When people look back on the seventh generation, what do you think they will remember?

[broadbandmink]

First off, I'm using Wikipedia's definition of console generations. Their definition of what consoles constitute the seventh generation include:

Wii
Xbox 360
Playstation 3
Nintendo DS (including all variants)
PSP (inluding all variants)

Also, I'd like to include PC titles released during the time frame of, say, 2005-2012. That is, roughly during that period this console generation held sway.

Discussions may center upon individual games which caused a buzz for one reason or another, genres which rose to prominence/dominated sales and online play/faded into niche markets, developers/publishers who gained fame/notoriety, technical innovations, trends, hot topics/discussions that revolved around different aspects of gaming, etc. Anything you think people may find notable about this generation further down the line.

Finally, if you think you can pinpoint something that caused a significant talk at the time but which will probably be largely forgotten in future discussions feel free to bring it up.

The floor is yours...

 

[leberkaese]

I think, one of the most remembered things will be motion control, especially Kinect and Wii's gamepad. It led to stuff like the Oculus Rift or this Virtuix Omni that maybe will change the video game market in the near future.

Maybe we'll remember this as the times when Indie games became a big thing. At least in my opinion they really changed the industry. Minecraft won't be forgotten so soon, I guess. It had a great influence on the whole market.
Other great Indie titles that can stand the test of time: Brothers: a tale of two sons, Braid or the Swapper. Especially Brothers deserves to be remembered for its unique and awesome way of story-telling.


Among the most memorable games from this generation:
- Bioshock: the first one for its great atmosphere. Maybe Infinite will also be remembered for a long time, but not so sure about that (I personally loved that one).
- Portal 1+2: the fun puzzles, GlaDOS as a villain was just perfect
- Mass Effect: will be remembered for two things: the great first and second part and the big controversy around ME3's ending. Especially the effect of the fan's criticism that led to the extended ending. Doesn't matter if someone liked or disliked that ending: it will be discussed for a long time
- Dragon Age: Origins. In my opinion the best western RPG of this generation and I guess it has the potential to be remembered for a long time like Baldur's Gate does

Let's see for how long some of this generation's new franchises will live on: Assassin's Creed, Metro or the Arkham series.

 

[Savagezion]

Call of Duty, Guitar Hero/Rock Band, Assassin's Creed, Skyrim, Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Plants vs. Zombies, Minecraft, and Angry Birds. Mostly because everyone both gamers and "non-gamers" alike have played these games this generation. They are games most of (American) society has played, everyone will relate back to, thus be tentpoles. Then you have titles more "gamers" have played specifically like Mass Effect, Portal, Uncharted, Red Dead Redemption, Halo Reach, Heavy Rain, Civ 5, etc. Not that these are niche titles but there are many people who have played the games from the first list that may never play many games from the second. The first list is multiplatform games in the M rating so any platform will do. For the T rating and under, The Wii was in many more households this gen that were clearly exclusively Wii households (due to high number of sales and low failure rates - particularly higher sales than the other two consoles) so many people have not experienced games outside of the Wii and iOS and android. So they will have exclusives related to this gen most likely. Maybe Borderlands could be in the first list, I dunno. Some titles seem sketchy to me.

EDIT: Fallout 3/NV would probably go on the first list also.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

It is the year 2030.

Twenty years ago, gaming was just better. The 7th gen was a golden age when games still had originality and challenge, and weren't rife with shitty business practices. Not the dime a dozen casual skinner boxes of today, meant to drain your creds and worst of all, give Actisoft Arts permission to repossess your cyberbrain should you break their EULA by not letting them exploit you like the neuroslave you are.


No, in all seriousness, I agree with Savagezion above. The most popular franchises will be best remembered, alongside some of the standout titles. The rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia will make us forget about most of the 7th gen except for the very best and the very worst.

 

[Eve Charm]

I think 20 years from now we'll probably only remember the rise and fall of motion controls, that there was an market for non traditional gamers in gaming, and FPS's becoming casual and mainstream overtaking the sports games.

Even now I really can't think much about 6th or even 5th gen other then sega stopping making consoles.

 

[marioandsonic]

The beginning of the end.

...In all seriousness, I'd like to think it will be remembered as a transition period in the gaming industry.

 

[ChristopherT]

I do not particularly like Minecraft, however I think it has a decent chance of being a Tetris or Pac-Man, a game down the line where it's common to just have around. Something to do while taking five minutes away from work. There are plenty of games for that, sure, but I think Tetris is a more wide spread one, and there's always PacMan, and I think Minecraft may have a home with those rising above the other options.

Mass Effect is at an odd spot for me. If they can release a fair priced, easy to buy, no hassle, DRM free, battlechest/ trilogy package of 1, 2, and 3 with all DLC (possibly adopt ME3 multiplayer into on disc content and LAN options, dropping micro transactions and internet necessity) then I do not see reason for the trilogy to go away even if they drop the series. I think it could easily be around as a King's Quest, something memorable, something possibly worth holding onto and looking back on with its faults. However, it could also just fade away, or be brushed aside by future installments. And I think the ME3 ending hooplah will most certainly fade away as some useless trivia about the game and double as trivia for costumer relation blah blah. As big and ugly as the discussion over the ending of ME3 was I don't see it as anything really worth note.

Tell Tale's stuff is probably gonna stick around for a while. Walking Dead, Wolf Among Us, why not even Back to the Future, if we're still holding onto Monkey's Island there's a chance we'll keep those around as well, for what they do well.

World of WarCraft is interesting in that when an MMO comes out to over shadow it WoW may be swept away, as Everquest has been.

I also think there's a chance Bioshock will be forgotten. I've only played (part of) System Shock 2 recently, and if that can be somewhat forgotten, enough so that Bioshock can come off as NEW, then yes, there's a chance Bioshock can be forgotten, holy copy and paste B-Man.

 

[Evonisia]

I think it will be remembered for the main streaming of gaming, and how big franchises like Halo, Gears of War, Guitar Hero and Wii Sports became big at the beginning, and Call of Duty, FIFA, Battlefield, Mass Effect and Minecraft become huge towards the end. Some stand out games will be remembered as well. For most people who played during that time, they'll remember it for the games they liked but also the drastic change in AAA business and the production of AAA games to an extremely bloated and negative environment. Oh and the tail end of it (2013 was quite the memorable year) will be remembered for the final "classics" BioShock Infinite, The Last of Us and Grand Theft Auto V.

Oh, and by Wikipedia's definition of the generation, the PS2 era lasted until 2012 which obviously wasn't the case besides them producing a dwindling number of PS2s.

 

[Liquidprid3]

Here's some things I'll remember:

Motion Controls
More emphasis on multiplayer
Indie games
Games trying new things with the story (not always succeeding)
HD remakes
More digital stuff
Emphasis on stuff besides games

Not all of those are good. Some games I'll remember:

Super Mario Galaxy
Pokemon Black, because it started my disinterest in the series (which was later revived)
Call of Duty, and mostly when it was the only game I played. Now I actually finish games and such, and I got bored of COD, so perhaps it taught me a lesson. Still had fun with it, though.
Dark Souls, and my sense of accomplishment.
Bioshock + Bioshock Infinite
GTA V and Saints Row the Third
Minecraft
MOTHA FUCKING SUPER MEAT BOY

And much more, I thought that, overall, this was a great generation.

 

[broadbandmink]

Hmm, I find it interesting to note that people differ in their estimations of whether or not the controversy surrounding the ending of the Mass Effect-trilogy will be considered notable in the future.

Let's see for how long some of this generation's new franchises will live on: Assassin's Creed, Metro or the Arkham series.

This could indeed be something to watch out for, given that, for example, the Prince of Persia franchise was a runaway success during the 6th generation of consoles but received a rather lukewarm reception during the following generation. I wonder if there's any chance that we'll see some mothballed franchise bounce back this generation. It appears the Rayman series has succeeded with this in recent years.

It is the year 2030.

Twenty years ago, gaming was just better. The 7th gen was a golden age when games still had originality and challenge, and weren't rife with shitty business practices. Not the dime a dozen casual skinner boxes of today, meant to drain your creds and worst of all, give Actisoft Arts permission to repossess your cyberbrain should you break their EULA by not letting them exploit you like the neuroslave you are.


No, in all seriousness, I agree with Savagezion above. The most popular franchises will be best remembered, alongside some of the standout titles. The rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia will make us forget about most of the 7th gen except for the very best and the very worst.

I'm afraid time may prove you right. A recurring pattern I've come to observe over the years is that as soon as the game market has shifted toward new pastures to a significant degree there'll come along a crowd who long for what they perceive to be the golden days of yore. While I do think certain sections of the video/computer game market was in better health ten years ago (there was a more diversified output of RTS-games back then) I'd still say there's nothing to prevent these fields to bounce back in one form of another by ways of digital distribution or some such.

The beginning of the end.

...In all seriousness, I'd like to think it will be remembered as a transition period in the gaming industry.

A transition period between what?

I do not particularly like Minecraft, however I think it has a decent chance of being a Tetris or Pac-Man, a game down the line where it's common to just have around. Something to do while taking five minutes away from work. There are plenty of games for that, sure, but I think Tetris is a more wide spread one, and there's always PacMan, and I think Minecraft may have a home with those rising above the other options.

I also think there's a chance Bioshock will be forgotten. I've only played (part of) System Shock 2 recently, and if that can be somewhat forgotten, enough so that Bioshock can come off as NEW, then yes, there's a chance Bioshock can be forgotten, holy copy and paste B-Man.

Sorry if I edited your post, but these two paragraphs I found to be of particular interest.

First off, I think you made an interesting observation concerning Minecraft. Granted, I've never played it and I might never do so since it's simply not my cup of tea. But given the descriptions I've read regarding gameplay I think you may be on to something here. Question: Has Minecraft been ported to Smartphones or tablet computers yet?

However, I disagree with the notion that System Shock 2 and it's predecessor is a forgotten franchise. They're frequently featured on various greatest games-lists and are still cited by game developers as inpirations from time to time. And whether or not Bioshock came off as something new I find to be dependent on who one ask. Some critics regarded the first Bioshock to be somewhat watered down from a gameplay perspective compared to the System Shock games. That said, the System Shock games were never huge sellers, while the Bioshock games generally seem to be considered certified blockbusters in terms of sales. I'd say that if they want to keep the franchise in the public consciousness they probably need to consider another sequel within the next five year period.

Oh, and by Wikipedia's definition of the generation, the PS2 era lasted until 2012 which obviously wasn't the case besides them producing a dwindling number of PS2s.

I'll admit wikipedia's definitions of console generations aren't airtight. In fact, I'd say that talking about development within the gaming industry in terms of generations is to unjustly simplify much more complex patterns. For example, I'd claim that for the last three years or so we've experienced an increasing output of what I'd like to call transition titles; Games that are released on multiple plattforms but receive significant cosmetic upgrades in their PC/Next gen-console counterparts. Then we have games that aren't developed with consoles in mind at all. Such as titles that were released around the time of the previous shift (Far Cry, Doom 3, Half-Life 2, F.E.A.R.). Back then developing games for multiple plattforms still wasn't quite the norm it is today and thus certain titles never made the jump, so to speak. But still, these definitions work so far as they're usable to conduct discussions upon.

Here's some things I'll remember:


More emphasis on multiplayer
Games trying new things with the story (not always succeeding)
HD remakes

I find these observations interesting. Care to develop?

 

[PrimitiveJudge]

Zombies. Alcohol. and Nazi's.
So much of those 3 has been crammed into 7th gen more then anything I can remember. Well the alcohol is probably my fault.

 

[Risingblade]

Minecraft and PCs with shitty graphics.

 

[Catfood220]

The introduction of trophies and achievements as a reward for playing the game, even though you were going to play the game anyway. Though in 20 odd years time, there will probably be another incentive to play games.

Or in a horrifying thought, trophies that say things like "Paid £25 in real money"

 

[Adeptus Aspartem]

Achievments & Multiplayer everywhere. Also the time when console became shitty pc's.
PC games it's probably ME & Portal and LoL of course. And how Blizzard rekt one of their oldest franchises really hard.

Oh.. and the start of the DLC-mania and Alpha-accses-palooza.

 

[legend of duty]

To be honest, probably not any game that rely mostly on multiplayer unless it has good local multiplayer. There will be no way to measure their quality in about three years.

 

[MysticSlayer]

The seventh generation will probably be remembered mostly for its games, mostly the good ones. Some of the most notoriously bad ones, like Aliens: Colonial Marines and Ride to Hell: Retribution, will also be remembered, but I'd imagine we'll go forward remembering the good times just we have the other generations. The fact that we seem to forget all the crappy games of the 80s and 90s outside of the most notoriously bad ones seem to be enough reason to think that.

As far as trends, I doubt we'll remember too much outside of how this was the time online was used much more. We saw a greater emphasis in online play, digital distribution, DLC, microtransactions, and integration across multiple platforms through the online systems available to us. It's sort of the big progression we made. We could also probably include HD graphics as the major visual advancement that was made, but I doubt it will be upheld as much as the move to 3D graphics.

And as far as the Mass Effect controversy: I seriously doubt it will be a major point of contention as time goes on. Sure, I doubt people will forget it entirely, but it won't be a major dividing point. It will probably go the way of Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. Fans still remember how horrible the drastic change in tone was, but it isn't something causing constant arguments and making people hate the franchise anymore. Likewise, I imagine people will still remember how much they hated it, but I doubt we'll be seeing the same arguments and hatred we've seen these last couple years ten years from now.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

the most anti-customer gen of them all, atleast so far, abusive DRM, on disk DLC, online passes, microtransactions, etc



also it will remembered as the gen when digital distribution became amazing

 

[broadbandmink]

Zombies. Alcohol. and Nazi's.
So much of those 3 has been crammed into 7th gen more then anything I can remember. Well the alcohol is probably my fault.

Err, hasn't zombies and nazis been the bread and butter of this industry since at least the early nineties?

The introduction of trophies and achievements as a reward for playing the game, even though you were going to play the game anyway. Though in 20 odd years time, there will probably be another incentive to play games.

Ah yes, one of my personal favorites. I've heard some people voice their dislike towards achievements since they think they make one play games in ways one wouldn't have usually done. Personally, I like having achievements as an incentive to try new things. Furthermore, before the introduction of achievements I used to drop certain games after my first playthrough and never touch them again. Now I find myself sinking hours upon hours into activities I probably wouldn't have bothered with a decade ago; *cough* Forza 4 - Bucket List *cough*.

 

[clippen05]

It was the beginning of the end. When games began to be judged on graphics rather than gameplay. When forcing social media integration was deemed necessarily. When having microtransactions and DLC became the norm. Etc. Etc.

 

[Whitbane]

It was the beginning of the end. When games began to be judged on graphics rather than gameplay. When forcing social media integration was deemed necessarily. When having microtransactions and DLC became the norm. Etc. Etc.

Agreeing with this, mostly.

Sure, there were a lot of decent games, and achievements/trophies were a great addition, but a lot of crap that started in the seventh generation is going to only get worse in the future.

Remember when games were created, and any additional content was made afterwards and sold in massive expansions packs? Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne would be an amazing example of that, and even more recent, Oblivion's Shivering Isles Expansion. Now, even while games are being created, the developers are cutting out chunks and pieces to be resold back to the customer as Day One DLC, which is disgusting.

Gaming has also gone from trying to sell well to the fans, to trying to get copies out to everyone, and screwing over the fans. It's not good enough to spend $10,000,000 on a game and make back $30,000,000 million, rather it's gone to hundred million marketing budgets alone, with shit all work put into a game.

And then there was everything involved with the Xbone at the announcement, and how Microsoft actually expected consumers to bend over and take all those shit policies.