Videogames are dead. Or they are at least if you believe much of what you read within the gaming and computer community recently. While the internet has certainly provided us with the ability to disseminate news across the globe in a mere matter of seconds it has also led to “self perpetuating” news stories. These stories are thought up by one person or group and then are picked up by other agencies without much thought or additional research to enhance the original report. The latest news item to fit this bill has been the recent influx of gaming Nostradamuses all predicting another crash of the gaming industry. The story has been written about several times and in several different forms. (Recent articles on The Inquirer as well as in print in PC Weekly point to this trend.)
The gist of the argument is that there are no innovative games being made currently and as such gamers are going to get bored and turn away from the industry that they’ve turned into a multibillion dollar juggernaut. These doomsday soothsayers claim that the gaming industry has fallen into the rut of only offering a few genres and neglecting to actually put any new and real thought into the style and mechanics of gameplay. They use newer and prettier graphics to push their games to market and as we near what some consider to be the “glass ceiling” in video game graphics technology, gamers will be left with nothing but copies of originals and rehashed sequels to fill their time.
To be perfectly fair, there are only a few, five or so, genres that any one popular game will adhere to today. It’s near impossible to find something out of the common RPG, FPS, RTS, Simulation or musically slanted titles. Even this year’s most influential games fit neatly into one or another of these categories. F.E.A.R. is nothing more than dressed up FPS. Sure, it looks pretty, but in reality offers little to the FPS genre that we haven’t seen before. (Interesting story, sure, but even that is borrowed from the Japanese horror kings that brought you “The Ring” and “The Grudge.” Little girls won’t be scary forever.) World of Warcraft, while apparently more addictive than hard drugs, is merely another permutation of the MMORPG genre, which is itself an internet-friendly offshoot of the Diablo-like RPG’s that fill our shelves.
As evidence of the impending crash, most will point to the last gaming crash. It was the mid eighties and big hair and Jon Bon Jovi were both still popular. The gaming industry at the time consisted of machines such as the Atari and the Commodore 64. While some of their games were new and interesting, the majority of them were overhyped versions of stuff that had already been released. (I mean seriously how long can you shoot at aliens descending from the heavens with your side-scrolling tank before you get a little worn out?) After attempting to revive the industry by releasing newer console versions and neglecting to back them up with quality games as well, the industry hit a wall. People were sick and tired of hearing about the “next best thing” only to discover that they’d played something just like it only weeks ago and not much had changed. The parallels in today’s gaming society are hard to ignore. There’s limited new material hitting the shelves, and the majority of the stuff that gets the big advertising dollars should be avoided like the fat chick at the bar. The glut of games that receive millions in marketing yet lack anything resembling worthwhile gameplay is appalling. (Titles like 50 Cent: Bulletproof come to mind. If I see one more commercial for this GTA ripoff starring none other than “Fifty” himself, I’m going to punch a toddler.) To make matters worse, some companies refuse to make games available for review unless they receive the promise of a positive review ahead of time. This means that crappy games will get positive reviews, and the consumer will be none the wiser. (As a matter of fact, this site has run into similar issues with a big-name company that I refuse to name. We’ll just say it rhymes with “Smacktivision.”)
So are they right? Are we headed in a downward spiral with nowhere but the rocky bottom to go? The arguments are compelling and not without merit. Indeed the industry seems to be much more content in churning out sequels and remakes rather than new product this year. Battlefield 2, Call of Duty 2, Age of Empires III all speak to this. Perhaps making matters worse is the fact that some of these big sellers are huge on hype and low on quality. EA has taken a ton of flak lately for releasing games before they’re “ripe” and ready for primetime. They tend to be both buggy and unstable. Rather than fix the problems that the community brings to their attention, they’d much rather spit out another poorly produced expansion and wring the pockets of 14 year olds everywhere for another mediocre $39.99 title.
That said, I think that hope remains. The advances in internet code and capabilities are both amazing and untapped. The ability to interact with 100+ live humans online in a game is something that will and must be exploited soon in order to survive. I’m not talking about a new version of Battlefield or anything similar. Something new and innovative has to happen. Currently, Valve is in the process of quietly producing a new title with the help of gaming legend Warren Spector wherein players interact together online to accomplish some sort of universal goal (such as building a spaceship or something similar.) Traditionally mum about such projects, few details are available from Valve, however innovation seems to be the name of the game.
The possibilities are endless. The problem is that when analysts hear the market is one that hovers in the billions on a yearly basis, nobody wants to go out on a limb and produce something groundbreaking for fear of missing out on their piece of the pie.
The only way to change the current status quo is to do so from a grass-roots level. We have to become “active consumers” rather than following each other zombie-like in lockstep procession to buy the latest big-budget title from Best Buy. Play the little known stuff, the stuff that’s made on a limited budget and that doesn’t have a big ad campaign behind it. If it’s good, tell your friends. If it isn’t, then don’t worry about it, you didn’t have to spend the same amount on it that you would on something much more mainstream. Games like the Steam released Ragdoll Kungfu and the forthcoming Darwinia are testaments to this style of gaming consumption and production. They’re certainly nothing that you’ve ever seen before and step outside of the regular status-quo within the gaming community. They may not be right up your alley, but even so, I can promise that you haven’t played anything similar within the last five to ten years. Eventually a game in the similar vein of “hey lets try this” game making will hit a chord with the general public and the corporations will all be left holding their flashy titles while their pants are down.
I’ll concede that the gaming industry is in a rut, however, I refuse to believe that we’re slowly and inexorably marching towards a death that can’t be avoided.
