(This article can also be found on the site Talk Nerdy to Me Lover.)
So I’m not sure how I feel about the new consoles looming on the horizon. Of course at this point everyone knows about the Wii U and its imminent release, and then there are the new Xbox and Sony systems that have begun to surface like sharks in bloodied water. Oh yeah, I just compared them to giant sea predators, because really, that’s what they are. Why do I feel that way? Because from what I have seen, this is what happens in the industry:
Nintendo makes a system, let’s call it the Nintendo Revolution (get it?). It has a revolutionary new peripheral and game mechanic, so revolutionary in fact that it gets a lot of people to want it. Microsoft and Sony, with their systems that have very fancy games and huge names in development, see the gimmick. They make new systems with better graphics and hardware, including a way to perfect on the new thing that Nintendo has done. And repeat.
Don’t think I’m right? Well that’s okay, let’s look at some of the history. The Wii comes out and about a year or so later, Microsoft Kinect and Playstation Move are announced. While that’s happening, Nintendo continues work on their handhelds and owns that department in the industry.
While the Kinect and Move are released and do moderately well because the gimmick has died but their systems work better than the Wii’s, Nintendo has announced a 3D version of their already prosperous handheld. Microsoft, owning the computer gaming market, does nothing. But Sony, feels threatened as it is now losing both the consoles and the handheld, and begins making the PS Vita.
While Nintendo is riding off the sales of their handheld, they announce the Wii U. And good lord does that cause a buzz. And now we’re caught up ladies and germs.
I feel like the industry is running out of ideas, sometimes. Our systems are all the same now: great graphics, good hardware, just different company. This whole last year felt like “The Year of Continuation.” Sequel after threequel after prequel. It was almost as if there really wasn’t enough original games coming out and if they were they weren’t brought to light or couldn’t outshine the obvious mainstream titles.
I’m a fan of a lot of the games that came out this past year. I mean, I’m not saying that it’s bad to continue stories or for franchises to continue, but it definitely makes the ice cream bar seem filled with quite a lot of vanilla. That’s why I was so excited for the Kickstarter projects that were successful and what that might mean for the industry and indie game developers.
Of course this doesn’t mean that Kickstarter will save the industry. Absolutely not. What I think is that we need more companies like the ones that made Little Big Planet and Limbo to come into their own and have room to play. We need more ideas in this industry, more risks need to be taken, and people’s minds need to be open. This is an industry of creativity, of imagination! We should be using that at all times to make things that are new and exciting all the time! Just because the words “new” and “imagination” are used, that doesn’t mean that you just update the graphics. I love lifelike graphics or stylized graphics. I love them. But if the game is crap, it won’t save it for me. Any of the Call of Duty games could have had the graphics from Call of Duty 2 if their gameplay was improved each time.
I know people will disagree with me. People love seeing better graphics each time and if the game ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That’s a common idea and if you like that, then that works for you. But this is a consumer market and because of that, you have to realize that not everyone will be happy with the same old in a different package.
I love the products that are coming out. They’re fun, but this formula can’t stay. The industry will suffer if something new doesn’t come out. And new does not mean more motion controls or 3D. I mean, changes in gameplay, changes in franchises, new ideas, new everything. Let’s give this industry a cleansing, people. I think it’s time to call the doctor in.
-@JohnSollitto
