Poll: Is it Good or Bad that games is now mainstream?

[dark-amon]

As we know videogames have been mainstream for quite some years now. And I for one think that the time is ripe to consider if this is good or bad.
-Since this actually is quite complicated I'd prefer that people give sensibel reasons to whatever opinion they may have.-

 

[snugglerotunda15]

I vote other because it all depends. if a game is not mainstream then it is easier to be called a good game. But on the other side mainstream games have to live up to expectations.

Either way a good game is a good game now matter what stream its in

 

[SantoUno]

In all seriousness I can't grasp the meaning of this. How are games mainstream now? If you mean how games like Guitar Hero and Wii Sports/Fit/Play attracts many people who never tried gaming a chance to play something ANYONE can, well the answer is mixed. I don't see any way in which this can be good or bad, as long as good, landmark games continue to be released there shouldn't be a problem. It is unlikely that one day there will be absolutely NO good, original games being released because all game developers are releasing casual garbage.

This is difficult to discuss, I barely have an answer to this.

 

[A Weary Exile]

People will start recognizing games as an art form and realize they're not just time-wasters. Sure mainstream things produce a lot of crap (See; Michael Bay) but good can also come out of the funding and exposure that comes from mainstreaming something. To paraphrase Zero Punctuation:

"There's always those shining belly dancers that rise above the sea of crap."

Like your post Versoth. One question though: Why is Stephen Colbert a Cat?

 

[dark-amon]

I understand that the thread may seem a little inconsistent since I tried to be brief in the presentation of it. The reason I tried to be brief is beacause I did not want to complicate it for further discussion.

Well to put it in one way, the theory that I belive in is that games first started to evolve into mainstream at the time of GTA 3.
Before that, games where relatively insignifisent in the media, and it was a rather restricted audience. I am not saying that it was GTA 3 that realeased gaming into the mainstream, but the audience and mediafocus rapidley grew at that area of time.
When gaming developed into a mainstream-element it also started to widen it's horizon for wich consumers to please with different offers. This is what I belive would later build to be the fundation of casual gaming.
After the horizon was broadend gaming changed. What I want this thread to be is a possibilety to discuss how yoy have noticed these changes, if at all and how you belive they have affected the once closed group of consumers known as gamers.

 

[dark-amon]

I like what versoth takes up. I'm sure many gamers feel betrayed by the marked after casual gaming evolved.

 

[Sebass]

It's a good thing.

Gaming is mainstream => more people play games => developers earn more money => developers can spend more money => developers make better games.

Yes I know that spending more money on gamedevelopment doesn't equal a good game per sé, and that cheap games and indie games can be quite fun. But in general, more money is better for the final product than less money.

 

[scnj]

It's a double edged sword. While it could be argued that with gaming gone mainstream we're seeing an influx of lower quality titles to squeeze money out of the masses, the sad truth is that the industry needs that money if it's to survive.

There will always be great quality games coming out and there will always be crap games coming out. I just hope they manage to find a way to make excellent games that also sell well. Sadly, many gamers have become jaded to the point where any game that sells well is automatically bad in their eyes regardless of it's actual quality, but that's another issue.

 

[quiet_samurai]

What's so bad about something being mainstream? I've always recognized the difference between being mainstream and selling out. They are not the same.

And I don't think it's a bad thing. Going mainstream means more money, which leads to better development and production level. If you hate something mainstream hate it because it's bad and you truly don't like it, not because Hot Topic tells you to.

 

[LordGarbageMan]

Well I'm glad they went mainstream, because if they didn't I wouldn't be a gamer. Plus it gives developers more money to work with to produce better stuff.

 

[Julianking93]

Some games are mainstream, some aren't. There's a difference between something that is mainstream because it's good, and something that is mainstream because it gets little teenage girls crazy hot.

Sometimes the reason something is mainstream is that it's good.

 

[CeeJay]

Girls liking games is good. Mario Kart FTW

20 something callcentre workers who bought into Playstation and think they're cool; ITF

 

[Syphonz]

its bad. Very bad. Well for consoles anyway. Since the sudden boom of the last gen consoles, games are slowly becoming more and more poorly made. Less time is spent making the game quality, and it gets thrown out just to make a quick dollar. Even colleges are starting up Game Design programs for a money grab cause the industry is huge atm.

I dunno, I have this huge lingering feeling that after the next generation of consoles, the industry is going to take a huge dive. PC games have been happily 'dying' near 25 years, so its highly doubtful they aren't going anywhere.

EDIT: Short version of what i said; Gaming is currently a fad. and fads die.

 

[Thunderhorse31]

The good: more talented people - writers, programmers, artists, etc. - might work on video games as opposed to advertising, IT jobs, whatever. Greater talent pool = greater potential for quality games.

The bad: more completely average people with little to no talent - writers, programmers, artists, etc. - might work on video games as opposed to advertising, IT jobs, whatever. This excess of no talent jackasses = great potential for utterly fail games.

 

[dsau]

eh im somewhere in the middle, they can get better quality and budgets now, but there becoming more and more like the media and TV and all the mainstream entertainment crap which ruins creativity and are only about $

 

[oneniesteledain]

Bad.

Spoiler: Here is exactly why

That's freaking awesome.

OT: It depends what games are considered "mainstream". As someone else said, as long as we continue to get high quality, non-casual games, who cares?

 

[maddawg IAJI]

eh im somewhere in the middle, they can get better quality and budgets now, but there becoming more and more like the media and TV and all the mainstream entertainment crap which ruins creativity and are only about $

You took the words right out of my mouth.