RolStoppable said:
Give me some concrete examples that inspired your thread title and then we can talk. You mentioned Capcom and Square-Enix in your OP, but all we know about them is that they each have a couple of IPs left that they make for home consoles, so a clear indication for a continuation of the seventh generation, not a return to how things were in the sixth gen when both companies had more than a dozen of IPs. I also think that it's a pipedream for the mid-tier to come back. Since retail isn't an option in this blockbuster-driven industry, digital-only is all that's left. But to make what was formerly mid-tier, developers would have to aim for a $25-30 price point. That in and of itself is a problem, similar to how the situation is on smartphones and tablets; there a $10 price point is considered premium and unlikely to succeed because consumers are used to $5 or less; on consoles and PC $10-15 is the norm and even then a sizeable chunk of sales is generated only through discounts. |
I was inspired by the warm success that titles from a large range of genre are getting this generation, especially on PS4. I can't imagine games such as The Evil Within, Child of Light, Velocity 2x, etc; games that would have flopped hard on the 7th gen by how they look or how they play (just not your console friendly game for that time), but these games had both commercial success and critical success today. Of course I'll have to agree that it's still soon to have the confirmation that this gen will mark the comeback of the variety of the 6th gen, but that's why I'm asking if others feel the same way. I think the potential is here more than ever and the path PS4 (especially) is taking, makes me think that there is a high chance of this era becoming a remarkable era for gaming.
@bold Why I mentioned SE and Cap was mostly because they made many mistakes in gen 7. They became greedy/arrogant and money hunger right after AND because I want them to be what they once were: focused on gaming and not just money-chasers trying to get easy money and treating gamers like moneybags. It's not just a change of gaming habits but also a gain of mentality to treat gamers as gamers 1st and foremost that I think those 2 companies have lost sense for quite some time.
@Your last paragraph: I'm no expert to talk about demographics and how things work for Smartphones and PC in comparison with consoles in terms of price points. But I think those who get a PS4 or a gaming computer won't fear spending money for quality, even if it's substantially more pricey than on smartphone (not sure if this is what you were talking about). Just to add that digital sales have becoming stronger these past few years, so it's feasible to make a digital game a success if it's well advertised and well made. Console gamers also aren't so dependable on sales to buy their games.
