In your opinion, what's hurting this current-gen as a whole?

The problem this generation is the media want to stir controversy and stupid gamers love the click bait and love the hit piece for drama look the unfair treatment of Xbox but Xbox is winning bigest profit every year and more better selling game for PlayStation than of Sony.

Those with the money to make the biggest and best games are also the most creatively bankrupt.... Truly disappointing.

What if youre not the person they want to make games for anymore? And Who "goes back" to what they're good at? It's about following the flow of money for Sony....and everyone else.

yeah i was feeling the same thing but couldn't articulate as succinctly. feels a bit like the hunger games out there at the minute unless your a behemoth.

another good point. been increasingly feeling this way for a while now, particularly this gen

As much as I'd hate to say it, but we need another good gimmick, whatever that may be. A graphics upgrade just isn't quite doing the trick.

It's called gameplay evolution. Games need to stop chasing cinema as a priority. What advances the medium is fresh gameplay ideas. How many times can we be over the shoulder of a guy with a gun? Or in a FPS perspective before diminishing returns make everything feel stale and predictable?

The current AAA model seemingly believes that telling more cinematic stories with flasher visuals and performance will trump our desire to interact with games in diverse and meaningful ways. More than a gimmick, we simply need fresh ideas....

No.

I voted:

Too much emphasis on Triple A games that publishers place unreasonable high sales expectations thus flop

Most issues lead to that issue. I feel like the VR thing isn't even an issue anymore, or ever really was. I don't even know why it's on the list. The remakes and remasters directly correlate with the emphasis on Triple A games, because we all know they're being made because the companies want a mega and modern updated version of old games with a big budget to boot.

Game Subscriptions and Game Development of New IPs always ties back to the emphasis on Triple A games. A game subscription with skins from online multiplayer games and some indie devs wouldn't be so bad. It'd give the indie devs more exposure and a larger player base, while making the subscription profitable. What's fucking up the subscription profitability is putting those high budget triple A games on there, which again goes back to the emphasis of Triple A games. The development thing is only an issue for big budget triple A games. Don't Starve Together was a new and original IP that sold over 10 million copies as of now. Destiny likely sold over 25 million copies tbh. Both were new and successful games, but Don't Starve was significantly cheaper to make. You don't need a big budget and graphical prowess game to sell. As long as the game is fun and enjoyable, it'll be a success. And I like the art style of Don't Starve. It's whimsical and quirky. It really fits the game and is charming. Once again, we don't need ultra realistic graphics.

I feel like major acquisitions is an issue tbh. Let me be clear, not all acquisitions are bad, just the major ones. Sony buying Bungie was a horrible decision and not good for the industry. Sony is just spending money to take away from other gamers, which is a scummy move. Microsoft buying Activision and Bethesda was bad. Sony and Microsoft also shut down their more creative studios, simply because they spent so much on the major acquisitions. Though even that ties back to emphasis on Triple A games.

The biggest problem, bar none, is ludicrously high budgets for games, which causes the publisher to play unrealistically high sales expectations to make a profit, and then even if they sell a lot, because of the insane budgets, if it doesn't do *A TON*, they're still financial flops.

This is an unsustainable business practice.

Games take too long and, too much money to make.

A pivot from AAA games will simply not work. People want and crave AAA games.

I could easily pivot away from modern AAA... Outside of a handful of games in the past five years it's been mostly flaccid.... They're still making the same games they have since the xbox/ps2 generation.

game development costs are growing while the relative install base of gamers hasn't..

it's a pretty simple equation and i can give credit where credit is due to Nintendo.. they exited that path generations ago and are concentrating on titles that don't require AAA budgets and AAA development time..

that said, "Nintendo is Nintendo" and they can get away with it.. but if more and more publishers take a step back from pushing hardware specs in favor of novel gameplay and intriguing stories, there could be a shift..

i mean, mass-market casuals are playing Fortnite and Minecraft.. clearly, AAA graphics aren't the end-all-be-all..

Agreed... Nintendo tempered expectations of a blown out, graphics pig, by instead relying on quality design to carry them forward. As Sony and Microsoft continue to fail, Nintendo is positioned nicely.

It's funny, because we always look at Nintendo like the "odd" company that marches to the beat of its own drum.... But when it matters most, Nintendo makes Microsoft and Sony look like clowns that have soiled themselves.

Dramatic much? Nintendo is where it is at because they didn't not have any other choice but to pivot away from the current/previous model. They went into survival mode, and it delivered.

You know me... Always dramatic. You sound like my wife. 😘

Those decisions during "survival mode" were absolutly sound. It's exactly the reckoning they needed to have... And yes, it totally paid off.

She is wise woman. 10pts.

Survival mode spurs meaningful changes with the right people. I hope that also occurs with Xbox and PlayStation.

Me too....

Corporate greed 100%.

Nothing else.

Literally. Nothing. Else.

Just corporate greed.

This is true in so many other things of course--this world could be a paradise if we allowed it to happen--but corporate greed ruins it all.

This is especially true however with video games. Plenty of room to make a profit and maintain some artistic integrity and make a quality product, even in the AAA space...but no no no, Uncle AAA has to reach in your shirt and squeeze your tit until it's purple.

I hope they learn sooner than later, the fact they are banking so much on these service-based games coming out over the next few years worries me.

The sooner they realize that a.) they need to just make more games of all kinds and b.) release them on all platforms (or at least on PC and PS), the better it will be for gamers and for Sony.

As much as I dislike playing on a console, the potential for quality content is there for me to enjoy on PC if Sony stays in the mix. I hope their all-but-inevitable upcoming failures don't discourage them from staying in the business of video games.

@TheEroica: If only the gaming industry could learn why Nintendo doesn't over-bloat its money on its AAA exclusives like that. They focus on gameplay and very little on cinematic.

Yep, Gameplay needs to be revolutionary, not spending celebritie's looks and VA, or not wasting on heavy cinematic cutscenes for that matter.

There's a reason why I still like Nintendo on their diverse gameplay and they're still all about making innovation on their consoles. It's worth pointing out that Indie games are the next gameplay evolution and more diverse.

That's not the problem tho. The problem is the expectations of short-sighted executives when deciding to spend too much time and money. Triple-A could be good in theory, but instead triple-A is mostly disappointing.

100 percent agree.... Wondermods, unite!!

On a similar note, when we really search our gaming soul, do we really believe that emulating Hollywood makes this interactive medium "better"? I'd argue it does not... And not only that, but it waters down what could be achieved in the hobby. Which is why what Nintendo is doing shows the heavy contrast of knowing how to make great games that last.

This... and it stems from this obsession that gamers, and therefore the industry has for ultra realistic graphics and teraflops. It's a race to the bottom.

Nintendo has the right idea, as we see with the success of the Switch.

@hrt_rulz01: I have to disagree with you mate, I think the Switch is selling because its gimmicky being half handheld half console. Let's not forget that the Switches highest selling game is a Wii U game in Mario Kart.

I find it the same as the Wii, it sold over 100 million units but most of the game were average at best. Yes the Switches library is better but its still the same Mario, Zelda & Pokemon for the most part from Nintendo.

I want Nintendo to make a more mature game every now and then but they're stuck in the 80's/90's with colourful cartoonish games.

Poor management, misguided priorities making game development unsustainable.

The fact that the best selling cards are the XX60 cards. says just how unimportant good graphics are to most gamers.

Give people something they want. A pretty game that no one asked for is still a game no one asked for.

I think the VR sphere has a lot of potential. But I doubt its potential will ever be realized. If only due to the economics and practicality of it.

I mean, they do have Bayonetta, Astral Chain, Monster Hunter, Shin Megami, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Xenoblade, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, Metroid Dread, Octopath Traveler, etc. Obviously, some of those games aren't the darkest, but they can be good for those who want more mature games.

@last_lap: There's plenty of other interesting, more mature games on Switch than the usual suspects mate (as listed above). A lot of them are third party deals, such as with Platinum Games.

But agree to disagree 👍

Too much emphasis on AAA games.

Also, there is no “wow” factor in game releases. There is no “wow” factor in console releases. I remember being wowed with the 3DS. Not the Switch though.

Was any of those games made by Nintendo other than Xenoblade? which still has colourful cartoony graphics and a fantasy setting.

I didn't say there wasn't however I said I want Nintendo to make some as they're stuck making cartoony colourful games, and while there's nothing wrong with that unless that's all you make, and that's for me we're they're at.

But yeah, agree to disagree.

Metroid Dread and Shin Megami. I believe that Nintendo helped somewhat with Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. I know that Nintendo helped develop Bayonetta 2, which is why it naturally looked very good on the Wii U (compared to other third party games). Though I don't know if they helped with Bayonetta 3 or even Astral Chain.

@Maroxad said:

@TheEroica said:

@Sam3231 said:

As much as I'd hate to say it, but we need another good gimmick, whatever that may be. A graphics upgrade just isn't quite doing the trick.

It's called gameplay evolution. Games need to stop chasing cinema as a priority. What advances the medium is fresh gameplay ideas. How many times can we be over the shoulder of a guy with a gun? Or in a FPS perspective before diminishing returns make everything feel stale and predictable?

The current AAA model seemingly believes that telling more cinematic stories with flasher visuals and performance will trump our desire to interact with games in diverse and meaningful ways. More than a gimmick, we simply need fresh ideas....

I think the VR sphere has a lot of potential. But I doubt its potential will ever be realized. If only due to the economics and practicality of it.

Yep, while very cool the mass production of something like that is just not feasable... But maybe it's more simple than that. Maybe we're not guy with gun anymore... What would a game like "Papers please" play like we're it backed with triple A money...? Ever play the Swapper? Or Antichamber? What would AAA versions of those ideas look like?

@luxuryheart: You're not helping your cause, Bayonetta is Platinum. Metroud is still cartoony, and the other one is still a cartoony game also.

Can you name one Nintendo made game that is geared towards an adult audience that kids shouldn't play?

Nintendo only make games for the whole family,that is my problem with Nintendo.

Sony get a lot of 💩 for its third person action adventure template (and rightfully so) and yet Nintendo never gets called out for its family games template. Nintendo are still making the same games they did 40yrs ago albeit with slightly better graphics and changes in gameplay, but still the same characters and premise.

I get that people love that, but they're not for everyone even though they claim to be for the whole family they're not.

Bayonetta is still a mature game that's not for kids, and Nintendo had a hand in helping them make it for the Wii U. Shin Megami is basically mature Pokemon.

Nintendo doesn't make the same type of games. Mario Kart is a racing game, Splatoon is a 3rd person shooter, Zelda is an open world action-adventure game, Pokemon is an RPG, Mario and Kirby are platformers, Smash is a fighting game, Mario Party is a party game, Mario Tennis and Switch Sports are sports games, etc. Their games are diverse.

I mean, do things really need to be ultra realistic graphics with blood and guts and sex oozing all over the place to appeal to adults? It kind of just seems like those kids who watch Family Guy and think they're mature. 😕

Bayonetta was released years ago by Platinum, well before the Switch, the other 2 games are made by Platinum and published by Nintendo. The other game is not a Nintendo game either.

Then the games with Mario in them, all family games, and Nintendo putting Mario in them, no variety.

Splatoon is the perfect example, third person "shooter" where you shoot paint on the ground, kids stuff, nothing mature about it.

No its not all about blood & guts or even sex, its about doing something different.

The last game released by Nintendo was a 2D Mario game, they've been doing that for some 40yrs now, they NEVER change to appeal to a broader audience.

I own a ton of Nintendo's consoles/handhelds, but there comes a point when you go, do I wanna play another Mario game for the 500th time.

And some will take this as i'm just a hater or salty or whatever, but the Switch is the only Nintendo device I haven't bought from Nintendo, and I won't be buying anything from them going forward because they haven't evolved and just rely on the same old stuff over & over again.

@luxuryheart: Yeah I think Nintendo make a wide variety of games as well like all those you’ve mentioned. I also don’t think Nintendo need to make Mature rated games themselves. Just get other developers that can do that kind of stuff bring those games to their platforms such as Platinum Games with Bayonetta, Astral Chain, Atlus with SMT, etc.

They are actually some of the worst.. yet the most expensive to buy

You're not only playing Mario. There's Pokemon, Smash, Zelda, Kirby, Shin Megami Tensei, Animal Crossing, Splatoon, Pikman, Fire Emblem, Metroid Dread, Xenoblade, Bayonetta, etc. Plus, there's the option of third party games.

Also, they've released Zelda: TotK, Peach Showtime, and Pikman 4 among others this year. Nintendo is very versatile in the games they make.

If you just want something bloody, edgy, and sexual, then there are other options even on the Switch.

I get what Last_Lap is saying regarding Nintendo not taking risks of doing something more mature theme within Nintendo's Clubhouse. In the past, Disney did the same thing and over time, they're finally doing something more mature towards their movies, but not for Nintendo on their games. I'm not really too keen on seeing Nintendo making mature games as @luxuryheart states that Nintendo does have diverse/versatile games. I will agree that Mario games do need a hiatus break as I'm now getting tired of Mario games, but I favor Luigi's Mansion games as that's a very different genre to Mario games, so there's that.

I remember Ocarina of Time on N64, I don't know how that game got an E, that game should have been Rated T due to being dark for its time, most of the areas had dark themes...especially the Shadow Temple & The Well was as scary to me. Nintendo went dark on that game...and a little sexiest stuff that would have labeled Ocarina of Time as a Mature game.

This is the reason why I like Nintendo games as they don't overspend or get carried away with the budget on making AAA exclusive games without using celebrities or any media influence. Another reason why both Sony & MS are in a very bad state, they can't see why Nintendo isn't doing layoffs or shutting down studios.

@Archangel3371 brought up a good point, just let 3rd-party who are doing exclusive partners with Nintendo make mature games. Nintendo most of the times give 3rd-party leeway on what they wanna do as far as mature games go. Even Indie games can also do that for Nintendo.

One last thing I want to point out. This gen to me is ok, not blown away but the number of games I've played so far has been satisfying, but that's because I mostly play on PC, and being a PC gamer means we're playing it safe.