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Rant about the state of the gaming industry
SofaKing2000
Member Posts: 196
Pre-CU SWG is dead and frankly I dont see any games in the future that will compare. Vanguard looked promiseing, but since the senior designer and alot of other talent have jumped ship from the Microsoft studios, I got a feeling that the game is going down the toilet. I had high hopes for Dark and Light but once again I was let down.
The same feeling of let down I felt with D&L and Vangaurd I feel towards DDO and the new sci-fi action bomb soon to be released StarTrek Online. WTF happened?
Like most of you Ive played alot of games, and by alot I mean ALOT! Starting with my first Atari pong game in the 70s. Ive played just about every genre of games since then and I found some that I really enjoyed and some I really hated.
I really enjoyed SWG pre-CU and I really hated SWG post CU. I stuck around post CU even though 80% of my in game freinds quit. Looking back if I wouldnt have been so naive and trusting of the "powers that be" at SOE I would have quit post CU too. My mistake was my naiveity, Ive learned alot since then.
I ask myself this question frequently, WTF happened to the gaming industry??? How come every single MMOG on the market with the exception of EVE and WOW (Im includeing WOW even though Ive never played the game) sucks monkey balls? How hard is it to make a good MMORPG??? F**cking Tolkien, Robert E. Howard (Conan the Barbarian movie), George Lucas, Gene Roddenberry, Stephen Donaldson, Terry Brooks and even the Wachowski brothers did all the hard work of creating a story to follow, how bloody hard is it to make a FUN game thats not a "Shoot em up Cowboy" type of game around these talented peoples work???
Bah, Im thinking of retireing from my current career and starting my own indie gameing company just so I can make a fun game that Id enjoy playing. Personally, I dont see any other alternative cause all the "big boys" dont have a clue what makes a MMOG fun.
/rant off
<this post edited cause MMORPG.com has a major problem with apostraphes, Im not sure what they did to MMORPG.com, but for some reason they hate them.>
Comments
Well making a game or any software for that matter is not as easy as it sounds. there are litteraly millions of parameters involving the manufacturing of a game, even more so when we are talking about a MMOrpg where the it has daily interactions from users and the percentage of a single thing that can go wrong increases geometrically. of course it would be easier to think that a game is just the consept. but its more than that.
I am not a game designer and my programming skills are basic(i know a little of pascal, VB and C++) so i cant really say what is going on in their heads but as i have a business background, making a fun game and hoping that it will be a success in the gaming world means that certain sacrifices have to be made. usually these sacrifices are in the playability of the game. As i played Galaxies at the Pre-cu era as well as Post-cu era i can only say that SOE must have decided to kill the specialization of the game in favor of making it more user friendly. and lets face it, for a company that its sole purpose is to making a profit(and all companies are in this game for the money and not before they want to provide something out of their good will), it meant more to them to approach 12+ players where they didnt need to do much in order to satisfy them instead of having a difficult UI. well thats the marketing game for them. But dont think that they are something special because of the game they chose to develop. for them its just revenues, income and fame. we made it something special and then it went down the toilet.
anyway i am missing a point here. making a fun game is something very difficult because of all the fun games out there. Nowdays for a game to be successful it must have something original, something to attract the attention of players above all others. and since consoles enter the scene, the target groups are getting younger and younger...so the games themselves are gettinh easier and more simplistic. and perhaps that is why i myself have stopped looking around for new games and have started browsing for abandonware games...only last night i finished DUNE(for the nth time)...
so dont expect many changes in how things are going to be from now on. perhaps i should sell my pc, buy an x-box and start play battlefield 2 over the internet...
i just dont know
Im very much aware of how hard it is to make an MMOG. For the last 20 or some odd years I've worked as a Mechanical automation tool designer (I design the machines that puts automobiles together) and to me, I don't see that much of a difference in making a car that someone enjoys or making a game that someone enjoys.
I've owned tooling companies (2 to be exact), they only folded because of NAFTA. GM, Ford and Daimler Chrysler put me out of business because they thought they could get the same quality of work over-seas for cheaper. It took them 10 years to realise that they made a mistake, but unfortunately my companies were already bankrupt because of their quest to expect a quality product for a cheaper price.
Im really thinking of finding some good talent and putting this thing together. I don't think I have a choice....Once I get bored with Oblivion I have no other game to play.
The problem is that for too many years, game publishers have been listening to futurists and gurus like these folk:
http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=32473
And crap like that.
You see, the MMO people have been listening to all these gurus for years and years saying that there were these billions of dollars that were going to fall out of the sky, and that companies need only put out their buckets. That it was never a matter of IF online gaming would be big business, or even WHEN. Just push the game out and earn big cash.
The problem with those who believe that the future is already written, is that they end up letting the future pass them by. Such is what happened to the games industry around 2003. Most of the big producers convinced themselves that the money was going to be made in the next few years, and they didn't have to worry anymore about building consumer confidence, and educating the public.
And indeed, there is some growth. But not nearly enough, and not nearly as widespread, as the MMO people would have hoped. Blizzard won big in terms of boxes sold. Then again, seeing that Blizzard publishes a game a year or so, and they are always well sold, its not suprising. One wonders if Blizzard outsold all because of the growth of MMOs, or if a Blizzard MMO outsold all because they are Blizzard.
And not only that, but I see no reason at this point to believe that this MMO industry can't regress just as easily. The trends are shaking consumer confidence. In any other line of work, you'd see panic. Then again, these guys in the MMO biz have already convinced themselves that its a foregone conclusion they'll make money, and that they do not have to worry about building stability, and making these things seem like more than fly by night operations.
__________________________
"Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it."
--Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints."
--Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls."
--Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
I believe you are right. Back in the early 90s I played a few online games (not including MUDS) that were fun and Im sure the publishers didnt realize what a gold mine they were sitting on. Hell I didnt realize it either, we were just having fun playing games with other people online.
Since 2003 things have changed, for better or worse.... I think worse.
I agree with everything youve stated, thats why I think the time is right to start an Indie gaming company made up of players that enjoy games.
Ive worked in the "Corporate" world for to long and Ive seen all the mistakes. Look at GM now, on the verge of going out of business. I could have told Roger Smith 4 simple words, "STOP MAKING UGLY CARS". It seems like a simple concept, but butt heads like him and Smed dont get it.
If I do decide to quit my job and re-mortgage my house to start a new gaming company, you can be rest-assured, Im not going to follow in the foot steps of big Roger or Smed.
Apostrophes are sometimes used in databases as "escape sequences", sometimes the forwrad slash (7) as well.
Might be a problem since the site is under upgradeprogress.
To the issue:
I hear you loud and clear !
I feel the very same.
I think one reason is "the safe bet" - every company needs to spend a BUTTLOAD of money into commercial gameprojects. Noone wants to lose that. So they place the safe bets.
This is normally:
Fantasy genre
SKill/level bases
blablabla...we know all the games look alike.
What you (and me) are waiting for....im not sure if the industry can deliver it without risking their money, so it needs a "test".
This "test" will come sooner or later.
If it is an opensourceproject with some crazy gamers or some college guys doing it as a collegework or whatever. But there WILL be such game born someday under such circumstances (look up Infinity in the gamelist) and will have sucess.
THEN...the industry will be baffled and rethink the meaning of living again. And THEN such "clones" will see the light of day.
What makes me sick is seeing another new game announced here and as soon as i click the link i see the words "Genre:FANTASY". That is the moment i normally leave the page.
Im more then sick and tired of elfes with big ears casting the 16th version of "thunderstorm" in an instanced dungeon for 18XP points....
Somedays (like yesterday) i think about opening a project product and calling for the artists....wouldnt be the first time...
I want:
SciFi
Space
Ground
Housing
Guild
Community
Crafting
Trading
Sandbox
Turn based
endless world
seamless atmospheric/space flight
Hyperwarp
Really different and challenging quests
Big groupquests
Depending economy
Greed protection mechanisms
etc etc etc.
Claude
Trying to figure out what happened with SWG I've been reading alot of blogs and articles by and about game designers and their thinking. From their side of the fence, they seem to be trying to break down mmorpgs and the people who pay them to find out what appeals most. What do they play, how do they play, how can we get more people to play. They can't seem to figure it out, and I wonder why not since many of them have been in the industry for so long.
I don't suppose it can be anything as simple as, they have stopped wanting to make the games that will appeal to them or to the other people who are traditional gamers, and they are having to think mass market, big numbers. I'm sure it is natural that everyone wants to be the WOW-beater, but are they really able to do that? Should they try to do that? If we're right on the cusp of a time where gaming becomes a really huge pasttime, how do these guys act? Do they play to the lowest common denominator to draw in the numbers or do the brilliant ones among them keep making astonishing worlds and gameplay?
Since this has already become a big money industry, maybe they don't get the choice anymore. Maybe the infamous "suits" push behind the scenes for "the bottom line". Time will tell.
Athela
Oddly I was thinking of George and how he revolutionized the film industry and continues to do so. That sort of passion is what brings about the Next Big Thing, no question in my mind. I think that it is possible that there are people looking to break into the games industry that have the pre-cu Star Wars Galaxies and all it offered possibility wise in their heads and they will try to create something that matches that memory. I see however LucasArts working to merge their film and games divisions. If they can do that and meet minds in creating games in house, I don't know who could match them. They are a long way off, but, my money is on them to be unreal and wonderful in what they finally come up with.
I'm wondering as well what the juggernaut WOW does next. All eyes are on them. Does this put added pressure on the expansion? Does that have to be perfect? Being the top dog now also puts them out there as the one to criticize and the one to beat. Note how Starcraft Ghost went poof. It is easy for them to say they want to wait and design it for the next gen, but is it more complex? Are they at a loss in some ways to figure out how they can make that game or any other game they make as successful as WOW? If they can't make the next WOW killer, who can? Once you start thinking numbers numbers numbers, things get icky.
Athela
Good Morning Athela, coffee ?
I think a majorproblem is, that no1 has defined the roles clearly - till now.
This is always a problem with products, when the "role" isnt clearly defined.
So lets see what we have:
Offline
Online
Soloplay
Groupplay
Easy (console)
Mature (PC)
Repeative
Challenging
Time Killer (no NEED to play...)
Addictive time eater (the MUST to play)
Freedom (Sandbox)
Static path (not much altering by the player)
We have two medias, despite handys and PDA's etc for now.
Ok, now we have the terms, lets do the sorting.
What is the classic consolegamer ?
Young
Easy
Time Kill
Soloplay
Repeative
Static Path
I say, the classic consolegamer is the casual player, turning the box on from time to time to have some easy entertainment for a little while. This is the rule, of course there are also exceptions. But the major consolecustomer is the above.
But the PC gamer, he is different. That fact is stressed out already with his will to spend a BUNCH of money to get his machine smooth running - "up to date" (aka State of the art)
And this is the majorkey the industry has lost out of sight:
Consoles DO exist and they DO address their targetaudience already, so there is no need (its even dumb) to address these audience with PC games, like SoE is trying (and failing horrible).
A PC game should clearly define his role as a "game" made for the above-average player interessted in mature gaming, with all needed mechanisms and abilitys.
If you want to sell a game 20 million times, make a DVD for the PS or Xbox and there you go !
But its not where you make your uber reputation ! It should be the "second leg" for every gamer company.
But dont forget:
A consolegame comes 99.- one time, nomore income for the creator.
So what ? Sell it 10 million times and you got (lets say, the profit is 18,- per DVD)
18.000 profit.
And now lets say, you have 400.000 customers in an onlinegame (monthly fee: 15,-)
400.000 X 15 = 6 Million
Hmm...this is 72 Million bucks a year.
Sure, you have costs, devs, servers etc etc etc.
So what ? We need to run it at least 40 month to gain lets say 18 M.$ as pure profit ?
Ohhh....thats a problem huh ? NOT.....
See, Smelly boy is chasing the consolemarket, its the "big buck" he says.
I think he forgot about the fact, that a DVD is only getting payed one time, kids are not paying monthly for their Xbox or PS3....they are not used to it and they wont accept it even. Despite the fact that only ONE bug in a consolegame means you are out of the business - kids dont forgive when they crash close before leveling....
I rather have a product getting a "smaller" profit but constantly and steady over a long time then selling something one time for (at the end) less profit.
Companys like CCP (EVE) got a HUGE reputation.
This "little" game is the number one in the charts, and it is STEADY since years !
But it only has a little above 100K players....
How come, that a title with only 100K players is the number one?
It is a sandbox game....it is a the #1 example how to run an economy totally playerbased/made (+crafting).
Its an example how you can live the sandbox without getting bored, and with having a challenge every day.
EVE has no "levels", its skillbased - like SWG was once.
It has a huge crafting/economy component, like SWG had once.
And it has guilds (coporations) with an impact on the game like SWG once had.
Its a great simulator, it requires strategy and it has its risks (total loss of everything you own).
Dont get me wrong, im not much into EVE, i dont even play it - but you cant ignore the huge success of the game and its formula/recipe.
And most important: CCP is indeed paying att. to the customer and their opinions and the game is mostly bugfree (every game has minor bugs, but these are no biggies).
The industry needs to learn, they need to define the role and market of their products and develope games straight under that knowledge.
So far, most games are not fish nor flesh, something inbetween - and therefore they are no "complete meal", its just a snack, satisfying your very special ravenous appetite for a special food - but not making you feel "stuffed" in general and everything.
SWG once did that.
Now many might say "But why wasnt SWG that huge success then, when it was exactly like you say it SHOULD have been?"
Thats easy to see:
The game, the product is half the rent.
The service, the server (lag etc), the bug and quality in general is the other half.
SoE had only 50% of it: The game.
The other 50% were ignored - and that made SWG not THAT successive in his Pre-CU version.
If SoE would have done a 100% better testing and quality, a 100% better bugfixing and consequent operating of such high-quality product, they would be the number one with more then 500.000 subscribers today.
Dont forget, SciFi in general has only 17% (see survey here on MMORPG) of the MMORG market. So 500.000 customers would be an UBERsuccess !
This is where SoE failed: They put the blame on the product, they said "we revamp, we reinvent, we change etc etc etc" - but they TOTALLY ignored the fact, that the original game was good, had potential to be a bestseller, they JUST forgot about THEIR task: Deliver and operate it high quality.
The real game was never the failure, the operating of it was: SOE
I would take EVERY SINGLE BET (no matter what amount) that SWG would have more then a half million subs with the above stated conditions.
As long as the industry is trying to serve the casual consolegamer AND the mature pc-gamer in a half-ass way, there will be no "bestseller" (despite WoW, which has other reasons and is an exception to the rule).
But let one come up with such "consequent designed game" and HQ-opetrating, you hold a diamond in your hands, a #1 with huge subscribernumbers - For years - and BUTTLOAD of profit...
If SWG would have advertised the Pre-CU SWG the way they advertised NGE, if they would have fixed the bugs very early and delivered a flawless "experience" (game and service), it would be already an entry in MMORPG-history.
Now SWG has also an entry there...but i massivly doubt it is the one they wanted...
Claude
Regarding SWG, no doubt they had to just take their base game, unbug it, balance it, and go from there. Had they taken this path they would be in a different place today.
Pc Gamers vs console gamers...Deep topic, lots of variables. Traditionally pc games were much deeper storylines, complex puzzles, or even shooters within interesting levels that gave an outward appearance of story. Consoles were more a legacy of side scrollers, platform games with level bosses, and tons of repeat repeat repeat. These two gaming worlds have been merging for sometime.
I can see the game makers thinking where they want to move to next gen consoles. I think they are absolutely right. In order to make games for a broad audience, that audience needs to be using the same equipment, the same connection type. PCs remain so variable in their processing power, sound cards, you name it. Then add in the many ways to connect to the online service. It puts the game maker in a near impossible position. People still use dial up to play online games. You have the broadband folks at the other end of the spectrum. If youre going to compete, how do you write your game technologically, forget about the creative aspect for a second. The console is the answer. For the pc gamers who prefer the keyboard as an input device, this is being added as an option. As with all things technological, you just have to move forward.
Ideally, this merging of the two gamer types in one type of gaming machine results in rich gaming choices as the market expands. There should be room for gamers of all types.
Athela
The gaming industry is going strong and growing.
MMOs and other online games are a niche market, representing around 10% of game market worldwide. As such, they are of little interest to most publishers. MMORPGs represent even smaller market in online gaming, and are as such getting minimal attention, due to insane investment, and extremly poor ROI, as well as extremly fierce competition.
Currently most viable bussiness venues are in the console market.
Additionally, MMOs thrive in Asian markets, but are having reasonably hard time in west.
Future investments will go towards expanding the mobile phone market (it's already more or less divided between big players with very little chance of newcomers joining in), online console gaming (online selection of games through centralized lobby), and expansion of web-based on-line gaming.
MMORPGs as presented today will eventually need to adapt to accept this dillution of playerbase, or vanish (just like adventure games).
Overall, the MMORPG right now is in the same state, as FPS games. The only advantage the FPS market still has, is the increasing emphasys on realism, which is currently advanced by more and more powerful 3D hardware.
The current breed of MMOs is more or less evolutionary dead end. Grind-based games have reached their peak, and in order to expand, they'll need to change in order to expand the playerbase. Current population that such models attract, can not cover the production costs anymore.
The future is cloudy indeed, Rekrul. I think youre right about mobile gaming being very important to the future of gaming, but not to the exclusion of mmos. The ability to "connect" with other people remains at the core of both mobile gaming and mmos. I would venture to guess a ways down the line there will be devices with the mobility of phones and the processing power of a console or pc that will help make mmorpgs even more viable, not less.
I'm sure people are studying it, but I have to wonder what drives the Asian market for gaming in general and mmorpgs specifically. Society? How do the rabid vs casual gamers there differ from the casual vs rabid gamers here? Are we headed where they are or not?
Athela
Yeah you have to wonder about industry Analyst and whether they are looking at the right info. Just look at WoW if there subscription number are corret they have about 5 million subscribers {last I heard] paying about $15 dollars per/subscription per month, that equal roughly $75 Million thats a lot of dough for a game company. I also believe that if the Pre-CU SWG had a true GCW and a lot more content, it may have been up there to. So there is money to be made here in a big way, the probelm is many of these guys don't know how to take advantage of it and it is sad since there is a lot of us who are willing to pay a monthly subscription as long as we get a decent game.
IMO,
Tauceti
A great share of online gaming also happens in cyber cafes and similar public locations, which diminish the possibility of individual character development, since not only games, but also accounts are shared over random people.
Consider the greatest recent success in China (Audition), which attracted 50 million subscribers (not all paying), and quickly approached almost 500k concurrent users. It's a game about dancing (sort of online DDR).
When looking from global perspective, MMORPG are an incredibly complex, unapealing niche market.
That aside, Asian market has incredible turnaround of small MORPGs. They use different models, where games are often launched for free, and only if they manage to attract sufficient numbers, they start working out revenue models. Western games require a minimum of $25mil upfront, with guaranteed business model to make at least that sum of money back withing x years. How do you do that? You make WoW clone, since that is something that works.
Common misconception about casual vs. power gamer is time. Anything apealing will attract people to spend more time with it (stamp collecting?). But MMORPGs will need to evolve to provide more attractive experience. Simply going from MMO interface to FPS doesn't change the fact, that SWG didn't change a single thing about the gaming experience. Its the same old grinding game.
Apostrophes are sometimes used in databases as "escape sequences", sometimes the forwrad slash (7) as well.
Might be a problem since the site is under upgradeprogress.
To the issue:
I hear you loud and clear !
I feel the very same.
I think one reason is "the safe bet" - every company needs to spend a BUTTLOAD of money into commercial gameprojects. Noone wants to lose that. So they place the safe bets.
This is normally:
Fantasy genre
SKill/level bases
blablabla...we know all the games look alike.
What you (and me) are waiting for....im not sure if the industry can deliver it without risking their money, so it needs a "test".
This "test" will come sooner or later.
If it is an opensourceproject with some crazy gamers or some college guys doing it as a collegework or whatever. But there WILL be such game born someday under such circumstances (look up Infinity in the gamelist) and will have sucess.
THEN...the industry will be baffled and rethink the meaning of living again. And THEN such "clones" will see the light of day.
What makes me sick is seeing another new game announced here and as soon as i click the link i see the words "Genre:FANTASY". That is the moment i normally leave the page.
Im more then sick and tired of elfes with big ears casting the 16th version of "thunderstorm" in an instanced dungeon for 18XP points....
Somedays (like yesterday) i think about opening a project product and calling for the artists....wouldnt be the first time...
I want:
SciFi
Space
Ground
Housing
Guild
Community
Crafting
Trading
Sandbox
Turn based
endless world
seamless atmospheric/space flight
Hyperwarp
Really different and challenging quests
Big groupquests
Depending economy
Greed protection mechanisms
etc etc etc.
I think your right. Someday someone will make a game that doesnt fall under the norm. A friend and I were talking about this just a few days ago.
Dont laugh but I play the lottery. Not to win. I just figure what the heck. Its only $5 a week so what the heck eh? Anyway a mate of mine asked me what I would do if I ever won the big money. I told him I would make an MMO that breaks all the rules. Everything you got in that list of what you want above...... I would do.
It would probably fail but I wouldnt make it to make money. I would make it to have fun. And I think that is what will happen one day. Someone will make a game, not for money, but for fun. And it will rewrite MMOs forever.
Kai
Hi all, this particular reply is in response to a coupel of replys I've read here.
IMO I think there is a distinction bettween MMOG and MMORG games. MMOG are games were you can pop on and play for a short while and get into the action quckily, most who play this aren't interested in investing a lot of time into a game [as a general rule]. This is basically the opposite of a MMORPG game that is supposed to have depth and richness, the ability to immerse yourslef into a different reality and take a break from the reality of life..lol [combat should still be fun but this is one element to conside {although a major one}. I say all this, because I believe as a general rule [at least based on current Tech] that making a MMORPG for a console is not functionaly possible. I know some are going to say that the PS3 and XBOX 360 are going to allow for a Hard-drive and use a keyboard and so forth [it bascially a standardized PC format]. But if that is the case why redsign the game to work on them. Any how the bottom line is that if SOE and LA wanted to appeal to a larger demographic market then they should have worked on BattleFront 3 online [MMOG] and give players the ability to make a more unique toon and leave the Pre-CU SWG [MMORPG] in it original construct and build on that. Anyhow I guess the real answer to all this is that they have idiots in charge..lol.
IMO,
Tauceti
Online "grind games" aren't going by the wayside, because offline "grind games" aren't going by the wayside.
People like slow play games. The best selling computer games are not "button mashers." They are games like The Sims, Civilization IV, Age of Empires, Diablo, Railroad Tycoon, Command and Conquer.
What is more, the people who like slow play games enjoy them specifically because they are not these "constant action" formats.
Now the poster above mentioned the death of "adventure" games like Tomb Raider. But we have to ask what caused the unpopularity of adventure games. I don't think it was games like Unreal Tournament, and Doom.
It seems to me that it was the MMORPG filled the niche for both adventure games, and offline RPGs like Final Fantasy. Its a robust medium, but the common feature is that it allows the player to "slow play," and it unfolds a story. Adventure games declined at the same time MMORPGs have grown.
Yeah I hear a lot of buzz about phones. The problem is, the phone at this time and in the forseeable future will be considered a tool by consumers for a very specific function, before its considered an entertainment medium.
Take for example using the Playstation 2 as a DVD player. Yes you can do it, but most who have a PS2 do not use it as a DVD player, even though it has the capability. The consuming public would rather have a purpose built DVD player, because it is able to do things the console acting as a DVD player can't. Maybe in a generation or two phones will replace PCs, but then, they'll probably replace consoles too at that point. My guess about phones is that they'll replace palm pilots and datebooks for those that would want them.
In short, I see where the investor money and industry attention is going, and I think they are a bit too pie-eyed about the future, and unable to separate fad, from fact at times. The truth of the matter is that no matter how much the industry wants consumers to "buy in" to button mashing on consoles, there is a large, stubborn, and wealthy demographic that just won't budge from slow played PC games.
__________________________
"Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it."
--Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints."
--Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls."
--Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
There's also an interesting figure, the US game market is worth $1 billion. That includes all PC games, and apparently this figure dropped by 19%.
Contrary to that, the video gaming market in 2004 (probably close to that in 2005), was worth $11 billion. This is from a summary of July 2005, but general dimensions shouldn't have changed much.
discounting to counter increasing competition has led to a slowing of
the growth rate to just half a percent to $11 bn US in 2004
Both handheld and online gaming are seen as key drivers in
the forthcoming years, Analysts are predicting CAGR of over 30% for the
next four to five years for this sector of the later.
Rising costs of game development have caused significant restructuring
of the industry - whilst several developers have been bankrupted,
significant takeover activity is evident. Furthermore, some developers
are switching from PC software to portable system software as a result
of both consumer demand and significantly reduced game development cost
and time ($200K-$400K over 6-9 months, versus $2M-$8M and 12 to 36
months).
This is how the business sees the games and gamers. It comes down to market share, and long-term strategies. And this is why the SWG doesn't matter at all. If they shut it down today, go back to pre-cu, or start a revolution with NGE, it's just a drop in the ocean. There's more to video gaming than just PC and console games. And in order to expand, companies are looking to expand the concept of gaming, The SWG vs. EQ populations are just petty backyard slap fights, while there's a nuclear war raging.
Tamagochi is considered a video game for example.
Fair enough. Its quite telling though that some of those offerings, like The Sims Deluxe Edition, are very old games. Yet they still are selling well because frankly, nobody besides Will Wright really cares about the people who play it.
Its a hard time in games, but its a hard time especially for console. Best Buy did not sell much in terms of software last year. Some may say its because of digital downloading, but then again, this doesn't explain the lack of software sales in medium that is resistant to digital downloading, like console titles.
Handheld is an altogether old medium, which goes back to the old Coleco days. It has had thirty years to show us it can be the medium of choice for recreational computing, and has always failed to replace home systems. Its virtues have always been the same: you can take it anywhere. Some even had multimedia features.
But the history shows that portability does not replace quality, and longevity of operation. People did not abandon their Sega Genesis for NEC's TurboExpress, despite the fact that you could hook it up to a TV tuner. They did not abandon their PS2's for Game Boy Advance, despite connectivity and cross-platform features. And they will not abandon their XBox for PSP, despite the multimedia focus. No doubt the software may be easier to develop, just like it is easy to develop a Plymouth Neon, or a Ford Focus. But just because the economy subcompact models are easy money makers does not mean that the demand for heavyweight coupes and sedans dries up. Such is the case also with PC games.
Its just I find it highly ironic that the industry can see Tamagochi-style virtual pets, which takes the concept of the "grind" over virtual things to a whole new level of time intensive laboring, and see MMORPGs as obsolete, because there is "too much grinding." Personally, I think its a combination of too much bad theory, and not enough sound theory.
At the end of the day, we want to have the best fun possible in exchange for our entertainment dollars as consumers. The question we are asking here is that the industry seems to be saying to us, "the things you find fun can't work for us." At the same time, consumers like the OP are saying to the industry (and I think many of us here agree), "the things you want to design for us can't work for us."
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"Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it."
--Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints."
--Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls."
--Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE