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[Gartooth]

This has been one of my favorite gaming years in a very long time. Nintendo is taking mainstay IPs like Mario and Zelda in the direction I've always wanted, then there are franchise revivals everywhere with Metroid, Crash, and Sonic all coming back.

Now for the overall industry trends, I am a bit concerned about lots of games adopting GaaS models. I think the biggest reason why is because I don't stick with games too long after I "finish" them, so aside from very few exceptions like Overwatch, the model does nothing for me. (Its detrimental to a degree if the game launches half-baked.)

So I'm not sure if this year is just a flash in the pan, but its been my favorite time of the whole generation so far.

 

[Clefargle]

Imo it seems better than ever. But I get why many are down on the industry. I don't play as much on PC or PS4 as I do Switch/3DS/WiiU. So I don't deal with much micro transactions or loot boxes. Just really solid quality coming out atm. Hope it continues

 

[Jawmuncher]

Not enough dinosaur games

 

[shaneo632]

There are more games than ever that I want to play, and I find myself steering increasingly away from a lot of AAA games because I just can't be bothered to play them.

 

[Silvawuff]

I think the industry is heavily polarized right now, since its at a technological impasse. Console cycles are longer than ever, and a lot of games are being built in a way that they're not just "one and done" anymore and present DLC or expansions to deliver the whole game.

On the PC side, I think it couldn't be a better time to game since upgrading stuff isn't as necessary as it once was to play the newest title, and old PC guts can usually handle newer games with relative ease (at least that's my experience; I'm running a GTX 780 and haven't had any issues with anything the past few years; YMMV). Add that to the rich ecosystem of Steam and Bundle-sites that offer games for super cheap or even free, and yeah...you can game pretty cheaply with a decent rig nowadays...at the sacrifice that you don't physically own your games anymore.

 

[eloxx]

Too much good stuff to keep up with. In terms of outcome the industry is in a very good spot. I have a feeling that this wont go on for very much longer.

 

[Spieler Eins]

2017 is the best year in gaming of this decade, the space between AAA and indie is finally filling up again on home consoles. Not last because Japan's "mid-tier" has finally arrived in the HD space. Better yet, several supposed niche titles are million sellers this year, so this should continue for a while. With that, I can safely ignore whatever fuckery is happening in the AAA space since last gen.

 

[DoubleYou]

Been with Nintendo ever since the NES. Not much has changed honestly. Every year there's at least one or two gems. And indies to fill the gaps. All I need.

 

[ZanDatsu]

I still think publishers bunch too many big games into close release windows, meaning you can go a month or two feeling like there's nothing big and new coming out. September felt this way to me, kind of a boring month.

 

[epmode]

The biggest AAA games tend to be super exploitative and I'm half-hoping for government regulation to stop shit like NBA 2K18.

Besides those, modern videogames are ridiculously varied and there are lots of excellent games released each month. PC gaming is as good as it's ever been.

 

[Octavia]

Boring.

-Barely anything in AAA is interesting, and the games I cared about ended up being gimped or are just laughably bad (Fallout 4, Mass Effect Andromeda).

-Game tech I'm interested in is mostly stalled. Forest density peaked with Crysis 1 (2007). Non block-Terrain deformation and water physics peaked with From Dust (2011). Actual explorability and interactivity of the entirety of a game world hasn't been beaten yet by Minecraft (2009). Biggest (built for) online player count that isn't an MMO was still MAG (2010). Only notable exception is we have peaked on skybox tech with Forza Horizon 3. Damn do those skies look good.

-Indies are still doing good, I just wish they had better budgets and manpower because most of the time the really innovative games are pretty janky and unfinished (like 7 days to die, very cool, very janky).

 

[NeoZeedeater]

I have been happy with the quality and variety of releases. These last couple years have been better than any we had last gen.

I love the co-existence of digital and physical media. It's the golden age of distribution given that both have advantages.

I have mixed feeling on Nintendo, a company I have been a huge fan of since well before the NES. One the one hand, I love the idea of the Switch merging their console and portable development. One the other hand, the Switch has the highest price tag of any Nintendo system ever (where I live anyway), has barely anything exclusive for me to justify buying it, and has paid online coming. I don't think it deserves its success yet. I also hate Amiibo and how they handled the NES Classic.

The '90s dream of VR is finally happening. I love the technology but it's still too expensive for me.

The gaming media is still awful when it comes to fairly representing classic video games. The lack of knowledge and respect for anything outside of Nintendo consoles is staggering.

 

[Rolf NB]

The end of the 3DS lineage will benefit us all.

 

[angelic]

Pleased with: new Metroid this year, Switch being great, PUBG coming to console soon, SNES mini imminent.

Not pleased with: political correctness being shoehorned into games, microtransactions being pushed hard, 99$ "best value" packs in full price games, SNES mini scalping.

Not enough dinosaur games

Indeed, where the hell are the console Turok remasters.

 

[wvnative]

I feel better about gaming now than I've felt since 2004. I feel like compared to the PS3/360 generation, overall quality of games has gone up, both AAA and middle tier. And Japanese games are back with a vengeance. People complain about games as a service, but I feel most games are now handling it with grace and respect. (Except GTA) With most games charging largely for cosmetics with content updates being free.

The consoles are amazing too, with far less failure rates for both Xbox One and PS4, and the consoles themselves have much smoother interfaces. Sure their layout is questionable but what can you do about that?

I've never been this massively hyped for so many upcoming games at once, Spider-Man, God of War, Detroit: Become Human, The Last of us Part II, Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts III, Super Mario Odyssey, Assassin's Creed Origins, Yakuza 6, Yakuza Kiwami 2, Octopath Traveler, Fire Emblem Warriors, Need For Speed Payback, Red Dead Redemption 2, ALL LOOK AMAZING.

The Switch itself is, imo, an incredible innovation, with it's hybrid nature being the least of them. No more forced installs for physical games, with digital games looking like the devs are actually attempting to compress. The menus are incredibly snappy, the console in general is faster than the competition, it starts up instantaneously, games boot instantly, and if your power goes out? It'll just switch to handheld mode, not even interrupting your jump in Mario.

Gaming is the best it's ever been.

 

[iceblade997]

This year is going pretty well, both from what's been released and from what I've discovered. It feels like the current gen hit its stride and now that it has there's more to play than I can keep up with, so there's always a good experience waiting just around the corner.

I'm a bit concerned at the state of AAA though. It used to be my bread and butter and the way these games keep growing and growing, taking longer and longer to make makes me wonder how it's going to wind up going maybe 10 years from now.

I'm concerned about the future of consoles

New boxes at least every three years with growing game budgets, developer crunch and the continued encroachment of microtransactions

It doesn't seem promising. Currently I guess things are okay.

Same here. Even now several devs still haven't gotten any new IP out this gen (Rockstar being an example). Compared to last gen I think I'd still prefer quantity over quality. By this point Rockstar had released GTA IV, Midnight Club LA, and Red Dead Redemption...

 

[MoonFrog]

I've recently gotten both a Switch and a PS4 (within past 10 months).

PS4 has had a crazy good streak with me, which is great. PS3 really was not my machine; it is refreshing to feel good about a PS purchase again. It helps that I held off until there was a critical mass of titles I wanted but when that wave came, it really came.

And then you have Switch, which makes me feel confident in the future of Nintendo for the first time in a while. That is incredibly important to me as Nintendo is the most important developer/publisher for me and they make games of their own cloth--much of their stuff you can't get elsewhere anywhere near the level at which they make it. They've got a compelling and revolutionary device that has a spec profile that should cut barriers to (Japanese) multiplatform releases. They've got a crazy slew of first party launch year titles. And the thing is selling incredibly well. It is defying doomsday projections of a mobile only Japan and a west that's completely satisfied with just HD twin style consoles. I just really hope that support shows up and the thing keeps selling (particularly in Japan).

As to games, Zelda and Mario on the thing in year one. A really great Zelda. A promising Mario. Metroid Prime and Fire Emblem on the horizon. SMT, Octopath, DQXI...

I've not put much time into it since Zelda but...that was great and the future looks bright.

It's been a great year for someone largely out of touch with mainstream, AAA gaming in the west, like myself, and Switch offers hope for that continuing into the future.

 

[TannerDemoz]

I've watched Nintendo finally hit puberty and it's absolutely fantastic. Shame Nintendo's dad still has a really tight reign on who Nintendo talks too online though. Maybe one day.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

I'm pretty much completely divorced from AAA games, so I'm feeling good. Between indies and mid-tier games there are so many amazing games coming out all the time, and I feel optimistic for the future, too. Just about every genre I like has had some really great games released in the last year or two.

 

[Oblivion]

I'm not a big fan of some of the business practices (microtransactions have already been mentioned) but in terms of the quality of the games themselves? I think things are probably as great as they've ever been. There's been a resurgence in 2D platformers, which is arguably my favorite genre, so I'm loving it so far.

My only real complaint that comes to mind is that I feel this whole need to make everything 4K is extremely superfluous. I'd be totally fine with 1080p and have all that extra horespower in modern consoles to be used on physics, geometry, lighting effects and such.

 

[RooMHM]

I'm sad. Gaming gets worse and worseand people are ok if not more with it.
I can't even get myself to try a new game more than once a year at most.
And it's for games at the opposite of what I used to cherish, things like the Witness. I m happy I played it but it's for the desert of games I really like since I started gaming 20 years ago.

 

[Bedameister]

Good. There are more games that I like to play than I'll ever be able to play. Nothing to worry about (despite not being able to play all the games)

 

[sn00zer]

Fucking incredible...feel like I've had my best gaming experiences this gen. Easily the most eclectic gen by far, and havent bought a single microtransaction. People have become nit picky as fuck. Destiny 2 shader controversy is a big one, yeah its not great, but it such a minor minor part of the whole game and people made it seem like the only thing. It seems like by and large the gaming community and devs have settled the microtransaction stuff in that if its just cosmetic then its ok. NBA18 is a weird example which seems outta 2013, but by and large the dust imo has settled on what is ok and not ok for microtransactions.

EDIT: I think its insanely easy to avoid microtransactions in console games in general unless Im some how just avoiding all the games with microtransactions.

-Bloodborne
-Hitman
-The Witness
-INSIDE
-GNOG
-Destiny 1 and 2 taking drop in drop out coop to a whole new level/genre
-Birthdays the Beginning
-Undertale
-Horizon Zero Dawn
-Batman VR
-Ratchet and Clank revival

 

[Primate_Ryan]

Mostly fine. There are some great multiplayer games on pc that are supported quite well and stay fresh, Nintendo is back and I love the abundance of games on Steam and the eShop.

I don't play or care about most of the games that are hit the hardest by microtransactions and dlc/season passes, so that doesn't really affect me.

I'm only concerned that there are too many games, which means that many titles remain overlooked irrespective of their quality. This already seems to be the case for many multiplayer games that quite often rely on a sizeable playerbase for their matchmaking algorithms to work.

 

[sn00zer]

I'm sad. Gaming gets worse and worseand people are ok if not more with it.
I can't even get myself to try a new game more than once a year at most.
And it's for games at the opposite of what I used to cherish, things like the Witness. I m happy I played it but it's for the desert of games I really like since I started gaming 20 years ago.

Genuinely curious what genre you feel has not been catered to this generation or how games have gotten worse and worse.

 

[AgentLampshade]

Pessimistic. I have no interest in microtransactions, online multiplayer, (a vast majority of) DLC or season passes. My favorite franchises are either taking too long to get out or dead. Now with Gamergate and far right politics polluting the community, I've never been so distant from the community of people who once shared my interests.

 

[Ansatz]

I would describe the gaming landscape today as inconsistent.

You can't trust a developer or franchise anymore, I have to take it on a game by game basis and approach everything without any expectations. It's sad when your reaction to the announcement of a new Metroid Prime is "awesome, but who is making it?" or falling in love with a game like Hearthstone only to realize that you have to spend an eternity (or alternatively your entire life savings) in order to continue having fun past a certain rank. As such there are few 'safe bets' these days even from giants of the past.

 

[Wensih]

It seems pretty crazy and overwhelming if you're trying to keep up with 2017 releases. I've tried to take a step back this year from video games (although for some reason I'm still doing the 52 game challenge albeit more slowly and less likely to complete compared to previous years), but every time I look at the release schedule there are like 5 games that pique my interest.

 

[Acquiescence]

I'm pissed off that so many AAA games are open-world now, and 50% longer in length than they need to be.

Other than that, it's pretty good.

 

[Tali'Zorah]

Gaming companies remain pretty awful and microtransactions is only making that worse, but that's pretty par for the course (and it's hardly worse than the awful-ness of every other entertainment industry tbh). As for the games, I'm disappointed there's seems to have been an overall shift towards multiplayer as it isn't something that I'm interested in, though I understand that's where the money is. Luckily there's still a tonne of great single player games out there so it doesn't bother me that much (just this year I've adored games from NieR Automata to Horizon Zero Dawn to Yakuza 0). Nintendo getting back on track is great to see as well. Overall, it could be a hell of a lot better, obviously, but I'm not sure it's much worse now than it has been in the past and overall I'm pretty satisfied.

 

[Van Bur3n]

The companies and business practices get worse, but at least there are some good games in the mix of so many shitty ones. Those good games in recent years being some of the best I've ever played at that.

 

[Scuffed]

Overall it's amazing content wise. There has never been such variety before imo.

Monetarily I think the companies are testing their limits this year through loot crating everything. This will be a thing for awhile until a game comes along that says "no loot crates" and that becomes a huge selling point lol.

 

[MrT-Tar]

I'm honestly feeling the most confident I've been since 2010 (which saw the incredible 3DS reveal, amazing sequels like Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Fallout: New Vegas, and great reboots such as DKC: Returns). The years after that saw Nintendo stumbling, Capcom rapidly declining, Konami pretty much exiting the industry, and generally a shift away from the types of games I enjoy most (JPRGs, character action games, 3d platformers).

Today it feels like Nintendo seems to be doing great again, and games like Nier Automata and Persona 5 are proving that high quality 3rd party Japanese games can be commercially, as well as critically, successful. This time last year, I would not be confident in making these assertions.

I still have some concerns, for example about the financial health of Capcom, but I feel far more confident that I have done for a long while.

 

[Sec0nd]

Still the most boring gaming gen I've been apart of. Apart from launch there has never been a sparkle of excitement or creativity. It feels like a direct continuation of the previous gen but with none of the big 3 really trying. Third party companies haven't really shown any inspiration either. Maybe it's the increasing dev cost that makes every play it so bland and boring.

During the previous gen both Sony and Microsoft always seemed to have some kind of pepper up their butt. Always trying to one up each other. New and inspired games coming out (almost) each year. This gen there is none of that. Just more of the same old games. There has only been one game this gen I've been really passioned about. And that's Overwatch. Everything else is just so... meh. I can't even come up with one game I'm exciting about that is coming up. Except for the fact that I'm curious about PUBG coming to consoles.

Granted, during the PS360 era I was mostly in high school. And waaay more into gaming than I am now. And I'm sure there are plenty of innovative games in the indie scene, which I'm barely a part of. But my overal impression is that it's extremely boring and very few companies seem passionate and inspired this gen.

 

[Sad Affleck]

Mixed feelings. My platform of choice (PC) is doing great at the moment but the industry as a whole is following trends that I absolutely loathe. Online paywalls, predatory microtransactions, games as a service... I am worried that mainstream gaming is turning into something that will soon be unrecognizable to me and completely undesirable.

 

[Pachael]

Good generally - with a wide range of gaming styles, methods and platforms, with increasing recognition that gaming as a whole is mainstream with non-traditional gaming companies or properties making money literally plucked from thin air.

The counterpoint to that is that because the industry as a whole is in an increased state of creative destruction, its many successes mask the many issues like the reach of corporate entities and management styles to project crunch and resource burnout.

 

[FlaygletheBagel]

Lots of Western multiplatform AAA games from the bigger publishers are absolutely worse than they've ever been, but aside from that one hideous wart, the gaming landscape gets better and better.

1) Japanese big-budget games are seeing a huge resurgence and are pushing boundaries in ways never before seen. Bloodborne and Zelda BOTW are GOAT-material. You could make that case for a lot of Japanese games that are coming out right now.

2) Indies are driving the industry forward with unique ideas, and are responsible for some of the best games that have come out in the last 5 or 6 years. Indies keep getting better.

3) Hardware is getting stronger - it may not increase the quality of a game in and of itself, but it makes some games possible that wouldn't be otherwise (The Witcher 3).

4) Nintendo, despite having a huge dud on their hands last gen, has come up with a hardware concept that works and generates excitement. Their attempts to "innovate" with hardware may not always work, but their success is overall a net positive for the industry and encourages unique ways to play.

5) Even if you are someone with retro sensibilities and don't like where the industry is heading, there are plenty of places available to play older games.

I'd say, all things considered, things are better than they've ever been.

 

[CadetMahoney]

I can see the future and I don't like how cross play lived and died with SF5, no fighting game going forwards will have it.

 

[Melchiah]

I'm increasingly disappointed about the prevalence of open world fad, and how it's beginning to infect series (like Uncharted) that used to be more linear. Otherwise I'm pretty much content with the way things are.

 

[Moongazer]

I am worried where the industry is currently headed in general. I'm not a fan of the AAA industry moving over to GaaS type games nor of the inclusion of microtransations in full priced games. For the most part I have very little interest in most AAA games now and that will continue since unfortunately it looks like those shitty trends will become the norm in the industry.

I just hope that the Japanese games industry still put out games like Nier and Persona. Once stuff like gets affected or become GaaS I'm out.

 

[Van Bur3n]

I'm increasingly disappointed about the prevalence of open world fad, and how it's beginning to infect series (like Uncharted) that used to be more linear. Otherwise I'm pretty much content with the way things are.

Maybe you just need to be more open-minded.

 

[Melchiah]

Maybe you just need to be more open-minded.

Heh. I'm open to everything else but old series turning towards the new trend. I dread the idea of semi-open world The Last of Us and God of War.

 

[StrategyFan]

formulaic

 

[Thud]

Like a huge gletsjer. Any moment a part can break off.

 

[SirClinksAlot]

I'm sad. Gaming gets worse and worseand people are ok if not more with it.
I can't even get myself to try a new game more than once a year at most.
And it's for games at the opposite of what I used to cherish, things like the Witness. I m happy I played it but it's for the desert of games I really like since I started gaming 20 years ago.

I truly dont see how its possible to feel like this.

 

[Humdinger]

Mixed feelings.

Pros:

- Plenty of good games continue to be released.
- Strong year for Sony and Nintendo.
- Mild resurgence of the AA/$40 model.

Cons:
- Games as service; focus on online MP monetization
- All the focus on the minutae of graphics
- Increasing game budgets = homogenization, trying to please everyone
- Games are invariably led by young people, so the themes and characters remain limited in maturity/scope.

 

[vocab]

Shooter market sucks.
RPG market improving.
DLC/microtransactions getting worse.

 

[sn00zer]

Shooter market sucks..

Wat

 

[Staf]

Awesome!

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

It feels good. Developers are really starting to hit there stride this gen. Indies are killing it. 2017 has been kind of weak thus far for my personal tastes, but several games I have been dying for are about to come out (The Evil Within 2, Odyssey, and God of War). And and a classic Metroid game was just released for the first time in 13 years. Times are good.