Are Platformers Dying/Dead

[fletch_talon]

This seems to be becoming a more common belief amongst gamers. Most recently it was a belief expressed by a few individuals in a thread regarding the Banjo Kazooie series of games. The question I have to ask is whether these people have a point. Are platformers no longer the highly popular genre that they once seemed to be (to me at least)? What possible reason can be given for their decline?

Reasons I've heard related to the Spyro series of games. I'm a big fan of the original Spyro games, but the moment the original developers left, the games dropped in quality, some blame this for Spyro's new identity as a linear action/platformer. Others however simply say that the youth of today want biffo (thats fighting to you non-Aussies and Aussies who have no idea what I'm talking about) over exploration and puzzle solving. If this truly is the case then I don't have high hopes for the future of gaming.

Now here's a handy list of questions asked in this somewhat poorly made first topic of mine.
- Is platforming dying or dead? (In what way?)
- Why is this so?
- What reasons have others given to you? Or, what games seem to prove/disprove this belief?
- How does it make you feel?

*Insert seemingly compulsory "I used the search function, honest" in order to cover one's proverbial arse. And hopes to the God's that he hasn't made any exploitable spelling mistakes.*

 

[suhlEap]

i have noticed a lack of platformers recently! it wasn't something i thought about til i went out actually seeking to buy one! there was nothing that really looked like a real platformer to me and i was really disappointed. i hope this won't be a common trend in the future, as it'll be a shame if they disappear forever!

 

[suhlEap]

I'm kind of glad they are dying off. I had to endure the era when they were as ubiquitous as FPS are now. They over sold themselves and too much market saturation just kills peoples desire for them.

yeah i do remember that. but at the same time, they can't just die forever! i don't really get the amount of FPS's that are out at the moment. half of the suck balls, in fact probably more than half and no one seems to notice, they just lap them up for no real reason!

 

[Dragon_of_red]

I want some new platformers/puzzle games, i really enjoy them, now, the only way i can get any platformer or puzzle games seems to be flash games on a computer.

Most people now seem to be really into the FPS style of games, and there fun, but you need to mix it up with some other types.

I beleive the reason for the decline is the fact that most people are to stupid to understand a good story line and challenges when they come across one, so they want straight action.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Not really.

They were the 'in' game to make back in the Mega Drive-PS1 eras and to an extent the PS2 as well, but there were only ever a few good ones per generation. As it stands only the good/established ones get made, I think sooner or later a lot of platformers will appear on Wii.

 

[YukoValis]

Wii won't do platformers because it wouldn't work to well with motion, and PS3/Xbox are too busy make their games as violent and/or sexual as possible for the easily entertained to bother with platformers.

 

[Ultress]

Many of the really bad marketing tie-ins are generic platformers. They are associated as kiddy and unsophisticated. Overrall I think they're getting a bad rap in a gamining commuinity obsessed with grity realism and really cool guns. They aren't really dieing but becoming either cheap garbage for most of them but some like the Castlevanias are gaining a smaller hardcore follwing.I hope soon we get a great platformer with tight controls and an intresting premise but till then the Wii's Virtual console will have to do

 

[Gladion]

I think they have just sort of evolved into free-running games like Prince of Persia.

Besides, most games these days cannot be fit into specific genres. RPGs have gotten themselves some more action (Fallout 3, Fable), whereas FPSs have often (especially in the PC areas) gotten RPG elements (Stalker, Bioshock to a certain degree). Survival Horror has become more action-oriented, too (Condemned), and I don't need to talk about Action-Adventures.

 

[zebrin]

humm... and don't forget the Metroid prime series. it has several classic "Platform" elements to it. though it does suffer the "First person" syndrome of not being able to see your feet. (Which can be really annoying when trying to time jumps right...)
There are a lot of good platformers in disguise out there, most are just marketed as something else now, because, and let's face it, most people are interested in getting fps games now.

 

[fletch_talon]

Many of the really bad marketing tie-ins are generic platformers. They are associated as kiddy and unsophisticated. Overrall I think they're getting a bad rap in a gamining commuinity obsessed with grity realism and really cool guns. They aren't really dieing but becoming either cheap garbage for most of them but some like the Castlevanias are gaining a smaller hardcore follwing.I hope soon we get a great platformer with tight controls and an intresting premise but till then the Wii's Virtual console will have to do

Actually you make a good point, it seems the majority of pure platform games nowadays are movie games which suffer from being generally... well crap to be honest. I wouldn't mind the movie game platformers so much if effort was put in. I've said elsewhere that one of my favourite games on PS1 was Toy Story 2, where you played buzz running around a world that was made for unique and awesome platforms and puzzles.

For example doing a pound (butt bounce) on a chair cushion made it project you across the room. I've always been fond of the "little person in a big world" theme of some games/movies/etc.

As for the dual nature of some games these days, is that a good thing? I mean its definitely a good thing that we get new types of games, but it seems inevitable that when a type of game becomes a success, other games imitate it. So is it good that we now have action/platformers and similar, or would we be better off withthe pure genres?

Obviously in a perfect world we'd have all of the above, but I'm interested in whether people enjoy the new stylesof platform games over the originals.

 

[Nickflip]

I was about to bring this up myself. Yes, the platformers of yesteryear are a dying breed,
and as my favorite genre of games slowly dies, I gasp for what I can. Mega Man 9, Bionic Commando Rearmed, Super Mario Galaxy, Retro Game Challenge, These games seem to be the only place I can get my fix anymore. good thing I still have my SNES...

 

[Circus Ascendant]

This thread has happily reminded me of the original three Spyro games, which I must now seek out.

I agree they definitely don't make platformers anything like they used to and indeed barely make them at all, but...

LittleBigPlanet. Awesome, old school platforming - consistently getting new levels, too. And they're good; don't believe Yahtzee, the vast majority of new levels are awesome.

And there's a sequel in the works. Fingers crossed it's 3D? Wouldn't be too hard to make a Mario 64-like version...

 

[Micah Weil]

It depends on how you view the term "platformer".
If we're going to the traditional, where everything was 2D and the goal was to get from one end of the screen to the other, then yes, they're dead. However, some modern games do have that platformer feel, just in three dimensions. I'd honestly call the Ratchet and Clank series a good example of that.

 

[fletch_talon]

It depends on how you view the term "platformer".
If we're going to the traditional, where everything was 2D and the goal was to get from one end of the screen to the other, then yes, they're dead. However, some modern games do have that platformer feel, just in three dimensions. I'd honestly call the Ratchet and Clank series a good example of that.

No I grew up with the 3D platformers, so its not so much this jump that irritates me, its more the fact that there are groups of people who seem to think that platformers in the style of old, don't feature enough action. And as such we see the decline of games like Spyro into an action genre where you simply move from one battle to the next. I know there are still some platformers that retain popularity, but Mario comes appx once per generation and Ratchet and Clank, whilst an awesome series, seems to substitute puzzle solving for shooter elements.

 

[Kajt]

- Is platforming dying or dead? (In what way?)

Yes, the genre has been lying on the floor, slowly bleeding to death.

Why is this so?

The FPS genre was jealous. It shot the platforming genre in the head, and then proceeded to teabag it's corpse.
In other words; FPS games make more money.

- How does it make you feel?

Sad, platformers are great.

 

[Inverse Skies]

I hope not, I've always quite liked platforming games as a genre. They make a nice change from the FPS's or JRPG's I normally spend most of my time playing. I suppose they're more seen as a kids genre which unfairly stigmatises them because they can be very hard games with inventive puzzles.

 

[Abedeus]

...if Spyros quality decreased signifigantly with Insomniac leaving, why didn't you just follow Insomniacs next few projects? Crack in Time looks great.

Spyro on GBA, for example, is very crappy. I love platformers, Raymans, Marioes, Crocs (yeah.) and GBA/DS platformers, but Spyro: Season of Ice was crappy.

 

[curlycrouton]

No they're really not dying.

 

[TheMushroomClub]

Now here's a handy list of questions asked in this somewhat poorly made first topic of mine.
- Is platforming dying or dead? (In what way?)
- Why is this so?
- What reasons have others given to you? Or, what games seem to prove/disprove this belief?
- How does it make you feel?
*

Woah! This is like schoolwork. I'll give it a shot:

1. It's dying. I grew up playing one of the best (in my opinion) platforming platforms (nice pun) of all time - The N64. We had Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, Super Mario 64 (and so on). I was alsdo a big fan of Spyro on the PS1 (And it's subsequent games until insomniac sold Spyro). Now look what we have:

Wii:
Some platformer games, but what happened to non linear platforming? Also, the wii implements a lot of it's motion sensitive stuff which can often put you off the game.

Xbox 360:

The Xbox 360 Market:
90% FPS / RPG / FPSRPG
9% Racing / Sports
1% This game should be on the PS3 / Wii

Playstation 3:

The PS3 has one platformer that I like which is LBP. Not only does it offer some really good looking and playing levels, it allows you to create your own. This is essentially a 2D platformer, so we are still missing this non linear element we are ooking for. Also, the game is in the style of say, Super Mario Bros. with the sole objective of 'Get to the end of the level'. As far as I know, this is all for the PS3.

2. People are becoming THICK. I got stuck on Mario 64 but I got all 120 stars. I was 7 FFS!!

3. My mindless freinds are proving this. I don't mean mindless as in THICK (as such, though mindless generally leads to that) but mindless in terms of violence. We can't go a whole lunchtime without pretending to kill somebody or mentioning it.

4. Generally I feel sad about this. The games I grew up to love aren't living on through other games any more. I don't feel the same about gaming.

 

[Darkong]

I think the problem that platform games (in their more traditional sense) have is that they were just done to death in the SNES/Mega Drive era, it got to the point where there was just a deluge of platform games and the majority of them were poor. This carried on a bit into the psOne/Saturn gen until the format was so tired and spent that hardly any are released now. Games like Prince of Persia, Super Mario Galaxy and Mirrors Edge have platformer elements to them but are a new sort of species of game.

The thing is I can see the FPS game going the same way in the near future, the genre is being flogged unmercifully and the majority of the games are just repeating tired generic setups and setpieces with little advancment ever taking place.

I sort of blame Sonic 2 and Super Mario World for the death of the platformer in the same way I blame Halo and Half Life for the impending death of the FPS, not because there was anything wrong with those games (indeed they were all excellent games) but because they set a precedent that has led to others trying to ride on their coat-tails in the hope of achieving similar success and the idea barrel has run dry.

But back to the topic, I don't think platformers are going to die out completely but their lessening is definately a good thing, it means that the genre can recuperate somewhat (though I doubt it'll ever be as popular as it was in the late 80's and early 90's) from the brutal beating it took in the past.