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[Abriael_GN]

Same attitude people had last gen and look at where we are now, you don't actually know, that's the issue. The industry is crumbling around you, a reason why is presented to you, you dismiss it because you haven't been paying attention.

Keep crying. I'll keep enjoying the great games that the industry is providing, and is poised to continue to provide.

 

[cireza]

I don't buy "checklist AAA" games because I don't like these games. I bought the very first Assassin's Creed on 360 back then, and it was boring as hell.
I suggest people don't buy these games if they don't like it, this will be a good start.

I am still playing games these days, there are quite a lot of games available that have my interest. I do I do this ? Simple.

1) I buy the few creative AAA games that are released... and actually have a blast playing them.
- Zelda BotW : this is a big AAA game that has plenty of innovative and fun ideas, definitely worth checking
- Xenoblade Chronicles X : awesome open world games full of interesting ideas
- Sonic Lost World and Sonic Forces : yes, Sonic is still very much its own thing and that's great
- Valkyria Chronicles 4 : definitely the same kind of game I loved on my Sega consoles
- Nier Automata : fantastic story driven game
- Catherine : again, a fantastic story driven game
- Final Fantasy XV : that's a pretty huge AAA game for sure, full of great ideas
- Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor Edge : an AAA BTA that I love
- Hitman 1 & 2 (2 was not as good)
- Doom was actually a fantastic revisit of the old classic, not too hot about Eternal though
So there is still some good diversity as far as AAA games goes.

2) I buy the few AA games that get released if they are good
- Recore : loved this game, fantastic gameplay and level-design
- Ori : definitely the kind of experience I can still manage to have in the overly saturated Metroidvania genre

3) I... actually don't buy many independent games. Why ? Because they are checklist games just as much as the big AAA games. Too many games are actually Metroid or Castlevania or Zelda clones, or uses old color palettes etc... And I have played these kind of games to death already. So among all the independent games, there are probably a few that are not copy/pasted from an older games, but they don't have much visibility, so I don't know they exist. Too bad.

4) I pick VNs every once in a while

5) I play the games I still love (and buy them) on Xbox Backward Compat
- Panzer Dragoon Orta is absolutely unbelievable on Xbox One X
- Jet Set Radio
- etc...

6) Upcoming games ?
- Sakura Wars
- Astral Chain
- Catherine Full Body maybe
- Bayonetta 3
- Fire Emblem maybe

So there are still plenty of games even for a gamer like me that has zero interest in "easy" sequels or "checklist AAA" or "copypasted from whatever old game" independent game.

 

[Freedom Gate Co.]

K'll keep enjoying the great games that the industry is providing,

Never said the industry didn't produce great games, your showing your age (5) and your lack of understanding with this pointless response. If you can't discuss the thread normally like everyone else without turning into a YouTube commentor feel free to leave.

 

[ProBusinessgamer]

I think this comes down to a lack of business knowldge, and general education. The risk of letting a AIG or certain banks fail is due to systemic risk....hence the too big to fail label, because they are so big and interconnected that they can take everyone down with them. When you look at market capital, and related metrics...if a Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon tanked and crashed it would literally move the market. There is not a specific game company that can do that, game companies are relatively small compared to 4 companies i mentioned...even sony is a tiny company compared to the companies i mentioned.

 

[Freedom Gate Co.]

There is not a specific game company that can do that, game companies are relatively small compared to 4 companies i mentioned...even sony is a tiny company compared to the companies i mentioned.

There are many companies with varies connections across the industry that could cause disruption, not sure why you think there aren't. It's actually the reason why some of the practices we see in the industry today, the bad ones, are now standard, along with game price.

 

[Abriael_GN]

Never said the industry didn't produce great games, your showing your age (5) and your lack of understanding with this pointless response. If you can't discuss the thread normally like everyone else without turning into a YouTube commentor feel free to leave.

The past tense in there is wholly incorrect. The industry is continuously producing great games from all areas and size of studios, budgets, regions, and numbers of "A." There is no sign of this changing.

And it does so because things are going relatively well, despite all the overblown doom and gloom some like to spout.

Sorry not sorry if my daring to contradict you makes you mad, but such is life. You'll live.

 

[timonlionbladerunner]

The reason why this is a problem is because Major gaming corporations are destroying two key things that keep the industry well:

1. The Mid-sized developer
2. Game Creativity

These companies are huge, but they are still companies that need to make a profit off their software or other ventures.

Could you explain to me, preferably with hard numbers, how the lack of AA and “creative” games (what does this mean?) has led to or will lead to a financially unsustainable industry?

Like other users have said, these are your personal preferences, not the preferences of the market. Yes, even the EAs, Take-Twos and Activision-Blizzards of the world missed revenue targets recently, but they have remained profitable. A lot of this can be explained by the competition between the, oh and a little game called Fortnite.

Also, there is no such thing as a “too big to fail” gaming company. Any of these companies could lose their profitability, active users, shareholders, etc. However, they aren’t and won’t fail in the near-term, as these companies focus on cloud gaming, subscription services, and in-game purchases to continue to capture their share of the market. Do you know why this is? 99% of gamers don’t care about AA and “creative” games. Your opinion isn’t the only reality.

 

[timonlionbladerunner]

I fucked up this quote but my point stands.

 

[Freedom Gate Co.]

The past tense in there is wholly incorrect. The industry is continuously producing great games

It amazing how you didn't bother reading and made the same post twice. I never said or implied great games weren't being produced, you're dismissing the problem. If you don't want a discussion please leave or be reported.

 

[timonlionbladerunner]

I think this comes down to a lack of business knowldge, and general education. The risk of letting a AIG or certain banks fail is due to systemic risk....hence the too big to fail label, because they are so big and interconnected that they can take everyone down with them. When you look at market capital, and related metrics...if a Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon tanked and crashed it would literally move the market. There is not a specific game company that can do that, game companies are relatively small compared to 4 companies i mentioned...even sony is a tiny company compared to the companies i mentioned.

Agreed. I don’t think the OP understands how businesses operate. This thread is basically a complaint that OP doesn’t like AAA games.

 

[ROMhack]

I don't buy "checklist AAA" games because I don't like these games. I bought the very first Assassin's Creed on 360 back then, and it was boring as hell.
I suggest people don't buy these games if they don't like it, this will be a good start.

I am still playing games these days, there are quite a lot of games available that have my interest. I do I do this ? Simple.

1) I buy the few creative AAA games that are released... and actually have a blast playing them.
- Zelda BotW : this is a big AAA game that has plenty of innovative and fun ideas, definitely worth checking
- Xenoblade Chronicles X : awesome open world games full of interesting ideas
- Sonic Lost World and Sonic Forces : yes, Sonic is still very much its own thing and that's great
- Valkyria Chronicles 4 : definitely the same kind of game I loved on my Sega consoles
- Nier Automata : fantastic story driven game
- Catherine : again, a fantastic story driven game
- Final Fantasy XV : that's a pretty huge AAA game for sure, full of great ideas
- Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor Edge : an AAA BTA that I love
- Hitman 1 & 2 (2 was not as good)
- Doom was actually a fantastic revisit of the old classic, not too hot about Eternal though
So there is still some good diversity as far as AAA games goes.

2) I buy the few AA games that get released if they are good
- Recore : loved this game, fantastic gameplay and level-design
- Ori : definitely the kind of experience I can still manage to have in the overly saturated Metroidvania genre

3) I... actually don't buy many independent games. Why ? Because they are checklist games just as much as the big AAA games. Too many games are actually Metroid or Castlevania or Zelda clones, or uses old color palettes etc... And I have played these kind of games to death already. So among all the independent games, there are probably a few that are not copy/pasted from an older games, but they don't have much visibility, so I don't know they exist. Too bad.

4) I pick VNs every once in a while

5) I play the games I still love (and buy them) on Xbox Backward Compat
- Panzer Dragoon Orta is absolutely unbelievable on Xbox One X
- Jet Set Radio
- etc...

6) Upcoming games ?
- Sakura Wars
- Astral Chain
- Catherine Full Body maybe
- Bayonetta 3
- Fire Emblem maybe

So there are still plenty of games even for a gamer like me that has zero interest in "easy" sequels or "checklist AAA" or "copypasted from whatever old game" independent game.

Good post although I think indie games are better than you're suggesting.

 

[Abriael_GN]

It amazing how you didn't bother reading and made the same post twice. I never said or implied great games weren't being produced, you're dismissing the problem. If you don't want a discussion please leave or be reported.

Nice of you to ignore half of my post (while accusing me of ignoring yours lol).

A consistent stream of great games from all sorts of developers is a sign of a relatively healthy industry.

PS: petty threats certainly aren't a replacement for actually solid arguments. Might want to do less of the former, and more of the latter. People that contradict your points aren't required to leave just because you demand them to.

 

[Freedom Gate Co.]

Great games are a sign of a relatively healthy industry.

History has proven this wrong.

Also, you're trying to use a subjective argument to downplay an objective one, especially in regards to business deaths and layoffs. You haven't actually addressed the post either, you're still avoiding the fact your don't understand. Nothing is being overblown, you're taking your subjective opinion and using it in a general sense to act like there's nothing wrong in the industry while thats objectively incorrect. Some of the companies that made your "great games" don't even exist anymore.

Again, the issue isn't about whether good games are produced, I have no idea why you put that spin in the conversation.

 

[Freedom Gate Co.]

Agreed. I don’t think the OP understands how businesses operate. This thread is basically a complaint that OP doesn’t like AAA games.

If you read the opening post I talked about AA and indies as well, but you didn't. You also don't understand the back-end of the industry if you think a few of the top companies can crash and nothing will happen. Same ignorant talk last gen and the gen before. Bad business practices, and hundreds of company deaths later we still are doing this.

I think one reason why gamers let companies do things to them that other industry consumers wouldn't is that they are uninterested in learning about how the industry operates and who is who, so something equal to online passes or microtransactions in another industry wouldn't fly.

 

[Abriael_GN]

History has proven this wrong.

I don't think "Proving" means what you think it means. If anything, history proves that in the overwhelming majority of cases the industry is much more solid than people think. If actually turned out to be unsustainable every time I read a thread (or clickbait article on some website that has learned that negativity sells) like this over the past two decades, there would be no video game industry left today.

Also, you're trying to use a subjective argument to downplay an objective one

"your argument is subjective but mine is objective because I say it is."

There is literally not a single objective point in your post. It all about your perception.

act like there's nothing wrong in the industry

Strawman arguments don't do you any favors either. In no place, shape, or form, I argued that there is nothing wrong in the industry. There has always been something wrong in the industry, and in any industry. That's very far from being as bad as you describe, crippling, or making anything "unsustainable."

Again, the issue isn't about whether good games are produced, I have no idea why you put that spin in the conversation.

And here I thought I explained it in plain English. An industry as unhealthy as you describe won't produce as many great games.

 

[Klayzer]

I don't think "Proving" means what you think it means. If anything, history proves that in the overwhelming majority of cases the industry is much more solid than people think. If actually turned out to be unsustainable every time I read a thread (or clickbait article on some website that has learned that negativity sells) like this over the past two decades, there would be no video game industry left today.



"your argument is subjective but mine is objective because I say it is."

There is literally not a single objective point in your post. It all about your perception.



Strawman arguments don't do you any favors either. In no place, shape, or form, I argued that there is nothing wrong in the industry. There has always been something wrong in the industry, and in any industry. That's very far from being as bad as you describe, crippling, or making anything "unsustainable."



And here I thought I explained it in plain English. An industry as unhealthy as you describe won't produce as many great games.

The management of said companies is the problem not the games imo. The industry itself is making billions of dollars each year. If content providers fold, its because of bad management decisions rather than the consumers. A business can make a profit if its willing to put a financially sound and fun product out to the masses.

 

[cireza]

Good post although I think indie games are better than you're suggesting.

You are right, but the ones I hear about don't bring much novelty. Darkest Dungeon was probably one of the most interesting though.

I played Dead Cells a bit and it was fine but it still felt like I already played it tenths of times.

 

[ROMhack]

You are right, but the ones I hear about don't bring much novelty. Darkest Dungeon was probably one of the most interesting though.

I played Dead Cells a bit and it was fine but it still felt like I already played it tenths of times.

Tbh if you're looking for action games then indie games probably will suck. They don't have the budget to WOW and you'll only occasionally find ones that do (e.g. Hollow Knight).

Indie games usually excel when they move between genres. Examples being Gris, Firewatch, Edith Finch, Celeste, Little Nightmares, Kona, Doki Doki Lit Club, Night in the Woods, Detention, etc.

They totally might not be your bag though and that's perfectly fine.

 

[Meh3D]

No one else seems to think I'm incredibly vague, because they were actually paying attention.

I think you're being vague on some parts. For example, why can't EA or SquareEnix fail? What if out of "ruins" we have new studios who are now challenged to create new ideas ?

 

[Freedom Gate Co.]

Double

 

[Freedom Gate Co.]

I think you're being vague on some parts. For example, why can't EA or SquareEnix fail? What if out of "ruins" we have new studios who are now challenged to create new ideas ?

The industry is already in a fragile state that's artificially being maintained by a band-aid solution. That's why even smaller developers are chasing after similar practices as the big boys.

 

[Majukun]

Well the crash of 83 was caused by being able to play most of the same games on many consoles, and game pricing wars where AA or some AAA devs sold their games at $30 making the $60-$70 devs drop their prices, which also pissed off retailers in effect.

That's not going to happen in the current market, companies can't organize and pull off a game price drop these days, and you can't play one consoles games on another so, we'll likely never see a crash in that vein again.

actually, most of the 1983 crash was brought by the fact that the business model for videogames was completely different.

basically they were treated like newspapers, you gave to the vendor your games to selll, if some of those didn't sell, it was not up to the vendor to try to get rid of them, but he would give them back to you, and you had two options, give him another of your games to sell,or give him his money back.

this brought an era where developers were scrambling to put out as many games as possible trying to find an hit, because if your game didn't sell, you could only take the hit financially or try to recoup by releasing another game and using that instead..it was a ticking bomb where at every cycle things got worst, games with shorter and shorter dev cycles brought bad games, that didn't sell and brought customer's trust to the ground, which meant many copies werenot sold, which meant new games had to substitute them with even shorter dev times and so on.

that's how nintendo revitalized the entire market when the nes came out, they changed the business model to what we have now and put out the "nintendo seals of quality" that assures t the customers at least an "usable" level of quality in the games,or at least the apparance of it.

also,yeah, lack of protection of copyright also didn't help..at the time you could actually buy peripherals that would make you play games from your competitors on your console..like if xbox now comes out with an add on that makes you play ps4 games.

nowadays the worst that could happen is that some studios have to shrunk down and go indies,but we have so many ways of distribution and so many potential customers that it's almost impossible that something as big as 1983 will happen again.

 

[scalman]

If they too big then we can do nothing about them really.
I think that number of "we" is just toi low compared to "those " who will buy anything from them

 

[Starlight Lotice]

SEGA have finally realised that you don't need huge sales to stay afloat. Acquiring ATLUS has made them more budget savvy without too much skimping on their IPs.

I don't agree with some of the outsourcing but they seem to have a nice balance now.

I think the Mid Sized Developers will be fine mostly due to retaining their fanbase.

 

[Freedom Gate Co.]

With the decline of indie gaming resulting in them moving to mobile, and several AA independent developers being brought out recently, I think it's time to revisit this thread.

Next generation we will have only a handful of large companies, only a few middle-tier companies, and a reduced Indie scene on home consoles. If there ever was a time to breakup companies this is it. I feel next gen will be the worst gen of all when looking at developer happiness, game variety, and nickle & diming consumers.

 

[TeddyShardik]

The answer seems simple: STOP buying their shitty games.

But even if everyone on this forum followed this, and they're not, it would still be of no effect at all.

They sell to the mass market and the mass market is stupid. It's just that. Idiots with more money to spend than they're worth.

Noone can do anything by "voting with their wallet".
You have to make it loud and clear everywhere, that these companies are shit, so that even the lowest moron in the back gets that he's being a problem.

 

[DrJohnGalt]

I skipped to post w/out reading most of the other replies, so sorry if it's already been said, but "we need to do something" is a bit extreme.

Since when is having more options and games to choose from (rather than fewer) a bad thing?

If you don't like the games, don't buy them. Even games I am interested in (like Borderlands 3, GoW5, and Watchdogs: Legion) I wait until they've been out a while and buy them used so the devs don't get my money. If you're on PC, wait until a deep sale or bundle (where you can actually choose to give the devs $00) to pick up a game. Or just skip it altogether.

But bottom line is as long as there are people willing to buy these games the devs won't change. And as long as people are indeed still buying, why should the devs change?

You don't like a lot of the policies (maybe microtransactions or lootboxes) or politics, and I don't like the policies or politics, but until they start pissing off enough people to hurt the bottom line things won't change.

As for another game crash, as a collector I'd love to see this because I'd possibly be able to snatch up some of the more rare/expensive games for a lot less than I could find them today

 

[MMaRsu]

For me this is the worst disaster in the modern video game industry

Sorry, aside from a great OP I just wanted to say this post is nonsense

 

[MMaRsu]

Also, people like buying crap.

Look at games like

ARK
FALLOUT76
DAYZ
RUST

These shitty games are hugely succesful for their publishers.

People love to spend their money on SHEIT

Since when is having more options and games to choose from (rather than fewer) a bad thing?

Thats his point though, there are way less games to choose from, and the ones that are out there all play the same and/or follow the same boring AAA structure.

 

[oagboghi2]

Good topic, Freedom Gate Co.

I only think that the presence of too many "too big to fail" corporations in this industry could accelerate convergence to monopoly, which would harm it even more than the long awaited "crash". Huge corporations actually tend to take less risks and raise the barrier of entry to smalle

No, it’s a stupid topic. None of the companies listed are “too big to fail”

There are many companies with varies connections across the industry that could cause disruption, not sure why you think there aren't. It's actually the reason why some of the practices we see in the industry today, the bad ones, are now standard, along with game price.

What the fuck are you talking about?

What other industries would fall if a game company went down. Honestly, do you know what the term “ to big to fail” means?

 

[Deleted member 17706]

From Wikipedia: "The "too big to (let) fail" theory asserts that certain corporations, particularly financial institutions, are so large and so interconnected that their failure would be disastrous to the greater economic system."

I disagree that this definition applies to any gaming company, even if you narrow "economic system" to just the gaming industry.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Sorry, aside from a great OP I just wanted to say this post is nonsense

In fact it makes more sense than you imagine, if you start to analyze the awful contributions that has given fornite to the video game industry.

or did i need to tell it point by point?

 

[Wink]

Everyone support mid tier games if they seem interesting to you and provide a complete experience. Please do not support full price games with micro transactions. If possible please do your small part to make non GaaS non mtx games viable and help prop up those devs and publishers to pick up the slack when EActiWarnerSoft take a nosedive cause it's simply not possible to make any more profit at some point and shareholders abandon them.

 

[Woo-Fu]

Nobody in this industry is too big to fail. Google is about to wake up in an alley without their pants, just as an example.

 

[synchronicity]

Creativity/originality is uniformly ruined by consolidation of output, and that tends to happen within capitalism.

We can go back to older eras, or we can focus on some indies, but at the top the "creative" (I use that term loosely) process will always be streamlined into oblivion.

 

[MMaRsu]

In fact it makes more sense than you imagine, if you start to analyze the awful contributions that has given fornite to the video game industry.

or did i need to tell it point by point?

Such as what exactly? Yes Id like to see a point by point. Battle Royale as a mode is just that, a mode. If TDM was popular it would have taken just one game to get as popular as Fortnite, and for one publisher to implement things like a Battle Pass.

In a free game I'm still not against the idea. The problem is with paid games implementing the same things, and users blindly accepting that.

 

[Bryank75]

I think this comes down to a lack of business knowldge, and general education. The risk of letting a AIG or certain banks fail is due to systemic risk....hence the too big to fail label, because they are so big and interconnected that they can take everyone down with them. When you look at market capital, and related metrics...if a Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon tanked and crashed it would literally move the market. There is not a specific game company that can do that, game companies are relatively small compared to 4 companies i mentioned...even sony is a tiny company compared to the companies i mentioned.

That's only from a market value / stock perspective..... I mean Sony has 140 Billion in long term assets compared to MS 100 Billion.

But you are right that MS, Google, FB, Berkshire and another few could cause systemic risk and that is what Michael Burry said is happening due to an 'index bubble'. Only a matter of time before it bursts.

 

[Gargus]

There is nothing wrong with big fail companies. They appear in every industry once that industry reaches a certain threshold. Movies, music, video games, cars, restaurants, big box stores, etc. literally everything has a big fail company because every industry has some companies that really make it big, the bigger they get the more sacrificing they have to do to stay big.

Once and industry gets so big though you need the big fail companies to keep it afloat and to appeal to the customers that want the products they sell. Yeah you can bitch about ubisoft games using the assassins creed checklist but guess what? Those games sell a ton which means people want them. Yeah say bandai namco is a big fail company but they still release from software games that are beloved. Square as much as people bitch about final fantasy games it sells like hotcakes.

There are tons and tons of indie studios and niche games if you actually look. Especially on the PC as there are thousands of unique games that come out every year but you don't hear about them because most people want the big games.

The game industry is fine. The only thing wrong with it is all the apologists developers who cave everytime someone complains and all studios do that big and small.

 

[MisterBrimstone]

Gaming is at its best.

 

[anthraticus]

I haven't bought any AAA games or new consoles in years and years.

Most people are easily entertained/have shitty taste though and unfortunately this crap seems to sell.

 

[Cert.in.Death]

EA is the only company that seems to remotely fit the “too big to fail” description. And it doesn’t take anything other than someone wanting to compete & convincing the NFL and FIFA to afford them license to undermine the safety net EA possesses.

I also subscribe to the personal accountability camp, so decide for yourself to support the practices and games you want the industry to advance. The market is free and you have say in how it operates.

 

[Bkdk]

lol no, gamers love the big companies way more than what they claim. They always complain but action shows that they love EA and activision much more than they could admit. Also there are quite a lot of new indie developers/ mid sized companies that make EA and activision a saint in comlarison, these big companies aren’t nearly as bad as what Internet comments state. In fact, all the names you listed are all one of the best this industry has to offer over the years despite occasional hiccups and money grabbing scheme. Gaming is not an essential purchase, if they really are so bad they will fail within 2 or 3 years. All business are profit first and those who find the best balance will come out ahead.

 

[jufonuk]

Something something, Nintendo Switch, Steam, Indie games something PC something

 

[Stuart360]

I dont really see the industry in a bad state to be honest. Over the last couple of years, we have really seen the rebirth of AA games, with THQ Nordic, Deep Silver, and Devolver Digital, etc. Indie games are still being released in huge numbers, with a lot of Indie games actually being damn good games, and not a cesspool of asset flips like they used to be. You are even getting AAA like Ghost Recon Breakpoint willing to change their whole game and try to make it into something gamers want.
Sure MTX and loot boxes and all that shit is still here, and probably not going anywhere, but the industry is in a good place at the moment imo.

 

[Bryank75]

I dont really see the industry in a bad state to be honest. Over the last couple of years, we have really seen the rebirth of AA games, with THQ Nordic, Deep Silver, and Devolver Digital, etc. Indie games are still being released in huge numbers, with a lot of Indie games actually being damn good games, and not a cesspool of asset flips like they used to be. You are even getting AAA like Ghost Recon Breakpoint willing to change their whole game and try to make it into something gamers want.
Sure MTX and loot boxes and all that shit is still here, and probably not going anywhere, but the industry is in a good place at the moment imo.

Everything there I agree with except Ghost Recon, it was so much better back when it was Advanced Warfighter and had its own unigue and tactical gameplay.
Ubisoft is suffering because they have homogenized all their games, so now if you buy one, you've had your fill for quite a while. IMO.

 

[diffusionx]

If you've been wondering why many of the biggest games are very similar to each other in how they are structured, even though they are in completely different genres, that's an example of what checklist development does. Sometimes, you basically make the same game with different aesthetics. For example, Watch Dogs, no matter how much you may have enjoyed the game, uses the same design checklist as Assassin's Creed.

Ubisoft just got their asses kicked because of this. They admitted they fucked up bad with Ghost Recon and, to a lesser extent, Division 2. I suspect that publishers are realizing the GAAS train is running out of steam. People can only play the same game so many times. These things happen in the industry over and over. Something establishes itself, blows up, everyone copies it, everyone realizes the market can't sustain, they go back to the drawing board. The last time it really happened was MMOs after Warcraft. A lot of money was sunk into failures like Warhammer Online. Likewise, not every game can be Fortnite or Destiny. The publishers can try, but they will fail more often than not (Anthem, etc.). So it's not really the end of the world like you say.

So I don't see how they can be TBTF or suffocating originality when they are clearly getting punished by customers for their shitty games.

But let me get to the point. These big gaming corporations are causing less unique ideas in the marketplace which leads to lack of variety on the store shelf. Before, we required the medium and smaller sized companies to even things out, But now, these large corporations have been buying or merging with other companies left and right for two generations now. There aren't that many studios left, and the death of the medium and small tier company has crippled not just the variety in releases, but new Ideas.

I don't know. Obviously this is subjective, but I feel like I can go on Steam or Xbox Game Pass and see a vastly wider range of ideas than I ever could in the past, even in the days of PS1. Now, a lot of those ideas are horrible, but let's not pretend every game on PS1 was a bastion of originality. I signed up for Game Pass this week and downloaded games like Mutant Year Zero, Agent of Mayhem, Bloodstained, and Moonlighter - four games that are VASTLY different and all trying to do different things.

I'm as dissatisfied with open world checkboxathons too, but I don't think it is hard to find different stuff.

If these gaming corporations acquiring all these studios released them back into the market, the market could heal. The trouble is that many of the companies acquired over the years no longer exist. Major gaming corporations have killed hundreds of developers for not meeting their internal, often nonsensical, expectations. Even if there's clearly potential. This habit of them acquiring and then killing these studios is why talent and unique ideas have been severely crippled. Sure, sometimes a major corporation will partner with a smaller studio with a unique idea or two, but then eventually they will acquire that studio and those unique games are most of the time gone.

It's important to note that these dev studios are ultimately just a collection of people. Epic acquired the Rocket League devs, but if the devs hate it, they can leave, and take their skills with them. And we have seen such exoduses in the past - in the late 90s a lot of devs left big publishers to strike out on their own, which led to companies like Lionhead. I suspect this churn is common these days. I mean, Blizzard has just lost a lot of prominent people, we will see what they do.

 

[Stuart360]

Everything there I agree with except Ghost Recon, it was so much better back when it was Advanced Warfighter and had its own unigue and tactical gameplay.
Ubisoft is suffering because they have homogenized all their games, so now if you buy one, you've had your fill for quite a while. IMO.

With Ghost Recon Breakpoint, i mean the devs came out recently and basically said they are going to overhall the whole game into something fans want from the feedback they have got.
Its not often you get a major studio willing to overhall their entire game to please the fans. I mean i know the game underperformed, but still its something you dont see.

 

[Stuart360]

n/a

 

[Bryank75]

With Ghost Recon Breakpoint, i mean the devs came out recently and basically said they are going to overhall the whole game into something fans want from the feedback they have got.
Its not often you get a major studio willing to overhall their entire game to please the fans. I mean i know the game underperformed, but still its something you dont see.

That is admirable!

 

[Freedom Gate Co.]

Something something, Nintendo Switch, Steam, Indie games something PC something

You mean the platform that's literally collapsing in on itself, and it's making less money each year for the last 6 years?