Perhaps some of these numbers (especially in the U.S.) could be due to what seems to be a shorter and shorter attention span these days or maybe any overabundance of access to games? I remember when I was young I could count all the games I had on one hand for a system; seemed like I only got 1 game for Christmas or a birthday.
As such, you can bet your butt that I played the heck out of those games. Making "trophy" like challenges for myself when the concept didn't even exist. I still vividly remembering beating Street Fighter 2 Special Champion edition (boy, that was a mouthful to say back then and it still is one now.) on the hardest difficulty setting while not allowing myself to take any damage. Every time I would take any damage I would start from the beginning.
What is staggering to me, on a somewhat related topic, is how many people across the board don't even finish the games they start.
I remember some stats a while back and the number of gamers who didn't even finish the games they bought was alarmingly high.
I think Quantum dreams ( Detroit: Become human.) or something like that was "bragging" a while ago about how they were pleased that their game had a higher on average completion rate than most titles (Can't remember what it was but perhaps it was 40% or something ) and even that to me seemed low; then again, I am a gaming completionist, so...
How many people here are gaming completionists?
I can't move on to another game unless I finish the one I am currently working through. I'm not sure if it is some kind of anxiety I have or what, but...
For quite some time gamers were feeling like Ubisoft was just milking the AC franchise for all it was worth with all the annual installments in the series and a strong case could be made for those claims.
I think with some of the last installments in the franchise Ubisoft has realized that taking more time to develop these entries is a better strategy in terms of overall critical and commercial reception; at least I hope.
While the premise for this next entry doesn't exactly get my blood pumping (could also be AC fatigue.) I will commend them for trying to go back to the roots of the franchise. I feel like a number of developers have been trying to do this as of late and for some it has paid off handsomely; or at least given their respective franchises a much needed boost.
The idea of a remake of the original AC is also another strategy I think that has been propelled by all of the success of other remakes over the last few years (RE2 remake, FF7 remake, etc...) and if nothing else is a trend that developers are jumping on (Cough-The last of us part 1-Cough).
Hey, I'm all for it if the games in question need a facelift due to the originals being vastly different; especially from a gameplay wise perspective. Personally I think that is why RE2 and FF7 did so well. They weren't merely just visual upgrades but were in fact complete overhauls.
We will see how things play out in the coming months and just what Ubisoft has in store. Fingers crossed that if they do go the remake route it pleases fans of the original while also giving them something new to sink their teeth into.
It seems like this gen is going to be the gen of gaming developer acquisitions.
While gamers haven't really seen anything major yet in the way of these acquisitions I would imagine in the next few years the deals made over the last 2 years will directly impact gamers in terms of what titles they will be playing on their preferred system of choice.
That being said I'm still a little confused how some of these acquisitions are resulting in the studios claiming they will remain multiplatform.
I mean, what is the point in Sony or Microsoft purchasing these studios if they are going to end up doing what they have been doing since before the acquisitions? Wouldn't it make sense for these companies to now work exclusively for Sony or Microsoft? I totally get the whole "We will give you more add-ons, first look at DLC, etc..." but to buy out some of these studios just for that for such obscene amounts of money seems ,well... obscene, lol.
Whatever the case may be I hope this acquisition will mean some new IPs from Bungie.
I don't even think FROM thought Elden Ring would be this much of a success.
This is great news not only for them but also for the gaming landscape at large as it shows how delivering a proper and polished product can translate to success far beyond what was expected.
Crash Bandicoot 4 is definitely the stand out of the bunch but Man of Medan is a great horror title worth diving into.
Personally I think Man of Medan is the weaker of the Dark Pictures anthology bunch I have played (liked Little Hope more.) but it is still a tense ride with lots of twists and turns.
Speaking of, I am currently playing through The Quarry; Supermassive games' latest foray into the horror realm and their first big full title since Until Dawn (at least I think.). I am just in the beginning stages but so far it is a blast and you can see how much the team have grown since their days with Until Dawn.
Whether you are a fan of the QTE choose your own story genre I think there is a lot of fun to be had with Man of Medan so people should for sure check it out. And bedsides... it's free!
-THINGS AREN'T WHAT THEY SEEM/GHOST SHIP NINJA APPROVED-
Final Fantasy 7 remake was my personal GOTY back in 2020 and finally being able to see where this next title is taking us (yes, I know this is a remake so surprises are limited.) has me beyond elated.
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