CliffyB - Brutal, Honest Thoughts On This Whole Debacle

[Reflexx]

Dance Central! Just Dance! Kinect Sports! Little Big Planet. Project Spark.

 

[TonyDedrick]

Very interesting read

 

[TonyDedrick]

There are a lot of different kinds of games.

Do you think the market would be better for everyone without AAA big budget games?

What's funny is that the biggest complainers are the "hardcore gamers" that demand these big budget games.

I think ultimately what the poster was trying to say was cut down on the yearly AAA games that are losing these companies money and people's jobs and look to make smaller scale, but just as high quality. That's not to say there aren't some franchises that do sell very well with yearly additions. But the fact Tomb Raider selling 4 million copies is considered a disappointment is troubling.

 

[Musicman247]

Hahahahaha! You know what would happen if those developers started making "light-hearted" games? There would be an outcry of "they're catering to the casual gamers instead of the hardcore gamers like me!" Same thing happened when Bethesda made Skyrim. Same thing happened when MS showed off the non-gaming features of the X1. The cry of "casual" has become the mantra of this generation.

 

[TonyDedrick]

Hahahahaha! You know what would happen if those developers started making "light-hearted" games? There would be an outcry of "they're catering to the casual gamers instead of the hardcore gamers like me!" Same thing happened when Bethesda made Skyrim. Same thing happened when MS showed off the non-gaming features of the X1. The cry of "casual" has become the mantra of this generation.

I said nothing about lighthearted games. I said smaller scale games. Like a Braid, Bastion or Journey. Games that can give you just as much enjoyment, challenge and emotional wallops. But at a fraction of the price.

And I seriously hate the terms hardcore and casual. What exactly makes someone a hardcore or casual gamer?

 

[Reflexx]

I said nothing about lighthearted games. I said smaller scale games. Like a Braid, Bastion or Journey. Games that can give you just as much enjoyment, challenge and emotional wallops. But at a fraction of the price.

And I seriously hate the terms hardcore and casual. What exactly makes someone a hardcore or casual gamer?

Hardcore gamers whine a lot more.

 

[theeboredone]

Hahahahaha! You know what would happen if those developers started making "light-hearted" games? There would be an outcry of "they're catering to the casual gamers instead of the hardcore gamers like me!" Same thing happened when Bethesda made Skyrim. Same thing happened when MS showed off the non-gaming features of the X1. The cry of "casual" has become the mantra of this generation.

All I'm saying is there needs to be a balance of AAA games and lesser expensive. Find ways to make your games fun in a repetitive way so used games aren't floating about. And honestly, no one considers people who play Zelda, Mario, Metroid etc a "casual" gamer. CoD is "casual" unless you're into the competitive scene.

 

[Keith Wallace]

Sure. Tomb Raider. Hitman. Last of Us. AC3. Dishonored. Call of Duty. These are all games that have come out in the last half of the year, and they all have that approach of emphasizing a serious tone. In contrast, Nintendo is on the opposite spectrum where their games tend to be more laid back and easier to "enjoy". Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the games I mentioned, but it's a different type of enjoyment. It's more of a "serious" atmosphere. I can pop in Mario, and just have fun by jumping on Koopas or having some absurd power up that grants me the ability to jump higher, shoot fire, make me invincible etc. Donkey Kong riding a Rhino? An ally named Funky Kong? Yes and yes.

I can agree somewhat. However, part of that lack of, for lack of a better term, "kid-friendly" titles isn't all on the developers. For example, the creators of Oddworld New N' Tasty said that it wouldn't come to the Xbox One because Microsoft will not allow them to self-publish the game. There was another title I can't recall right now that said a similar thing. There are also a few franchises that could use a reboot/sequel in that vein. You have Fuzion Frenzy (which I think is underrated), the plethora of Dragon Ball Z games, Banjo-Kazooie had a 360 release, I fully support the creation of another Viva Pinata (that first one was a REALLY good game), and the large number of Kinect titles (such as The Gunstringer, Kinect Disneyland Adventures, and Kinectimals) provided a lot of games that at least had some widespread appeal and weren't of that "serious" nature.

I think that they need to re-release some of this stuff again, like I mentioned, because the potential is there. Oh, and getting a new Fable title out there wouldn't hurt.

 

[vertigoOne]

Used game sales are basically a big middle finger from Gamestop to both the developers and the gamers, so why are measures taken to keep them happy? Undercut used game sales on digital distribution and flip that bird right back. If people still want/need retail then it should be able to survive despite being subject to much smaller but more realistic and pro-industry profit margins.

 

[theeboredone]

Used game sales are basically a big middle finger from Gamestop to both the developers and the gamers, so why are measures taken to keep them happy? Undercut used game sales on digital distribution and flip that bird right back. If people still want/need retail then it should be able to survive despite being subject to much smaller but more realistic and pro-industry profit margins.

GameStop might be the biggest video game retailer...but is it that hard for developers and publishers to team up with lesser known retailers? Kinda like how Carrier stores push Android/WP cause they make more money. Try to get some lesser known stores like Play N Trade or even some random mom and pop shops to rise. Just be like "Hey, we'll support you guys more, if you give us a small cut of used games". It may take some years, but either GS would succumb to the pressure or just go down burning.

 

[Reflexx]

Used game sales are basically a big middle finger from Gamestop to both the developers and the gamers, so why are measures taken to keep them happy? Undercut used game sales on digital distribution and flip that bird right back. If people still want/need retail then it should be able to survive despite being subject to much smaller but more realistic and pro-industry profit margins.

I think disc based games should be $70.

 

[Musicman247]

My guess is they will have physical and digital based games at the same price at launch, then a month later drop the price by $10-$15. They really should drop the price by $5 at launch for digital, since there's no packaging.

 

[Dave Blake]

Thread closed per forum rules links removed.