What is "innovation" exactly?

[Sewblon]

Critics and consumers both constantly cry for innovation, yet most commercially and critically acclaimed games innovate little or nothing, for example, GTA4 had no features that San Andreas did not, Half-life 2 made no significant departures from traditional FPS gameplay, neither did any of the Halo or Call of Duty games, and Nintendo has been successfully selling the same gameplay through the Mario and Zelda franchises since 1985. So what do people mean when they ask for "innovation" and is it necessary or even helpful?

Innovation is when a video-game tries something new that really helps the genre progress as a whole.

Progress towards what?

 

[Valate_v1legacy]

Retexing someone else ideas, of course!

 

[AkJay]

Innovation is when a video-game tries something new that really helps the genre progress as a whole.

 

[The Great Zegrool]

Innovation is when a video-game tries something new that really helps the genre progress as a whole.

Like having cake, the kind that's a lie.

Sorry, I've just been replaying Portal, and it's awesomeness in my heart has been born again.

 

[jodko]

i suppose that for games innovation would be new or evolved gameplay mechanics.
Halo had regenerative health and mario galexy had all that crazy upside down platforming, Prince of persia had that time manipulation thing.

Niutendo created motion sensors which also innovative altho i kinda think thatsa fad that needs to die.

So i suppose that when people ask for inovation they want something new which i suppose will get kind of redundent at some stage.

 

[badgersprite]

Innovation is a fancy industry term for when the identical power-armored space marines wear a slightly different coloured suit or come up with a new name for the nanomachines in their body. =3

 

[Flap Jack452]

Innovation is improving on already existing idea or model. This can be easily applied to games.

Advancement just for the sake of advancing isn't necessarily a good thing, although.