Games are getting stale.

This is a lament upon the evolution of the games industry, which is becoming a self parody of awfulness.

One, creativity is anemic. I feel like its going downhill in terms of creativity, simply because of money. It is too easy to make a no brainer FPS today. Shooters are the epitome of laziness and greed in the industry.

Two, where is the risk taking? It's so rare! Even a game like Mirror's edge is considered a risk because it doesn't include out and out shooting enemies. Instead the scheme is running and jumping whilst escaping. The problem is that EA makes it a half assed game, on what was a beauty of a concept. Mirrors Edge has no variety and incredibly environmental repetitious. Its essentially a FPS without the shooter part. Its all guns guns guns today. Its just laziness.

Three, no more **** shooters! Yes, Im saying this because shooters are ruining videogames. Its becoming beyond cliche, its becoming the death of a once great industry. Dime a dozen shooters are not what is going to make gaming better. Time to innovate. 

while I agree with you on some points, I feel compelled to point out that there are good games and there are bad games. Yes, the bad ones are freaking awful, but be it a shooter or a sandbox rpg, the good games take LOTS of time and money to create. I do see your point though on how shooters are all very similar and I also feel that every game that most games that come out today do the same things as previous good games, just with different settings.

 I do, however, feel that video games right now are AMAZING! And I think that the bad games today are 50x better than the bad games that came out 5 years ago. I actually feel that the gaming industry is one of the only industries in the world that people ccan literally watch evolve and grow.

On the other hand, the basic concept of a shooter is the same as it was since the first doom. Its sort of like the auto industry: a model t ford does the same things as an f-150, but the f-150 does it MUCH better. Its sort of the same with video games. Just because the concept of a shooter is the same as its always been doesn't mean that modern shooters aren't completely different and 50x. Each person has their own preference in games. I do think that shooters get repetetive, but like a lot of other people I absolutely cannot get enough them. I think that just the concept of video games is amazing so I have to disagree with you on how games are getting stale. I love shooters and I really think that games are getting so much better, just my opinion though.

This is a lament upon the evolution of the games industry, which is becoming a self parody of awfulness.

 

One, creativity is anemic. I feel like its going downhill in terms of creativity, simply because of money. It is too easy to make a no brainer FPS today. Shooters are the epitome of laziness and greed in the industry.

 

Two, where is the risk taking? It's so rare! Even a game like Mirror's edge is considered a risk because it doesn't include out and out shooting enemies. Instead the scheme is running and jumping whilst escaping. The problem is that EA makes it a half assed game, on what was a beauty of a concept. Mirrors Edge has no variety and incredibly environmental repetitious. Its essentially a FPS without the shooter part. Its all guns guns guns today. Its just laziness.

 

Three, no more **** shooters! Yes, Im saying this because shooters are ruining videogames. Its becoming beyond cliche, its becoming the death of a once great industry. Dime a dozen shooters are not what is going to make gaming better. Time to innovate. 

 

 

 

 

PrimordialMeme

As far as creativity, have you seen the type of games coming out now? As far as games on the Wii and DS look at the creativity there. I mean are they good, mostly no with a few exceptions, but they are creative. We now have games such as Brain Age, WiiFit, Music based games. I mean there is literally something for everyone and anyone which is why the industry is booming so well and has overtaken the movie industry as far as entertainment is concerned.

Creativity is out there and it is happening faster than any other generation in the past. Look at past generations of games and show me the creativity. Most the games fall under the same couple of genres which were Action, RPG, Racer, Shooter, or Sports. There are games coming out now that have their own particular genre because they can't fit into an existing one.

As far as risk taking there are a lot of companies that take risk. While apparently it isn't at the high level you desire, but gamers are picky. You spend to much on a game and it doesn't win over gamers then you just lost a bunch of money. I mean lets say you shell out $1000 with the hopes that you can turn it into $10,000 using the same formula as before. But there is a high chance that if you take a risk that you will only get back $100-$500. This is happening with Millions of dollars.

Here is a fact: Companies make decisions on the best interest of the companies survival, not the best interest of the consumer.

Shooters are not ruining the industry. Plus that could be said about any genre though. Look at the pumping out of racing games. We get a Need for Speed, Midnight Club every single year as 20 other racers.

What about all the RPGS that come out that do very little to "innovate"

Shooters are no different than any other genre.

One, creativity is anemic. I feel like its going downhill in terms of creativity, simply because of money. It is too easy to make a no brainer FPS today. Shooters are the epitome of laziness and greed in the industry.PrimordialMeme

Actually not just any shooter, WW2 shooters. That has become the laziest trend this decade. Only one that can compare are the 30 billion Madden titles that are just rushed versions of rush version from last year.

Shooters are not ruining the industry. Plus that could be said about any genre though. Look at the pumping out of racing games. We get a Need for Speed, Midnight Club every single year as 20 other racers.

What about all the RPGS that come out that do very little to "innovate"

Shooters are no different than any other genre.

CajunShooter

Well you're right, its not only shooters. Its also racing games and "RPGs" that are ruining the industry. At least sports titles have  an excuse for being roster updates. But I cannot support the level of awfulness that is considered an industry right now. I hope it fails. I hope it improves after failing.

The point here is that games are becoming cliche and corporate instead of interesting and diverse. It will only be when hardcore gamers stop supporting the nonsense that we get change. You have to show your opinion with your wallet. Unfortunately it seems that too many new gamers are being brought in under this mediocrity and the industry is growing to fat on its own failures. This same thing happened in the early 80's with the arcade industry. It will happen with the console developers as well if they fail to innovate. Games are getting tired.

Creativity is not an infinite well that you can go to whenever you feel the need, the same way new idea well in cinema is running dry, the same applies to the gaming industry. Just randomly think of ten things, and I assure you that they have all been done. The only uncharted territory in gaming now lies in the interface, take what Nintendo has done with the Wii Remote. They took what has already been done in gaming and gave the option for the new interface, End War is another game working with the tried and true RTS structure and introduced a new interface. Shooters really don't have much options, I mean I appreciate the effort made in say Medal of Honor on the Wii where you mimced the motion of weapons(i.e. cocking a shotgun). Non motion consoles like the PS3 and 360 use the horsepower of the consoles to make subtle changes to the formula. But shooters can't really evolve that much, however there are other genres to fall back on, the fighting genre is coming back, and perhaps platformers can pull themselves out of the grave as well.

I can agree that there are quite an abundance of shooters these days, they are as abundant as old fashion side scrolling beat-em-ups during the 16bit era. However to condemn the entire industry because they conform to the demands of the fanbase is wrong. You have to realize that gaming is no longer for the niche group of computer nerds living in their parents basements, spending a lifetime of quarters down the street. It is a multi-billion dollar industry as big as any other entertainment media, and like other industries they must meet the demand of the consumer. If you can't live with that then you should give it up now, because I don't see gaming changing outside of the interface for quite some time.

This is a lament upon the evolution of the games industry, which is becoming a self parody of awfulness.

One, creativity is anemic. I feel like its going downhill in terms of creativity, simply because of money. It is too easy to make a no brainer FPS today. Shooters are the epitome of laziness and greed in the industry.

Two, where is the risk taking? It's so rare! Even a game like Mirror's edge is considered a risk because it doesn't include out and out shooting enemies. Instead the scheme is running and jumping whilst escaping. The problem is that EA makes it a half assed game, on what was a beauty of a concept. Mirrors Edge has no variety and incredibly environmental repetitious. Its essentially a FPS without the shooter part. Its all guns guns guns today. Its just laziness.

Three, no more **** shooters! Yes, Im saying this because shooters are ruining videogames. Its becoming beyond cliche, its becoming the death of a once great industry. Dime a dozen shooters are not what is going to make gaming better. Time to innovate.

PrimordialMeme

So I ask you this then since you seem to have the answers. You develop a game. What is the game about and what do you do in it? If you can convince me that your idea would work and sell millions you the make a valid point.

[QUOTE="CajunShooter"]Shooters are not ruining the industry. Plus that could be said about any genre though. Look at the pumping out of racing games. We get a Need for Speed, Midnight Club every single year as 20 other racers.

What about all the RPGS that come out that do very little to "innovate"

Shooters are no different than any other genre.

PrimordialMeme

Well you're right, its not only shooters. Its also racing games and "RPGs" that are ruining the industry. At least sports titles have an excuse for being roster updates. But I cannot support the level of awfulness that is considered an industry right now. I hope it fails. I hope it improves after failing.

The point here is that games are becoming cliche and corporate instead of interesting and diverse. It will only be when hardcore gamers stop supporting the nonsense that we get change. You have to show your opinion with your wallet. Unfortunately it seems that too many new gamers are being brought in under this mediocrity and the industry is growing to fat on its own failures. This same thing happened in the early 80's with the arcade industry. It will happen with the console developers as well if they fail to innovate. Games are getting tired.

You must be new to gaming. None of these arguments are new. Ever since the beginning of gaming there has been a ton of worthless crap to sort through to get to the gems. There will always be clones, knock offs, and shovelware. And inside there somewhere will be the truly original genre changing titles. You just arent looking hard enough, obviously.

I really enjoyed the 1st-gen of graphical video games. Those 286 EVGA games that couldn't do much technically, so they made them funny. But, a lot of that was just nostalgia. Truth is, there were only a few genres back then, and they all did things pretty much the same. They were almost all adventure games.

Then it was all platform games, whatever cutesy little character you could create to run and jump and bop enemies in the head was the latest rage, but at the end of the day they all played the same, and they all had the same disney search-and-rescue storyline.

Then we got 3d platformers, which were really cool at first, until we realized they were all the same thing.

Then we had 3rd person action-adventure games out the wazoo. They were like platformers except more stylish and you had swords or guns. Some were better than others, but they all played pretty much the same.

Shooters always enjoyed a niche market until consoles became more powerful. Once the consoles could support the graphical detail and the frame rates that make these games fun, the market exploded with shooters and a lot of them weren't so good... but a lot of them were and are.

The point is, the industry always has some bandwagon that they jump on for a few years. It doesn't mean there aren't any good games anymore. In fact, when I first read this, I was wondering what you were talking about since I was just thinking today about what a great year this has turned out to be for gaming.

I agree to an extent, we do have swarm of shooters this generation, especially on consoles which were never shooter oriented. I do have to disagree that we don't have innovation in games this gen. however. Wii is especially a breath of fresh air in terms how games can be played and in all honesty even ten years ago we didn't had any major ideas when it comes to games.

Usually, they follow each others ideas but there were few exceptions. Once in a while some great games come out that make you change the view in how to play them, at least from design point. ICO, Shadow of Colossus, Okami come to mind, amongst others.

I can't blame you for feeling saturated, there has been a lot of shooters lately on consoles and I'm not particularly exited about it. We'll see how it turns out in years to come, PlayStation brand always offered variety in gaming preferences.

I don't agree in the lack of creativity, there are creative titles out there. You can say you don't like them, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

This generation also has the Wii, which I got bored with, but still it's an innovation I can't deny.

It's true that there are a bunch of FPS but I don't agree they are all the same. COD 4 is not like Bioshock and Darks Sektor and the Darkness tried to make something different but they didn't deliver. But they tried. If you don't like FPS games, then I can see why somebody would complain, but that's a different story.

Even PSN games like flower, flow, pain, linger in shadows, etc, are trying new creative things. Littlebigplanet, ever heard of that one?

I don't agree in the lack of creativity, there are creative titles out there. You can say you don't like them, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

This generation also has the Wii, which I got bored with, but still it's an innovation I can't deny.

It's true that there are a bunch of FPS but I don't agree they are all the same. COD 4 is not like Bioshock and Darks Sektor and the Darkness tried to make something different but they didn't deliver. But they tried. If you don't like FPS games, then I can see why somebody would complain, but that's a different story.

Even PSN games like flower, flow, pain, linger in shadows, etc, are trying new creative things. Littlebigplanet, ever heard of that one?

mirko_j

There are similarities between cod4 and bioshock that make it redundant. Run and shoot. story. Run and shoot. story. Run and shoot. Story. And the gameplay is not difficult in any way. F.E.A.R has been the only fps that I would like to play through again due to the fact the enemies are actually a challenge and you actually get killed. Rpg games are a bit the same way too. Especially eternal sonata. That Game is not worth the high rating or the price. Neither is gta4. Same as gta3, but new story and graphics.:shock:

Those PSN games are good though, so you have a point. But I have yet to play littlebigplanet. It seems like mario with the ability to customize things and play with your friends, not that creative.  Flash games on the net have more creativity to them.

 I said this before, gaming as reached it's peak and has been overplayed. Consoles are dying down and we will all be playing games on our cell phones, which will be our computers. We are already at that time. Those psn games you mentioned do not even need the power of the ps3...

[QUOTE="mirko_j"]

I don't agree in the lack of creativity, there are creative titles out there. You can say you don't like them, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

This generation also has the Wii, which I got bored with, but still it's an innovation I can't deny.

It's true that there are a bunch of FPS but I don't agree they are all the same. COD 4 is not like Bioshock and Darks Sektor and the Darkness tried to make something different but they didn't deliver. But they tried. If you don't like FPS games, then I can see why somebody would complain, but that's a different story.

Even PSN games like flower, flow, pain, linger in shadows, etc, are trying new creative things. Littlebigplanet, ever heard of that one?

dmc333

There are similarities between cod4 and bioshock that make it redundant. Run and shoot. story. Run and shoot. story. Run and shoot. Story. And the gameplay is not difficult in any way. F.E.A.R has been the only fps that I would like to play through again due to the fact the enemies are actually a challenge and you actually get killed. Rpg games are a bit the same way too. Especially eternal sonata. That Game is not worth the high rating or the price. Neither is gta4. Same as gta3, but new story and graphics.:shock:

Those PSN games are good though, so you have a point. But I have yet to play littlebigplanet. It seems like mario with the ability to customize things and play with your friends, not that creative.  Flash games on the net have more creativity to them.

 I said this before, gaming as reached it's peak and has been overplayed. Consoles are dying down and we will all be playing games on our cell phones, which will be our computers. We are already at that time. Those psn games you mentioned do not even need the power of the ps3...

Since Atari came out there have been people saying that PC gaming would kill console gaming. Yeah, and when mtv came out, video would kill the radio. And some 80s sci-fi movies claimed the world would end by 2000...

Mobile gaming, on our cell phones, will kill console gaming?

I do agree that smartphones will become the next laptops, but every PC gamer I know plays crysis, wow, far cry, etc, on the PCs they built themselves. I believe that's what they enjoy the most, being able to upgrade their video card, sound card and have it ready for the next demanding game that comes out. I don't see people updating the video card on a smartphone any time soon.

Flash games are fun and creative, but I'd rather play killzone 2 on a big HD screen rather than any flash game, or iphone game, or nintendo ds, or sony psp game.

Look around man, there's innovation everywhere. Games like Braid just go to show, that gamers really do appreciate it.

There's plenty of shooters that manage to stay original, Bioshock is a good example As was the Darkness. Instead of a mindless shooter they mix interesting powers and a great story to really make it feel like a movie worthy experience with morality choices and emotional ties.

I've seen more genius out of this generation then ever before. To each their own.

[QUOTE="dmc333"][QUOTE="mirko_j"]

I don't agree in the lack of creativity, there are creative titles out there. You can say you don't like them, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

This generation also has the Wii, which I got bored with, but still it's an innovation I can't deny.

It's true that there are a bunch of FPS but I don't agree they are all the same. COD 4 is not like Bioshock and Darks Sektor and the Darkness tried to make something different but they didn't deliver. But they tried. If you don't like FPS games, then I can see why somebody would complain, but that's a different story.

Even PSN games like flower, flow, pain, linger in shadows, etc, are trying new creative things. Littlebigplanet, ever heard of that one?

mirko_j

There are similarities between cod4 and bioshock that make it redundant. Run and shoot. story. Run and shoot. story. Run and shoot. Story. And the gameplay is not difficult in any way. F.E.A.R has been the only fps that I would like to play through again due to the fact the enemies are actually a challenge and you actually get killed. Rpg games are a bit the same way too. Especially eternal sonata. That Game is not worth the high rating or the price. Neither is gta4. Same as gta3, but new story and graphics.:shock:

Those PSN games are good though, so you have a point. But I have yet to play littlebigplanet. It seems like mario with the ability to customize things and play with your friends, not that creative.  Flash games on the net have more creativity to them.

 I said this before, gaming as reached it's peak and has been overplayed. Consoles are dying down and we will all be playing games on our cell phones, which will be our computers. We are already at that time. Those psn games you mentioned do not even need the power of the ps3...

Since Atari came out there have been people saying that PC gaming would kill console gaming. Yeah, and when mtv came out, video would kill the radio. And some 80s sci-fi movies claimed the world would end by 2000...

Mobile gaming, on our cell phones, will kill console gaming?

I do agree that smartphones will become the next laptops, but every PC gamer I know plays crysis, wow, far cry, etc, on the PCs they built themselves. I believe that's what they enjoy the most, being able to upgrade their video card, sound card and have it ready for the next demanding game that comes out. I don't see people updating the video card on a smartphone any time soon.

Flash games are fun and creative, but I'd rather play killzone 2 on a big HD screen rather than any flash game, or iphone game, or nintendo ds, or sony psp game.

I'm not saying console market will die totally. Look at high end audio equipment and music, in 70s many more people spent crap loads on that. but now what do people listen to? On their ipods. right?

I'm just saying the console market may turn into the way of how audio is today. Becoming more compact like how people listen to their ipod. It's all about demand. If people continue to demand better graphics and the money is there then bigger better consoles will continue. If not, then what I am saying is going to happen. I already see it right now. Things always die. People change. This generation of gamers will not be like the next generation of gamers. Of course, there will always be a niche market. And you will probably be it.

[QUOTE="mirko_j"][QUOTE="dmc333"]

 

There are similarities between cod4 and bioshock that make it redundant. Run and shoot. story. Run and shoot. story. Run and shoot. Story. And the gameplay is not difficult in any way. F.E.A.R has been the only fps that I would like to play through again due to the fact the enemies are actually a challenge and you actually get killed. Rpg games are a bit the same way too. Especially eternal sonata. That Game is not worth the high rating or the price. Neither is gta4. Same as gta3, but new story and graphics.:shock:

Those PSN games are good though, so you have a point. But I have yet to play littlebigplanet. It seems like mario with the ability to customize things and play with your friends, not that creative.  Flash games on the net have more creativity to them.

 I said this before, gaming as reached it's peak and has been overplayed. Consoles are dying down and we will all be playing games on our cell phones, which will be our computers. We are already at that time. Those psn games you mentioned do not even need the power of the ps3...

dmc333

Since Atari came out there have been people saying that PC gaming would kill console gaming. Yeah, and when mtv came out, video would kill the radio. And some 80s sci-fi movies claimed the world would end by 2000...

Mobile gaming, on our cell phones, will kill console gaming?

I do agree that smartphones will become the next laptops, but every PC gamer I know plays crysis, wow, far cry, etc, on the PCs they built themselves. I believe that's what they enjoy the most, being able to upgrade their video card, sound card and have it ready for the next demanding game that comes out. I don't see people updating the video card on a smartphone any time soon.

Flash games are fun and creative, but I'd rather play killzone 2 on a big HD screen rather than any flash game, or iphone game, or nintendo ds, or sony psp game.

I'm not saying console market will die totally. Look at high end audio equipment and music, in 70s many more people spent crap loads on that. but now what do people listen to? On their ipods. right?

I'm just saying the console market may turn into the way of how audio is today. Becoming more compact like how people listen to their ipod. It's all about demand. If people continue to demand better graphics and the money is there then bigger better consoles will continue. If not, then what I am saying is going to happen. I already see it right now. Things always die. People change. This generation of gamers will not be like the next generation of gamers. Of course, there will always be a niche market. And you will probably be it.

But with music is different... most people can't tell the difference between the audio quality of a CD and an MP3. For the vast mayority, it's the same song wether it's being played at their home stereo, car stereo, or ipod. The same song. So why spend so much money on an expensive stereo when you can buy a cheap mp3 player? 

Games on the psp are PS2 quality in terms of graphics, yet the PSP sales don't come close to those of the PS2.

Even if you were able to play a game like GearsOW on an iphone, I wonder how many people would choose the iphone version of the game...

Another reason for the music industry "revolution" is piracy. It is very easy to download songs and albums for free off the internet. And it's not only easy to find them, but it's easy to use, too. You download a mp3, you can hear it on your computer, or you can put it on a CD, or on your ipod. It's not that easy with video games. Usually for a console you need a chip to play backup games, and if you have a chip you may get banned from online gaming. And if it's a PC then you might even need some kind of crack. Besides, a song is 2mb or so, a game is like 4.7Gigs. It's faster to download a song. Things do change, people do change, but people who foresee the future are usually wrong. Radio didn't die yet either. You are a "classic gamer" so PONG, PAC MAN didn't die either. 

[QUOTE="dmc333"][QUOTE="mirko_j"]

 

 

Since Atari came out there have been people saying that PC gaming would kill console gaming. Yeah, and when mtv came out, video would kill the radio. And some 80s sci-fi movies claimed the world would end by 2000...

Mobile gaming, on our cell phones, will kill console gaming?

I do agree that smartphones will become the next laptops, but every PC gamer I know plays crysis, wow, far cry, etc, on the PCs they built themselves. I believe that's what they enjoy the most, being able to upgrade their video card, sound card and have it ready for the next demanding game that comes out. I don't see people updating the video card on a smartphone any time soon.

Flash games are fun and creative, but I'd rather play killzone 2 on a big HD screen rather than any flash game, or iphone game, or nintendo ds, or sony psp game.

 

mirko_j

I'm not saying console market will die totally. Look at high end audio equipment and music, in 70s many more people spent crap loads on that. but now what do people listen to? On their ipods. right?

I'm just saying the console market may turn into the way of how audio is today. Becoming more compact like how people listen to their ipod. It's all about demand. If people continue to demand better graphics and the money is there then bigger better consoles will continue. If not, then what I am saying is going to happen. I already see it right now. Things always die. People change. This generation of gamers will not be like the next generation of gamers. Of course, there will always be a niche market. And you will probably be it.

But with music is different... most people can't tell the difference between the audio quality of a CD and an MP3. For the vast mayority, it's the same song wether it's being played at their home stereo, car stereo, or ipod. The same song. So why spend so much money on an expensive stereo when you can buy a cheap mp3 player? 

Games on the psp are PS2 quality in terms of graphics, yet the PSP sales don't come close to those of the PS2.

Even if you were able to play a game like GearsOW on an iphone, I wonder how many people would choose the iphone version of the game...

Another reason for the music industry "revolution" is piracy. It is very easy to download songs and albums for free off the internet. And it's not only easy to find them, but it's easy to use, too. You download a mp3, you can hear it on your computer, or you can put it on a CD, or on your ipod. It's not that easy with video games. Usually for a console you need a chip to play backup games, and if you have a chip you may get banned from online gaming. And if it's a PC then you might even need some kind of crack. Besides, a song is 2mb or so, a game is like 4.7Gigs. It's faster to download a song. Things do change, people do change, but people who foresee the future are usually wrong. Radio didn't die yet either. You are a "classic gamer" so PONG, PAC MAN didn't die either. 

Market trends dictate sequels, as long as gamers demand shooters/RPGs featuring their favourite characters, era, surroundings, etc they will keep coming every month. If you don't like them don't buy them and if enough of you do that then it will force developers to come up with something 'new', or possibly revive another long forgotten franchise... I agree that the market is saturated with FPS though, the good, the bad and the ugly. I got COD4 but I doubt I'll get COD5 because it's WWII again and nothing much as progressed in the gameplay from what I've seen and read. I reckon a lot of this is down to developers catering for the more casual gamer markets to get more money per unit on average.

Cheers :)

[QUOTE="mirko_j"][QUOTE="dmc333"]

 

 

I'm not saying console market will die totally. Look at high end audio equipment and music, in 70s many more people spent crap loads on that. but now what do people listen to? On their ipods. right?

 

I'm just saying the console market may turn into the way of how audio is today. Becoming more compact like how people listen to their ipod. It's all about demand. If people continue to demand better graphics and the money is there then bigger better consoles will continue. If not, then what I am saying is going to happen. I already see it right now. Things always die. People change. This generation of gamers will not be like the next generation of gamers. Of course, there will always be a niche market. And you will probably be it.

 

 

dmc333

But with music is different... most people can't tell the difference between the audio quality of a CD and an MP3. For the vast mayority, it's the same song wether it's being played at their home stereo, car stereo, or ipod. The same song. So why spend so much money on an expensive stereo when you can buy a cheap mp3 player? 

Games on the psp are PS2 quality in terms of graphics, yet the PSP sales don't come close to those of the PS2.

Even if you were able to play a game like GearsOW on an iphone, I wonder how many people would choose the iphone version of the game...

Another reason for the music industry "revolution" is piracy. It is very easy to download songs and albums for free off the internet. And it's not only easy to find them, but it's easy to use, too. You download a mp3, you can hear it on your computer, or you can put it on a CD, or on your ipod. It's not that easy with video games. Usually for a console you need a chip to play backup games, and if you have a chip you may get banned from online gaming. And if it's a PC then you might even need some kind of crack. Besides, a song is 2mb or so, a game is like 4.7Gigs. It's faster to download a song. Things do change, people do change, but people who foresee the future are usually wrong. Radio didn't die yet either. You are a "classic gamer" so PONG, PAC MAN didn't die either. 

Explain wii sales then? No real enchancement in graphics. No hd. And most people do not for care for hd videos and say they can not tell the difference. Isn't that the same thing you are saying with music? Sony is losing money on the ps3 too. Costs too much. Nintendo used a different approach than graphics. And sony and microsoft will follow where the money is, and the money is with nintendo.

Explain wii sales? Ok, I'll explain it to you:

My grandma bought a Wii.

Man... i wonder why? I'm sure she'd be into COD 4!

:roll: 

I completely disagree. With games like Braid, Mirror's Edge, LBP, Echochrome, Everyday Shooter -- this generation reeks of originality and creativity. You may not like what you see, but that doesn't mean it's not there. BioShockOwnz

I agree with this comment. I'm loving the modern gaming industry. Creativity and innovation can only go so far though. A lot has been accomplished in gaming and it's extremely difficult to come up with something new and original. Kudos to developers who try their best to be original. So what if they crossover some of their influences into a game. Some FPS are actually real good these days.. Far Cry 2 tried to be innovative, as much as they could.. Fallout 3 was refreshing, and Mirror's Edge brought some new innovations to the table. I don't know about you but gaming just gets better and better. It may be different, but it's gradually improving.

And I want to say that your argument may be pointless unless you have all platforms of gaming. What I mean is, if you only have a PS3, or a PS3 and an Xbox 360, but no gaming PC, you're just shooting yourself in the foot here. Because to get the complete experience, and full appreciation of the gaming world, you should have all gaming platforms, THEN, come here and dare say there is no variety, originality, and innovation. Because a true gamer, has no bias towards any platform. He/she plays all that are video games. There is plenty to be had! You got the PC, you have the 360 and PS3, and then you have the Wii, not to mention all the handhelds. Each platform has their exclusives.. There is A LOT of gaming to be had with so many varieties.. I cannot even play half of these games. Seems to me, you need to own more than one or two platforms and dip your feet into something new and refreshing. If you have all platforms, then I apologize.. Like I said, as a gamer, I'm overwhelmed with all the selections laid out infront of me.. If I had all the time in the world, I would buy every platform and buy and play every game that I'm interested it. If gaming is getting stale, you are on the wrong planet.

Well, if you think about it, a lot of the games that try to experiment with new ideas and new styles are not American produced. Corporate America's got a problem with the R&D department that most other countries do not have. The major policy with US R&D Departments is that it's got a big D department and a small R department. Quite a lot of the new technology is upgrades of the older versions, simply sleeker and more economical versions. American companies are simply unwilling to find a different way of doing the same thing, it might be better another way, but to the big business owners, it's not worth the trouble of actually spending time and money researching it.

Just take a look at the progression of the DVD. We started with the floppy disc, by creating a disc in which we could "etch" data onto it, and seal it in a protective plastic cover. Then we moved on to the CD where now we could store more data onto a different sort of disc, but essentially the same principle of etching data onto material, which a computer or other sort of hardware could read. Soon, digital came, and we got the DVD, and once again, it allowed even more data to be packed upon a disc. Lastly, we have, the now defunct, HD DVD. America only produced new technology based on old "proven" technology, believing that it could ill afford to "take the risk.

It is a problem that a lot of American companies simply don't take risks and only follows the path that has been paved for them long ago. Fred Gallagher wrote in his ongoing Megatokyo, that one should "make changes based on your strongest options. Not your most convenient ones." Sadly this is a rut many companies have fallen into.

Though I have my doubts with certain game producers and designers, I still find the odd jewel of creativity to be found. I enjoyed Oblivion, Fallout 3, S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl, Black, R:FoM, the MGS series, and I'm enjoying Valkyria Chronicles, and many others I just don't remember at hand. I also hold high hopes for the new Prince of Persia, though I was never interested much into the PoP games before.