E3 2010

[dsheinem]

I swear to God, if we don't see some RTSs that make use of Kinect or Move (which are both obviously going to be more than capable of taking the place of a mouse), I'm going raise an army and storm some bases.

A mouse with no buttons, maybe.

Well, okay, Move is more than capable of taking the place of a mouse. They even teased me with the whole "Move is precise enough to play Starcraft with!" thing they said.

Ah, I thought you just mentioned Kinect. Yeah, Move could work for RTS.

[elvis]

As always seems to be the case on this board, the number of FPSs actually released in the last decade is really exaggerated.

I've been playing video games since 1984. No "genre saturation" has bothered me as much as FPS have in the last 10 years. And the number of FPS titles released is not exaggerated by anyone. That shit is everywhere, and it's got old half a decade ago.

If you want to talk about over-saturation, look at the total number of Mario-related games released since 2000

I'm not terribly fussed about how many games Mario has appeared in, as not all of them were the same genre (Mario Golf is a touch different to Super Mario Brothers, after all). I think you're confusing the issue of branding with the issue of an oversaturated and tired genre or style of video game..

No, the FPS genre is not unique in its overkill. Yes, it happened before. Space invaders triggered thousands of clones in a short amount of time, as did Raiden and DoDonPachi years later. To use your attempted example above (and something that has already been mentioned by others), the "cute furry mascot platformer" fiasco of the 8 and 16-bit 1990's was almost as annoying.

I'm not saying it's new (again, I've been actively at this gaming hobby thing for over a quarter of a century). I'm saying this time around it's pissing me off more than it ever has. I'd say it is very likely that it has something to do with the fact that I find FPS titles utterly boring (PERSONAL PREFERENCE ALERT!).

I'm loving the Devil May Cry / Darksiders / Bayonetta / God of War / Dante's Inferno stuff that is out and about these days. Sure, it hasn't been 10 years of the same shit just quite yet, but that genre hasn't started to annoy me yet. We'll see in 5 years whether I'm singing the same tune.

And yes, I see the irony and even slight hypocrisy at the fact that I'm giddy at the fact that this year's E3 brought back all my favourite Nintendo franchises. Who knows - maybe if I take a 10 year break from FPS, I'll be happy to see the genre return again. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and all that.

[wip3outguy7]

I've been playing video games since 1984. No "genre saturation" has bothered me as much as FPS have in the last 10 years. And the number of FPS titles released is not exaggerated by anyone. That shit is everywhere, and it's got old half a decade ago.

Fucking Word.

I keep waiting for the genre to burn out, but it won't. Fuck me, people. How many times can you play a military themed FPS? And if you're going to play them like rednecks watch Nascar, at least play them the right fucking way - with a mouse & keyboard.

[Octopod]

FPS are going nowhere anytime soon, so keep on wishing. I do not even think of it a genre but as a game mechanic.

[elvis]

FPS are going nowhere anytime soon, so keep on wishing.

Don't get me wrong. I don't want the genre to die. Each to their own and all that.

All I want is a fair representation of all genres in the market. And truth be told, the last 12 months have been a lot fairer than previously. I was down to buying maybe 5 titles a year for a few years there (2003-2008 was a period where I came very close to giving up gaming entirely). Compare to 2010, and I've bought that many games just this week.

I don't want to see 0% FPS titles on release charts, but I don't want to see 50%+ either. One in 20 would be a nice ratio, which I think the current market is getting close to again.

[Octopod]

Here is the thing though. It doesn't matter what you want. It doesn't matter what I want either though. There is no equal representation because people do not buy them equally. Game companies have to make what sells or else they go out of business. FPS sell.

Shit dude, I wish the market would be saturated with turn based 3D isometric WRPGs in the vein of Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale but it isn't going to happen.

[elvis]

Here is the thing though. It doesn't matter what you want. It doesn't matter what I want either though. There is no equal representation because people do not buy them equally. Game companies have to make what sells or else they go out of business. FPS sell.

Yes yes, I too understand how a free market works. Hop down off your soapbox, friend.

These are merely my private desires, not me beating my chest and reading from the Book of Elvis, chapter 11: "How shit ought to be".

Read my posts here and on other "niche" gaming forums, and you'll see similar posts that lament at the current state of the games industry, but at the same time understand developers have rent to pay and kids to feed.

[Octopod]

No soapbox here dude. You state your opinion, and I state mine.

I keep waiting for the day that indy games can closely match the big guys. I think of it like music. I listen to some DIY, underground, small label stuff because I hate what the main stream offers. With music I have the alternative to listen to well produced, badass shit. We do not quite have that yet in video games. Yes, there are some good indy game developers but it is obvious that the playing field is uneven. I think it will not be too much longer though.

[dsheinem]

And the number of FPS titles released is not exaggerated by anyone.

Um...

You neclected to mention that since 2000 at least 50 new FPS games have been made a year.

That's almost one a week . Last year there were probably closer to 10-15 total, which is more like one a month. I'd bet there were just as many or more RPGs or platformers released in that same period.

I think you're confusing the issue of branding with the issue of an oversaturated and tired genre or style of video game..

I should have made my point more clearly. I was just talking about the fact that there is stagnation, oversaturation, and a repeat of the same tired ideas (about genres, sequels, use of IPs, etc.) across the industry. Yes, obviously those Mario games represent several different genres, but the fact that Nintendo puts him in so much crap is just another sign of a general industry tendency towards oversaturation.

I'm loving the Devil May Cry / Darksiders / Bayonetta / God of War / Dante's Inferno stuff that is out and about these days.

I feel likewise

The point I am trying to make is that the FPS genre is not as over-saturated as most people seem to think around here, even compared to other genres.

Sure, the problems of stagnation that face the entire industry are just as prevalent in the genre, but at least (as I've argued elsewhere) "most of the games in the genre continue to be top-tier titles with high production value because they sell well" - publishers know they can't just release crap and hope it will sell well because it is an FPS.

I do agree that they are the most popular genre and that they are, as pep put it, "shoved down your throat" by gaming media/stores, etc. All that is true and can certainly be a turn off. Haters be hatin' and all that. But if your argument is that compared to other genres there is a huge deluge of games, less innovation, etc. - you are wrong. I am trying to correct your misconception so that future arguments about why FPS games might be a problem can be better articulated.

[Bootaaay]

The trouble with the FPS genre nowadays is that there's a distinct lack of variety.

The genre has always played follow the leader, taking cues from the most successful titles of the time. In the mid-90's pretty much every FPS looked like it was either made in the Doom engine, Apogee's enhanced Wolf3D engine or 3D Realms Build engine - as such, many of these games played in a similar style, but this forced developers to diferentiate their games by coming up with interesting settings and unique weapon sets.

After Half Life, every FPS seemed to go after that story driven style that Valve did so damn well. I can't count the number of FPS games that copied the passive, yet active intro style of Half Life, and that wasn't the only aspect some developers downright ripped off. Nowadays, Call of Duty is the king and every FPS seems to be geared towards a dark, cinematic style of gameplay, full of explosive, large scale set pieces, yet ultimately even more linear than some of the earliest FPS games.

My main problem is that no one's trying anything new. Because of the rising cost of development, no one wants to take risks. Yeah, you could create a medieval, magic weilding FPS game in the vein of Hexen, but why bother when it might not sell well and you can just make yet another military shooter that'll at least break even? That's why i'll always support games like Zeno Clash, it has it's problems, but at least it's unique. At least it stands apart from the masses.