Let's talk about the video game industry

[Senip]

Originally Posted by dAnceguy117

I don't see how consumers share part of the blame (except in the case of DRM meant to counteract piracy). There's not much that fans can do to affect the way games are made or the industry as a whole.



I think the last time you brought up a similar topic, I defended developers for the most part. As time has passed - not even from bad experiences on my own part, but rather from news articles and just letting everything sink in - I've become more and more discouraged. At this point, I no longer consider myself to be part of the market. I'll play the games I have, and I'll "ooh" and "ah" when I see the visuals generated by my friends' shiny new consoles. I just find no reason to pay money for new games over other types of entertainment anymore. I haven't seen a major form of innovation in a AAA title in eons. (I haven't played Heavy Rain, to be fair.)

Like you said, though, they're catering to the average gamer. That's how the creators and sellers can make the most money by far, so I can't blame them. I'll keep an eye on how things are going. If industry trends ever shift drastically, maybe my level of interest will be restored.

The thing that we can do, as consumers, is refuse to buy the product. It may not seem like much, but if 1 out of 10 people don't buy the next X game, that's a 10% drop. That'd be huge for a company, and would definitely make them have to rethink it. I think a lot of it is that people are so set in their ways (especially gamers, who tend to have some form of OCD or another) that they just keep buying things, while bitching about it. I was buying FF 13 and was like "I dont even know why I'm getting this..."


Interestingly enough, lately the handhelds (psp and DS, in particular) have been getting some really good RPGs. I dont know why, but its like the RPGs are becoming a handheld genre.