Are Videogames Dead?

[AboveUp]

Oddworld Inhabitants' Lorne Lanning, who says retail will go the way of the vinyl in five years' time), some are less so. Either way, lots of interesting opinions from genuine authorities here.

He's still around and he's talking to people?
We need to form a group to get him to release the first 2 Oddworld games on PSN and Live Arcade!

On topic, if anything is going to kill the gaming industry it will be the never ending negativity of the gaming crowd. The group that keeps condemning modern gaming for not doing what it wants, without knowing what it is it really wants. They want retro gaming, but when they get it they say its too hard. They want RPGs, but when those are made they're too old fashioned. They want shooters, but when one is release its a Halo clone because there's a... well, there's a gun in your hand and you're shooting at people.

If anything needs to be done about the gaming industry, its the attitude of the people supporting it by buying the products. And don't give me that "but the main money is in the hands of the casual crowd" crap either.

 

[wewontdie11]

The main reason I think video game sales are going down is because of a decline in quality and originality. Most games these days are sequels and you'd be lucky to find one in every 5 big titles that you would actually enjoy playing I reckon.

 

[Ghost]

Sales of everything are down, the recession was brought on by the government as a way of controlling people and making them scared so they listen. The New World Order is coming people!

...Nah, wait until a few AAA games are released like CoD 4 2, (yeah that's what it is, either that or CoD 6) and Brutal Legend. That'll shake things up a bit.

 

[Mr.Pandah]

As soon as things take a bit of a downward slide, everyone starts screaming its the end of the world. Lighten up people.

 

[Woem]

So money is the great equalizer huh. Well I guess we can go play the original versions of popular videogames again:

- The original Baldur's Gate: Hero Quest
- The original SimCity: Monopoly
- The original StarCraft: Chess

 

[Legion]

I was expecting some kid being stupid, not a news post.

As was I. I was all ready for a sarcastic comment too, curse you Keane Ng!

Games are the superior form of media and are not going anywhere.

Well they are certainly the most popular amongst under 30's so I'd say they are pretty safe.

 

[The_Deleted]

Why does the games industry seem to be the only one crying about sales being down? It's sounds like self pity. 'It's not fair..'
Between Kotik and his yearly pay being released and this 'woe is me' kind of news I wonder if the games industry isn't bring a crash on itself because of it's arrogance, not because of the recession.

 

[Megacherv]

Gamings at a high, probably more people play them nowadays than ever before...it's like the PC gaming argument, that's been dying for nearly 20 years apparently

Well they are certainly the most popular amongst under 30's so I'd say they are pretty safe.

And those under 30s will possibly go on ahead liking video games into later life, so it'll last one hell of a long time.

 

[Casual Shinji]

He's still around and he's talking to people?
We need to form a group to get him to release the first 2 Oddworld games on PSN and Live Arcade!

Finally, someone who's talking sense.

 

[uppitycracker]

It's pretty ridiculous to say that video games are a dying breed. Especially given the current state of our economy, and the lack of expendable cash lying around for most households. I think it could be more reasonable to say that the video game industry is finally leveling off, rather than this constant explosion that it's seen. This could be a good thing, though, and could hopefully bring developers back in line with what they used to be. I'm all for seeing less and less crap pushed out on the market, and more thought and innovation being put into these games. This could only happen, of course, if the huge gaming corporations end up taking themselves out of the picture. But the bottom line is, no, gaming is not dead, nor will it be anytime in this lifetime.

 

[hansari]

Wait a minute...the guy who is making this documentary on video games...his site links to a page that wants you to "Get rich playing video games" [http://www.thevideogameexpert.com/]...

BS Irony aside...can anyone taking this guy seriously

 

[Standby]

I guess anyone can be called an 'industry guru' so long as they hold some vague ties to it.

 

[mkg]

I don't think it's games period being gone we need to worry about, but games that are innovative or take chances with new ideas that will be gone. Big companies won't want to take chances with things that aren't gonna sell big.

 

[mattttherman3]

I'm insulted that this question is being asked. Nice try, this question cannot crash my small world!

 

[DaMan1500]

I'm suprised they made a documentary about this. Yes, videogame sales are dropping, and the studios are hurting, but every other industry is in hot water as well. It's a recession. That's just what happens, and it'll pass. The car industry is in trouble too, but it's not like we're getting rid of those any time soon.

 

[Emphraim]

This is silly. Of course video games are selling less in a recession. But even if some studios close due to less demand, there are still people who will willingly buy games so all the other studios will remain open. When the economy picks up again, new studios will open.

 

[happysock]

It's obvious video games sales are down at the moment but there hasn't really been that many outstanding games out this year, all the "big" franchise games are coming out towards the end of this year to name a few, assassains creed 2, halo odst, modern warfare 2, just cause 2 and final fantasy 13 plus loads more.

 

[300lb. Samoan]

this is all news to me, but I appreciate a good reality check when it's called for. now I know why I got such a good deal on Braid this weekend (backed in with four other games for only five additional dollars - now I'm wishing I'd invested the extra ten to help out the industry)

 

[The_Echo]

I don't know if you noticed, we're in a recession. By definition, of course sales are going to decline!