Anyone else find the whining about FPS games kind of annoying? So what if CoD and Halo sold the most copies? This has been an extremely varied generation, all things considered. The rise of RPGs developed in the west has been an especially welcome bright spot. I read about how FPS games have over-saturated the generation but then I look at my gaming library and I wonder how anyone lacked for quality games in other genres.
Besides that, the FPS output of this gen has nothing on the glut of platformers on earlier systems, which had me out of gaming for awhile from boredom.
Personally, what I think we'll see is a lot of hybrid games, FP and TP releases with a lot of RPG character customization. I think straight-up FPS titles where you just flow along with a short campaign are going to see a bit of a decline. I don't expect many new entries into that genre as the big brands will have most of the market wrapped up.
The big surprise of this generation has been the ascension of the downloadable game, which is a direct result of the death of the mid-level game. This should continue next generation and will probably build up even more momentum if the rumors about the 720 and PS4 being easy to program for and port back and forth are true. We should see a lot more teams able to push simultaneous releases across multiple platforms.
I've really liked the variety of this generation, I've enjoyed several sci-fi FPS franchises, I've loved the western developed RPGs, and the downloadable trend has made for some fantastic new experiences. I only hope that Japanese developed RPGs continue their recent success instead of falling back to where they were at the beginning of the generation.
I want more customization, more options, and more games with imaginative premises over standard military shooters. I want less bugs and less differences between multi-platform releases. Finally, I want more games that people struggle to place into categories.
