about 16. Why the sudden drop off of "A" quality games in 2006? I know that a new bar was set with the next generation of game systems, but that same could be said about 2002. There is a problem here, and it lies in a few places, but mainly lies in us, the consumer, who will willingly buy games such as Hour of Victory.
Why do we purchase bad games? Let's take a look at Hour of Victory. The game trailers promote this game as being powered by the "Unreal 3 Engine" and how you can play as a soldier who has some great destiny, along with various explosions and shooting, but very little actual game play footage. Hell, the trailer makes the game look pretty damn cool. In reality, this game is a candidate for worst game of the year. I have seen my friend play this game. He purchased it solely on the trailers, in which they show you only what they want you to see. There was no "destiny" involved. The game was laughably easy and played almost identically no matter which of the three heroes you play as. Many, many people blindly purchased this game, not knowing the extent of their blunder until it was too late. So why do we buy games like this?
To answer another question, games like that are released because we will buy them. We will blindly throw our hard-earned $60 at the trailer which only shows us what they want the consumer to see. I think it is easy to assume based on the quality of this game that it was done cheaply and cannot have been too terribly expensive to create. If enough people purchase this game, based on blind hope, the game will turn a profit, making the venture worthwhile. This is why the quality of games is declining. As the market expands, there are more consumers. More consumers mean that more people will purchase games, so it is now easier to turn a profit on a game that otherwise would fail a few years ago. When the market was smaller, quality was much more important, as a sub-par game would never make it out of the red. Now, with the larger market, quality has taken a back seat to speed. Speed of production means less expenses, and then the larger market will procure enough copies so that the company profits, thus the decline in game quality.
We as gamers need to draw a line in the sand. We must not surrender our hard earned money based on blind faith that a trailer truly represents a game. We must refuse to buy games like Hour of victory and Spyglass Board Games and force developers to improve what they release out into the market. If gamers, casual and hardcore alike, do not waste time with sub-par games perhaps developers will be forced into producing higher-quality games. Though I am but a lowly teenager, I see the change in the industry and feel that this is a problem. We cannot let the general quality slide any further. If we do, I fear that games will keep getting a little worse, and a little worse, until so much is taken away that the industry will decline and fade out. I plea, be careful with your money, don't trust game videos or trailers, wait to read the reviews, and above all, be a skeptic. The fate of the game industry lies in your hands..... what will you do with it?
Perhaps I am being extreme, but any person can look at the number of 9+/10 rated games I showed above and see a trend. When this new generation hit, in 2006, something was lost. That point cannot be denied. I scroll down through Gamespot's review list ans see more 4-5/10 games than I ever had before. Where would the industry be without companies like Nintendo, Ubisoft, Bethesda, Bungie, and Square Enix, the companies that produced many high-caliber games? EA has taken advantage of their near-monopoly in the (American) football game, as Madden titles don't have the quality they used to, the '06 version on the Xbox 360 didn't even include the ability to challenge a play. So take my argument for what it is. Don't simply think that some teenager is demanding that you can't buy the games that you want to purchase. Whether you agree or disagree with my statement, in my words there lays some truth. I don't know who will read this, but whoever does, have an open mind, and please, be skeptical, and do not throw out blind faith in matters that you can control.
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