The Sad State Of Console Gaming

The picture in the link all to clearly lays out what's wrong with the current state of both console and PC gaming today.

[Undeadwolfy]

Its annoying but true. Game devs create the DLC in conjunction with the game and release it shortly after and even announce it before the game has been announced like Mortal Kombat 9. I know its looking to be an epic game but you can't be happy that already there is DLC thats going to come out and you'll drop more than $60 for the game and characters which should have been in the game at release.

DLC should be something new to add to the game and not be so pre-planned that it is pretty much complete before the game isn't even complete. When the XBL Marketplace and PS Store were starting out, DLC was an afterthought and justifyable. Now its just another quick buck for the developers.

I know its 'business' but look at the time and effort Polyphony Digital put into GT5. Thats the type of focus that should go into these blockbuster titles and the DLC should solely be worked on on its own and the price should be justifyable as well. $15 for maps? pfft

[pangitkqb]

@ Undead Wolfy

You make great points. I would also add that nobody has to buy DLC - or games that are trying to milk us dry - if they don't choose to.

In fact, plenty of recent games are great packages with or without purchasing any accompanying DLC: Killzone 3, Crysis 2, Little Big Planet 2, Shogun 2, Stacking, and more.

The solution is also rather simple: Don't purchase sub-par DLC. If nobody buys it the industry will stop making it.

[Emilio_Estevez]

Simple solution: Don't buy crap DLC. If no one buys it then they won't keep doing it.

[Undeadwolfy]

Easy for individuals, not for the masses.

[bobrea]

Individuals are what makes up the masses. I agree that enough people are too dumb to see what they're doing though. DLC stored on the disc is even worse, that's just a slap in the face.

[jim2wheels]

Why not? We're not talking about a Borg collective here. People drive on motorways, control complicated electrical goods, walk, talk etc.

It's all about momentum and popularity. I'm forever spouting bad words about DLC -and I shall continue to do so. If I can convince one person it would have been worth it.

[kyl277]

Should be what's wrong with the 360 and PS3, the Wii is exempt from most of these issues.

[BrutallyBlunt]

This is true at times. Look at the new Tiger Woods. The Wii version has more courses included.

[Stealth20k]

console gaming is boring. The games have no originality. Theres less genres than every before

developers cant take risks because costs are absurd.

@ below

Every single thing Ive said has been said by developers not 2 weeks ago. Hardly any new ips, generic graphics, ect

[jim2wheels]

Yeah that's right, interactive entertainment is at an all time low...Millions of people just love to pay shit loads of money to get bored.

Unbelievable statement.

Edit: Said by developers who have failed miserably at creating a new IP. Justifying failure by saying everyone is kack seems to be a growing trend. It's quite simple, there are so many more games being released yearly - in the PS1 era there was probably half the amount being released - originality will always take a hit. If you really looked into it, there is probably the same amount of unique IP's being released yearly as there ever has been.

[soundslike]

one thing you say is true.
There ARE less genres than ever before.

Wheres the real stealth gameplay, real horror, real puzzle, real adventure, etc?

They all have to have guns and explosions 100/minute now and it IS the console markets fault

[Christopher]

***console gaming is boring.***

Sales say otherwise.

***The games have no originality.***

Neither do books, movies, or tv shows then.

***Theres less genres than every before.***

Actually, there are more as technology advances and allows the lines between each one to blend even further. It looks like less only because they implement more.

In the 90s, FPS were just FPS. Now, they combine FPS, RPG, and even RTS in many ways.

In the 90s, RPGs were just RPGs. Now, thy combine TPS, FPS, RTS, Puzzles games, and tons more.

***Every single thing Ive said has been said by developers not 2 weeks ago.***

I think you misunderstood their statements, either overall or in the context being used.

***Hardly any new ips, generic graphics, ect***

Tons of new IPs each year. Just from last year: Bayonetta, Darksiders, Matt Hazard, Sands of Destruction, Glory of Heracles, Dark Void, MAG, Shadow of Destiny, Global Agenda, White Knight Chronicles, Star Trek Online, Dante's Inferno, Shiren the Wanderer, Crime Scene, Deadly Premonition, Risen, Arsenal of Democracy, Heavy Rain, Last Rebellion, Greed Corp, echoshift, Rise of Prussia, Calling, Metro 2033, Infinite Space, Section 8, Again, Nier, 3d Dot Game Heroes, Rocket Knight, Things on Wheels, Alan Wake, Gray Matter, Blur, Modnation Racers, Backbreaker, Alpha Protocol, Planet Minigolf, APB, Deathsmiles, Naughty Bear, Singularity, DeathSpank, Limbo, R.U.S.E., EyePet, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, ProtoGalaxy, Invizimals, Vanquish, Super Meat Boy, Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage, Kinect Sports, Kinectimals, Def Jam Rapstar, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom, Epic Mickey, Infinity Blade, Raskulls, and a ton more I'm sure I missed.

The problem is people just want to focus on the sequels, which is why many new IPs get greatly overlooked. But, luckily, many of them get sequels. made. Games like Dead Space, BioShock, and Mass Effect.

[Neckbear]

"Sales say otherwise."

Sales =/= Quality, remember?

"Neither do books, movies, or tv shows then."

In fact, most of them don't. Books are, to a certain extent, based on fictional, uninspiring stories or treatise based on political and social situations. Oh, don't forget the typical "HURR CONSPIRACY" literal piece, too.

Movies? EXPLOSIONS MAN

TV Shows? Ridden by bullshitty tween-aimed dramas and other, rather saddening, unoriginal pieces of entertainment.

"Actually, there are more as technology advances and allows the lines between each one to blend even further. It looks like less only because they implement more.

In the 90s, FPS were just FPS. Now, they combine FPS, RPG, and even RTS in many ways.

In the 90s, RPGs were just RPGs. Now, thy combine TPS, FPS, RTS, Puzzles games, and tons more."

And said combinations forget, most of the time, their own roots; resulting in rather mediocre mechanics glued together and sold at 60$ because games try to be too much.

"I think you misunderstood their statements, either overall or in the context being used."

Actually, developers HAVE stated that, in the current market, most of the times publishers won't allow total creativity. It's a business, after all.

"Tons of new IPs each year. Just from last year: Bayonetta, Darksiders, Matt Hazard, Sands of Destruction, Glory of Heracles, Dark Void, MAG, Shadow of Destiny, Global Agenda, White Knight Chronicles, Star Trek Online, Dante's Inferno, Shiren the Wanderer, Crime Scene, Deadly Premonition, Risen, Arsenal of Democracy, Heavy Rain, Last Rebellion, Greed Corp, echoshift, Rise of Prussia, Calling, Metro 2033, Infinite Space, Section 8, Again, Nier, 3d Dot Game Heroes, Rocket Knight, Things on Wheels, Alan Wake, Gray Matter, Blur, Modnation Racers, Backbreaker, Alpha Protocol, Planet Minigolf, APB, Deathsmiles, Naughty Bear, Singularity, DeathSpank, Limbo, R.U.S.E., EyePet, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, ProtoGalaxy, Invizimals, Vanquish, Super Meat Boy, Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage, Kinect Sports, Kinectimals, Def Jam Rapstar, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom, Epic Mickey, Infinity Blade, Raskulls, and a ton more I'm sure I missed.

The problem is people just want to focus on the sequels, which is why many new IPs get greatly overlooked. But, luckily, many of them get sequels. made. Games like Dead Space, BioShock, and Mass Effect."

You DO have a point here, though- and that's the problem.

The current market focuses too, TOO much on sequels because they want a safe, sure purchase- because IP recognition boosts sales, publishers also make them.

What do we end up with? Cliff hangers, DLC by tons, and other rather bothersome issues that are slowly, but surely, murdering gaming little by little- quality-wise, at least.

[Christopher]

***Sales =/= Quality, remember? ***

But sales do paint a picture of how people would prefer to spend their time. Sales would decline if people stopped being entertained. I'm not arguing that games are better this year than last, only that people who find games boring wouldn't be at all likely to continue buying them.

***Actually, developers HAVE stated that, in the current market, most of the times publishers won't allow total creativity. It's a business, after all.***

Which is a statement on total creativity, but not on creativity itself. Everyone needs to be held back on how far they can go. Look at Brutal Legend and Alpha Protocol for an example of what can happen when creativity is given without restriction. I'm not saying this is always the best option, but it is a business that is aimed at trying to balance how far to go to make it better versus making it too much of something that people won't understand and thereby purchased and enjoy.

Games cost millions to make. You can't expect companies to not want to protect said investments, but that doesn't mean that creativity is not encouraged and many times supported.

So, yes, there exists creativity stifling habits, but the opposite is also true in the industry.

***The current market focuses too, TOO much on sequels because they want a safe, sure purchase- because IP recognition boosts sales, publishers also make them.***

A generalized statement that might apply to some, but I'd hardly say all. ME2 and DA2 changed drastically from their first games. Neither of them played it safe, though.

I agree that many games are overdone (CoD, Halo, Guitar Hero, etc.). But, that doesn't mean that creating an IP and a new game for said IP every other year is a bad thing overall.

I look at what gamers buy and tend to be confused why they buy each FPS game that pops out and is just like one another or a slightly improved game from last year's version of the game. But, I don't take how the majority of gamers react to these games as a sign of the overall industry, just a trend I cannot comprehend as I pop in a new IP or a the second in a series of games that sees sales at a fraction of others.

[bobrea]

DLC point aside, I'm very much enjoying my consoles and my PC. It's a pretty good time to be a gamer as long as you try to avoid the idiot fanboys on the internet.

[Daver]

I rarely buy DLC because it is not worth it and when I'm done with a game then I'm done and I'm not the multiplayer type so I dont buy those maps at 15$. But I hope it changes back because it's annoying to pay for things that doesn't bring anything interesting.

[hot111]

There are tons of good DLC...

[dannybohy]

A good example of DLC done right is AC:Brotherhood on my xbox360! I bought the game, got 2 DLC packs for free, both of which had great additions, then the 3rd DLC I had to pay for, but the first 2 were so good I was happy to buy the 3rd coz i knew i was likely to get good stuff! which i did!.

[Mmmkay]

except all of them should have been on the disc in the first place. i don't play assbro MP so the two first dlc were useless to me.. And I'm not paying even more to finish a story that should have been on the disc in the first place....

try using burnout paradise as an example instead....

[dannybohy]

well seeing as ive never played Burnout why would i use that as an example!!

and as far as I know the Ubisoft team are not clairvoyant`s! and unable to see how popular the game would be months after release!. besides, that attitude is (I Quote)`like paying for a Burger from Mcdonalds and then wondering what else you can have that is on the grill!`?

[Alos88]

I think Activision would be the more likely candidate to pull this kind of crap nowadays to be honest.

[thebudgetgamer]

i find it funny that the same people that will trow a hissy fit for trying to disparage pc gaming will so quickly bash consoles. just play what you like and move on.

i could even be a perceived slight and they lose their mind, even in an article. that paints pc gaming in a positive light will get the, i told you it's better than console comments.

[kevnb]

Dlc is both good and bad, but you don't have to buy it. What bugs me is day one dlc.