Video games & the market today

[Alastor]

It seems that the video game market today is kind of lacking the innovation, intensity and variety that we had a fe years ago.

When looking at the western market, MMORPG's are extremely popular because they are the perfect buiness plan: the consumer will buy the game, and - assuming the game is good enough - thre consumer/gamer will continue playing this and pay their monthly fees to the company. MMORPG's are great cash cows. Then there are two other games that seems to be keeping their popularity> FPS and RTS games. In fact, the western market seems to be completely dominating the PC. In return, the western market is dominated by PC games.

When I look at the Japanese market, I see lots of sequels spewing out. While I'm quite certain MMORPG's are popular in Japan, it seems console games are dominating the market. And most of the popular games are either sequels or spin-offs, I see few new titles. In Japan, handheld systems are increasing in popularity (school, subway, trains, etc) seem to be ideal opportunities to have a go at your DS or PSP.


So I'm asking: What do you think about the market today? The western market and the Japanese? What do you think about PC games, console games and hanheld console games?

[MissMisa]

I think that the technology we have to day has progressed so radically from the early days and it's great to see companies and consoles develop and grow with them.

I think the Wii brings in that element of innovation, something new and different, while the Xbox 360 and the PS3 stick to what they know and what people like and enjoy.

I think if you have a Wii and a PS3 or an Xbox your pretty much covered for anything you may possibly want.

There are some good MMORPG's out there, however there are probably 10 really bad ones for every 1 that's decent. Companies have realised the addictive nature of these games and most of them, while being primarily free sometimes, always has some content you can pay for.

I think there are far too many FPS out there - then again, I may be biased because I tend to really dislike them. Although I really want to play the 'Army of Two' game because it's brought something a little bit new into FPS and I really like 2 player co-op games. [I've played a demo but not the whole thing.]

Japanese seem to typically like quirky, different games, particularly Pokemon and Mario, as Nintendo seems to be a more dominant presence in Japan. In the UK the impression I get is that it's all about the Xbox, and particularly FPS are very popular here. [Not sure about America but that's the impression I get about them too.]

I actually love the wide variety of consoles and games we have out today, and I really think there is something for everyone. What I would like to see is people being a little more outgoing in the future, something completely different that would surprise people.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Alastor

It seems that the video game market today is kind of lacking the innovation, intensity and variety that we had a fe years ago.

Really? I think the opposite is true. Video games are no longer played only by gamers, but by pretty much everybody, and the Wii is a pretty big innovation.

Console machines are now more than just for playing games, but allow for online and group play, purchasing games and movies.

Originally Posted by Alastor

When looking at the western market, MMORPG's are extremely popular because they are the perfect buiness plan: the consumer will buy the game, and - assuming the game is good enough - thre consumer/gamer will continue playing this and pay their monthly fees to the company. MMORPG's are great cash cows. Then there are two other games that seems to be keeping their popularity> FPS and RTS games. In fact, the western market seems to be completely dominating the PC. In return, the western market is dominated by PC games.

Are MMORPGs extremely popular? I think they are popular in a certain niche, but certainly don't compare to the popularity of console games. WoW is big, but not compared to GTA IV.

I would say more homes have a console than PC games.

Originally Posted by Alastor

When I look at the Japanese market, I see lots of sequels spewing out. While I'm quite certain MMORPG's are popular in Japan, it seems console games are dominating the market. And most of the popular games are either sequels or spin-offs, I see few new titles. In Japan, handheld systems are increasing in popularity (school, subway, trains, etc) seem to be ideal opportunities to have a go at your DS or PSP.

I don't know anything about the Japanese PC market. While hand helds are certainly popular, and in Japan there are a lot more non-game applications made for the DS than we see in the US, I don't know that it is increasing so dramatically.

Originally Posted by Alastor

So I am asking: What do you think about the market today? The western market and the Japanese? What do you think about PC games, console games and hanheld console games?

I think it is a pretty good time to be a gamer.

[Haggis]

Recently I've thought the games industry was getting stale with sequels such as Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid etc. but then again I'm really looking forward to the next Zelda or Resident Evil game.

I think part of the main problem is that there aren't huge leaps in the technology. Going from Final Fantasy VI on the Snes to VII on the Playstation was a big leap graphically, as was the jump to X on the PS2, but as systems develop the leap just gets smaller and smaller, so you think 'yeah, it's a bit prettier' but it just doesn't have the same impact as it used to have.

I think Nintendo have done well with the Wii, because graphically it's pretty much the same as the Gamecube, so they've tried to introduce big changes with the control system. Games like Metal Gear Solid and Devil May Cry I think are just more of the same, but if you like them then that's a good thing I guess, after all I love the Castlevania series and if they ever change the format I'll be very disappointed. I think the games scene is healthy though, because there's good games of all varieties to suit most tastes, just not on any single console though.

[godwine]

Originally Posted by Haggis

Recently I've thought the games industry was getting stale with sequels such as Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid etc. but then again I'm really looking forward to the next Zelda or Resident Evil game.

I think part of the main problem is that there aren't huge leaps in the technology. Going from Final Fantasy VI on the Snes to VII on the Playstation was a big leap graphically, as was the jump to X on the PS2, but as systems develop the leap just gets smaller and smaller, so you think 'yeah, it's a bit prettier' but it just doesn't have the same impact as it used to have.

I think Nintendo have done well with the Wii, because graphically it's pretty much the same as the Gamecube, so they've tried to introduce big changes with the control system. Games like Metal Gear Solid and Devil May Cry I think are just more of the same, but if you like them then that's a good thing I guess, after all I love the Castlevania series and if they ever change the format I'll be very disappointed. I think the games scene is healthy though, because there's good games of all varieties to suit most tastes, just not on any single console though.

I think i would agree to your statement for hte most part. Recent improvement are done mainly in the perspective of graphics and sound, some of course, offer online play, but the overall human interface is similar if not the same. I guess it will be a while before new innovations become available.

VR was a hit for a short period of time but fall off the radar due to its massive consumption of computing resource. I guess some day it will make a come back, and I can see that games moving toward a brain simulation type interface if they figure out how to prevent people from living in the deep sleep

[Alastor]

MMORPG's dominate the market in such a sense that they're more played. I'm not picking out a single game, but rather viewing genres as a whole, and to me, the western market seems dominated by MMORPG's and other forms of western RPG's along with FPS games. If you look around, you'll see Halo 3, Bio-Shock, Unreal Tournament 3, Crysis, Far Cry, Call of Duty 4, Battlefield, etc. and Strategy games seem rather popular, too (Starcraft and Warcraft are still popular), but new ones like C&C, Generals, Civilization, World in Conflict, etc.

Sequels are still a good way to go, because there is demand for popular titles. Halo, Zelda, Mario, Resident Evil, Final Fantasy and Grand Theft Auto, to mention a few, will always sell nicely. I find the latest delivery of consoles by Nintendo to be iincredible feats, but there are far too few quality games for these consoles. There are many, of course, but I'm looking at video game developers here. They're not taking any chances, they're sticking with what they know will bring in money.

I personally still think that this generation is doing really great, I think all consoles are fine to play with. I have a secret crush on the DS, but apart from that, I think they're delivering. I'm just a bit disheartened by the lack of new, innovative and really fun quality titles. There's too much focus on the graphics and physics department.

[x08]

yes, there are a lot of similar games out there, but some games do stand out above the rest (and I'm a big fan of MGS and RE, btw... as well as any racing games)

1. Portal - haven't played it yet, but played a little flash game based on it.
2. Shadow of the Collosus
3. ICO

Three of the more special games I've seen recently, though I haven't played portal yet - I own the other two. ((PS2, for 2 and 3))

[Ronin4hire]

Originally Posted by Alastor

It seems that the video game market today is kind of lacking the innovation, intensity and variety that we had a fe years ago.

When looking at the western market, MMORPG's are extremely popular because they are the perfect buiness plan: the consumer will buy the game, and - assuming the game is good enough - thre consumer/gamer will continue playing this and pay their monthly fees to the company. MMORPG's are great cash cows. Then there are two other games that seems to be keeping their popularity> FPS and RTS games. In fact, the western market seems to be completely dominating the PC. In return, the western market is dominated by PC games.

When I look at the Japanese market, I see lots of sequels spewing out. While I'm quite certain MMORPG's are popular in Japan, it seems console games are dominating the market. And most of the popular games are either sequels or spin-offs, I see few new titles. In Japan, handheld systems are increasing in popularity (school, subway, trains, etc) seem to be ideal opportunities to have a go at your DS or PSP.


So I'm asking: What do you think about the market today? The western market and the Japanese? What do you think about PC games, console games and hanheld console games?

I'd like to know what you based your assessment of the Western market from to be honest. Because as a Westerner I have to agree with MMM. Here in NZ console games (especially sports games) are the most popular from what I see. Also gamers who play MMORPG's are typically seen as being losers or having no lives. Maybe it's a regional thing but MMORPG's aren't really "cool" here apart from certain cliques.

[Yuna7780]

Prices suck.

[Alastor]

Originally Posted by Ronin4hire

I'd like to know what you based your assessment of the Western market from to be honest. Because as a Westerner I have to agree with MMM. Here in NZ console games (especially sports games) are the most popular from what I see. Also gamers who play MMORPG's are typically seen as being losers or having no lives. Maybe it's a regional thing but MMORPG's aren't really "cool" here apart from certain cliques.

It may vary from region to region, but as a whole, I would say that the genres I mentioned dominate the market, because you have more games of those genres than sports games. And regardless, a loser playing an MMORPG is still a gamer. And you have to count them in as well. When I look at the region here, I see FPS and MMORPG's as being the most popular. World of Warcraft alone is played by over ten million people.

You have a point though, Sports games are very popular as well. But they're not dominating the market, and they don't bring new innovations with each release. All they're doing is making them more and more realistic. I know sports games do more, but I'm just pointing this out out of a general perspective.


x08: My point was that there aren't enough of those games. Shadow of the Colossus and ICO are last-gen. I could mention several other innovative games, but the point is that, if you look at this generation of consoles (including the PC), the market could use a few more games that aren't too similar to another existing game.


Finally, I'd like to point out that original doesn't necessary mean good, and that plenty of the games out today are awesome.