Dear Developers: These Games Suck!

I'm no stranger on writing about how games have been declining, since 2008 I've blogged about how games have been getting worse and worse. I saw it long before that even, but here we are now. 2014 and still not a new, original, graphical powerhouse IP has been released.

How many sequels are we going to keep buying? How many deathmatch games can they release? How much more can they lock on the disc and charge to unlock the content?

I'm sorry, but games aren't worth 60$ anymore... they've taken away our endings, they hardly make any cutscenes, they don't have any boss fights, the acting is terrible, the story isn't a story without the endings or tying up loose ends... the graphics have been held back by decade old technology of consoles. Really, we're not playing on next gen, we're playing on old technology, and some of us are playing on top of the line tech, while playing games that are designed for old tech.

You want to pay for that?

Games have really become this marketing dumping ground, a huge complication of "Sorry, you don't have the DLC." you should purchase this at the in-game shop... have these developers lost their minds? Whatever happened to immersion? Story? Gameplay? None of it matters now...

Now they tell you where to go, how to play, how to spend your money, and worst of all it's nothing new. It's just the same shitty game over and over... no one is even trying to make something different. Everyone is trying to make the next WoW, or the next CoD, or the next GTA. Absolutely nothing with a budget is original anymore. Indie games with no budget are using 8bit graphics to make original games that high budget developers can't imagine for some reason.

Most games have become share on facebook or don't bother playing, invite your friends or spend your money to play something you already bought... but the story doesn't end, the cutscenes are all in game, and the voice actors are all bad (or the same ones), and as I have said... there are no bosses to fight.

They want to tell us co-op games are co-op because you have to open a door and flip switches in sync. Most games don't even have co-op anymore, they've ditched all that for deathmatch. You can't even play the actual game with a friend anymore it has to be a separate mode that really sucks.

What makes this all frightening is that people still buy these games, year after year. Leaving gamers who appreciated games for more than deathmatch in the dust with our ancient games. I guess it's not all that bad going back and playing games when they were good, like Icewind Dale or Wing Commander (which to be fair had it's sequels but those were full games and not just an update of what last years game should have been). Games have no substance, no content, and no immersion. You can buy the first installment, and never have to buy another sequel because they don't change much.

I wish I knew why people were wasting their money on this garbage they are releasing. I don't really find it fair or interesting.

I'm having a fantastic time being a gamer these days and get lots of value for the money I spend on gaming so I don't feel like I'm wasting my money at all.

Games are better than ever. More games (new IPs included) release each year at an exponential rate. The game industry has been expanding yearly for quite sometime. Game developers have better tools and more power to make games not only look better, but have more precise controls while adding more complexity than in past games.

The fact that some of you're arguments, "they've taken away our endings, they hardly make any cutscenes, they don't have any boss fights, the acting is terrible, the story isn't a story without the endings or tying up loose ends... the graphics have been held back by decade old technology of consoles," are factually wrong. Games over the past decade have only increased the number of cutscenes, still include boss fights, acting is improving and much better than other generations, and while many endings are cliffhangers for the next game, there are still games that conclude the story it was set out to tell. Go play Crash Bandicoot and then come back to The Last of Us, I think there is a rather large gap in quality between the two titles (Crash being on the low end of that quality).

I do agree with one part of your argument. Games aren't worth $60; however, you can easily wait a couple months and buy them for $20-30.

What's not fair about people spending their money on what they enjoy? It may not be interesting to you, but there are quite a few people who enjoy the experiences offered by Candy Crush, Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed, etc. What games have you been purchasing since 2008 if there is no more originality on the market? Or have you just been spending the last 6 years playing older titles?

@moldyspud:

If you didn't satisfy your ridiculous and incessant need to have new things, you wouldn't feel like you were being ripped off. Don't want to pay for a $60 game that has locked content? Wait for the game to get lower in price. If that doesn't work for you, then buy a PS3 or Xbox 360 instead of the new consoles and 90% of the games and accessories will be in the sub-$20 range.

News flash: new things cost more. Do you really expect them to keep making more and more advanced shit for more and more people and have it not be expensive? Being a new-release gamer has always been expensive. If you want to be cheap about it, get the older console. But you're not satisfied with that are you? No, you need to have the new shit.

I've played into the whole "THEY'RE TAKING OUR GAMES, MAN!" idealogy myself before, but I've realized, it's just stupid. There are literally hundreds of thousands of video games at our disposal on all sorts of different platforms and consoles for very cheap prices, and you're seriously going to complain because they're charging a lot for a new technology that just came out and barely has anything to offer anyway? Lol, Jesus Christ dude, just buy cheaper games then.

Games are better than ever, but that doesn't mean that every game is good. It's been almost a full year since I bought a game new, and I never care about what other people are playing. $60 is too much for a video game, but unless you're an MP junkie there is no reason to buy a game when it is priced that high.

"they hardly make any cutscenes"

What the? "AAA" games today are generally loaded with pointless, annoying cutscenes. I don't know about the States but games come down in price very quick in the UK; Dark Souls 2 can already be found for £25.

Most games aren't worth full price, but the evils of DLC are exaggerated in the OP. Yes DLC can suck, but a lot of games either don't have it, or the DLC it does have are meaningful expansions instead of shameless cash ins.

@moldyspud: While I can agree with you with the overall decline in gaming right now, due to a much smaller number of games for many genres than in the past, I certainly don't think your sweeping generalizations of the whole industry is correct. My complaint is that game companies are skipping out on thing that used to be a big deal in gaming. The big companies pay someone to tell them exactly what should and shoudn't be in a game for the price, so they tend to under deliver because they put in the bare minimum. Game creation isn't an art to them, it can be defined, but you're right in that gaming has lost its soul.

You used to read about mid-tier developers (in publications like Electronic Gaming Monthly and Gamepro) who would go out of their way to pack as much content and value in their games because they loved their job. "It's done when it's done" was much more common back then. However, quality is very subjective, so over time big companies learned they don't need to have the best games, just the right features. At the same time, many mid-tier developers were bought up by the big boys and streamlined. Companies like Westwood, Blizzard, Maxis, ect.

Meanwhile, as western game companies became bigger to benefit from economies of scale and enter new business segments, Japanese developers started having trouble competing because of rising costs and decline of sales in the West (post PS1 era). We used to get all sorts of creative, fun games from Japan with high production values. Nintendo, Sega, Capcom, Namco-Bandai, Konami, Tecmo-Koei, Square-Enix, ect. are a much smaller portion of my game purchases now then they were in the PS1 era.

However, there is hope. I feel like we are in an in-between time when old powers like EA, Ubisoft and Activision are slowly declining (some faster than others), but at the same time many small and indie developers aren't big enough yet to deliver a full AAA experience yet. Games like League of Legends, Minecraft, Shadowrun Returns, Wasteland 2, Mighty Number 9, ect. show what smaller developers can do in limited capacity, but wait until they start getting bigger budgets to create more AAA experiences that aren't Call of Duty wanna-bes.

Also, you can't discount that Kickstarter is a huge win for gamers, as now we can get sequels to games that we have wanted to play for ages. I mean, the creator of Final Fantasy Tactics and Megaman both want to do their own crowd-funded projects! This will be a huge win. Steam is starting to be a great platform as well. On top of that, top creative talent has left the big companies to go do their own thing. Bioware, Naughty Dog, and Lionhead are some that come to mind. I am just sayin' be paitent and the good times will return.

There, fixed.

@moldyspud: Really? Graphics is all you are looking for? A new generation of consoles are out. You just have to wait... Infamous is the best looking next gen game atm. What about all the new ip's and all the indie games, don't they count?

What games are you talking about when the games have terrible story? Have you playe Assassin's Creed, Walking Dead, Wolf Among Us, and other recent games? Graphics don't make a freaking game, the gameplay, story, characters, multiplayer, etc make the game...

Hell yeah i want to pay for good games...

What games are you playing? Sure dlc might suck, but vote with your damn wallet... It's not the developers that do that, it's the publisher.

What games are you talking about here? And what instances are you refering to?

What the hell are you talking about really? Indie games only use 8bit graphics? That just shows the ignorance you possess mate. Walking Dead, Journey, flower, Monaco, Resogun, Unfinished Swan, Antichamber, Gone Home, Guacamelee, Surgeon Simulator, Stanley Parable, etc. Why are you complaining when we got games like AC IV, Tomb Raider, Link Between Worlds, Last of Us, Bioshock Infinite, Super Mario 3D World and many more!?

Nice, so there is a gamer like me who prefers playing retro games! Actually games are now 70 bucks for PS4 and Xbox One. I know right, these games are so repetitive and not innovative.

I count many indie developers as the main reason I have interest in gaming. They just do crazier and often far more interesting things than just the typical "shock and awe" crap. I like explosions for certain, but there is a better balance needed and i have grown tired of so much war in these canned games.

You think games are getting worse and worse? I somwhat agree with you on some areas here. Theres a lot of repetitive releases like sports games and fps games, but for the most part games are getting more fun to play with so many of them going open world and getting you the freedom to play the game in your own way.

But there has been a bad trend happening the last few years with games being required to install things like Steam or other DRM software to activate games which i'm against. There should have no requirements to install dangerous unknown software to play a game. Steam is just as bad as securom and other terrible copy protections, it just disguises itself as a portal to buy games directly by downloading. Its just another tool to take away your rights when you purchase a game.

First game I saw this was 2007 with Bioshock, so your quite right it was around that time games did take a turn for the worse in that way anyways. But it wasn't a good game and only played it once so i guess in this case it didn't matter. But theres always a fear that i'll find a good game in the future that will screw me over this way again.

But overall, graphics, gameplay have improved a ton. Just some other things have gotten worse because of the fear and greed of the corporations. Also the DLC greed as mentioned also.

@Old_Gooseberry: I wouldn't call Steam dangerous/unknown software. It's not going to wreck your computer. If you want to be DRM-free then limit your digital purchases to websites that don't have a DRM policy; GOG and Humblebundle have plenty of the high quality indie games and high budget games that Steam has.

I was stuck on that statement. It was such an nonsensical claim especially since gaming is suffering from an over indulgence of cutscenes.

Dragons Dogma beats the nine bells of shit out of anything I played on my early PC and Amiga days.

Go Indie - I can't think of anything Indie games don't do better, except maybe high-tech effects and graphics.

Most AAA games are lazy or/and lack creativity.

I wish i knew why you think your opinion is also everyone elses? or even important enough that everyone should follow you? You don't like the games, fine then don't play them. Myself i like most games that have come out and these times are some of the best in terms of games i have seen in a long time.

You're not backing anything up. You're just making statements. What is one supposed to do with this entry? What is your goal...?

Though I find it a bit stagnant at the moment but there has been some great ones lately, mostly on PS3. Theres quite a few I want on 3DS but they want more money than I'll get out of them. Watch Dogs and The Crew are the only 2 that have been holding my interest lately. Thief left a lot to be desired, AC4 was fun but turned into a grandfest quickly, Bound by flames is pathetic. Many titles coming out soon just don't grab me, I'm on the fence with 1882, I can't find any real time RPG's that don't use the Manga/Anime art style. What I really want is an open world FPS and a good racer that takes advantage of G27 wheel and maybe a good ol fashion iso or top down RPG. So until then I feel kind of in limbo with gaming lately.

There's a lot of truth to what the TC is saying. On one hand games are getting better, but on the other hand they've lost almost all originality. There are a lot of industry apologists on this board who seem to have low standards or are just easily amused. Look at the lack of quality and original titles for the new systems, look at all the lazy sequels.

There are hidden gems if you know where to look, and there were enough quality games last gen to occupy a gamers time. I agree that most games aren't worth $60 or anything close to that amount.

There is as much truth in what TS as there is to what your saying, which is 0, zip, nothing at all.

And no originality? wow just wow have you been living under a "if-its-not-released-by-AAA-studios-its-not-worth-my-time" rock.

If you'd bothered to read my entire comment I said there were hidden gems, and not all of them were indies. Sorry, but if you think annual installments of CoD, Madden, Fifa, Battlefield and Assassin's Creed games are all fantastic titles bursting with originality and freshness, I don't know what to tell you.

Look at how long it's taking devs to release games like Watch Dogs, Dragon Age, The Witcher, the next Fallout game etc. Now look at the filler crap that we get to fill the gaps like Bound by Flame, Knack, Ryse and Thief. Again, if you think those later titles are excellent games then we must not be living on the same planet.

I know that eventually we'll get some quality original titles, but you can't deny that things have changed for the worst over the years. I mean look at the number of amazing titles from the sixth gen and compare them to the seventh gen, and in context with the current one, as early as it might be.

I read your hidden gems comment, which makes it seem like "originality" is a rare occurrence which it certainly isn't.

Also who said that the annual releases are original? honestly who gives a shit about that when million of people buy the games and they sell, the companies after all only have a responsibility to their shareholders, not to some hipster group who only play or enjoy "original" games.

Ok, i look at how long it takes to come out with Watch dogs (Cheap GTA clone) Dragon Age (been done and are only there to cater to the LGBT liberal agenda) the rest is also not really original, so i don't get your point? which makes it even more funny that you look down upon games that tried to be original except Bound by Flame. Oh and i have to laugh at the idea that you think your opinion is suddenly the absolute correct one and if anyone disagree with your assessment of those games they are idiots. nice very nice.

And again we have plenty of original titles, there is plenty of annual releases and there are plenty of good games in development, so honestly i don't think i have seen a better time to be a gamer. and you can disagree but i bet your also one of the people who think there is such a thing as Hardcore and "softcore" gamers.

You sure make a bunch of weird-assed assumptions, like saying I think my opinion is "absolutely correct" when I don't, that's just my opinion and I know it.

You seem quite hostile in your responses, so I think we better just agree to disagree about the state of the industry and what's good or bad.

I would argue that Assassin's Creed is fairly original in each new installment. There are added features that change the game significantly if you were to go from the first game to the second game and then the second to the third. Of course, the new features are incremental and Brotherhood and Revelations felt more like very big expansions to the second game, but large changes can be seen in the series as a whole. If the systems in place work and they're able to add new features and create new worlds to explore each year, I'm not exactly sure what the problem with lack of originality is... I can't really comment on CoD, Madden, FIFA, or Battlefield as I've never played any of those franchises; but Madden and FIFA, being sports titles, don't really seem to have much to work with. Buying the games yearly, may have dampen the amount of changes over time in these series; I'm sure if you go back and play any one of these series' installments from 5-6 years ago you'll see a drastic difference in them.

As for this generation, it's been 6 months. Last generation there was a fairly big drought for about a year. TitanFall has come out in that time which added quite a few interesting features to the online multiplayer shooter genre, enough new concepts that it seems CoD is following suit with their next installment.

Are hidden gems not games? There were a ton of original titles last generation. While a lot of games don't get advertised as much as the multi-billion dollar series --which a lot also started out this past generation or the previous generation as extremely original (or if not original at least popularization/mainstream recognition of) ideas, e.g. GuitarHero/RockBand and Skylanders -- there are still plenty of original titles out there and its ultimately up to the consumer to buy what they want. If you want original games all you have to do is do a quick google search. I could probably rattle off a list of 100+ games varying greatly in size and genre that I found original/creative in some way this generation.

@Jacanuk: See this post? Why can't your posts have discussion qualities like Minish? Why be antagonistic and aggressive? Your posting style is more suited to System Wars than here, tbh.

I enjoyed a lot of games as well last gen, but again, in comparison to previous gens I just don't see the passion in games anymore outside the rare few greats, indie or blockbuster. People talk about all the great multiplats from gen seven, but I only found a few of them even close to being as worthy as the praise.

Maybe it's because I'm tired of shooters in general. I also didn't enjoy games like Batman, Tomb Raider, Bioshock, Saint's Row, etc as much as most others do.

ACIV was a bit refreshing after ACIII's mediocrity, I just wonder if they can keep the quality up since two AC games are coming this fall? Indies made a big scene last gen, and I enjoyed some of them much more than most retail games.

Imo though, the seventh gen just can't hold a candle to the titles of sixth gen and before. Games like Okami, Psychonauts, Persona 4, Wind Waker, Final Fantasy X, Dragon Quest VIII, San Andreas, Fire Emblem: PoR, KOTOR, Tales of the Abyss, SMT: Nocturne, Metroid Prime, RE 4, Halo, Shadow of the Colossus, Killer 7, Skies of Arcadia, Shenmue, Luigi's Mansion, Paper Mario: TTYD, Vice City, etc.

Gen seven had some incredible titles, but nowhere near the level of the games I listed in my opinion (yes, my humble opinion that I don't expect everyone to share). The cost of making games is so expensive now, I doubt we'll see anywhere near the amount of quality from retail games this gen, and indies will probably be the solution between the next CoD and Madden, with a great original title sprinkled here and there.

I remember gen five was filled with fighting games, gen six had lots of RPGs, gen seven was full of shooters. I wonder if the trend will continue to change with popular genres, or if shooters will continue to dominate the market?

I am no more hostile than what you brought to the table.

But if you really want to discuss if the industry is at a good place or not, we can "debate" by just mentioning games,

In the last year we have seen Papers Please, Risk of Rain, Fez, Binding of Isaac, Don´t starve, FTL, Ring Runner, not to mention Tex Murphy, Broken Age, Blackwell, DayZ, 7daystodie, H1Z1, outlast, Cognition, Not to mention that mobas seem to really hit it big and be the next big thing.

In AAA we have in the last 2years had Titanfall, Batman, AC Black Flag, Blacklist, Skylanders, Disney Infinite(or what ever that game is called) with figures you buy and scan into the game, Thief, yes you might not like it, but the way they approached it was still at least a attempt to make it their own, same for Tomb Raider, The Witcher, The Last of Us, Beyond two souls, uncharted, Child of Light, Knack, Ryse, Skyrim

In mmo´s there is Landmark, Next, Wildstar, Archage, ESO

And upcoming there is also a ton of new and exciting titles. "watchdogs" Destiny, The Crew, the new Batman and more.

So honestly if i sound hostile its because i really do not get anyone can complain and think that these times are the worst, there are a ton of orginality in indie games, a few AAA games and a few mmo´s , not a lot next gen, but we are only 6 months in the next console gen, so give it time. But i think i get it from your last post to the other poster, People might be caught in the nostalgic feeling, and that is a dangerous place because it can cloud your judgement.

But if you really do feel that this is a bad time for gaming try expanding your horisont, go look on kickstarter or one of the many many bundle sites there is and see what they offer, i am almost 100% sure that you will end up with a ton of games and a much lighter wallet.

@Bigboi500: If you're tired of shooters branch out from the shooter genre. I didn't find any of those multiplatform games listed -- Tomb Raider, Saints Row, BioShock, and Batman -- greatest games of the generation quality either, but there were a ton of other amazing titles that you exclude. Quite a few of the games you listed from the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube era were sequels to long running franchises as well. You mention 20 great games that are worth a nod from that era, but there are just as many amazing NEW franchises/games that didn't come from long running franchises that were created this past generation, and that's not taking into account the explosion of games that have come out of the independent/small development teams over the past 5 or so years which is what I've mostly been playing the past couple of years.

I only buy like 2 or maybe 3 games a year so I don't think I'm wasting my money.

@Pedro: I meant the great and glorious cutscenes like Final Fantasy used to have, but now it's all in game engine cutscenes that are dull and not so interesting. Not all games are guilty of what I wrote about, but most of them are. Diablo III for example, a lot of the game is in game, but they do have some great cutscenes in it.

@Bigboi500 Good to see someone who understands generalization and the gaming industry. Never meant that all games were awful like some would make it out to seem. I'm talking about the massive overload of titles that are awful, and it really is much worse than it was before.

That should answer all those who attack me for saying all games. Yes, there are some games worth playing, but it's few and far between. If you don't believe that then I think you're taste in games fits right in with the masses and you like everything I hate. No reason to attack people for that.

If you buy indie games that aren't sequels then I applaud you, respect you and appreciate you support the better games. If you're a Call of Duty fanatic, I question you... why would you want to play that same game again? It has tons of clones and is it worth that 60$ to you? End the madness, stop paying for that... pay for something good!

My post is my opinion of games in general. Back in the Nintendo and Sega days all games were original and they released extremely original games with amazing stories. I'm sorry, but Call of Duty doesn't have story. Assassin's Creed doesn't have a good story, nor does it have boss fights. At least it didn't when I gave up on it. I'm a sucker once, but not twice... looks like the masses are suckers 5 or 6 times and counting.

If you don't like my opinion, that's cool. There's a lot of stuff I don't like too. Nobody has to follow me or do anything differently. I'm just expressing my opinion, and I am willing to bet there are a lot of people who agree. Definitely not the masses, which I expect more flaming than agreement.

Enjoy your dumbed down games, masses! I don't like them!

@Blueresident87: Games aren't better than ever, or they'd be worth 60$. If you aren't paying the asking rate games aren't very good are they?

@The_Last_Ride Looks like you need to read my post, most of what you said was already answered in it.

@mwright469 That's not a valid argument, the point of saying games are not worth 60$ is to say that they shouldn't be priced that new in the first place. The developers are reskinning previous installments of games and releasing them as if they are next gen. I want games to be worth what they deserve to be paid, but they aren't. That's the whole point. If new games were 20-30$ I wouldn't be complaining, but I like new games and follow games very closely. Metal Gear Solid 2 vs Metal Gear Solid 4... the comparison is that I didn't feel ripped off with MGS2. Sure, I can wait for the games to lower in price, that's an option... but why should I have to? Why aren't they better games and worth the asking price? That's the point, they've dropped in quality. I believe that no one, (as an opinion, not literally telling people what to do), should pay the full price of new games. That's my feelings.

Opinions are fine, but I have to say that you're asking for some of the responses you're getting by writing the way you do. There's no nuance, most of your arguments are statements that aren't backed up and there are a lot of generalisations. You're not critically assessing your own viewpoint. You're not even presenting it as a viewpoint, you're presenting it as fact.

If you are so convinced of your opinion and if you deem it justified to talk about the state of the industry in such a general way, then I expect you to first prove that you have played a significant amount of games across that entire spectrum of different genres and that you can use these games to illustrate your points. And then I would like to know what games you generally play. And after that I would like to know how many 'good' games you think should be released in a given period in order for you to be satisfied with the industry.

I ask such questions, because I can't rhyme my experience with yours in any way. I personally can't keep up with all the great games that are coming out. And that's coming from someone who doesn't play racing games, fighting games, sports games or any form of multiplayer focused games (including MMO). The indie scene alone is offering more than I can handle. Part of the industry has indeed become more mainstream (and lesser risks are being taken in that area), but some bigger titles and many indie titles do provide diversification and variety.

I'd agree that the industry has changed, but I personally wouldn't say it has gotten significantly worse, although the audience has broadened and therefore it might seem to some experienced people that less games are coming out that cater to them specifically or that the genres they used to love are now being made for a different audience.

I agree with the opening post, new games don't appeal to me.

Survival horror? Survive the horror of realizing you paid $60 for another crappy action reskin.

Blizzard is still the best of the best? Diablo 3 isn't nearly as good as Diablo 2, and StarCraft 2 isn't nearly as good a WarCraft 3. Thanks Activision, you genre killers.

You still play MMORPGs? Way to go, dork. The games are all exactly like WoW was when it came out, and most of the times not even as good.

You still play FPSs? You'll look at your stack of games and sigh/groan once you grow up, twerp.

RPGs? Old RPGs are the ultimate classics of gaming (I know you kids didn't know that), and are now spliced with FPS. Fallout 3 and New Vegas, Skyrim and Oblivion, Bioshock are all splices. I like all of them but the role playing part is very shallow. No great ones seem to ever come out any more.

Nintendo games? Get out of my sight you disgusting pukes. Go turn your Wii and/or Wii U on instead of justifying the games on the internet. They're made for children, are you one? No? Then don't post on the internet again until your inside catches up with your outside.

Anyway, gaming pretty much sucks these days. I guess it's alright for people aged 14-20, but certainly no older. If you're 21 and over there are always better things you can do than sit at home playing lame games for youngsters. Grow up...

@loafofgame: Uhh, you basically said what I said but asked me to put in a bunch of references. Although you aren't really sure and don't follow games as much as I do. Okay, well I didn't point at any games specifically, but anyone who follows games would understand what I am saying. I expect most of the responses to be flames, because well I'm going up against the masses who love their 10th sequels and don't see a problem with games. I'm more than okay with it, and how about I post the way I want, and you post the way you want? You either get it or you don't.

Then what is the point of posting? You simply want to give your opinion and not discuss it? Then what value does your post have for both you and the people who read it?

Also, the critical comments you received generally weren't posted by the masses. I seriously doubt the masses post in these forums.

And what does 'following' games mean? I said I don't play certain genres, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested in news and opinions surrounding those genres. But I wouldn't say it's the same either. So far you've stated that the people who don't get you are either part of the masses or don't follow games, both of which are extremely vague and questionable arguments. I play a decent amount of games from a variety of genres, I follow the news surrounding games in general and I read and post in forums; and I do not experience the same horrible demise of games you seem to be experiencing. I also do not play all those sequels or DLC dominated games. So then why am I not so negative about games, which, according to your post, I should be...?

Games aren't even games all that much, some of the time. The problem is the people playing the games, which isn't even a problem all that much in a general sense. The majority wants COD clones and DLC and to push left or right or up every 3 minutes--behold an indie masterpiece. Through the majority it is transforming from videogame to interactive entertainment, somewhat. The games games, like Uncharted, are made for the older crowd; compacted experiences made to be completed on a weekend. Then you've got an entire genre of fps that has taken the extreme casual route. I find it hard to believe that a game like Goldeneye from 1997 is the more thoughtful and intricate fps compared to the latest cod.

just don't buy anything published by Activision,Ubisoft,EA and Capcom

problem solved

Don't play them

problem solved .

@moldyspud:

Nice way to generalize saying this gen has the biggest amount of bad games ever. And way to cherry pick examples. as someone who has been playing since Atari I can say from personal experience there have always been that amount of bad games and genre over saturation.

The difference is when we look to the past we cherry pick..." oh the nes had Mario, and Zelda, and Metroid" But forget to look at the fact there were somewhere around 700 licensed games for that system. care to guess how many games were shitty that we have lost to time, same as how 20 years from now the crap from this gen will not be brought up in arguments when this stupid debate is inevitably recycled and rehashed once again.

@moldyspud: Just because I don't want to pay $60 for a game doesn't mean the game isn't good

@mattykovax: How is that cherry picking when these are the highest selling games with the most cloned releases ever? :) They're the most popular games that get all the attention, and they're awful.

@loafofgame I don't mind discussing it at all. But from what you say, we're on the same page. You just think I'm talking about all of the gaming industry, when I'm talking about it in general. That's all I was saying, if you're going to pretend those games aren't there and you aren't negative about them, then why don't you play them? Just say you agree with me about the games that get released for the masses and the lack of original releases because of it. I still play games... I'm just sick of getting overloaded with the same ones instead of having all the options like NES era, or PS2 era... we don't have that anymore, we have ongoing sequels yearly. You're saying I should ignore it, but everywhere I go there is spam for Call of Duty, Battlefield, Titanfall, it's all the same game with a new theme.

@Blueresident87 You wouldn't pay for the game at it's asking price, then it must not be good enough. If you would pay 60$ it must be good enough. That's the point. It may not be the worst game ever... but it's still not 60$ good. That's what most of the games offer these days, terrible half arsed development. Why aren't there games available that you would pay 60$ for?

@mattykovax That's why this is a post in general. NES era probably had the most original games ever. People always attack things without understanding first, clearly I'm talking about gaming in general. Aren't you sick of searching for a game only to be overloaded with Call of Duty ripoff 7,000,000? There's 3 releases of DAYZ ripoffs coming, I can't even count how many WoW clones there are... that's what is going on. If you don't see that, you must be blind. If you're trying to tell me that Titanfall isn't another Call of Duty clone, and that I should ignore the spam you must be on some weird drugs, or completely brainwashed.

There are fewer and fewer original games, if none of you believe that just go look for a game, you're stuffed with eyefulls of early access and free to play spam or Call of Duty, Battlefield, League of Legends ripoffs or the original game. Most games released are played exactly alike with the same overall goals and gameplay with different textures. The point is... there are less and less games worthwhile because every developer is pumping out the next yearly update. Yes, there are still some good games, but in no way currently do these games have the originality of an era like NES or PS2.

I agree

@Archangel3371: How I feel too.

Also you dont need to waste money on games, with the internet reviews, lets plays game play vids, twitch live streams, you know exactly what your getting before you pay for it

i had typed out this big comment, but then Gamespot wouldn't load, thanks Gamespot.

anyways... games back in the old days required more imagination to play, and that's what made it more fun sometimes. but now, video games require 10 times as much imagination just to MAKE the damn thing, so yeah, it's a little different, but really has anything suffered for it. no. games are still fun. i ALWAYS make it a point to use my imagination and interject some fiction into my gaming, apart from immersion... plus, games just look and feel and sound (despite less awesome level music) better then ever now, to immerse yourself in and play in, and the settings and the stories are becoming that more engrossing and the concept of a game's "game design" growing ever more engaging and spectacular. i don't see how anyone can not find a good game to play every single week of the month. broken games are becoming a thing of the past... they're still sadly happening because of poor practices, but nonetheless the aptness for a "bad" game to get any sort of aspiring press is becoming less and less and good games en masse are becoming more and more.in summation, stick with the filing sweet heart.