Is this the worst generation ever for games?

[kernow]

Gaming news nowadays, (check joystiq and kotaku) is 'song releases for this week' and 'Saxophone hero controller prototype shots' as well as Guitar Hero 76 news.

Rock Band 3! I cannot wait!

Snore.

[Stormtec]

I believe this generation is a particularly important era for gaming on the whole. I feel that the medium is slowly realising that it's currently in the awkward adolescent power-fantasy stage of its life, and with that realisation comes hope of moving into a stage with more variety.

[merf]

no, there is a larger amount of high quality titles, servicing more genres than ever before

i suspect for many there is though a lack of japanese only text heavy games that they can play 12m before they come out here, if at all.

its a golden age to be a gamer with more variety and quality than ever before, its not a golden age to be an exclusive import snob who wants their hobby back as its been 'hijacked' by the mainstream

[Kieran76]

For me this is the best gen since the 16 bit era. I'm a cynical bastard at the best of times, but this gen has single handed made me love online games (thanks to Street Fighter titles and Call of Duty titles) , embrace downloadable titles, and has brought a new audience of games fans in, thanks to the Wii, and the rise of the music title.

Amen to that brother. I think with a 360 and wii you cannot go wrong. There are still dozens of quality titles for those two systems that I have yet to play.
I have had to just about to give up handheld gaming as I no longer have the time but the DS is also filled with quality games.

[abigsmurf]

I won't deny there aren't good titles around but there's a very narrow range. There's lots of games that are very well produced but most of them are treading existing ground and catering to a few archetypes.

If you're not interested by Gears of War, GTA, Medal of Honour or Guitar Hero, you're in trouble and most high profile games seem to be built around those formats.

Imagine if cinema consisted of nothing but big action summer blockbusters, there are lots of film fanatics who would absolutely hate that lack of variety. You may have a high level of quality and budget in every film but you get sick of them.

[Ady]

I don't think it's just you.

Of this gen, I own a Wii and a 360 and whilst I enjoy both machines for what they are and what they offer, very little across both platforms that has really blown me away.

A lot of games this gen really are just prettier versions of last gen games. There's been no real paradigm shift to speak of, little that's made me think "Wow, I've not seen this before", nothing that's made me think "This will change the way games are made". It's just the same old same old in HD. This gen has been more about that than actual video games.

Console gamers have turned into PC gamers, with resolutions, frame rates and graphic effects being held in a higher regard to gameplay. The sort of TV you own is just as important as the console under it, even if it has no bearing on the what the game is like to actually play.

I discount the DS from all of the above because it stands alone as a unit. It's the one thing that's kept me sane this gen.

That said, 2D gaming is back. It's good that 2D and 3D can sit alongside each other quite happily now.

[S3M]

Yeah this generation isn't the greatest and as someone once told me the current generation is 32bit games with very pretty graphic's. Which is very true where just playing PS1 & Saturn games with very good graphic's, nothing special about anything, I've not seen games that I would call 256bit.

[abigsmurf]

The thing with the 32bit generation was that it was all fresh. These games were being done in 3D for the first time, the CD format was truely being utilised fully (the MegaCD didn't quite do this).

In the PS2/xbox/GC generation the art of 3D had been mastered and developers had much more freedom to experiement.

With the current generation of home consoles their doesn't seem to be either this freshness or this experimentation.

[Stormtec]

With the current generation of home consoles their doesn't seem to be either this freshness or this experimentation.

I think this generation has seen the most change in the consoles themselves as opposed to the games they play. Look back a generation, or two, and see what those consoles could do and how well they did it and compare them to current generation's consoles. Live, PSN, online play, media centres... this generation saw the convergence of the games console and other forms of media machines to make them a hub for entertainment.

Granted, that's not the kind of freshness or experimentation you're looking for, but I think it all goes towards making this generation a positive one.

[Darwock]

In answer to the topic, not even close.. but how can anyone judge at this point in time anyway? For me the PS2 gen really hit it's peak for the quantity and quality of releases in 2005.. and that was what, 5 or 6 years into the lifespan of the console?

I can't comment on the whole generation compared to last-gen however, as this time round I'm a strictly one platform guy. On a game to game basis I do think this gen is one of the best. I would rank the top games I've played this gen up there with Snake Eater & DMC3, every bit as engrossing as those previous 'modern classics'.

In addition to that, online multiplayer was something I hated a few years ago, but this gen there have been enough improvements and innovations (new takes on how to make a game online) that now I'm lost if my PS3 isn't hooked up to the net.

The other point which I think has been made is that we get dozens of these topics every year, from owners of every machine. It's nothing to do with the games we are getting these days.

That said, what I will concede is that some of the key developers (mostly Japanese) of previous gens have completely lost the plot. That's sad, but it hasn't hurt the output from other areas of the industry.

[ezee ryder]

Most "hardcore" gamers moan way too much about everything and anything. Yeah sure if a game is crap it deserves to be slated but some people just nitpick on everything. No wonder Nintendo don't pay much attention to the "hardcore" anymore, they don't deserve it

The "we are just playing old games with shiny graphics" argument really gets to to me too. First of all visuals/tech in general are a natural progression and are a big part of games these days, not bigger than the gameplay but still pretty big. Second of all this argument wasn't brought up during the previous gen, I mean after all even back then we were playing "old games with shiny graphics", were we not?! You could break pretty much any game down from every gen and say "oh this is just this game with.....".

If you're not into gaming anymore then fair enough, get another hobby or something. So far this has been a great generation for gaming, some really good games and so on.

[kernow]

Its only peoples opinions, no need to get so righteous. For example most of the games I see you buying in the 'show your purchases' thread I wouldn't touch with a bargepole.

Oh my god guys I have the darkness limited edition. etc.



And for the record I do think there are two different types of gamer at least, not hardcore and casual, but some people are gamers just as much as others, but won't accept 'mainstream release X tinbox edition' , just like those guys won't accept JAMMA PCB's or other non mainstream stuff.

3rd person action adventure stuff bores the ****e out of me, yet I see others getting pumped for games like infamous and prototype etc. I can't even be bothered to finish the demos usually. Thats fine if they like that kind of stuff though, honestly.

[ezee ryder]

Nah not being righteous, I'm just stating my opinion too. Gamers are a right old moany bunch these days, picking on every little detail. You just need to look around some of the threads in this place to see that.

If you like you're retro arcade games then cool, play them instead. Just because you're not interested in the new stuff it doesn't mean it is crap, not by a long shot.

Nice to see you keep an eye on what everyone buys around here! Oh and there was no LE for The Darkness

[Ady]

Most "hardcore" gamers moan way too much about everything and anything. Yeah sure if a game is crap it deserves to be slated but some people just nitpick on everything. No wonder Nintendo don't pay much attention to the "hardcore" anymore, they don't deserve it

Spot on.

The "we are just playing old games with shiny graphics" argument really gets to to me too. First of all visuals/tech in general are a natural progression and are a big part of games these days, not bigger than the gameplay but still pretty big. Second of all this argument wasn't brought up during the previous gen, I mean after all even back then we were playing "old games with shiny graphics", were we not?! You could break pretty much any game down from every gen and say "oh this is just this game with.....".

I disagree. Last gen saw a refinement of the 32/64 bit era, but there was more to it than that. I felt there was a lot more scope and experimentation which sat alongside the uniform stuff. It was last gen that birthed the likes of Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Rez, Resi4, Killer7, Viewtiful Joe and so on. There has been little this gen to touch any of that and games have become even more homogenised than ever before.

And there is WAY too much politics about stuff that has nothing whatsoever to do with games.

Here's a good analogy; the 16 bit era was a refinement of 8-bit, right? 16-bit games played a lot like 8-bit games but were faster and prettier. And at the time, that was more than enough. Then with the N64 and PS1, the shift was made to 3D. This was refined by the PS2/GC/XBOX which was an equivalent to the 16-bit era in that regard. This era now would be like if the 32/64-bit era had just prettied up 16-bit 2D gaming and left it at that. Clearly, that's more than enough for some people.

To me, this era's saving grace has been the introduction of download services which has finally given indies a foot in the door once again. This alone has the potential to make gaming great again.

[kernow]

Nah not being righteous, I'm just stating my opinion too. Gamers are a right old moany bunch these days, picking on every little detail. You just need to look around some of the threads in this place to see that.

If you like you're retro arcade games then cool, play them instead. Just because you're not interested in the new stuff it doesn't mean it is crap, not by a long shot.

Nice to see you keep an eye on what everyone buys around here! Oh and there was no LE for The Darkness

I don't keep an eye out, I just check it to see if theres anything worth buying, I like modern games and don't really play a lot of retro stuff like that, its just hard for me to find anything I'm interested in. Other people seem to have no problem though so obviously I'm a picky fekker.