Platinum: "industry deeply saddens us"

[Pulsar_t]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011- ... saddens-us

http://platinumgames.com/2011/04/01/ann ... %E2%80%9D/

Finally someone admitted the stagnation that has affected the industry for nearly a decade now.

[Hatta]

Perhaps, but he doesn't seem to have a good handle on what the problem is.

But as core games have become increasingly complex the barrier to entry for everyone else has often become higher and higher.

I guess his position is that games haven't been dumbed down enough yet. Keep dumbing them down and you drive away your most dedicated customers.

[Xeogred]

I think somewhat of an issue is that a lot of Japanese developers have found themselves in an identity crisis. Too many of them have tried to change their ways this generation attempting to cater to Western audiences and in a way, that's only brought them down a lot. I don't want more Quantum Theory's or boring God of War-esque action games (boy do I miss Japanese action games, Onimusha, Shinobi, the original Xbox Ninja Gaiden, etc), and so on. Look at what Capcom has in store for us with RE, a squad based shooter made by SOCOM dev's. I don't want that.

I know times are changing, but I think Japanese developers have really slipped behind lately and it saddens me quite a bit. Good JRPG's are becoming harder to come by and just aren't the same anymore for me compared to the many gems on the SNES/PSX (wretched voice acting in a lot of them doesn't help at all. Just give me subs and I'm happy), etc. And there seems to be issues with localizations again this generation too, which I don't remember being that big of an issue back on the N64/GC.

Sony just stopped caring I think. They've just been marketing the PS3 as some all in one home system, which is true, but it doesn't seem like they're as supportive about it for videogames as they were the PS1-PS2 era's.

So I guess you could say I agree with the first bit they're saying there. But it's not just the Japanese that aren't risking more new IP's, Call of Duty started in 2003 and there's already 7 titles for it, other franchises are pumping out new installments on a yearly basis now and I just can't keep up nor am I interested too most of the time. Other franchises like Metal Gear Solid, Metroid, or Zelda... it's usually several years between big console releases for these and that builds up a ton of hype and anticipation, also giving the developers plenty of time to make something worthwhile. I don't care how much I love these franchises, if we had a new MGS, Metroid, or Zelda coming out every single year, my interest would eventually crumble because it's simply too much.

FPS's were my one of my favorite genres back in the early to mid 2000's. Now, consider it one of my least favorites. I probably don't need to explain this one at all.

And for me personally to top it off I believe DLC is one of the worst things to happen to gaming. It's utterly abused and I can't think of a single DLC (out of the few rare ones I bought) that was actually worth it. I'm tired of reading about 10 articles of new DLC content coming out for games everyday, or hearing about DLC before a game is even out or is announced the day the games release. Sure it sounded good on paper last gen before this happened, but now all hearing about DLC does to me is bring my interest down in whatever game it's for. Please, just give me a complete package right off the bat, be done with it and move unto another completely new project. It's hilarious how different the terms "DLC" and "Expansion Packs" are, miles different.

[CatchFiveBats]

I guess his position is that games haven't been dumbed down enough yet. Keep dumbing them down and you drive away your most dedicated customers.

I don't know, I think it's possible to keep the core challenge intact while lowering the initial learning difficulty. Older games still very much appeal to the 'most dedicated' crowd (hence why so many of us are still playing them ) but aren't anywhere near as complex as core games now. Easy to learn, difficult to master...I'm guessing that's more what he was going for.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I guess I sort of understand. We don't really have games like NiGHTS coming from Japan anymore. Well... even if they are still making games like that, they don't usually reach our shores

Part of me loves this generation, as, along with all the generic games, there are lots of amazing games coming out. However, most of the great games coming out are refinements on old ideas. So we have lots of great games but not a lot of new great ideas. Which is really a shame, because, with this generation, we have the processing power to realize any artistic ideas that come to developers.

I do love the resurgence in 2D and 2.5D games as of late though. LittleBigPlanet, New Super Mario Brothers, Pixeljunk Eden, Braid, World of Goo. All good stuff.

[J T]

Is the 'core' really splitting apart, or everyone else just coming into focus since the casual revolution? I'm not sure, but it's clear that the core games aren't pulling in as much as Farmville.

But I'm glad they are saddened by this and hope they do something about it because the core gamers will split if there isn't innovation. Most of the innovation these days is happening in the indie scene and I think a lot of traditional gamers (myself included) are defecting almost exclusively to that. There are some examples of big studios releasing great innovative games though and I would like to see more. I love indie games, but their ideas are often short and sweet and not integrated into full scale games. Or if they are, they don't have the audio/visual punch that they could because they are underfunded. If game developers are so concerned about their core audience disappearing, they should find out where they went and why.

[env963]

To many FPS now days.. i noticed this myself... no original games are really being made.. its always part 2 or part 3 of some game titles.

[Erik_Twice]

To many FPS now days..

And before that it was plataformers and before that it was shumps and maze games. There's nothing new here. In fact if you count them you will find that there are not that many FPS out there.

In the end, I have always felt there's a very ugly corporate inertia in Japan where getting as much money from each costumer is a key process and that it's hurting them.

It's also very worrysome to see him talk about games being hard to get into for casual gamers.

[Xeogred]

In other news Keiji Inafune opens up two new companies. I wish him and the Platinum the best to help revitalize Japanese gaming.

[Gamerforlife]

And there seems to be issues with localizations again this generation too, which I don't remember being that big of an issue back on the N64/GC.

Call of Duty started in 2003 and there's already 7 titles for it, other franchises are pumping out new installments on a yearly basis now and I just can't keep up nor am I interested too most of the time.

FPS's were my one of my favorite genres back in the early to mid 2000's. Now, consider it one of my least favorites. I probably don't need to explain this one at all.

And for me personally to top it off I believe DLC is one of the worst things to happen to gaming. It's utterly abused and I can't think of a single DLC (out of the few rare ones I bought) that was actually worth it. I'm tired of reading about 10 articles of new DLC content coming out for games everyday, or hearing about DLC before a game is even out or is announced the day the games release. Sure it sounded good on paper last gen before this happened, but now all hearing about DLC does to me is bring my interest down in whatever game it's for. Please, just give me a complete package right off the bat, be done with it and move unto another completely new project. It's hilarious how different the terms "DLC" and "Expansion Packs" are, miles different.

I have mixed feelings about japanese games. I don't think they should lose their identity, but there are many things about them that are archaic and dated and gamers are getting tired of that

You're right about localization. I started playing Okamiden recently and I'm surprised by how lazy the localization is. For a game that seems to hold up the same level of quality as the original Okami I was surprised by this. I guess it's not considered a high profile enough release for them to care

I too am sick of sequels. I'm sick of multi-platform titles too. I wish every game could be unique and special, but that would be a fantasy world. I firmly believe any good series, be it video games or movies should really just stop after three installments, after which it is unlikely a series can stay interesting. Multi-platform games annoy me because I'm tired of having to do research to find out which version is better

I have never been a big shooter fan, but I would like to see more FUN shooters. I mean funny stuff like Armed and Dangerous on the Xbox or Metal Arms:Glitch in the System. I am sick of post apocalyptic worlds, master chiefs, steroid using guys named Dom, brown and grey color palettes and realistic war simulators. To your point though, the genre definitely is oversaturated. One of the reasons I lost interest in 2-d fighters years ago is because there were too many of them and they all seemed the same. It was rare to see something creative like Darkstalkers or Red Earth and those didn't even catch on much

I support digital games to some extent, as a way for new ideas and smaller devs to get out there. I hate downloadable content though, which isn't to say that it's all bad, but I much prefer just having a finished product that the devs put 110% into. DLC gives them an excuse to be lazy. Oh, we'll just add that other stuff later. It's also a great way for notoriously greedy companies like Capcom to nickel and dime us