Has 'Gaming' got better or worse since 2006-2008 era?

[Mr Puggsly]

SvennoJ said:

Mr Puggsly said:

Gaming didn't get worse, gamers today just expect much more than 2006-2008.

People were impressed by a lot mediocrity in those days and prior which is why a lot of middling games scored better back then.

A lot of people might just be a little bored of games because they've been doing it for so god damn long. You become jaded.

I should have been jaded in 2006 after gaming since 1980.
There is less variety, the last great mid tier game I played was Majin and the forsaken kingdom, 5 years ago. Indies have picked up the slack somewhat yet are either short or procedurally generated experiences.

Day 1 patches are standard now, pretty much all games release incomplete, load times seem to be getting worse and gameplay is not keeping pace with the improvement of graphics. Games look better, yet the gameplay is the same or worse which makes the quality difference stand out more and more.
Plus I don't like the trend to make everything a variation of the same openworld basic busy work gameplay.

I dunno why particular 2006-2008 but let's check the highlights:  Okami, Dreamfall the longest journey, Super paper mario, Super mario galaxy, Portal, Valkyria chronicles, Wipeout HD, Little big planet, Oblivion, Viva Pinata, Loco roco, Dead rising, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Zack and Wiki, Motorstorm, Fallout 3, Dead space, Mirrors edge. No sequels in there (Dreamfall, Oblivion and Fallout 3 excepted, yet they felt like new games)

Since then we had the excellent Dark souls, Ni No Kuni, The last of us, Rayman Origins, Portal 2, Deus Ex HR, Journey, The walking dead, Fez, Anti chamber in 2011-2013, good fun but less.

The only games that really stuck with me last year were Transistor and Fract OSC. The rest was competent. Driveclub turned out to be excellent yet not really a poster child for a competent release...

There are a lot of competent sequels and great remasters, but originality is lacking and gameplay is stuck in neutral.

A lot of ideas in the 7th gen were done in the past but were just done better. Gameplay mechanics are moving foward I just think its diminishing returns. You want fresh ideas and no idea what you really want.

 

Some of the games you mentioned were creative in presentation, but at their core didnt do much unique for gameplay.

Id like to see a little more creative and unique games. But gameplay for some genres is just fine. So maybe this question depends on what genres you most enjoy.