So I've been watching the circus that is the video game industry, and I just get cold shivers of deja vu stemming from the original video game market crash of the 80's.
You've got:
Regurgitated game content
Games that rely on a license (even its own) to carry it, while the game itself is crap
Corporations buying up all the development companies and churning out games as quickly as
possible, devoid of any life, originality, or creativity.
Poor economic climate
About the only thing that isn't similar is that unlike the 80's crash is that not everyone and their mom has a game system out.
Now I'm not saying that the market's going to die or anything. I just think it's going to stagnate in a few years, if things keep going the way they are. You can already see it in Japan. It's only a matter of time as American corporations end up the same, especially with them more interested in profit then their fanbase, and their practices of taking independent developers, buying them up, draining all creative juices out of them, and then casting aside the dried up husk.
Maybe it's a cyclical thing. Market gets big, big corps destroy everything, small companies rise from the ashes, surviving on small casual games, some small companies start making awesome games, small companies become big, cycle restarts.
Um...I had a point somewhere. Don't post first thing in the morning without sufficient caffeine, kids.
You've got:
Regurgitated game content
Games that rely on a license (even its own) to carry it, while the game itself is crap
Corporations buying up all the development companies and churning out games as quickly as
possible, devoid of any life, originality, or creativity.
Poor economic climate
About the only thing that isn't similar is that unlike the 80's crash is that not everyone and their mom has a game system out.
Now I'm not saying that the market's going to die or anything. I just think it's going to stagnate in a few years, if things keep going the way they are. You can already see it in Japan. It's only a matter of time as American corporations end up the same, especially with them more interested in profit then their fanbase, and their practices of taking independent developers, buying them up, draining all creative juices out of them, and then casting aside the dried up husk.
Maybe it's a cyclical thing. Market gets big, big corps destroy everything, small companies rise from the ashes, surviving on small casual games, some small companies start making awesome games, small companies become big, cycle restarts.
Um...I had a point somewhere. Don't post first thing in the morning without sufficient caffeine, kids.
