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[Ozrimandias]

First, dont get me wrong i LOVED Red Dead Redemption 2, but i feel that Rockstar, this gen is in a very disappointing position, what do you think. Rockstar rate of releases this generation has been very disappointing considering the history of the developer itself, only one new title (Red Dead Redemption 2), 2 remaster of the past generation (GTAV and LA Noire) and like 6 games of PS2 (Vice City, San Andreas, GTAIII, Bully, Warriors, Manhunt, Red Dead Revolver). 1 New title and 8 ports

The past generation saw a new release from Rockstar almost every year:

- GTAIV - 2008
- Midnight Club Los Angeles - 2009
- Red Dead Redemption - 2010
- LA Noire - 2011
- Max Payne 3 - 2012
- GTA V - 2013

They also worked on bringing ps2 classics to PS3 like GTAIII, Vice City, San Andreas, Bully, Midnight Club, Midnight Club 2, Midnight Club 3 dub edition, Red Dead Revolver, Max Payne, Manhunt, they even ported (again) GTA San Andreas in HD. This generation saw the re-release (again), for the third time, of San Andreas.


To make things worse, the star franchise, GTA seems to be taking an even longer development than it ever had (if it is even in development). For example. Between Vice City and San Andreas passed 2 years, for the next GTA 1 year (If we count Liberty City Stories as a new release and not a GTA Mobile), if we go to a bigger release we should go to GTAIV, where between the 2 (San Andreas and IV) passed 4 years. The launch of GTAV was in 2013 and to date there will be no release this year or the next most likely. That is to say 7 years have passed and Rockstar has not show any sing of a new GTA. What do you think, what is the reason for this disappointing situation. Is it because of the success of GTA Online? Most likely

 

[MaximusPayne]

I'm still mad RDR2 didn't get great DLC treatment like RDR did with Undead Nightmare

 

[48086]

RDR2 had a great presentation but was a crappy game.

Fight me.

 

[Nymphae]

I enjoyed RDR2 but yeah it feels like they've done less this gen. PS2 I enjoyed 3 entire GTA games, PS3 I got GTA4, GTA5 and Max Payne 3, now it's one game this entire gen.

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

Artistic masterpieces take time.

 

[nkarafo]

Yeah, GTA online pretty much halted their output.

 

[Boss Mog]

RDR2 had a great presentation but was a crappy game.

Fight me.

Same for RDR1. Beautiful games and technical showpieces with fantastic presentation all around but the gameplay is complete shit. Every mission is go somewhere on the map and shoot guys the same exact way every time. GTA plays much better because of the city environment, vehicles, weapon variety, radio stations.

 

[Airbus Jr]

Any plans for RDR2 DLC?

 

[Dabigkahuna76]

Would have been great to have a GTA game built from the ground up this gen but with the technology of the ps5 and Scarlet coming out soon i rather wait to see what they do with that kinda power

 

[Ten_Fold]

GTA 5 and gta online made soo much money they didn’t need to do much else besides focus on gta, RDR2 did pretty well but that’s a pretty big gap between that an gta5.

 

[GreyHorace]

I don't know why people include LA Noire as one of Rockstar's finest outings. That game was complete crap and a missed opportunity. The main team at Rockstar North or Rockstar San Diego should have made that game and not Team Bondi.

As for Rockstar in general, yeah it sucks that they're focusing less on releasing new IPs and moving away from single player content to focus on multiplayer. But... I still massively enjoyed Red Dead Redemption 2, but they really need to change up their control schemes and improve the mission structure of their open world games.

 

[Acidizer]

Yes, very. We didn't even get GTA FFS.

GTA V remaster was a let down but I did complete it at least. Abhorred the dumbed down driving physics, made for an extremely shallow experience. This game is about driving, cruising around the beautiful game world, and the driving sucked badly. Bikes and quads were even worse. They just felt on-rails. Planes still handled well though, so there's that.

RDR 2 was just crap. Clunky and convoluted controls, boring to the point where my will to play dropped off after about 4-5 hours. I attempted to pick it up numerous times but they all failed pretty quickly. I completed and loved RDR 1, even attempted (but failed) to platinum it.

Rockstar's heavy lean on online was very disappointing too. No doubt the effort/profit margins here are far too immense to ignore. Do I blame them? of course not, disappointed nonetheless.

 

[Lionel Richie]

They did the Valve thing where they found a way to make more money basically without releasing games. It's a miracle we even got RDR2.

 

[ToadMan]

I think the focus on online has been a major success for Rockstar but I imagine it consumes a lot of resources planning and deploying it with the major games.

I think they’d do well to resurrect some of the lost franchises as smaller releases to fill the gaps - table tennis, midnight club, la noire.

But let’s not kid ourselves, they’ve got 70% of their devs working on ....

 

[VertigoOA]

All things considered... arguably their most successful gen.

Gtav is a juggernaut and is one of the most popular online games period ... people just don’t realize. And it’s been that way for years already.

 

[Skyr]

Rockstar this gen be like:

I’m sure the will knock it out of the park with GTA6 and set a new standard in open world design but yeah the drought kinda sucks.
I was hoping for at least a sideline title like bully 2 to come out this gen.

 

[Spukc]

gta 5 online still makes a shit ton of cash why the hell should rockstar care.

i do but online focused games yay >.<

 

[Ozrimandias]

All things considered... arguably their most successful gen.

Gtav is a juggernaut and is one of the most popular online games period ... people just don’t realize. And it’s been that way for years already.

From an specific point of view (Rcokstar point of view) i totally agree with you, GTAV is the best selling piece of entertaiment ever. It shocking how well it sells till now, constantly its on the top chart of videogames sales around the globe, but then again...... only one new release this gen?

 

[bad guy]

games are getting bigger, take longer to make, higher risks. I'm a huge gta fan since gta1 but they lost me with 5 it's so watered down, driving physics suck ass, the hole thing is so clearly catering to the mouth breathing mainstream. You used to be cool GTA. Now you are rich as fuck though I'll give you that.

 

[VertigoOA]

From an specific point of view (Rcokstar point of view) i totally agree with you, GTAV is the best selling piece of entertaiment ever. It shocking how well it sells till now, constantly its on the top chart of videogames sales around the globe, but then again...... only one new release this gen?

Well... I don’t know to what extent personally since I don’t play it, but gtav has always had a consistent stream of free content from what I’ve heard. I’m sure someone else can clarify but from what I know its online experience is the game at this point and has had a lot of support. So while not a brand new game it’s still rockstar producing apparently quality content.

 

[NeoGiffer]

 

[pr0cs]

They're all about the micro trans money cards for their online games.
Not surprising they're not putting out as much output. Look at valve, same position, making money hand over fist, why bother making new games.

I loved rdr2 but didn't care for either gta5 or rdr2 online portion so I agree that it feels like a long time between games

 

[JimmyRustler]

Well, at least their gen was better than that of Bethesda Games Studios...

Now, don't get me wrong. I understand that games get bigger and all but these dev cycles are getting ridiculous. I shouldn't take more than 3-4 years to make a game. If it does, scale it down for the love of god.

 

[Shakka43]

Definitely disappointing, RDR2 was great but in comparison to last gen with two GTAs, RDR and Max Payne it just look dry as hell.

 

[TeamGhobad]

can't do good open world games with 2 cellphone cpus from 8years ago ducktaped together.

 

[INC]

RDR2 had a great presentation but was a crappy game.

Fight me.

I agree, thought it was boring

 

[Hudo]

RDR2 had a great presentation but was a crappy game.

Fight me.

I completely agree. RDR2 is actually one of my biggest disappointments this gen.

 

[dilbag]

I agree, thought it was boring

I agree every time i try to play it i end up bored..... not sure if its the game or if I'm just burnt out on open world games. As soon as i hear a game is open world i am immediately turned off.

 

[GustavoLT]

RDR2 worth the entire Gen all together!

 

[INC]

I agree every time i try to play it i end up bored..... not sure if its the game or if I'm just burnt out on open world games. As soon as i hear a game is open world i am immediately turned off.

Games wants u too hold a camera button, and follow a horse all the time.......controls are horrific, gunplay is stale and boring

Gave up near the end of the game, I cant even remember most of the game

The only thing I remember was gavin......lol

 

[theHFIC]

rockstar's success should be based more on the number of console generation defining titles they have released instead of quantity. Their releases have been the best selling for every console generation since PS2.

 

[Skyr]

I agree every time i try to play it i end up bored..... not sure if its the game or if I'm just burnt out on open world games. As soon as i hear a game is open world i am immediately turned off.

It’s definitely the game. I adore it for what it is but the mission design and core gameplay is just outdated. It’s basically the same since gta 3.
Anyway that has been discussed to death already.
They need to improve big time on that with GTA6.

 

[Fbh]

It's not just Rockstar though, several big developers like Naughty Dog and Bethesda have also had some notorious slowdowns in their output.
And I guess with how much money they have made and probably are still making from GTA they are in no hurry to release a new one.

I've also yet to pick up RDR2, I really liked the first one but this new focus on realism they seem to be going with in 2 doesn't interest me. If that's the route they go with for the next GTA I see myself skipping that one too.

 

[JohnSpartanLee]

GTA5 at 20fps and with a lot of missing gfx features for last-gen was more like a preview in my opinion.
The PS4 version one year later to me was the real release (I still waited for the PC version to get 60fps).

Then GTA Online made a lot of childhood dreams come true: drive and jump around with KITT/KARR, Goliath, Street Hawk, the Harrier jump-jet (True Lies), a Hind heli (Rambo 2&3) and the Back to the Future DeLorean (the latter mostly being an annoyance though).

 

[EverydayBeast]

Thread seems like nonsense, even one R* game a generation is huge given all the stuff in their games

 

[dilbag]

It’s definitely the game. I adore it for what it is but the mission design and core gameplay is just outdated. It’s basically the same since gta 3.
Anyway that has been discussed to death already.
They need to improve big time on that with GTA6.

I am actually hoping for a new max payne game lol

 

[Ridaxan]

I enjoyed RDR2 as an experience. It wasn't a very good "game" in my opinion, but it's the only Rockstar game I've ever bothered to finish and I have played the majority of them.

 

[Deleted member 752119]

It was good for me as I loved RDR2 and never enjoyed GTA or their other series.

Definitely a disappointing lack of games for those that like all their franchises though.

 

[Pagusas]

I think/hope they are taking the time to regroup and refine their process. RDR2 showed while they are masters of graphics and open world presentation, their gameplay systems are out of date. The company needs to take a hard look at their systems and remake their entire way of thinking about gameplay.

My hope is we’ll see in the new GTA the following:

1. A completely new control scheme. Their current system, even in rdr2, is shit

2. An emphasis on input lag and animation transitions. All of their games have weird artificial input lag ties to the animations and control system. It disconnects the player.

3. An emphasis on multiple ways to do missions, no linear path run and gunning. We see lots of AAA games coming out pushing the “play your way, stealth, action, no-kill, persuade” it’s time Rockstar not only joined the club, but made it better.

4. Build a complete world. All their games are basically outdoor playgrounds with little to no thought about the inside world, like buildings. That needs to change immediately. Grand scale doesn’t mean a damn thing anymore if the world is empty or just a bunch of cubes with skyscraper textures wrapped around then.

5. Choice that matters: enough with the linear stories. Your writing is shit Rockstar, I’m sorry if no one has told you that yet, but it is. You want to be a film studio but your game scripts would be the equivalent to a low rent snuff film. Stop trying to make your games into crap movies and start trying to make them good games. Utilize the tools you have to craft a world of interest. Games inherently are poor for linear stories but GREAT for world building. You are a world building company, you should be acing this and you aren’t. Give us a great gaming grade story that is non-linear and gives the player choice in the journey and outcome. You have the staff and resources to make the first gaming story that truely changes and flexes around the players choices instead of forcing the player down a liar none changing story.

 

[MMaRsu]

Well a more detailed world has to be created, they keep upping the bar in terms of what's possible and what we expect, I think they are working on some fresh things but have moved those to next gen, or maybe even cross gen.

Expect to see 1,2 big games of them each generation going forward

 

[Pimpbaa]

As long as they release at least one amazing game like RDR2 a generation, I'm fine with that. Building a world like what was in RDR2, takes a hell of a lot more time and resources than what it did for the GTA3 trilogy.

 

[Hinedorf]

You know that feeling when you're so incredibly spoiled and entitled but still feel a need to complain.

This is that moment.

 

[-MD-]

Rockstar has been disappointing since the PS2 era came to an end.

 

[Danjin44]

Rockstar has been disappointing since the PS2 era came to an end.

That because their goal is no longer give us fun game and instead give us “immersive” experience even if it means sacrificing gameplay.

Basically all their budget goes to creating open world with crazy detail and gameplay and mission design is afterthought.

 

[Mattyp]

This entire thread filled with the same views I share, RDR2 is boring as shit with horrible mechanics. Rockstar got way to much of a pass on this title with the press.

 

[Shodan09]

Absolutely. Red dead was underwhelming.

 

[Larxia]

and the driving sucked badly. Bikes and quads were even worse.

Well damn, I like the driving in GTA V way more than in most games and certainly more than in any other GTA games.
The bike gameplay in GTA V is probably my favorite bike gameplay in any game, it's super smooth and very responding.
I just like how arcade it is and how it quickly responds, I never was into simulations so.

 

[Petrae]

Rockstar’s downward trajectory in productivity mirrors Square’s fall from grace. During the latter half of the PlayStation era, Square’s output was crazy— heck, the year 2000 alone brought multiple heavy hitters, including a Chrono game, a Mana game, a Final Fantasy sequel, and new games in Threads of Fate/Dew Prism and Vagrant Story.

Perhaps the argument that games are exponentially harder to make and take far longer to make can explain it.

 

[MightySquirrel]

While RDR2 was an incredible showing, Single game a gen is indeed a major let down from such a big studio.

 

[Deleted member 752119]

Rockstar’s downward trajectory in productivity mirrors Square’s fall from grace. During the latter half of the PlayStation era, Square’s output was crazy— heck, the year 2000 alone brought multiple heavy hitters, including a Chrono game, a Mana game, a Final Fantasy sequel, and new games in Threads of Fate/Dew Prism and Vagrant Story.

Perhaps the argument that games are exponentially harder to make and take far longer to make can explain it.

I'd say it's the crazy profit they've made from GTAV selling over 100 million copies and GTA Online making a ton of money that explains it.

Their games do have long development cycles as they have a ton of content, big worlds, high production values etc. for sure, but it's not like they've had sales duds like Square had. It's likely partly the longer dev times and mostly just that they realized they can make millions with relatively few games given how many copies they sell and how successful GTA Online has been.

These big publishers are out to make big profits, not with making a lot of games/art as the first and foremost goal. Every game is a risk, so milking a few super successful ones is a safer bet as long as those games are making enough profit to keep investors happy.