Has gaming passed it's peak?

[Bruce]

Nope.

Gaming goes in crazes - and that means it ends up going through cycles of excitement any time a new craze comes along.

Then everyone copies everyone else, and eventually gamers get bored of playing the same thing over and over again, until finally somebody comes along and does something different causing the next craze.

This is what happened with adventure gaming, RTS, platformers and FPS games.

We are currently in the bored phase of FPS, but that just means the rise of "casual" free-to-prey city building sims.

Once that craze dies down a bit you will see more buzz about the next one, which will likely be more console friendly.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Depends on what you're looking for or think of as "gaming".
My take on the situation, based on current trends and observations...

-For consoles, I'm feeling more confident every year in saying that they've peaked and are on the decline; really for the first time since the crash of 83'. Consequently, "Traditional" single player games (at least from quality productions) are slowly going the way of the dodo due to this push to make everything online-centric (you will get your always online DRM, and you will take it with a smile).

Some will be quick to dismiss this as a normal part of the console cycle and point to all manner of sales numbers, and how this or that is "Teh best numbars ever!", but in doing so will have to uncomfortably shuffle around explaining the REST of the market. Market share isn't about who is booming, but who is booming the most, and while next gen consoles are booming, everyone else is collectively booming more.

(if nothing else, I have NEVER seen this much cynicism in the first year of a new console; there are always naysayers, but this time it seems very widespread. The Xbone debacle may have saved Sony, but it strained consumer trust in a way I have never seen in the console market.)

-Service-centric games (MMOs, F2P and all that online jazz) are definitely on the rise.

-Mobile gaming is very, VERY slowly crawling out of its casual-ripoff mire, being bogged down by gobs of indefensible "Freemium" price gouging schemes. Only time will tell if the growth produces any more meaningful concepts, or if it's just going to continue to mostly be about milking clueless slots for easy cash. Though since this market is implicitly linked to devices that require a network of some sort to function, it's safe to assume this too will only contribute towards the online-centric singularity mainstream gaming is converging towards.

-PC gaming has been surging forward for about 5 years now and is forming its own identity as something other than "The second-rate 360 port dumping ground, plus MMOs and RTSs." Though now that blunt force exploitation has arrived on the indie-kickstarter scene, the growth is going to dial back. There are some great concept titles coming out on PC from folks OUTSIDE of the AAA Zeitgeist (we don't really need them nearly as much as they want us to believe).

 

[Rozalia1]

Spoiler

Depends on what you're looking for or think of as "gaming".
My take on the situation, based on current trends and observations...

-For consoles, I'm feeling more confident every year in saying that they've peaked and are on the decline; really for the first time since the crash of 83'. Consequently, "Traditional" single player games (at least from quality productions) are slowly going the way of the dodo due to this push to make everything online-centric (you will get your always online DRM, and you will take it with a smile).

Some will be quick to dismiss this as a normal part of the console cycle and point to all manner of sales numbers, and how this or that is "Teh best numbars ever!", but in doing so will have to uncomfortably shuffle around explaining the REST of the market. Market share isn't about who is booming, but who is booming the most, and while next gen consoles are booming, everyone else is collectively booming more.

(if nothing else, I have NEVER seen this much cynicism in the first year of a new console; there are always naysayers, but this time it seems very widespread. The Xbone debacle may have saved Sony, but it strained consumer trust in a way I have never seen in the console market.)

The words of the IGC means absolutely nothing in gauging peoples feeling with a product.
The IGC hates plenty of successful things, always predicting this and that is going to go down the drain...yet they pretty much never do. Look at Nintendo, they've had the ire of the IGC for decades for all it mattered.

Some will dismiss it today, dismissed it 10 years ago, and will dismiss it in 10 years time. When there is actual evidence that everything is going down the drain than you may have a case.

-Mobile gaming is very, VERY slowly crawling out of its casual-ripoff mire, being bogged down by gobs of indefensible "Freemium" price gouging schemes. Only time will tell if the growth produces any more meaningful concepts, or if it's just going to continue to mostly be about milking clueless slots for easy cash. Though since this market is implicitly linked to devices that require a network of some sort to function, it's safe to assume this too will only contribute towards the online-centric singularity mainstream gaming is converging towards.

Now if I had to make a doomsayer prediction this would be the platform involved. Mobile has the potential to replace all other platforms, it could well after a bit of evolving do just that...though not being a phone person I'd hope not.

-PC gaming has been surging forward for about 5 years now and is forming its own identity as something other than "The second-rate 360 port dumping ground, plus MMOs and RTSs." Though now that blunt force exploitation has arrived on the indie-kickstarter scene, the growth is going to dial back. There are some great concept titles coming out on PC from folks OUTSIDE of the AAA Zeitgeist (we don't really need them nearly as much as they want us to believe).

What exploitation? You mean business?

 

[Atmos Duality]

*image snip*

And that's where I stopped reading. If you want to proclaim your smug opinion to be superior, go right ahead.

 

[Tohuvabohu]

We're facing the fastest selling consoles in the history of the industry. Maybe you're just remembering the past wrong?

Must be. I remember the exact same shit happening last gen. Not to mention last gen had the same kind of people going "Ugh, the new gen consoles are average. PS2 and Xbox were much more popular than the 360 and PS3."

Pretty much this.

From what I remember, the general sentiment around the time of release for the PS3 and 360, was that the 360 was a rush-job of underwhelming hardware, and the PS3 was an insanely pricey paperweight. And this is before the problems really began.

When I really think about it, and perhaps I'm the one remembering things wrong here, both consoles had to deal with their share of catastrophes that the generation before didn't have to deal with. With the 360's infamous RROD scandal, and the PS3's ludicrous pricepoint then abandoning PS2-compatibility. We can look back on it all now and say it was "Good times." But, it was not all sunshine and rainbows last-generation.

Sure both consoles, in my opinion, turned themselves around nicely and ended up having a good run. But only after a very rough start, through many controversies. And this is without mentioning the rise of shady business practices.
The fact that we can look back on that mess and say that was when gaming "peaked" says something... Although I'm not quite sure what. Maybe something about our capacity to see through the bullshit and still enjoy the core and heart of gaming. Or that we as humans choose to selectively remember the good things. Who knows!

Either way, I see it as the same ol shit that begins any generation. And honestly it doesn't seem as bad to me as it's been in the past. I mean, the initial Xbone announcement was a fucking disgrace, but that's changed already and is basically history now. I'm unsure what the future holds for both of these major consoles, but I don't see anything to really worry about.

 

[Rozalia1]

*image snip*

And that's where I stopped reading. If you want to proclaim your smug opinion to be superior, go right ahead.

That was not directed to you which is why I put it before my quoting of you. It was me saying "nope" to the question presented in the title.
I would have thought that would have been easy enough to see, but mistakes happen.

 

[Pink Gregory]

I'm really too busy playing 10+ years of old and new games that I never got around to or weren't available to me before digital distribution to worry too much about this or what 'the industry' is doing.

I don't think games have a sell-by date, I also don't think that the entire scope of gaming can be summarised by those at the top. Trends happen, but so do outliers.

Also, I know there's generally a disdain for MMOs and multiplayer as well around here, but let's remember that quite a lot of movement is being made in those circles recently.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

I think the WOW (not the game) era has finished. In my time gaming the PS1 was amazing due to 3d gaming as it were like Toshinden and Destruction Derby - both were games that we had never played before as everything was 2d. Then with Dynasty Warriors 2 was an eye opener due to amount of onscreen enemies. FF7 was just amazing, never played a game like that in my life, same with GTA3 and GT the racing game. Next game that surprised me was Morrowind on Xbox - was why i bought an Xbox and i still have that game today.

Today, i think the graphics improve but the games dont. 2d to 3d was a massive change. Not sure what the next equivalent would be. Personally i love games, just want bigger, not graphic updates. Like i want an open world WW2 fps game, have wanted that since Cod2 but seems the graphics are the goal, not expanding the game into something new.

Problem today is its about money, not experience. DLC, micro transactions and pay to win. I think this is the stuff thats ruining gaming, the greed. The releasing buggy messes and relying on patches or modders to fix things.

 

[Atmos Duality]

*image snip*

And that's where I stopped reading. If you want to proclaim your smug opinion to be superior, go right ahead.

That was not directed to you which is why I put it before my quoting of you. It was me saying "nope" to the question presented in the title.
I would have thought that would have been easy enough to see, but mistakes happen.

Alright, I confess that I thought the image was just one more example of this forum's notorious passive-aggressive bullshit and jumped the gun. Forgive my presumption; I'm tired of the not-at-all-subtle-but-mod-friendly antagonism that permeates these threads now.

In light of that, I'll be fair and at least respond honestly.

The words of the IGC means absolutely nothing in gauging peoples feeling with a product.
The IGC hates plenty of successful things, always predicting this and that is going to go down the drain...yet they pretty much never do. Look at Nintendo, they've had the ire of the IGC for decades for all it mattered.

You will need to define "IGC" in this context, because while I have a guess, I'm unsure what you mean specifically.

Some will dismiss it today, dismissed it 10 years ago, and will dismiss it in 10 years time. When there is actual evidence that everything is going down the drain than you may have a case.

My intention is not to make a "case", because I don't have all the facts.
I'm stating my opinion of what I think will happen based on some current observations and trends; I assume (I HOPE in some cases) that I will be wrong.

Now if I had to make a doomsayer prediction this would be the platform involved. Mobile has the potential to replace all other platforms, it could well after a bit of evolving do just that...though not being a phone person I'd hope not.

Well, you won't get much opposition from me there.
Most of mobile gaming has yet to impress me on a conceptual level, let alone a practical one despite its popularity.

A lot of what I see aren't really what I consider "good games"; most of them are "game lite", or "half-assed garbage" with a disturbing trend towards "Freemium Fly Trap".

What exploitation? You mean business?

Forgive me, I forgot that business at a pragmatic level sees exploitation as a good thing.
Even organized crime can be a business.

From a consumer's point of view, I mean dirty business tactics.
Not, "I don't like this game because opinion" dirty but "Deliberately unfinished, buggy low quality thing vaguely resembling a game made specifically to con people out of their money." Like unfinished Early Access projects, or Kickstarter trolling.
Games that have absolutely no intention of doing anything but taking the money and running.

Whether or not it's "legal business" does not mean it will go without consequence. People hate getting tricked out of their money, even where the law permits it, and they will remember it. Exploitation of this sort creates distrust, which hurts growth if it goes unchecked.

 

[Bombiz]

The current "gaming community" - that is, gaming forums where gamers come to dicuss games, is in a pretty horrific state imo. All large parts of the community seem to want to do anymore is whine about things. Whether it's sexism, DRM, Steam selling the wrong type of game, characters with exagerated features, whatever new controversy of the month takes over and the community has become almost toxic imo. Why would anyone bother to try and be excited about the new consoles on this forum for example? Any discussion about them just dissolves into PC vs console dick waving contests or circlejerking about how Microsoft is literally the Fourth Reich.
.

because people can and should complain about things? if people didn't unleesh the rage of a thousands keyboard warriors then Xbox eould have tried to enforce their always online bullshit

I can underdtand the sentiment of never being able to just "like" anything...like it all has to be vewied from a lense of cynasim but there is A LOT to complain about this gen, you might not think its all valid but plenty of people do

NO. people should be complainant when companies have DRM on games that dont need it or when Steam sells a game that doesn't even have the .exe in it's folder.
/sarcasm

The current "gaming community" - that is, gaming forums where gamers come to dicuss games, is in a pretty horrific state imo. All large parts of the community seem to want to do anymore is whine about things. Whether it's sexism, DRM, Steam selling the wrong type of game, characters with exagerated features, whatever new controversy of the month takes over and the community has become almost toxic imo. Why would anyone bother to try and be excited about the new consoles on this forum for example? Any discussion about them just dissolves into PC vs console dick waving contests or circlejerking about how Microsoft is literally the Fourth Reich.
.

I don't get why it's wrong to complain about these things. why should we have to deal with BS DRM when it's not even needed. and why shouldn't steam have the decency to curate it's own stock instead of letting anything on their regardless if it works or not?

 

[Soulkiller3]

Nope gameing is here to stay. Gaming is changing. Moblie gaming is going strong, so is indie gaming.

People are getting sick of the AAA games and the stupid DRM that does not work. Yay for buying COD:BO14 and the 50 exspation packs that comes with it.

Steam needs to sort out the greenlight system it is starting to annoy people, devs making half a game and running away with the cash once its greenlight.

People want innovation over graphics, something that does not happen that much on consoles because it's a hard market to penetrate. Which leaves the big dev companys who are pritty much out of iders now.

Every new console generation suffers through that unfortunate "first batch" period.

This is nomaly becouse console hardware has allways been diffrant to what the devs where use to, and it tuck time for them to get use to it. But not this gen, this gen there pritty much Pc`s. There should of had a wide range of games to come out ready of the launch but they did not. The fact that consoles are struggling to do 1080 is shocking. consoles have neally a 10 year life span and there cant perform to the standerds of 5,6,7 year old pcs, Is not acceptable.

Consoles are holding gaming back at this point, look at watchdogs, that could of been so much more but i do get the feeling the changes to the game was done to souly maximise the profits on the console. Ubisoft really dont like PC gamers.

this has terned into abit of a rant. Ill be happy when the gaming industry evolves without the likes of EA and Ubisoft. When i say that i dont want the dev teams to lose there jobs its the people aboth them in these companys i do, the people who think ramming RDM down our necks is a good plan and make us buy they games.

 

[Soulkiller3]

Nope gameing is here to stay. Gaming is changing. Moblie gaming is going strong, so is indie gaming.

People are getting sick of the AAA games and the stupid DRM that does not work. Yay for buying COD:BO14 and the 50 exspation packs that comes with it.

Steam needs to sort out the greenlight system it is starting to annoy people, devs making half a game and running away with the cash once its greenlight.

People want innovation over graphics, something that does not happen that much on consoles because it's a hard market to penetrate. Which leaves the big dev companys who are pritty much out of iders now.

Every new console generation suffers through that unfortunate "first batch" period.

This is nomaly becouse console hardware has allways been diffrant to what the devs where use to, and it tuck time for them to get use to it. But not this gen, this gen there pritty much Pc`s. There should of had a wide range of games to come out ready of the launch but they did not. The fact that consoles are struggling to do 1080 is shocking. consoles have neally a 10 year life span and there cant perform to the standerds of 5,6,7 year old pcs, Is not acceptable.

Consoles are holding gaming back at this point, look at watchdogs, that could of been so much more but i do get the feeling the changes to the game was done to souly maximise the profits on the console. Ubisoft really dont like PC gamers.

this has terned into abit of a rant. Ill be happy when the gaming industry evolves without the likes of EA and Ubisoft. When i say that i dont want the dev teams to lose there jobs its the people aboth them in these companys i do, the people who think ramming RDM down our necks is a good plan and make us buy they games.

 

[Shpongled]

The current "gaming community" - that is, gaming forums where gamers come to dicuss games, is in a pretty horrific state imo. All large parts of the community seem to want to do anymore is whine about things. Whether it's sexism, DRM, Steam selling the wrong type of game, characters with exagerated features, whatever new controversy of the month takes over and the community has become almost toxic imo. Why would anyone bother to try and be excited about the new consoles on this forum for example? Any discussion about them just dissolves into PC vs console dick waving contests or circlejerking about how Microsoft is literally the Fourth Reich.
.

because people can and should complain about things? if people didn't unleesh the rage of a thousands keyboard warriors then Xbox eould have tried to enforce their always online bullshit

I can underdtand the sentiment of never being able to just "like" anything...like it all has to be vewied from a lense of cynasim but there is A LOT to complain about this gen, you might not think its all valid but plenty of people do

NO. people should be complainant when companies have DRM on games that dont need it or when Steam sells a game that doesn't even have the .exe in it's folder.
/sarcasm

The current "gaming community" - that is, gaming forums where gamers come to dicuss games, is in a pretty horrific state imo. All large parts of the community seem to want to do anymore is whine about things. Whether it's sexism, DRM, Steam selling the wrong type of game, characters with exagerated features, whatever new controversy of the month takes over and the community has become almost toxic imo. Why would anyone bother to try and be excited about the new consoles on this forum for example? Any discussion about them just dissolves into PC vs console dick waving contests or circlejerking about how Microsoft is literally the Fourth Reich.
.

I don't get why it's wrong to complain about these things. why should we have to deal with BS DRM when it's not even needed. and why shouldn't steam have the decency to curate it's own stock instead of letting anything on their regardless if it works or not?

Ah yes the old "This game does NOT need DRM" Escapist stamp. Thank God for that. Otherwise developers or publishers would have no idea to what extent they want to protect their own property. The people of the world should be thanking themselves that they have the escapist here to make these decisions for them.

On the other note, why are you guys so desperate to have some guy at valve decide what games you can and can't buy? Wouldn't you rather be able to do your own research and buy what you choose? No, because that would mean taking responsiblity for ones own purchasing habits. Who would you moan at then for buying a game you don't like? You might have to be forced to accept it was your own mistake. Awful.

 

[Nix33]

It's growing, and in a good way, too. The Xbone and Pissbore are spearheaded by two very powerful corporations, Microsoft and Sony respectively. And it seems that both consoles have fallen into a niche, thus producing this seeming 'lack of excitement' effect. The way I see it is both of these consoles are spearheaded primarily by the usual suspects, those being shooters, zombie games, and the odd RPG. And that's why there's a lack of excitement.

PC gamers always wanted change, we always wanted new ways and new settings in which to live out stories and episodes from virtual fiction. Not to mention that the PC FPS scene is focused almost wholly on competitive gaming at this point, as is the increasingly more dynamic MOBA crowd. And both of these crowds stick to their old guns, much like the console-heads, but in a slightly different way. While the console crowd loves repackaging and the same schlock over and over again in a shiny new wrapping, PC players prefer the idea of older games being improved upon specifically for competitive play. There are countless examples, but some of the more popular ones are of course Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2. We're different, but also remarkably the same.

I wander once more as my medication runs low. So, here's the kicker. PC gamers will bellow at conventions like E3 endlessly, saying how there's no new ideas, and how it's all just the same shit over and over again. From our point of view, that's correct. But from the POV of a console gamer, Xbox One or PS4, that's just the standard fare, and those people are bloody excited over things to come. But they're drowned out in this sea of PC gamers clamoring how their needs are not met and how they want new things. Maybe E3 just isn't aimed at PC gamers any more. Maybe we should stick to our PAXes and our Blizzcons and just let the crowd duke it out where they're comfortable.

And yes, there is considerably less excitement for the new gen consoles. Once more, the reason for that is marketing. The PS3 and Xbox 360 strived actively to drag in users from PC platforms, and it did sort of work. But now, that's no longer viable. Microsoft and Sony have both seen that it is far easier to target the by now huge sea of console fans and pander to them than to try and expand and draw in new consumers. They don't need that. Their fanbase is big enough.

Or perhaps I'm just mad.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Not so much a peak as a flat line. Granted more consoles and games are sold now than ever before. But the games themselves are just the same year in and year out. you get the odd gems is greatness. But compared to the excitement of the PS1 release and the new games etc that gave us. Then PS2 did that and more with awesome new titles. Since the PS3/360 gaming is no longer that exciting anymore but then that could be the big change was from SNes era into 3d era of PS1. Now its just about making nicer graphics than changing your experience.

Will we ever get a change as major as original GTA compared to GTA3? Maybe there is no big leap in change.

 

[Gankytim]

Of course gamings peak is done with, why? Because of the whole "Appeal to a wider audience" mindset.

Think about games condidered truly good, iconic even. What sets them apart? Their identity, their uniqueness their willingness to try new ideas and perform them well. When the mindset of market appeal goes overboard all games are stripped of any identity and willingness to try something that doesn't sell.

You'll never reach a peak by immitating what was done at q peak. You'll get to a peak by embracing the ideals and goals that set the peak.

 

[Gatx]

I think it's partly that the new systems aren't backwards compatible. Now the companies have to both make new games and act like they didn't just threw away the entire library that accumulated with one of the longer lasting console generations.

 

[Kuuenbu]

"It was all downhill after the Super Nintendo."
?The Angry Video Game Nerd