Will the gaming industry collapse?

[WaterMelon34]

I just read this little article: http://www.pointlesswasteoftime.com/games/crash.html

It's actually quite an interesting read, and since I am planning to get into the gaming industry, it's scaring the living shit out of me. Basically it talks about how the gaming industry is doomed because of a lack of innovation. For example, the only difference in games today is the graphics quality. The sad truth. :frown:

I'll be looking for a new profession I guess. :bounce:

 

[Dumb Dude]

Well of course there is lack of innovation. There is only so many times you can make an FPS or a platformer before it just gets to be the same thing. In the end, it really doesnt matter becuase people will always be buying them and THATS the sad truth. And this applies to movies, and music too, not just the gaming industry and those are definately not going anywhere.

The gaming industry is here to stay. It ain't going anywhere, atleast not anytime soon. Don't worry about it.

 

[Gargantou]

Dumb Dude, that's not the only problem tho.

You see, publishers are the problem too, publisher's usually don't want to fund new "ideas", because of they're scared it won't be succesfull, and they don't want to take risks.

Capcom for example were very innovative with releasing Steel Battalion, a huge ****ing mech-sim with 40+ button joypad, for a console, for 200 bucks, but it was sold out pretty quickly amazingly.

 

[WaterMelon34]

I don't know if you live up to your name or not, Dumb Dude, so I don't know if I should believe you.

If anything is true about that article it's that games are going in the wrong direction right now. When graphics become larger than life they will move to virtual reality stuff where you yourself are basicly hooked into a game. Something like that, to me, is the difference between virtual reality and a nice, natural, GAME. That's where my passion will be broken into a million little shards and speared into the back of an unsuspecting and angry bear.

EDIT: 666th post. Oh my g...osh.

 

[AmishSlayer]

You see, publishers are the problem too, publisher's usually don't want to fund new "ideas", because of they're scared it won't be succesfull, and they don't want to take risks.

Just like lots of network tv stations in the US. They're afraid to pick up unique shows. I'm a huge fan of Scrubs which I think is a pretty unique show. The network has tried to change the show a lot and take away the uniqueness beacuse they don't know if it'll test well with audiences.

Same things seem to be happening with games. Graphics are what matters to too many gamers out there today. Just look at all the people that whined due to the lack of ragdolls in COD2...cmon, like it actually matters in the big picture. Gamers in general are moving towards just graphics and mainstream gameplay which is why Halo 2 did so well unfortunately.

 

[clarky003]

Look at the movie industry, they have to work in league almost all the time now with the games industry because of how much more successful the games industry is in comparison.. they need the bite of the cherry to compete with profit's being made solely in the games industry,

It will eventually progress to a point where visual's become almost real, and nothing further can be drawn from that, gameplay will follow it will get more interactive more real to life, to a point where nealy all majorily enjoyable elements have been used up, but it will always remain an escape.. even more so as it goes on..

aslong as the real world is shit and boring and games instantly and easily take you to a dream world of fun, it will always appeal to people no matter how generic it get's, but that doesnt go for everyone so its hard to say, it will be successful for a long time... its turning into a way of life,

People would get seriously depressed without some sort of escape, so i dont think the industry will collapse in itself for a long time because they drip feed graphics technology to us, better graphics holds the majority of appeal, maybe if the economy collapsed then as a result of that .. yes.

 

[WhiteZero]

Eventually people are going to realize that graphics arent everything, and start developing new evolutions in gameplay. Such as improving VR Technology, making it more feasable and affordable.

Some company needs to start working on a home console based around VR.

 

[Loc-Dog]

New and innovative? There's only so much you can do with videogames and a controller. The future will be to combine the genres. You'll have Call of duty mixed with splinter cell, mixed with Dead or alive, mixed with Metal Gear Solid, mixed with Tekken. And then all of these mixed with GTA and Zelda.

The problem is that videogames are an alternative to reality. And there is only so much of reality that is open to game developers. Games can either be a simulation of reality (realistic, often military games), an alteration of reality (platform games, super mario or zelda being the perfect examples), or a mixture of both (for example Quake, Silent Hill, or Resident Evil).

The only "innovative" game that passes all these genres is Darwinia. I think that there will be alot more games like Darwinia above the horison. Trippy and abstract gameplay. Imagine that with endless graphical resources, on an X360 or PS3.

 

[LordOfGaming]

Heh. Maybe you people should actually give the niche a chance then. Bad sales mean less innovative titles.

 

[Baal]

I don't think everyone believes graphics are everything.

Look at World of Warcraft and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. Correct me if I am wrong, but these are most likely the two most popular games within the past year. San Andreas must have sold over a million, if not two million, and WoW has sold at least 4.5 million games.

These games don't have the greatest graphics, but amazing gamely, and are really fun.

FPS games are different though, I know, but still, it gives us hope.

 

[clarky003]

I dont think GTA's gameplay is all that amazing, the only fun part is driving stuff into other stuff and general messing around, but even then theres only so much you can do. It's the vasteness that seems to appeal the most and the main catch is you can do criminal stuff without really caring, so its an evil rush that appeal's to the bastard in us all.

For me personally, next gen engines like cryengine2 are the glimpses into the next level of visual realisim and interactivity, and its only going to get better, in 6 years time, it will all look twice as good if not better than that... point being on majority graphic's sell the games, most people want more realisim.. so its pretty easy to assume it will be the same gameplay structure's on average steadily increasing in interactivity level's (complexity) with more real to life graphical content, they wont stop till it actually feels sounds and looks just like a possible real life counterpart.

 

[Baal]

I'm just saying over a million people don't lie, there must have been something good about the game.

Mind you it was on PS2, so it's tough to compare to anything on the PC due to marketing issues, but meh.

Look at WoW then. Graphics aren't great, gameplay is amazing, it's on the PC, so people could likely choose a game with better graphics, but they don't.

 

[clarky003]

thats true, but wow is massive, its so vaste and for the size the graphical quality is amazing.. your right though, appeal isnt really graphical when you get down to it, its based around what that game can do for that person.. there fix. Its tough to label, it boils down to how people think....

What their like, how they feel.. how aggressive or needy they are, they influence the game type interest. Visual's are more generic they are the first thing you see, your intial opinion is molded on the imagery, rather than the inner dynamic's, I suppose you could say the graphics are the bate.

 

[Iced_Eagle]

The games industry isn't going anywhere. It's just that some restructuring is in order.

Like someone said above, publishers are the main bottleneck because they don't want to fund games that won't be successful (or else they could lose 10 million if they spent a lot of time on it). Systems like Steam hope to encourage the more "free form" design.

Oh, and there is ALWAYS innovation out there... I bet that 100 years ago, people probably never even dreamed of a computer (a machine that lets you communicate to the entire world? Blasphemy!) and so there is always room to make something new... Take the game Spore, that is innovation right there in game design! I bet more devs have some revolutionary ideas like that, but they don't have the reputation Will Wright does, so they can't find a publisher.

Either way, the industry isn't going anywhere... We're in a state of flux with the new systems coming out, so everyone is focusing on those.

Oh, and BTW... if you want to encourage creative development, be sure to buy any unique games you see and test them out Don't just get the AAA mass-advertised games...

 

[Ennui]

The gaming industry is undoubtedly headed for some kind of change, but it won't collapse.

 

[Venmoch]

Speaking od Darwinia, be sure to check out Uplink too. Its made by the same people and also shows that a game doesn't have to look awesome to be fun.

 

[VirusType2]

No its not going to die. It's growing more and more popular all the time. The better the graphics got, the more popular it got. Video games are still very young form of entertainment. roughly 31 years. Music has been around for thousands of years--since before documented history.

Most video game programmers do it becuase they love it. But don't forget it's still their job. To get the best games people have to love their job. Don't stick people on a game that wanted to make a different type of game.

No, I don't think the video game industry will collapse again, but I think we will see a lot of companies come and go.

 

[TheSomeone]

That's a retarded article, the gaming industry hasn't even reached a peak.

It's like that one European composer/mathematician during the renaissance who died of depression because he said there would be no more new music 100 years later because there were only so many different ways to arrange the same notes and that we'd run out of new melodies and compositions. Innovation doesn't have to be mind-boggling every time, it's a very gradual progress.

Yeah, go ahead and "mark his words" and base your career choice off and article on "www.pointlesswasteoftime.com," you're ruining your own chances at having a job in an industry where they make what you really like. Your loss.

 

[Homless Snark]

The novelty may wear off for people who have been playing video games for awhile.

But more and more youngsters and older people as well are getting into gaming each day and it'll all be fresh and new to them. There'll always be a market.

 

[StardogChampion]

Innovation isn't gone. You're just looking in the wong places.

 

[Kangy]

He's got a point. Fine, for £300, every 5 years, you can have a graphical quality increase. But there comes a point where it is completely unseen. What happens then? I don't care how you want to kid yourself, nobody's buying the next generation of consoles for "awesome gameplay", they're buying it for the promise of better looking games. Once nobody can really make that promise, they're going to lose the casual market that actually makes money.

 

[Gargantou]

Yeah but when graphics reaches it max, people'll start to crave better(more realistic gameplay probably).
I can see all the kids going "OMG, I want to be able to actually feel the hooker riding me when I fawk her in GTA to get health back!"

 

[The Mullinator]

Innovation isn't gone but it is certainly being strangled right now. People want innovative stuff? Then you have to look for it, you have to buy it, you have to show interest in it. Buy Darwinia, at least be interested in the Nintendo Revolution and if it ends up being fun like it should be then buy it.

Don't just sit on your ass whining and complaining that nothing out there is fun all the while only buying the big AAA titles while ignoring the little guys that don't get any attention.

 

[TheSomeone]

I don't care how you want to kid yourself, nobody's buying the next generation of consoles for "awesome gameplay", they're buying it for the promise of better looking games.

Woah there, who's kidding himself here?

You reliaze it takes one person to completely deny that premise, and that person is me? You constructed a pretty heavy argument on really thin ice.

Generalizing will just make you lose all your credibility. And it'll make you seem like an asshole.

 

[Fliko]

New and innovative? There's only so much you can do with videogames and a controller. The future will be to combine the genres. You'll have Call of duty mixed with splinter cell, mixed with Dead or alive, mixed with Metal Gear Solid, mixed with Tekken. And then all of these mixed with GTA and Zelda.

The problem is that videogames are an alternative to reality. And there is only so much of reality that is open to game developers. Games can either be a simulation of reality (realistic, often military games), an alteration of reality (platform games, super mario or zelda being the perfect examples), or a mixture of both (for example Quake, Silent Hill, or Resident Evil).

The only "innovative" game that passes all these genres is Darwinia. I think that there will be alot more games like Darwinia above the horison. Trippy and abstract gameplay. Imagine that with endless graphical resources, on an X360 or PS3.

I have to disagree, you have unlimited choices of what to make for games. It just that everyone is to scared to make a new innovative and original game.
Nintendo should get more credit then people give them, because they always give something new.

 

[VirusType2]

He's got a point. Fine, for £300, every 5 years, you can have a graphical quality increase. But there comes a point where it is completely unseen. What happens then?

graphics will continue to get better forever. Untill pixels are so small you can't see them and beyond. trust me. You know they used to say,"everything that could be invented had already been invented" -- that was hundreds of years ago. (similar to what TheSomeone said about music)what about the microwave, cell phone, computer, etc. I guess they were short-sighted like you. no offence intended.

I don't care how you want to kid yourself, nobody's buying the next generation of consoles for "awesome gameplay", they're buying it for the promise of better looking games.

I am. Im buying it for awesome gameplay and for the improved graphics.

It's not just a graphical increase, more processing power allows so much more.

For example, realistic physics, analog control, sharper A.I. amazing sound, larger areas, changing weather paterns that affect the environment, day & night cycles, the list goes on and on.

I mean when First Person games started, they had flat grounds and trees that were just a flat drawing or texture pasted on the backround

They evolved to have a ground with 3D trees with realistic branches with dead leaves falling down and grass that moves in the real-time weather effects, the ground is no longer flat, it has hills and dips, and enemies react according to where they are shot or injured. The sky looks real with clouds that move, there is very realistic looking water in the form of puddles, rivers, what have you. The 360 has realistic looking damp surfaces and sweat forming on people. It's not just graphics, its evolving in every aspect. Most importantly the physics and 3D rendering.

Once nobody can really make that promise, they're going to lose the casual market that actually makes money.

People that buy the latest gaming machines are not casual market, they are hardcore gamers.

Gaming industry is not going to collapse, its just getting warmed up. Video games are only about 30 years old. It's just recently getting worldwide acceptance. It's no longer revenge of the nerds out there playing Space Invaders

The game was so amazingly popular in Japan that it caused a coin shortage until the country's Yen supply was quadrupled.

, its common everyday people. And like i said the graphics and everything else will continue to evolve and improve. It's hard to imagine the future, because it improves so gradually. Its truly an evolution from a collection of ideas and programing techniques that require more processing power that the next gen systems offer.

And what Fliko said, the only limitation of video games is the programer's imagination. They can create anything they can dream up

 

[Kangy]

Woah there, who's kidding himself here?

You reliaze it takes one person to completely deny that premise, and that person is me? You constructed a pretty heavy argument on really thin ice.

Generalizing will just make you lose all your credibility. And it'll make you seem like an asshole.

Let's slow that down a moment. That link you provided wasn't really relevant. I'm not dealing with a statistical sample I've got. **** it, I've got no evidence to support my claim other than my perceptions of the general audience. And no, "nobody" should not be taken literally, just as a figure of speech for "negligable numbers".

I appreciate the attempt at hitting my point with someone else's work, but it'd have been nice if you'd actually responded to my opinion (based on my perceptions, which are based off nothing in particular).

 

[Kangy]

graphics will continue to get better forever. Untill pixels are so small you can't see them and beyond. trust me. You know they used to say,"everything that could be invented had already been invented" -- that was hundreds of years ago. (similar to what TheSomeone said about music)what about the microwave, cell phone, computer, etc. I guess they were short-sighted like you. no offence intended.

This entire paragraph makes very little sense. First you say how an existing invention will continue to evolve... and then you make the irrelevant point about people being "short-sighted" because they doubt the continued flow of new inventions. These are two completely seperate points. Make your mind up.

I am. Im buying it for awesome gameplay and for the improved graphics.

I'll come back to this later, but you are at best a mere $1200 in the lifetime of one console. Whoopidy feckin' doo. How much is that in profit? About $400? Wow, what a windfall! Microsoft are going to break the champagne out for you!

It's not just a graphical increase, more processing power allows so much more...

That really does a great job in filling that horrid blank space up on the back of the box. Secretly, nobody cares.

People that buy the latest gaming machines are not casual market, they are hardcore gamers.

Guess (mostly) which games make a profit? The ones that appeal to the casual market. 70,000 sweaty and nerdy "hardcore" gamers aren't the ones making a dent.

 

[boglito]

Lack of innovation may "kill" a certain strand of industry, but it is much more complex than so. It's not like "the gaming industry" is one big homogenous thing. It is a multilayered, multifaceted conglomerate of a LOT of input and output.
Humans are also renewing themselves over the generation, meaning that to newer members of the species unimaginative games will be new and unique, and to the older members these games will be familiar and comforting. I know that when I turn 60, if computer games are interesting to 60 year olds, I will still want to play those fantastic first person shooters.

Oh, and who says there is lack of innovation in the gaming industry? Is it even possible to claim that an industry only 25 years old is lacking innovation? I don't see how that can be. For those of us who have lived through this industry from the beginning there has been some really huge moments in this industry, some of which are very recent. The advent of the 3dgraphics is one such moment. Actual close-to-real sound is another. VGA-graphics yet another. A fairly recent moment that most of us should be able to remember is the inclusion of physics games as a general plugin.

Claiming the gaming industry suffers due to lack of innovation is like saying the book industry suffers, "because we are reading the same old books in new covers". Sure, some will suffer, but the industry as a whole moves on.

The main scourge of the gaming industry is, and will contine to be for a long time, piracy.

.bog.

 

[Mechagodzilla]

Games have lasted thiry years on the same basic scheme slowly tweaked over time. Although graphics are improving most visibly and most rapidly, there are other improvements to be had.

Improved joysticks, more buttons per controller, better ergonomics, built-in DVD players. Ingame, there's physics and AI constantly improved over time. Maximum size of maps is always being improved. Just look at GTA.

I think that the nintendo revolution's controller will be enough of a breakthrough to keep the industry alive long enough for the next advancement to come along.

 

[VirusType2]

This entire paragraph makes very little sense.

It should make sense if you had any. You are one to talk also, your points don't even make any sense. Matter of fact, I don't see anything you said that could even be considered a point.

First you say how an existing invention will continue to evolve... and then you make the irrelevant point about people being "short-sighted" because they doubt the continued flow of new inventions. These are two completely seperate points. Make your mind up.

What do i have a 1 point limit? Can I not make as many points as I like? And how is that irrelevant I wonder?

I'll come back to this later, but you are at best a mere $1200 in the lifetime of one console. Whoopidy feckin' doo. How much is that in profit? About $400? Wow, what a windfall! Microsoft are going to break the champagne out for you!

Come back to this later? what after you figure out what the hell you are talking about?

That really does a great job in filling that horrid blank space up on the back of the box. Secretly, nobody cares.

Once again, you are using the term "nobody" and again, you are wrong. I am somebody. TheSomeone is certainly somebody. Christ! It's written in his freaking name! So stop ****ing call me nobody! Go back and click on the link TheSomeone left for you and read it this time.
Apparently you didn't learn anything.

No matter how rude and salty you want to be, you can't force us to accept your opinions, generalizations and presumtions on us as if it was everyone in the world's opinion, or as if they were facts.

I even went out of my way to say "no offense intended. " But you decided to take offence, and go out of your way to offend me by stringing together a bunch of rediculous bullshit that doesn't make much sense.

I didn't agree with TheSomeone when he said you're an asshole, but you have won me over and I have changed my mind. You are an ass. :thumbs:

 

[Kangy]

It should make sense if you had any. You are one to talk also, your points don't even make any sense. Matter of fact, I don't see anything you said that could even be considered a point.

The entire post was a rebuke, not a point making excercise.

So stop ****ing call me nobody!

You and him are 2 of about 6.5 billion people. You are nobody.

No matter how rude and salty you want to be, you can't force us to accept your opinions, generalizations and presumtions on us as if it was everyone in the world's opinion, or as if they were facts.

I certainly can't. But that doesn't mean I cannot argue them for however long I feel like doing so. The whole "freedom" thing works both ways, so yet again, you're not going anywhere with that one.

I even went out of my way to say "no offense intended. " But you decided to take offence, and go out of your way to offend me by stringing together a bunch of rediculous bullshit that doesn't make much sense.

I didn't agree with TheSomeone when he said you're an asshole, but you have won me over and I have changed my mind. You are an ass. :thumbs:

Hilariously, you're the one taking offense. I really didn't take any, I was just defending my opinions rather aggressively. If it's any consolation, you made me laugh, since I'm an asshole and all.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

The concept of a game industry collapse is growing tiresome, we are simply witnessing the same changes the movie and tv / radio industries went through.. they never had a crash.. but of course they all changed radically. I think it's easy to say something huge is going to happen causeing all gameing to simply fall on its face and never get up.. alot easier than actually trying to come up with theories for how the industry will change itself to appeal to a wider spectrum of people as television movies and radio have.

I should also add I honestly believe that streaming content via a broad band connection (Xbox Live, Steam, MMORPGs) is part of this future.. as much as you can say "not many people have broadband" well not many people had color televisions at one point.. or phone lines but alas.. most everyone does now. I dont think the industry is heading for a revolution I think it's headed for evolution through things like content delivery. I can admit that the industry has lacked innovation and creativity.. but how often to you flip on the television and say "wow.. this is honestly something I have never seen before" or go to a movie and think "this is an entirely new genre" in this off chance that this does happen you like it.. and demand more. And the industry goes crazy and you desire a new fad that will eventually go through the same process.

The evolution of graphics and technology is growing at a substantial rate, creating platforms from which create new ways for devlopers to be creative.. which in time (I know most of you are thinking that tech is growing much faster than creativity) will make for new ideas and new ways of playing a game. I'm growing very tired of people saying the video game industry lacks creativity when they dont understand that games that make money are not typically the creative ones but the franchises that you, YES YOU, eat up whenever a new staple in this genre is released.

I think I better wrap this post up before I get too frustrated but what i'm trying to say in short is.. the game industry only changes as much as consumers do, so it is not the fault of the devlopers or people like EA who simply produce what makes money. It is as much the consumers roll to initiate change.. and when that happens maybe you will see this major "change" you all expect and treat as an inevitability.

and lastly,

Innovation isn't gone. You're just looking in the wong places.

I rarely say this but.. QFMFT

basically if this keeps occuring, you are not going to see much noticable change for quite some time.

 

[TheSomeone]

I appreciate the attempt at hitting my point with someone else's work, but it'd have been nice if you'd actually responded to my opinion (based on my perceptions, which are based off nothing in particular).

You just told me that your argument is based off of nothing. Go home, please.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

why ruin a thread that started with incite and logical conversation with posts that take personal stabs at other forumites? Thats why I hardly post here anymore.. I just lurk and laugh..then when I finally decide to post again another thread heads for the shitter... this is the last offtopic post btw

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS POST, IT IS OFF TOPIC , i'd rather you replied to the last post I made (if you actually want to read it instead of flameing each other)

 

[Kangy]

You just told me that your argument is based off of nothing. Go home, please.

Okay, you want to know what it's based off? Harsh reality. Go into EB or Gamestop, or whatever is the main retailer of video games in your nearest town or city. Take a look at the people in there.

 

[Absinthe]

That article is an amusing article and nothing more. So much of it plays on scare-mongering, selective examples, and undeniable double standards.

If you ever included it into serious decision-making, I'd laugh at you.

 

[VirusType2]

Agreed.
http://www.pointlesswasteoftime.com/games/crash.html the name of this website pretty much sums up the reading experience here.

He purposely left out the fact that people play games becuase they are fun. As long as humans like to have fun they will like to play video games. I don't know what kind of games he plays but he makes them sound like work.

Lets put it this way is having sex too much work for ya buddy? I could just see him describing having sex as some kind of repetative chore. I feel sorry for his girlfriend - like if he ever had one.

The Video game crash in the 80's?

Heres the facts; If you like video games at all you need to read this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_crash_of_1983

The amazing crapload of games that were 99% painfully horrible and NO FUN
So all that people remembered was a totally gay square that they could move around with the worst games ever possible. I mean total crap. Quaker Oats Cereal company was creating games LOL

Why would people spend hundreds of dollars with a rediculously painful "joy"stick pushing a colored square around the screen trying to figure out what the **** they were doing when they can go to an arcade and pay a couple quarters for FUN games--the ultimate in graphics at that time.

Once the NES came out people were like HOLY SHIT, these graphics are awesome, and the games are FUN! And the joystick isn't designed to suck! BOOM! Home video games are here to stay

Yea anyone who would take this guy seriously is a douche

He might as well be saying TELEVISION IS DOOMED!! OMG TEH CRASH OF T.V.!!!

 

[VictimOfScience]

I'll be looking for a new profession I guess.

If anything is true about that article it's that games are going in the wrong direction right now. When graphics become larger than life they will move to virtual reality stuff where you yourself are basicly hooked into a game. Something like that, to me, is the difference between virtual reality and a nice, natural, GAME. That's where my passion will be broken into a million little shards and speared into the back of an unsuspecting and angry bear.

Don't you dare say that you are going to rethink your career because of one lousy article! This guy has no really good points to make, but is sort of funny in his rhetoric (the guy playing Burger Time during The Passion of the Christ was particularly hilarious).

The gaming industry will always be around. It is a ridiculously huge revenue gererator and as such it will stay and likely grow a lot in the next few years especially. Originality and creativity are still alive and well in the gaming industry whether its for PCs or consoles. Its true that with the recent hardware innovations games are approaching the goal of being photorelistic (though I personally don't think that will ever be 100% achieved) so developers will be forced to realize that the only thing left to really define a game and make it stand out is innovations in gameplay.

The latest Game Informer (US) magazine has great article about MGS4 and the interview parts with Hideo Kojima are amazingly brilliant in that they reflect his attitude that graphics have reached a point where they are virtually as good as they are going to get and that the next leap for developers to make is gameplay. His thoughts and input in this area are unbelievably creative and strikingly different from the thinking of most deveopers. I for one cannot wait to see the results of his creativity and originality. If you want to see for yourself what he says that is so different, just go to your local Borders or B&N, buy a cup of coffee and sit down for a read--it'll be well worth your time.

 

[Llama]

The game industry will never fall. It's like the Dark Side of the force