| d21lewis said: And that's what bothers me about the state of gaming, today. The integration of online (which isn't a new thing but really caught on, during the last gen and this gen) and motion controls (loved by some, and hated by others) are about the only features that seem to have made a permanent impact on gaming. Well, since the Wii became a massive success based on the promise of a new experience, it seems like nobody wants to launch a console without a "Gimmick". But look at the Wii. I own/enjoyed the system but how many gamers and customers bought the console, grew tired of the gimmick, and then asked, "Now what?" Was the Wii the right way to go? Yeah, Sony and Microsoft went after their market with the Move and Kinect (respectively) but was it time? Which leads me to the whole point of this rant: Technology for the sake of technology. Are things like the Dreamcast VMU, Kinect, Move, the Wii Remote, the 3DS's 3D screen, the Wii U's controller, the SIXAXIS motion control, the PS Vita's touch pad, etc.. just there to hook us? Do the gaming companies actually know what the hell they're doing when they push these things on us or are they just pushing the technology out of the door in the hopes that someone will figure out what to do with it? Are we just gunea pigs for new technology? Forgive me, but sometimes, I have a hard time figuring out exactly what all of this new stuff brings to the table when it comes to improving my gaming experience. |
The thing is, gaming is a very creative industry, and it can be hard to know what will work and what won't, what can have a good use and what can't. Gaming companies do all these things to make money of course, but they try to do so through innovation, most of the time anyway.
And even if it's something that will only hook us in a few games, they still tried. Sony did Sixaxis, it wasn't a big success and now we know that. But there were still games where I enjoyed using it.
Kinect may not be the future of gaming, but if I can play games that I enjoy with it, then that's really all I want. Maybe there will only be good dance games for it with everything else being mediocre at best, but I still enjoyed those dance games, and the 3D camera aspect was tried in the industry. Lesson learned, move on.
A lot of the time, your best bet is to throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks. You can sort the rough stuff out with R&D, but the creative community needs to get its hands on it before we know if it's the next big thing, or just a bit of fun.
I don't mind the supersaturation of casual games or the focus on casual games honestly. My deal is that developers are taking our core games and trying to bring the casual audience into them. That is whats bothering me, casual gamers don't need to be playing Final Fantasy, or Metal Gear Solid, that's not who those games are for. If developers can split evenly between hardcore and casual then things will be better but at this rate, everything is going to hell.
"I don't know what this Yamcha is, but it sounds just like Raditz."
| d21lewis said: I'm a fairly old school gamer. I was just a kid when the Atari system was in its prime and its decline but over the years, I've seen a lot. From my point of view, gaming was, for the most part, a TV, a console, a controller. It was good. Well, since the very beginning, the cutting edge industry of gaming has been the testing ground for new technology. Well, with a few exceptions, most of the new innovations that come to gaming have been gimmicky, at best. There was the Power Glove. A device that let gamers interact with the game buy punching in mid-air and moving individual fingers (it was "So bad!"). There were various "Light Guns". From the Konami Justifier to the Nintendo Zapper to the Sega Menacer. They let you shoot objects on screen while using a facsimile of a gun. There were lesser known items like the U-Force (you held your hand in front of two sensors, allowing you to control a game without actually holding a controller), the Turbo Touch 360 (replaced the d-pad with a touch screen), the Sega Activator (full body movement controls). Other devices that recieved limited support but added to immersion were the Power Pad, Dance Dance Revolution dance mats, Guitar Hero/Rock Band instruments, and the Tony Hawk RIDE board. I could go on and on and on and on about the various cameras, microphones, e-readers, etc. that came out over the years. But look where we are, today. One could argue that, for all of the advances in technology, we are basically where we were when gaming first started--a TV. A console. A controller. And that's what bothers me about the state of gaming, today. The integration of online (which isn't a new thing but really caught on, during the last gen and this gen) and motion controls (loved by some, and hated by others) are about the only features that seem to have made a permanent impact on gaming. Well, since the Wii became a massive success based on the promise of a new experience, it seems like nobody wants to launch a console without a "Gimmick". But look at the Wii. I own/enjoyed the system but how many gamers and customers bought the console, grew tired of the gimmick, and then asked, "Now what?" Was the Wii the right way to go? Yeah, Sony and Microsoft went after their market with the Move and Kinect (respectively) but was it time? Which leads me to the whole point of this rant: Technology for the sake of technology. Are things like the Dreamcast VMU, Kinect, Move, the Wii Remote, the 3DS's 3D screen, the Wii U's controller, the SIXAXIS motion control, the PS Vita's touch pad, etc.. just there to hook us? Do the gaming companies actually know what the hell they're doing when they push these things on us or are they just pushing the technology out of the door in the hopes that someone will figure out what to do with it? Are we just gunea pigs for new technology? Forgive me, but sometimes, I have a hard time figuring out exactly what all of this new stuff brings to the table when it comes to improving my gaming experience. |
Cool Story Br......Sorry.
I agree 100% with your rant. The technology that's come out over the years to "expand" the gaming experience were for the most part products for profit, regardless of whether the technology was practical and/or had longevity. But a few innovations have stuck with us such as online gaming, rumbling controllers, analog sticks, etc. The differnece between the technologies that came and gone and the ones that are still here, is that the ones with stayed enhance the core experience of gaming (sitting on your couch in front of a TV with a controller in your hand) rather than getting you to do something new.
The only time I like using my Move controllers is when I can use them while playing sitting down. Swinging it like a golf club or motioning to shoot an arrow is cool, but I'd rather be relaxing.
I am the Playstation Avenger.
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d21lewis said:
Things like motion controls (when the tech was finally right), online play, and touch screen controls seemed like "obvious fits". I think that's why they work so well. Other things seem like "Forced fits". If the company has to try so hard to sell something to us, maybe it's something that we don't want/need. I don't know. I'm just trying to figure things out, here. Glad this discussion is taking place. |
i agree and going to elaborate. The developers need to learn how to use each new tech. Its like you give a developer a motion controller and they think EVERYTHING needs to be in motion. If you give them kinect, they thing it all needs to be voice or movement.
Lets look at everything together.
We could have kinect for SOME voice things like commanding units to do stuff like in mass effect or some of those weapon commands you saw like "optimized for close combat" Then you could manuever through the menu's using the wiipad by just clicking and scrolling and so on that we have become accustomed to from phones and tablets and other touch devices. and so on.
Basically use this NEW TECH or GIMMICK or whatever you want to call them in situations where they HELP, don't just use them for the sake of using them
I somewhat agree with the OP, consoles are becoming something for the Angry Birds crowd and not people who have grown up loving games and gaming and actually spend both cash and time on it as a hobby. There's a reason why I've become pretty much a PC only gamer in the last couple of years. I can't even remember the last time I played any of my consoles. Everything will become "pick and and play" in the near future, it seems.
As long as I can have some really good games on my PC, the console market can go to shit (and it appears to be) for all I care, the fun is spoiled anyhow, but it is kind of sad at the same time.
| Mummelmann said: I somewhat agree with the OP, consoles are becoming something for the Angry Birds crowd and not people who have grown up loving games and gaming and actually spend both cash and time on it as a hobby. There's a reason why I've become pretty much a PC only gamer in the last couple of years. I can't even remember the last time I played any of my consoles. Everything will become "pick and and play" in the near future, it seems. As long as I can have some really good games on my PC, the console market can go to shit (and it appears to be) for all I care, the fun is spoiled anyhow, but it is kind of sad at the same time. |
wonder why a pc gamer only cares to visit a gaming site that doesn't track pc at all.
I like that topic....
I totally agree with irstupid... use it when you need it and it helps.... kinect should be great for navigation in menues... puzzle games... head tracking and stuff like that.... or party/dance games..... identification for log in etc.... but for once i think it's a tech that will stick.... but needs improvement yet again so maybe it will jump a generation even though I doubt it just because WiiU is focused on it... and sony and MS just released there tech and have to cover the R&D I really believe... kinect and move are 2 things they throw in the middle of this gen to keep a longer life cycle and to get the devloppers thinking about new ways to use it and use to developpe for it.....
what I'm saying is that compare to all other tech d21lewis talked about this one has already more support from big developpers... not for exclu games for kinect or move but also as enhanced experience with other.... and I think that's what will make the difference on the fact that the tech will be retained or not next gen.....
Mummelmann the devs don't have the choice it's not the guy that buys a console on a trend and get a couple games a year that puts food in his plate... it's the core gamer buying tons of new games a year on day one and buy DLC after because he enjoys the game.....
I think that DLC could be a way for devs ... you do a really good 5 hour game for a lower price and make regular DLC available a at reasonable cost...
first I could actually enjoy more games because I could buy more of them and spend less time on a single one so get less bored etc... I mean you see my point... same final content as today just split in several installement in time and at a lower price tag from the get go.....
that would allow the devs to handle their calandar better too....
but that's another story..... now PC gaming I think is something for a really small amount of gamers... it is too expensive for most of us to keep up with the tech compare to consols... I think it is great if you are young and have no major expenses and responsability or if you are loaded and have the time to enjoy your set up.... but still socially speaking it is still reserved to the geek squad of gamers... which I use to belong.... but I can't affored it anymore now that I make my own money pay my own food and rent and bills.... I'd rather spend money on 1 system every 10 years.... and enjoy the money....
I somewhat disagree with the OP.
Some part of the industry is moving that way, not all of it...the part that isn't is big enough to keep me satisfied while the part that is could yield new experiences I may like.
irstupid said:
wonder why a pc gamer only cares to visit a gaming site that doesn't track pc at all. |
I'm mostly here for the forums, I still love discussing games and gaming and I think that a large part of my stay might also be old habits.
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