this is one of the funniest tings i ever so and so true

[danasider]

I think the reason indie gaming has been hitting its stride is that people are getting tired of paying $60 for what they perceive as an incomplete game. The innovation and soul that has arisen from these retro styled games has really changed the industry and what consumers expect in terms of quality.

These games are a quarter or less the price of a AAA title because they require less resources. Nowadays, blockbuster games are developed by 200-300 staffed studios. The indies only require a handful of people making these games (and even that is changing), but they are essentially creating different products. While they can get away with weird game mechanics for the sake of innovation, the budgets that are on the line aren't as big a gamble as they are in games being developed by top-tier studios.

People laud games like Journey and Minecraft, but look at what they are missing in comparison to big games like Halo or Uncharted. Journey is 2 hours long, and Minecraft is visually less enticing than a pile of buffalo chips. The point is, whatever type of game a consumer is pining for will inevitably have something missing from it, because resources are finite. If Minecraft had Crysis 3 graphics imagine how sick that'd be? But also just think about how expensive it'd be too? It would barely make a profit, even with the 20 million or so sales it has. If Journey 2 were any longer, I wouldn't enjoy it much considering the gameplay is rather shallow. It was an inspiring emotional experience while it lasted, but the developers knew that a game limited to mechanics of running around, jumping, and chirping can only entertain for so long before it wears out its welcome.

So for those arguing that games don't offer what they used to, you may be right, but you always have the option of getting an indie game like Cave Story if the past is what you crave. If you want a something that is more flashy, then expect the game to be missing chunks of what those games offer or make up rising inflation and developmental costs through DLC.

If you want a game that does it all, stop being a gamer because it never is going to happen. Even the games that come close to hitting every milestone of epicness (great story, long playtime, replayability, immersive graphics) will have its naysayers. GTA and Skyrim are incredibly successful in the aforementioned, but people nitpick about the bugs or how past versions do things the newer iterations can't. And if you expect every game to do what these do, then you'll have to wait 3 to 5 years between each proper installment, because creating that level of experience requires lots of time and lots of money (two things many studios don't have much of).