What's left of what made us love video games

[Midnight_Mogwai]

I don't know, I think games are in a pretty good place right now. Sure, the AAA industry is currently experimenting with meth, but there are still more good games being made than I can possibly afford. Complaining about favorite past franchises is a waste of time, especially when you might be missing out on great new ones. I sit on my mountain of beloved games like a fat guy role playing a dragon atop his hoard, and you should too. I've played a ton of memorable games over the last few years. DooM 2016, Persona 5, Hollow knight, Celeste, lots of stuff.

[grayfox313]

Blue Stinger
Very true. Most of the games I'm excited about now are usually remasters, new entry in an old series, or a port from an older system.

And when I was younger, I didn't get up to when Aerith died :x
I got bored and played Legend of Legaia instead

[Shrevident]

Pardon, but how is Borderlands dead? TPS didn't do too well, but Gearbox is literally going to announce BL3 any day now. I'm not trying to be a dick, I just want to know.

Also, I'd like to add Guitar Hero to that list. In only 5 years, that franchise went from one of the hottest things on the planet to over-saturated, low-quality money grabs. They even tried to reboot it, but somehow made one of the most shallow and pathetic games I've ever seen, Part of me died that day. At least Rock Band 4 isn't too bad.


A little more on topic, I couldn't tell you. Even some of the franchises I grew up with that aren't dead yet are starting to get shitty. Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee was one of the biggest disappointments I've experienced. And that's after tons of very questionable decisions ever since Gen 6 came around. If the new games later this year aren't good, I'm done with Pokemon forever, a reality I never thought I would face.
I guess the best thing to do is to just move on. There are good games still being made. For every FO76 there is a Gris. And nothing is stopping you from playing those old games you loved either. 2019 is already shaping up to be pretty good, at least I think so. It really does suck to lose a franchise you love. But nothing lasts forever. I just try to be thankful that something so good ever existed at all. And until the gaming community as a whole, not just people like us, stands up to shitty companies like Activision, Bethesda, and EA, quality franchises will continue to be milked to death or ruined by the agendas of non-gamers

[Matcam89]

Yep i agree 100% - in fact after being spoiled with modern games it can sometimes be hard to go back to some retro games, especially if you love the story of a game which obviously was lacking in many retro games

[Matcam89]

I would say for me the following

Contra - Super Contra to be exact was my favorite - Obviously a lost franchise when was the last good one?
Castlevania - yeah i liked the rebooted series but even those seem to be lost
Command and Conquer Red Alert series - Red Alert 3 sucked and we will see with the remasters
Rainbow Six - The rainbow six today is not the Rainbow six i fell in love with
Ghost Recon - Same as above

[Blue Stinger]

grayfox313 I'm not saying there were no bad games back then and there are no good games lately. What I'm seeing is that I won't remember anything I played these past 7 years in 10 years from now, no new genres have been invented and even worse than that, entire genres have basically died. You're a fan of skateboarding games ? Snowboarding games ? Point n' clicks ? You love playing racing games with silly vehicles that can jump, use boosts and pick up weapons ? etc... You're out of luck mate ! Yeah, yeah, that's Evolution...

Gaming is less diverse (I'm not talking SJW diverse here...), less innovative, devs take less risks and basically, beside better graphics and controls, what we got ?

Honestly, back in late 90's, you were just done playing MGS, Zelda OoT, FF7,8 or 9 and all those great games, what were you thinking about the future of gaming ? Isn't it "a bit" disappointing considering where we were and where we are ? Considering what the industry could have achieved instead of boring, grindy games filled with lootboxes ?

It's like a kid who was a genius and end up working in Starbucks ! Great potential, shitty outcome. Granted, the kid can pay his rent, but he was a genius for fuck sake ! What happened ? That's how I feel with recent video games, what happened along the way !?

And again, better graphics and better controls, okay, but in 20 years when we'll try to play Xbox one again, it will feel like playing the PS1 today, controls and graphics wise... Why old games with "bad controls and lesser graphics" are still played today ? Because they had intrinsic qualities beyond graphics and controls.

From the future generation's viewpoint, I'm convince this generation (of consoles and games) will be called :
a) The big drought of creativity
b) When shit hit the fan

And forget kids, they'll remember playing a game called Fortnite, that they could shoot people or get shot at, build things and... that's it, that will be their childhood memories of them playing video games... So, not even kids will have true fond memories about this gen and even if they do, it will be shallow.
Try to imagine kids from now, talking as adult in the future about their gaming experience from the past :
"hey do you remember that game we use to play ?"
"oh yeah it was cool isn't it !"
"yes, it was !"
And that's it.

Now, let's talk about that time where you cried when Aerith died... ^-^

[grayfox313]

The NES had bad games, arcades had quarter thieves, it wasn't all good back in the day. Today, games have never looked better, sounded better, and played better. And last for dozens or hundreds of hours. I love retro gaming and I always will, but you can't deny how great gaming is today. Especially how easy it is to play retro games! The only really depressing point of your point, is the death of franchises. It mad me sad reading that list 😭

[Spect3r]

"i explain my opinion on pacthes below, havent i?"
Oh that's weird I didn't not see that... as if it wasn't there before... oh, what's that ? Someone called Spect3r edited your comment...

So you say stuff, I address your point and you edit your comment... That's it, you won ! I can't beat that ^-^

My edit: 12:24 PM
Your post: 12:32 PM

[Blue Stinger]

"i explain my opinion on pacthes below, havent i?"
Oh that's weird I didn't not see that... as if it wasn't there before... oh, what's that ? Someone called Spect3r edited your comment...

So you say stuff, I address your point and you edit your comment... That's it, you won ! I can't beat that ^-^

[Spect3r]

Spect3r "I dont play online, so none of that affects me." ^-^ What ? How so ?! All the games that were broken day one, that needed a patch or downloadable content (I'm not talking about DLC...), you will be able to play them when you'll have no access to servers ?! You might be the most amazing man on Earth ! No wonder why you've adapted so easily !

Dude you are hard of comprension.
If you read my post is clearly understandable that i was referring to DRM and servers disappearing, i explain my opinion on pacthes below, havent i?

Take Spyro Trilogy for instance. Single player game, Offline game. What happens when you boot the game in 20 years from now ? At best you can play the first one, the other ones are on servers which you won't have access anymore ! And seen the low size of the file on the disc, I'm not even sure the entirety of the 1st game is on the disc.

You can still play the originals, right?
Whats your problem then?

So, I won my bet ! You have those awesome recent games that you're defending against my nasty attack but seeing them disappear the day MS/SONY/Nintendo pull the plug doesn't affect you ^-^

How will it affect me? I have the disks, they patches are installed on my console, so why will they disappear?

Meanwhile, I have 4 copies of Blue Stinger, 6 copies of Broken Sword 1 etc because I want to be sure I'll be able to play them for my whole life... I'm buying optical drive emulators to make sure my consoles are future proof... I'm backing up hundreds of roms on multiple SSD... that's what people do when they want to preserve masterpieces. And you, have never thought about what would happen to your awesome gorgeous recent games you're so keen to defend against me... Yeah, sounds like you really like those games...

I have 2 copies of RDR2 and 3 copies of GOW,. I have up to 5 copies of several other games because of my collection. Happy?
Plus, what does that has to do with the original conversation of the state of games?

And this 10 words sentence just proven me right. If those games were that great as you pretend they are, you'd making sure to have access to them in the future and you clearly don't care, it didn't even occurred to you... So you just wanted to have an argument without having a real case for it. I don't even need to address your others points, this sentence alone proves that, at least you, have no game worth preserving this whole gen. But again, who would want to preserve a Big mac ?!

I have the disk and the console, what else do you want me to do to preserve them? I dont understand.
Let me say this again, is just a fucking hobby,. If all games disapear tomorrow i will still live, no problems

Also, seems to me that games are a hobby for me and an obsession for you.
And obsessions are not a healthy thing.

[Blue Stinger]

Spect3r I totally agree with you !

[Spect3r]

Spect3r Yes, the Big mac can feed me and prevent me to die, granted. But will I remember it in 10 or 20 years from now ? I can name 10 games released in ANY year between 1990 and 2000 that are masterpieces (notice the "masterpiece"... I didn't say "good games"...), I can't even name 3 for this entire generation ! Be honest for a second, if I ask you what was on the wall in the sleeping kid's room in the slums in Midgar, the kid with something in his hidden drawer... ? I bet 10 people on this forum alone can answer that before the end of the day without even Googling it, I bet they could tell me the amount of money in the hidden drawer and what happens if you don't take this money. And the game is 20 years old...

I'm not going to ask you to name anything (a level, a side character, the content of a chest...) from any recent game because you'd google it just to cheaply win an argument on the internet. But be honest, you don't even need to reply, do it for yourself. In 20 year from now, what will remain of anything you played this whole gen ?

Sure, because being right on an online argument is so important to me *sarcasm off*

What's so different about 1995 to 1999 compared to 2014-2018 ? Both are a 4 years time span. But 1995 to 1999 internet wasn't the huge thing it is now. So, how come I could speak non-stop for a year about what happened in video game between 95 and 99 while never having to complain a single time (I could, but I have too many good things to tell) while you couldn't talk for a whole day about the last 4 years ?

Yes, there are some okay games. They're un-interesting but they have good graphics, you're okay with that, good for you. But I see video games as an art, you see them as Big macs...

Sure, ignore the part about better stories, better mechanics, etc, etc

"everything changes, you either change and adapt or you die" Really ? That makes you a big guy ? Accepting everything the gaming industry throws at you because if you don't you're just "weak" or whatever ?! What about Battlefront 2, Destiny, Battlefield 5, Fallout 76 ? Did you manage to adapt like a big guy for those ? Or I do have a point and you make stuff up as you go ?

Dont play any of the games you mention. Also, is the franchises that adapt and change, not the players.
And if you hate it that much just stop playing,. Is not like you die if you stop playing. Is just a fucking hobby, not worthy of getting that upset about it.
I actually play very few games, i played 5 games during 2018, so no i dont accept everything they throw at me.

"You think they should still be making Crash Bandicoot games"... Check the sales figure of the trilogy... I would say yes, people seems to want that actually.

No, people are playing for the memories. But now you be honest, you think they would still be selling like hot cakes if we were on the 15th instalment of Crash Bandicoot?

"but there are also more good games" not true at all. unless you count every game with a review score better than 5/10 a "good game", then yes since there are more games then yes, there are more good games... (let's forget that for video game journalists a 5/10 is a 0...) But I'm talking about masterpieces, games you will remember AND still play in 20 years from now ! Two of your arguments were "more realistic than ever and with amazing graphics", isn't that shallow ? Because they're good looking by today's standards... but in 20 years from now ? So, out of your reasons to give credit to these games, two will disappear over time...

I dont read reviews.
God of War is a masterpiece, RDR 2 is pretty close to it.

Oh, and with DRM, day one patch and updates, day one broken games, online service shut down and what not, you won't even be able to play 75% of those games in 20 years from now. Yet, I bet you're not concerned about preservation... I mean, DRM, broken games and what not are the new norm, so you may have already adapted like a big guy... So that's a bit weird, you love those awesome, good looking, recent games but you don't seem concerned about the fact that you won't be able to play most of them in the future...

I dont play online, so none of that affects me.
And the only reason you didnt had patches and updates back in the day was because there was not how to do it, games before also had lots of bugs and glitches, just there was no way to patch them.

[Blue Stinger]

Spect3r These are really good points !

[Spect3r]

Games are still fun, more realistic than ever and with amazing graphics and storylines, so im not sure what are you complaining about.

FF games changed? Yeah, everything changes, you either change and adapt or you die. Also, considering their player base, i would say they are going strong.
Franchises that died? Normal as well, nothing lasts forever. You think they should still be making Crash Bandicoot games?

Are there bad games? Yes, ofcourse, but there were always bad games. Just that before there were 50 releases a year and now there are 500, so of course it will seem there are more bad games, but there are also more good games.