Do you like the new trends in gaming?

[SSM]

Well now that we're firmly into the "next gen" of gaming, what do you think about today's gaming trends to that of the Ps2 generation?

For example, have you noticed games now cater toward cool guy gruff badass characters who look shabby instead of last gen's love for Pretty Boy main characters? Or how much more emphasis party games and the casual gaming fanbase has gotten? How about the population explosion of Shooters compared to the decline of traditional-ish J RPGS?

Personally, I would love for the PS2 to make a comeback for more developers. I used to rag on RPGs for being too cliche (Tales of Symphonia) but now I'm practically begging NIS to publish another Atelier game. I'm also kinda cheesed at how every bland action/shooter ect adds some shallow level system, and deems itself an RPG.

[Mister_Anbu]

The only trend I see is game makers opening up the online gaming front and attempting to make games more user friendly in hopes of attracting "non gamers."

The explosion in shooters is probably because of Halo.

I'm fine with it, there's nothing wrong with games that get everyone involved.

[CP9_agent]

I think its just adapting to the times. As far as party games go I'm actually into them because its something to do with friends. Shooters seem to be as plentiful to me as they always have been.

As far as the JRPGs go I think it may be a reaction to MMO's. WoW for example is dominating that market and the old RPGs are just not as amazing as they used to be. Its probably also about replay value. Look at how much work was put into Smash Bros Brawl. There is a ton of replay and they made it to last for a few years.

[windtriforce]

I do not think there is a new trend in gaming this generation. I think this because we still have the same genre of games this generation as the last one. Some examples of these genres are RPGs, shooters, and party games.

[*Meh*]

In that case, there hasn't been any new trends in gaming since sometime in the 1980's-1990's. I think they mean the number of games of a certain genre being higher on next-gen platforms than the number of games from the same genre on last-gen platforms.

[stephen]

For example, have you noticed games now cater toward cool guy gruff badass characters who look shabby instead of last gen's love for Pretty Boy main characters?

Is that supposed to mean you only played JRPGs on the PS2 five years ago, and now you only play American shooters on the Xbox 360?

Snarkiness aside, a lot of the predominant genres of the time are a direct result of the consoles. The increased connectivity and online support means that shooters, which maintain most of their fanbase with online play, are now attractive enough on a console (i.e. the inferiority of a gamepad to a mouse is overlookable) for people to flock to them. They're a proven success given their longevity on the PC, and now they're a proven success on a TV console.

Japanese RPGs are waning on the current generation for a variety of reasons. Japanese developers are stuck with three unattractive options currently: the Xbox is considered a console for "American-game fans," and the number of units in Japan is low. The PS3, though more ideal to those developers and that style of game, has very slow momentum and very few solid games for it, and is reportedly difficult to develop for. The Wii is technologically inferior to the others, and has an added problem in that most developers will be expected to make use of the Wiimote somehow, which requires more thought and thus more development cash. Plus, there's the simple fact that unlike games such as shooters or fighters, RPGs are defined more by the strategic gameplay than the graphics. You can play them equally well with primitive or advanced graphics, and gamers these days demand really solid visuals to match what the consoles are capable of, which costs a lot of money. Instead, Japanese developers are either remaking old titles or continuing them on the handhelds, where the minimum graphical requirements for a successful title are much lower, and thus they are quicker to churn out.

why the fuck did I just write all that

[Lobolover]

nope.And why just talk about PSTWO as the ideal?

[SSM]

nope.And why just talk about PSTWO as the ideal?

As opposed to GCN and such? I didn't feel like listing them.

Is that supposed to mean you only played JRPGs on the PS2 five years ago, and now you only play American shooters on the Xbox 360?

It's pretty much a comparison to what I mostly played then to what I mostly play now. I understand why these new trends happened. The topic question was do you enjoy them?

[Lazzie]

Well, trends always reflect what's popular, and the past 4-5 years have seen a glut of first-person shooters and "urban sandboxes" in the wake of popular games like Halo and GTA. There's also that bizarre recent trend of "brain-training" games on the DS; aren't there like eight of those out now? Of course, out of those trends you get some gems and some duds, and your opinions on what's good and what isn't only reflect your tastes and preferences.

[Lobolover]

SSM-I enphasized the TWO,as in why nost list THE Playstation there too?Rayman has to be one of the most frustrating 2-d "search and find criters" game ive ever played.

[Greg]

The question the thread presents is a good one. In fact I was pondering making this very same thread just a few days ago until I lost interest halfway through the opening sentence but since it's here…

No.

Not one bit.

Call me a conservative fogey but I think there is something severely wrong with one very important aspect of gaming today. By wrong I mean, I don't like it and tough beans for anyone that does.

Maturity

Games these days seem to be in two COMPLETELY different fields. One seems to be the gritty GTA, HALO, MGS, Army of Two, etc. 'mature' gamer selection. The other end seems to be the offspring of what the Pokemon generation is growing up with and taking a shining to. We have for instance, people that will soon be entering their late teens that think Kirby is badass. I know a lot of forum posters here think so. Characters like Sonic, Kirby, etc. are actually considered 'cool' and the games they have appeared in over the past 10 years have always been highly anticipated. This is something I will never understand like an old man struggling to comprehend baggy jeans. I grew up with Sonic. I was the first on the block to have Sonic for Genesis. Never once did I consider Sonic cool, badass, interesting or anything even remotely admirable beyond, the character of 3 really fun Genesis games and then a bunch of other crap.

There is a severe gap between these two levels that seems to be widening. That's not to say there isn't the occassional EXTREME game or childish game that isn't worthwhile. However I'm starting to wonder where (outside of sequels) things like Chrono Trigger, Actraiser, Panzer Dragoon, Resident Evil, Banjo & Kazooie, Guardian Heroes, Star Fox, Killer Instinct and so on have gone. They're all titles in some kind of magic zone where you can enjoy it regardless of age. Outside of adding numbers to the end of said titles, I can't help but think the ratio of these kinds of original, unique and endearing titles has fallen to making something that's either 'cutting edge' or 'nostalgic'.

Yeah, okay, it's fun to get sequels, but how about creating some new ground. IN THAT WAY, you can leave your established titles ALONE and instead of 'redefining the genre' aka adding bullshit that wasn't there before to inject 'new life' into something that doesn't need it anyway, try working on those ideas in a NEW title.

I think in the past few years the most recent original gaming experience I've had in a NEW series was Katamari. Sure Resident Evil 4 was fucking amazing but it was still Resident Evil WITH NEW EXTREME STUFF. Okami would come close to taking that title if not for the heavy reliance on the established 'adventure RPG' format it's built upon.

Developers are trying too hard to appeal to the now adult gamers and the maturing Pokemon gamers and it's leaving people that want original material with very little. Not that there's anything wrong with BADASS or childlike nostalgia infused in games in good doses, but too much attention is being directed at working with established hits FINALFANTASY7 instead of trying to break new ground. Naturally such a course of action makes sense these days when making a game is just ever so slightly more complex than getting 40-50 people together to paste a bunch of sprites together. Economically it pays off to work with ideas that are going to sell based on history or genre performance, but I'm starting to see a rift form between the two and those of us who enjoy games in the magic middle ground are slowly but surely finding little to satisfy our hunger. I think there are now 5-7 games a year now that I feel compelled to buy which is a pathetic number really when I think about the armada of games I used to enjoy across the board.

Anyway, I dunno if any of that makes sense. It's late and I'm tired and evidently it's my birthday in this land of the future.

[Insider2000]

Video games have lost some of their spark. I used to think it was me growing up or something, but it isn't that because I still have that giddy joy with many games (Brawl was once one).

It just feels different. Remember the days when TV/Movie/comic adaptations in video games were amazing? I loved playing Gargoyles, Batman Returns, Mickey's World of Illusion, Fantasia, and thousands of others I can't remember right now. I mean, yeah, the Sega Genesis era had its bad times (I'm looking at you Sunsoft's Superman). But it was an era of creativity. There were no bounds of judgement.

Now, you have to reach a certain criteria. "2D game? THAT'S LUDACRIS!" "No Online Play? YOU SON OF A MOTHERLESS GOAT!" "A main character that isn't gruff, how dare you!" "A scary game that doesn't allow you to bust out a gun and kick ass, you are a monster!"

I mean, we were so spoiled with the Sega Genesis games. Even the Playstation/N64 era. Now that games are harder to make, we want to good old memories back. Would you rather play Batman Returns for the Sega Genesis, or play Batman Begins for the XBox?

Tiny Toons: Buster's Adventure or random Tiny Toons Game?
Mortal Kombat I or Mortal Kombat Armageddon?
Marvel Super Heroes or Marvel: Rise of the Imperfects?

Back then, movie games were high anticipated. Now, if a movie game is good, holy crap!!! Games have lost their originality because of trends. GTA becomes successful, and then ninty percent of movie games follow that idea. Don't get me start on Simpson games. Remember the arcade Simpson game? Even though it might have been a rip on the X-Men mutant game (that game rocked so hard), it was a great game.

There just needs to be some form of creativity in the upcoming new games. Wii games have been attempting this, but they haven't even given us what some of the worlds best video games gave us. The same goes for XBox 360 and PS3.

Yes, Brawl is awesome. Yes, Gears and Halo 3 are fun. Yes, MGS4 is going to be badass. But that's it.

[Lobolover]

Insider-thats what Ive been saying for months now in discusions.The cliché phrase "where has the love gone?" in game making sure fits the bill.

I mean,lets talk about Croc.A simple game you will say,but god its controls are hard and the last island will get you so damn frustrated.

Jumping Flash-and the well established Crash series.Theese are the more kiddy games, that stil preserved a certain challenge.While I realy like my late time discovery of the Xena game (and fullfiling me long time dream of fullfiling the level task while not even moving from the safe spot),its sorta unbalanced-I mean,Its wery easy to get through the first 15 or so levels,while the last three (eSPECIALY "the three sisters" level) will frustrate you beyond belief.

Ive never been into games like Croft or so,but things like Medievil,and the like will surely make all ages enjoy themselves.

[captain usopp]

to add on what greg was saying; videogames are big buisness now-a-days. You can't just throw some random piece of crap out there, and see how it goes. You have to create something that you KNOW will be able to pay for it'self from all the development costs, and all the poeple that worked on it. So, of coarse, they are gonna follow what works. Popular titles like Zelda, or GTA. Popular genras like music and dance games, or online shooters. No one wants to test the waters with something new, cause they might not make any money off of it.

That said, I really don't like it. I mean, I love stuff like Zelda, or metriod, I love dancing games, but I love to try new stuff too. Playing the same damn thing all the time is boring. I could care less about a lot of new games now a days. I'm just as excited to go back and play some old games on the ancient 80's systems.

The other thing I've been pissed of with since playstation ONE is graphics. Sure graphics on all these systems are awsome, and realistic, but who cares. Not when the developers spend so much time to make sure that every strand of hair on their charicter's head moves realisticly, and thus don't spend enough time on story, etc.

Look at all the games from the 80's that 25 years later, are so good, people still remember them and still love to play them. wait 25 more years and see if anyone remembers some of the popular games nowadays.

I do have to say though, that I am impressed with Shigiru Miyamoto. He gets the basic formula for a good game. He knows how to bring something unique and inovative to the table, and he knows how to grab an audience. I am glad he is reaching out to people who are not normally gamers. I am glad he is making all these games that you can play with a group of people. He's not concerned about graphics and what not. He is concerned about game play.

[Sandai Mera]

@captain:

Look at all the games from the 80's that 25 years later, are so good, people still remember them and still love to play them. wait 25 more years and see if anyone remembers some of the popular games nowadays.
.

Renegade/Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-Kun is an 80's game and while I remember it from my childhood, it definitely isn't as fun to play now, then again it barely was.

[Gaiyae]

@captain:

I do have to say though, that I am impressed with Shigiru Miyamoto. He gets the basic formula for a good game. He knows how to bring something unique and inovative to the table, and he knows how to grab an audience. I am glad he is reaching out to people who are not normally gamers. I am glad he is making all these games that you can play with a group of people. He's not concerned about graphics and what not. He is concerned about game play.

I can partly agree with you.. I think gameplay over graphics to. But the thing is, i think the normal (controler) gameplay is better then the wiimote gameplay. It's nice that nintendo tries something new, but making a crap load of other motion control controlers seems kind of cheap. We have the wii crossbow, wii golf club, wii steering wheel, wii fit etc.. Nintendo seems to be milking everything out of their controler + the are making sequels like crazy.. I like to see them actually make a new kind of great adventure (not zelda) or a new kind of awesome platformer (not Mario). That's one thing both Sony and Microsoft don't do as much as nintendo.

I also notice a increase in amount of cheap minigames, because they are quite easy to make for developers.. And alot casual gamers just buy that. So the developers don't mind. I think that's a bit of a wrong trend.

Another thing i don't get. Is the Wii truly so inovative? When i look back at the ps2, sony had the Eye-toy, Singstar and Buzz wheren't they innovative? They where aimed at the exact same market nintendo aims at.

Ahh well, that's just my opinion. My favorite console still remains the SNES, with maybe a crappy controler compared to what we have now. But with alot games that really are original and have better gameplay then any console i have seen thus far.

[Sandai Mera]

@Gaiyae:

Ahh well, that's just my opinion. My favorite console still remains the SNES, with maybe a crappy controler compared to what we have now. But with alot games that really are original and have better gameplay then any console i have seen thus far.

Whoa the Snes controller crappy?

[*Meh*]

Kill the blasphemer!

I prefer my old SNES controller over PS-anything, X-Box, or any other, save perhaps an old Colecovision steering wheel.

[Gaiyae]

Nooooo, I don't want to die! :cwy:

But seriously - What is better about it, except for nostalgic values?

[Lazzie]

@Gaiyae:

Nooooo, I don't want to die! :cwy:

But seriously - What is better about it, except for nostalgic values?

Well, six buttons is usually plenty, they're arranged in a very simply manner and feel comfortable, and the controller's very light and narrow, making it easy to do things like snake around one's index finger to press three or four buttons at once with one hand. I can't do that comfortably with an XBox or Gamecube controller.

Really, if they had a joystick in addition to the pad, then it would be almost perfect.

[Sandai Mera]

@Gaiyae:

Nooooo, I don't want to die! :cwy:

But seriously - What is better about it, except for nostalgic values?

Well it's more enjoyable than a standard Genesis controller.

[captain usopp]

@Lazzie:

Well, six buttons is usually plenty, they're arranged in a very simply manner and feel comfortable, and the controller's very light and narrow, making it easy to do things like snake around one's index finger to press three or four buttons at once with one hand. I can't do that comfortably with an XBox or Gamecube controller.

Really, if they had a joystick in addition to the pad, then it would be almost perfect.

ah, i forgot about the wii remote, cause i don't have a wii. ya, it is cool, but you should be able to use a regular controller too.

and lazzie, I like how you think. The SNES controller is perfect in every way. I wish I had that to play metriod prime.

[Daz]

I'm fashionably late for the party as always, but I gotta get one thing off my chest:

I couldn't care less about the present gaming trends, aside from….jrpgs. I love them even more than platformers, but now I gotta go to 4 year old games to find something I like, something where I can engross myself and feel "at home" in the genre. What caused this?
Weeeelll, it started off gradually with Dark Chronicle and Star Ocean 3, but what really took out my heart and spat on itwas Final Fantasy XI: 3d Ivalice offline adventure Which I've just recently finished.
Oh, I'm not so conservative as to mean that all games who differ from a tried n' true formula I've come to know are awful. Changes can be good. What boils my blood is the fact that XII wasn't a Jrpg, the whole genre was changed to a western style rpg dungeon crawler, where the quest isn't to kill bad guy, save world, and find out how on earth everything fits together and what happens next. It's the quest for the next level, and better weapons.

But hey, those kinds of games are allowed to exist too. The truly worst thing about all this, the spark that started this fury, came when I read a FFXII review which said:

"Combat is automated. You can input your own commands manually, but then you propably prefer morse codes to telephone"

WHAT THE HELL?!!

And so I gradually came to the realization that every game critic in existance had decided that game elements I love and cherish are obsolete, annoying, bad elements. I've seen them tick points off the score of games because "well, it hard turn based battles, really, get with the times". Not a word on how the combat worked, just points off for it being there. Makes me wonder how Mario and Zelda games x1000 can keep getting those damn high scores.

Phew, just really needed to say that. FFXIII better be f'ing amazing square.

[SSM]

Well thanks Greg for finally getting the ball rolling on this thread. You too Daz for getting it going again. I was hesitant on making this thread because I thought it was too "gamer" for an Anime forum. This being my first one non gamer forum and all. Glad it turned out okay. Now….

Is that supposed to mean you only played JRPGs on the PS2 five years ago, and now you only play American shooters on the Xbox 360

You'd think. But not really. Sure, there were scruff badasses last gen like Max Payne and good ol' Tommy from Vice City. As there are guys like Nero from Devil May Cry 3 (bad example). Just there has been a topsy turvy shift in the numbers of these main character desgins.

SSM-I enphasized the TWO,as in why nost list THE Playstation there too?Rayman has to be one of the most frustrating 2-d "search and find criters" game ive ever played.

I'm biased I guess. I was thinking only the conversion from last gen to this one when making this thread.

Maturity

Games these days seem to be in two COMPLETELY different fields. One seems to be the gritty GTA, HALO, MGS, Army of Two, etc. 'mature' gamer selection. The other end seems to be the offspring of what the Pokemon generation is growing up with and taking a shining to. We have for instance, people that will soon be entering their late teens that think Kirby is badass. I know a lot of forum posters here think so. Characters like Sonic, Kirby, etc. are actually considered 'cool' and the games they have appeared in over the past 10 years have always been highly anticipated. This is something I will never understand like an old man struggling to comprehend baggy jeans. I grew up with Sonic. I was the first on the block to have Sonic for Genesis. Never once did I consider Sonic cool, badass, interesting or anything even remotely admirable beyond, the character of 3 really fun Genesis games and then a bunch of other crap.

There is a severe gap between these two levels that seems to be widening. That's not to say there isn't the occassional EXTREME game or childish game that isn't worthwhile. However I'm starting to wonder where (outside of sequels) things like Chrono Trigger, Actraiser, Panzer Dragoon, Resident Evil, Banjo & Kazooie, Guardian Heroes, Star Fox, Killer Instinct and so on have gone. They're all titles in some kind of magic zone where you can enjoy it regardless of age. Outside of adding numbers to the end of said titles, I can't help but think the ratio of these kinds of original, unique and endearing titles has fallen to making something that's either 'cutting edge' or 'nostalgic'.

A. Greed.

So much in gaming today seems to be so….trendy. It's hard to find too many games that'll put that type of timeless classic feel. The feeling of "this is a great game....that's so fun to play". It feels like now it's all GRAPHICS! DEMOGRAPHICS! INNOVATION! (Gimmicks)

But the thing is, i think the normal (controler) gameplay is better then the wiimote gameplay. It's nice that nintendo tries something new, but making a crap load of other motion control controlers seems kind of cheap. We have the wii crossbow, wii golf club, wii steering wheel, wii fit etc.. Nintendo seems to be milking everything out of their controler + the are making sequels like crazy.. I like to see them actually make a new kind of great adventure (not zelda) or a new kind of awesome platformer (not Mario). That's one thing both Sony and Microsoft don't do as much as nintendo.

I agree. The thing I hate about the Wii and it's new mindset it brought gaming is that anything that has a familiar playstyle (that isn't some sequel) is obsolete. Wii controls feel downright tacked on nowadays. It's like a game being unique has become it's main selling point. Sure that worked for Katamari, but now you get gigantic piles of shit like Opoona. It's making a weird game for the sake of it being weird. Even if it ends up making the game fucking suck.

Another thing i don't get. Is the Wii truly so inovative? When i look back at the ps2, sony had the Eye-toy, Singstar and Buzz wheren't they innovative? They where aimed at the exact same market nintendo aims at.

I always wondered about this too. Though Sony has been at the Eyetoy thing for a while, how was Nintendo the only ones being hailed around as the innovators? Casual gamers were the main consumers of Eye-Toy and such last I heard. Yet so many hardcore gamers were willing to buy that connectivity crap.

And so I gradually came to the realization that every game critic in existance had decided that game elements I love and cherish are obsolete, annoying, bad elements. I've seen them tick points off the score of games because "well, it hard turn based battles, really, get with the times". Not a word on how the combat worked, just points off for it being there. Makes me wonder how Mario and Zelda games x1000 can keep getting those damn high scores.

Another thing that befuddles me about the gaming community. Conventional gameplay is classic and good for one game, yet for not much else changed but a title, it becomes overdone and obsolete?

[Fluer de robin]

@SSM:

A. Greed.

So much in gaming today seems to be so….trendy. It's hard to find too many games that'll put that type of timeless classic feel. The feeling of "this is a great game....that's so fun to play". It feels like now it's all GRAPHICS! DEMOGRAPHICS! INNOVATION! (Gimmicks)

I agree. The thing I hate about the Wii and it's new mindset it brought gaming is that anything that has a familiar playstyle (that isn't some sequel) is obsolete. Wii controls feel downright tacked on nowadays. It's like a game being unique has become it's main selling point. Sure that worked for Katamari, but now you get gigantic piles of shit like Opoona. It's making a weird game for the sake of it being weird. Even if it ends up making the game fucking suck.

You took the words right out of my mouth SSM.

The Wii has become a shovel-ware factory because of it's enthusiasim for the "casual gamer" (Ninja Bread Man is a disturbingly excellent example). It's a respectable idea, but when it comes out with obnoxiously bad games avery other week, it's time to try a little harder. What's worse is that if a Wii game doesn't make use of the motion controls in every single way possible, then it gets criticized, even if the Wii-mote would have been impossible to implement without being cumbersome.

Beyond that, many "hardcore gamers" are nothing but graphics and "innovation" whores, which lead to video game abortions such as Lair. Graphics are nice, but I prefer games with actual substance, not pretty cutscenes followed by vomit-inducing game play. If people want innovation, then they need to stop bitching about GTA/Halo/etc. clones, then two seconds later lambashing a gaming because "IT HAS TO B LIEK HALO OR GTA OR ITS CRAP ROFLCOPLTER LULZ".

I also agree in saying that Sonic, Kirby, etc. are NOT badass. Especially after Squeek Squad and 06'.

[Diego Armando]

Posting in a gaming discussion topic, I can't help myself, really.

The way I see it, so far this is by far the WORST 'generation' of gaming consoles, I could go into alot more detail than I'm going to but I'm just going to express my opinion on the subject in hand, gaming trends.

Nintendo: Now, I love Nintendo, I've been amazingly loyal to them up to the point where I would probably axe my leg off if it was the condition to own the latest Mario or Zelda title. But what I can't seem to understand these days is their current trend of taking us loyal customers and fanboys and (pardon my french) aquiring a rather spikey variety of plant and sticking it up our fucking arseholes. With the intorduction of the Wii, Nintendo has catered far too much to the typical 12 year old girl or 67 year old grandad casual gamer who see this little white stick of wonders being used to simulate 'actual' Tennis or take puppy for a walk and quite frankly that fucks me right off because it leaves us loyals to wonder why the hell the Wii is making so much money yet they're avoiding us like that fat goth girl in your class who tries to bite your ears off if you even glance in her direction for a second.

So, the Wii now has a Zelda, Mario, Mario Kart and a Super Smash Bros. title, which means it has churned out many of the regular Nintendo franchises that we so valiantly yearn for. But as a long time Nintnedo fan all I can say is WHAT THE FUCKING HELL? All of these games are at best 'pretty cool but nothing special', except for Mario Galaxy which I beleive has sun shining out of its behind and I would mass murder anyone who thinks otherwise, and the reason for this? Casuals. Casuals are buying the Wii far more than us true Nintendroids and it's making them much more than they ever expected it would, so, in effect, Nintendo are making their games more friendly to this niche of gamers (who are going to fucking pick MY BARBIE ADVENTURES over Super Smash Bros. Brawl anyway) and ruining it for us, I could go into the nitty gritty with Brawl but I'm not going to say anything else other than TAINTED TO MAKE IT CASUAL FRIENDLY.

The other thing that Nintendo have really annoyed me with is their complete lack of knowledge towards online gaming. Sure, it's "safe" and "secure" to hide my real identity and only play with people I know by sharing my 'magic' code but FUCKING HELL, COME ON, it makes shit twice as fucking hard to do becuase I can't simply add a user I see in one of my online matches to my friends list and see if he/she plays any other games I do, and to tarnish any comeback of "it's making it safe" all I can say is you shouldn't be playing games online with people, let alone HAVE the internet if you get convinced by some peadophile to visit his house to "play some Smash Bros. if you get my drift", which makes me realise that 90% of Nintendo users now must be about 7 and with some kind of mental disability. End of rant.

Microsoft: Well I guess I lied about this not going to be long but be rest assured I'm not going to write three god damn paragraphs venting my rage again. Along with all consoles this generation, Xbox also has it's flaws, it's main one being that it's hardware is so stupid it can't recognise the difference between 'play game' and 'blow up CPU', but everyone already knows enough about the RRoD for me not to go into it, besides M$'s main trend is to serve you every generic FPS game which features a 'real life' world coloured in dark green and shit brown with far too much bloom. In short, X360 pisses me off because of two reasons. 1. The console is suited for 12 year olds who have ADD and a desire to hurt other people as can be demonstrated by purchasing a copy of Halo 3 and playing online with your headset connected and 2. Because it's releasing an endless diarrhea of generic FPS bullshit that we have played a thousand times over, it's hard to find a game that's a) Not an FPS b) Actually decent c) well supported online play. I want to say more but I want to wrap this up as quickly as possible so;

Sony: Well, to start, I don't own a Playstation 3, so there, you can officially stop reading now as my opinions must be nothing but falsehood, but, I do know enough about it to note it's current trend and obvious flaw. That is it's lack of a good library. Ok, so that's all I can really gripe about, not having played it, but because they created some kind of "super-console" that was meant to be the golden beacon of light, developers have to spend so much more time and money that all they seem to be doing is developing their games not to the full extent of what the Playstation 3 can offer, but to the extent that it can also be released on the 360 because, let's face it at the moment the PS3 clearly isn't making enough money to make developers keep their Sony loyal franchises (GTA, DMC for example) on the black box.

Sigh I really didn't want to vent this much, but I get like this when I need to express my opinion about something.

[TakinawaTonfa]

Evidently technology changes, tastes change, people change, and theres always going to be at least one or two games within each genre that sets a standard in which many other titles will follow suit. So I can't really go on as to say that I like or dislike new trends in gaming. As long as theres still games that can be fun, regardless of whatever tired cliches people complain about, I'm happy. With that being said though, I will admit that my excitement of playing games isn't all that great as it has been in past generations, it seems that plenty of us feel this way as well. But by all means, I still consider it my favorite hobby, my favorite pastime, and a personal dream of mine to become a game designer. I really don't think its so much the trends that developers and publishers are going with, as it is one other important factor….my age.

Honestly though, the vast majority of people on this forum are in the 18-24+ range. Its safe to say many of us had a game console at least pre-N64/Playstation 1 time, or played on one. Coolest thing ever right? What made it even more awesome was that getting a new console or a game was typically one of those once-in-a-holiday experiences (at least for me anyway). As a kid, its not really like I had my own money. Games were the kind of thing you would hint at for a birthday present or ask Santa for Christmas, and a parent worthy of being called a parent isn't gonna give into kicking and screaming temper tantrums. So really, I can tell you was a rewarding experience when I finally saved up enough allowance to buy a $60 Super Mario RPG. Now that I'm actually older, mature, responsible, able to make my own decisions, have a job and am able to save my own money, I could pretty much buy a new game every week if I so desired. Combined with learning that you can buy used games, Its not really the same epic event anymore as it is more of a one-hit mini shopping splurge.

I think there was more I wanted to say or could've said, but the whole thing about age is just what stuck out to me the most of anything.

[Nobodyman]

Okay, I'm going to admit first off that I don't pay too much to the gaming market at large, though I am a very avid gamer, but I think I do have some general understanding of it. That being said, the only problem I have with current gaming trends is that, to me, it seems that it's become way too commercialized.

…....okay, that just sounded really stupid.

What I mean is that the wrong kinds of games are being made and people are buying them. Go to any EB Games or department store and half the video game displays will be cluttered with crap. All full of crappy games based on movies and TV shows that are almost never good and get terrible reviews. And yet it doesn't seem to matter to the consumer as long is it has the kids' favorite TV character and it'll keep them entertained for a while.

That and the older demographic only cares about shoot em up games like GTA, Metal Gear, and God of War. Seems all they care about is working out their testosterone and getting the closest they eve will to blowing a guys head off. And now I sound like freaking Jack Thompson. No, really, I have no problem against these games being made and people playing them, but it seems to draw all the attention away from other great games like the Mario, Sonic, and Zelda series. But I guess it makes sense that college kids would rather be a sniper then a fireball-wielding plumber. Also, I suppose I'm a little biased since I've never liked 1st person shooters, and a hypocrite since I've never played God of War or GTA or Halo. But it still doesn't change the fact that I'm a little ticked.

Well, in the end I guess it is just a case of supply and demand. I just wish parents would stop buying their kids senseless tripe, and for the older games to realized that Mario is still around and he's as great as ever, and the MPAA E rating doesn't mean "just for kids," it means "Everyone."

[Gaiyae]

@Nobodyman:

That and the older demographic only cares about shoot em up games like GTA, Metal Gear, and God of War. Seems all they care about is working out their testosterone and getting the closest they eve will to blowing a guys head off. And now I sound like freaking Jack Thompson. No, really, I have no problem against these games being made and people playing them, but it seems to draw all the attention away from other great games like the Mario, Sonic, and Zelda series. But I guess it makes sense that college kids would rather be a sniper then a fireball-wielding plumber. Also, I suppose I'm a little biased since I've never liked 1st person shooters, and a hypocrite since I've never played God of War or GTA or Halo. But it still doesn't change the fact that I'm a little ticked.

Little Nintendo biased ?
Go buy a PS2 (if you don't have one) and play God of War now. You missed out on one mayor game! Besides it's more original then your average Mario, Sonic and Zelda game. And i CAN tell, because i actually played almost every Mario, Sonic and Zelda game. The whole franchise milking is kind of removing the whole appeal on most games. And a a game like LoZ - TP lost alot of the whole "moot" , the other Zelda's had. Although i'm a huge Zelda fanboy, the game just felt to much "been there, done that". Like i said, Nintendo has to come with some new adventures and platformers. They should introduce us to a new character, not based on Mario, Zelda or Samus. But a completely NEW character. I think that was one mayor sell point for the ps2 to.. It didn't stick to Crash Bandicoot, like nintendo sticked to Mario with the GC. But it gave us Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, Sly etc. I just don't get why we don't see alot of those on the wii?

[Lobolover]

@The:

But hey, those kinds of games are allowed to exist too. The truly worst thing about all this, the spark that started this fury, came when I read a FFXII review which said:

"Combat is automated. You can input your own commands manually, but then you propably prefer morse codes to telephone"

WHAT THE HELL?!!

And so I gradually came to the realization that every game critic in existance had decided that game elements I love and cherish are obsolete, annoying, bad elements. I've seen them tick points off the score of games because "well, it hard turn based battles, really, get with the times". Not a word on how the combat worked, just points off for it being there. Makes me wonder how Mario and Zelda games x1000 can keep getting those damn high scores.

Phew, just really needed to say that. FFXIII better be f'ing amazing square.

yep.thats anoying,some critics realy think their own tastes are the central point of the universe.And to Mario-well,the fans.They can't go against something this mass market-like.

[Sandai Mera]

@Nobodyman:

And now I sound like freaking Jack Thompson. No, really, I have no problem against these games being made and people playing them, but it seems to draw all the attention away from other great games like the Mario, Sonic, and Zelda.

Draw all the attention away from Mario,Sonic, & Zelda? here's an interesting tidbit Mario & Zelda games (canonical) are released on an every once in awhile basis whereas Sonic is basically like a damaged bridge "something you want to avoid".

@Nobodyman:

and for the older games to realized that Mario is still around and he's as great as ever.

Older Gamers do know that Mario is around they also know that they've pretty much have outgrown Mario & might want something that caters to a more mature audience like God Of War or Gran Turismo.

I think that was one mayor sell point for the ps2 to.. It didn't stick to Crash Bandicoot,

That's because Sony didn't own Crash Bandicoot like Nintendo does Mario.

[Lazzie]

ROFL, there is nothing drawing attention away from Mario and Zelda, trust me. Those two series always sell ridiculous amounts, and the idea that other games are drawing attention away from them is ridiculous.

And I'm sorry, but you have to go back an entire decade to find three good Sonic games. He's still a relevant gaming icon and still sells copies, but his games just aren't impressive any more.

[Gaiyae]

This post is deleted!

[Gaiyae]

@Sandai:

That's because Sony didn't own Crash Bandicoot like Nintendo does Mario.

Yes, i know.. But Crash was a bit of the mascot for ps1 at the start. I think it just strange that nintendo somehow doesn't seem to attract those 3rd party platformers and adventures.. The most great games for the WII seemed to be made by nintendo itself.

Ps.
I'm kind of glad to see some people with the same ideas like me. And like Tonfa, i agree that gaming isn't was what it used to be.
I recall spending all my money (which was about 4 dollar back then) on a new game for my atari 2600. Then playing it to death. Now i've got about 30 games lying around which i bought, but never finished. Although all these game are better then any atari 2600 game..

[Sandai Mera]

@Lazzie:

And I'm sorry, but you have to go back an entire decade to find three good Sonic games.

What would those three be?

[Lazzie]

Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Rush, and… I suppose Sonic Advance. The Sonic series isn't in great shape, especially with how bad those recent new-gen games have been.

[Nobodyman]

@Gaiyae:

Little Nintendo biased ?
Go buy a PS2 (if you don't have one) and play God of War now. You missed out on one mayor game! Besides it's more original then your average Mario, Sonic and Zelda game. And i CAN tell, because i actually played almost every Mario, Sonic and Zelda game. The whole franchise milking is kind of removing the whole appeal on most games. And a a game like LoZ - TP lost alot of the whole "moot" , the other Zelda's had. Although i'm a huge Zelda fanboy, the game just felt to much "been there, done that". Like i said, Nintendo has to come with some new adventures and platformers. They should introduce us to a new character, not based on Mario, Zelda or Samus. But a completely NEW character. I think that was one mayor sell point for the ps2 to.. It didn't stick to Crash Bandicoot, like nintendo sticked to Mario with the GC. But it gave us Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, Sly etc. I just don't get why we don't see alot of those on the wii?

Yes, I am actually extremely Nintendo-biased I've been a Nintendo fan since I was a wee Mini-Mario.

Anyway, I do have a PS2 and I actually do intend on buying and playing God of War at some point. I've heard nothing but good things about it. I'd also like to play Okami.

And honestly, I'm a lot more comfortable with the gaming industry then I let on. This thread just sparked my interest and I thought I'd add my two cents and it really probably wasn't worth the long article I wrote. I do agree to some extent that the franchise milking is making the long-running series stale. I've noticed that some of the newer Mario games don't have the same magic that the platformers had, and TP didn't quite live up to the hype that preceded it. That being said, I loved Super Maro Galaxy, and I think TP was extremely enjoyable.

And I also agree that Nintendo should introduce some new game series. That's why I was actually pretty excited about the release of Pikmin and I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Oh, and I think the reason we don't see a lot of varied series on the Wii, like on the PS2, is becaus Nintendo has managed to build the said franchises into very popular and best-selling games. Also, not only does Nintendo make the game system, but they also make the games. Whereas with Playstation, Sony, I believe, only makes the games system and relies mostly on games from different third party companies, resulting in a diverse blend of games. Of course if I'm mistaken, anyone please feel free to correct me.

[Sandai Mera]

This post is deleted!

[Sandai Mera]

@Lazzie:

Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Rush, and… I suppose Sonic Advance. The Sonic series isn't in great shape, especially with how bad those recent new-gen games have been.

Isn't it kind of unfair to count Sonic Advance given that you have Rush up there.

@Nobodyman:

Oh, and I think the reason we don't see a lot of varied series on the Wii, like on the PS2, is becaus Nintendo has managed to build the said franchises into very popular and best-selling games. Also, not only does Nintendo make the game system, but they also make the games. Whereas with Playstation, Sony, I believe, only makes the games system and relies mostly on games from different third party companies, resulting in a diverse blend of games. Of course if I'm mistaken, anyone please feel free to correct me.

God Of War, Twisted Metal, Syphon Filter,Gran Turismo and the studios that make them are all owned by Sony.