Yea it really feels like Games as a Service is really bringing down the industry. The idea of releasing a base game, whether it be free or paid then releasing endless amounts of dlcs for a decade with essentially no sequel in sight. Like I get that it's risky and game publishers don't want to pour money into a new game cause there's a chance of it flopping but this is getting insane.
Just look at the variety from Rockstar during 7th gen. You not only had one GTA but two of them. Manhunt, Bully, LA-Noire, Max Payne, Red Dead, etc.
Now we get one game per generation even if that. What's next? One GTA game per two generations? In a lot of ways, I am glad I was born in the 90s so I could experience the hype and wonders the 6th and 7th gen had. From console/game announcements to waiting in line during midnight launches to make sure you could get a copy before it runs out. E3 press events, console launch events, the egos of console manufacturers instead of all the friendly nonsense we have today, the meltdowns like FFXIII releasing on 360, youtubers like Totalbiscuit, unique console hardware that aren't just glorified PCs and tons and tons of game announcements. And of course in the PC space, the battle between AMD + Radeon, Intel and Nvidia were insane. While PCs got mainly shafted during the 7th gen, we still had big RTS games like Starcraft 2, Age of Empires, Command & Conquer, LoTR Battle for Middle Earth all continuing to be released. And the list goes on.
These days, it just all feels meh. Sony feels like they are just releasing games that give you that "movie-like" feel. Halo and Gears are a shadow of their former selves with the only exciting games coming out from MS are the ones they bought for billions of dollars... Of which they are taking forever to come out. And while Nintendo is still largely doing Nintendo things, I feel like they may be headed towards GaaS model with at least some of their franchises next gen with Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros showcasing a preview of what's to come.
Feel sorry for the people today though. They will never get to experience the sensation that we did back in the day.
PC Specs: CPU: 7800X3D || GPU: Strix 4090 || RAM: 32GB DDR5 6000 || Main SSD: WD 2TB SN850
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