Supply more than demand

[J T]

Gamers are like the Goldielocks of the entertainment industry. You make games that are too easy, and they complain they want harder. You give them a hard game and they complain it's too difficult. You give them a short and sweet game and they complain it's over too soon. But then you give them a long game, and they complain that they don't have time to finish it. They complain games are too complicated, so you give them a tutorial, but then they complain that tutorials are boring. You don't release many games on your console, and they complain that they want more. You give them more and they complain that there are too many options.

Really, I don't know why developers even try to listen to us. Just make the great game you want to make and let the complainers deal with it.

[Dylan]

Let's not forget the "If it ain't broke don't fix it" vs. "rehash" paradox.

[ZeroAX]

Gamers are like the Goldielocks of the entertainment industry. You make games that are too easy, and they complain they want harder. You give them a hard game and they complain it's too difficult. You give them a short and sweet game and they complain it's over too soon. But then you give them a long game, and they complain that they don't have time to finish it. They complain games are too complicated, so you give them a tutorial, but then they complain that tutorials are boring. You don't release many games on your console, and they complain that they want more. You give them more and they complain that there are too many options.

Really, I don't know why developers even try to listen to us. Just make the great game you want to make and let the complainers deal with it.

I think it has to do with how much you like a game. I played infamous twice in 15 days, and loved every second of it. I think the game is long, but it didn't feel that way to me. Cause I played so many hours of it, in just a few days, and because I loved it, it seamed to me to be a little short. GTA4 on the other hand, I don't enjoy, and I find it waaayyyyyyy too long. If you ask someone who loved GTA4 he'd say it's just the right size

[nickfil]

Really, I don't know why developers even try to listen to us. Just make the great game you want to make and let the complainers deal with it.

I don't think most developers do. And if they do, they try to filter out the bullshit. You nailed the video game community.

I think part of the problem is everyone plays in different ways, so when devs ask for what we want there is a huge passionate response. By and large i don't like long games, but every once and a while i'll play a long game that i really love. There isn't a perfect formula for a perfect game. There are games you like and I like. Hence, a shitton of games get released.

You guys would probably die if you saw my unbeaten stack. It's embarrassing. I think I have ADD when it comes to games. I can sit and play a shallow arcade game for hours and hours and hours but as soon as I have to fanny about with such tedium as plot and story and character intera...zzzzzzzzz...

same here. For a while i would just pick up games if they were cheap. I'm not a modern rpg guy, let alone a jrpg guy... but for some reason i just kept picking up and not enjoying atlus games. They are well crafted, and clearly atlus loves its fanbase, but i just can't get into them. Yet.... i still buy them occasionally. I also am a sucker when stuff looks good on a shelf. I was thinking of starting to get those dot hack games just becuase they all go together. I'm buying tom clancy games because the spines all look alike. I'm sure i'll play most of them, but there is no reason to get 7 at a time.

[RCBH928]

I think it is bad for the industry
isn't this what happened back in late 70's early 80's? The industry crashed due to so many choices?

a lot of you talked about the consumer, but none of you talked how this will affect the developers

[MrPopo]

I think it is bad for the industry
isn't this what happened back in late 70's early 80's? The industry crashed due to so many choices?

To be fair, in 83 you had a situation of the cost of entry to creating a game was extremely low, so creating an Atari game was pure simplicity. Nowadays the barrier of entry is much higher. There's a large budget required, plus a lot of talented people needed. It's a major investment to make a game, so there are less instances of games that are terrible on the level of games in 82-83.

[ZeroAX]

To be fair, in 83 you had a situation of the cost of entry to creating a game was extremely low, so creating an Atari game was pure simplicity. Nowadays the barrier of entry is much higher. There's a large budget required, plus a lot of talented people needed. It's a major investment to make a game, so there are less instances of games that are terrible on the level of games in 82-83.

yeah but that's the reason the video game industry would have crashed and burned once more, were it not for the Wii DS and casual games (cheap to make, lot's of profit). When a game costs so much to make, and it doesn't sell well you are going to go bankrupt pretty fast

[Erik_Twice]

This is good for costumers, now if they want to sell they have to make even better games because "good" games are not longuer worth playing. I expect, not a crash, but a good number of companies dying after they are unable to get profit.

Simply think, how many FPS are released every year and how many are you going to play at most? Also take into account that some games like Team Fortress 2 will suck hundred of hours of FPS time and that the difference between an "old" game and a "new" game is very short.

I think this is similar to the 80's. Most new games were either maze games like Pac-Man or shooters like Galaga, there was nothing new to the market and people got bored leading to an arcade crash in 1984 among other reasons. (Remember the arcade crash and the videogame crash are two different, often confused things)

I agree the Wii/NDS are saving the industry's ass.

[jfrost]

Gamers are like the Goldielocks of the entertainment industry. You make games that are too easy, and they complain they want harder. You give them a hard game and they complain it's too difficult. You give them a short and sweet game and they complain it's over too soon. But then you give them a long game, and they complain that they don't have time to finish it. They complain games are too complicated, so you give them a tutorial, but then they complain that tutorials are boring. You don't release many games on your console, and they complain that they want more. You give them more and they complain that there are too many options.

Really, I don't know why developers even try to listen to us. Just make the great game you want to make and let the complainers deal with it.

Great post.

[RCBH928]

This is good for costumers, now if they want to sell they have to make even better games because "good" games are not longuer worth playing. I expect, not a crash, but a good number of companies dying after they are unable to get profit.

I wish it was this way. What is happening is 10,000 call of duties, 2000 Smackdowns vs Raw , 100 mario parties. Of course I am exaggerating , but new original games are not getting a chance. I hear NMH and Zack & Wiki are one of the most innovative and amazing games, they score low sales. "Put any name here" Sports selling 1 million units. 2 things are selling, franchises(IPs) that are almost not different at all and cheap casual games on ds-wii.

Good games are not the product of this age, although they do exist.