Thank god I stuck with Nintendo and PC this gen! It's not focused on online, doesn't get too much DLC (none whatsoever for Nintendo). Nintendo's products usually of great quality, meaning no need for patches.

One thing I disagree with the OP though, is multiplat: I really wished Wii had gotten more 3rd party titles (not that it could handle them though)...

DLC - It really depends on the game, Fallout DLC is usually excellent and worth every penny whilst other games completely rip off the consumer.

Pricing - If anything it's got slightly cheaper in Australia, a lot of new games are >$100 which is good and there are plently of cheap older titles too.

Multiplatform - I can somewhat agree, more exclusives the better, but I'm glad some games are multiplat so more people can enjoy them.

Suquel-itis - This is only really prominent in a few franchises, many others only have 1-2 sequels. There are still enough standalone games out there for me to not be bothered by the increase of sequels.

 1st Person Stir Crazy  - First person shooters have overrun the market quite a bit, I don't hate the camera view but far too many fps games feel generic and lackluster with occasional excpetions like Bioshock or Borderlands;.

 Patches-  The ability to patch content easily is a bonus because it allows bugs to be fixed and new content to be added, but the issue you highlighted is troublesome and allows some games to be realeased before they are propery finished.

Focus on Online - Yes, sadly multiplayer often takes front seat and allows devs to neglect the singleplayer and leave the game with a 6 hour campaign with no replayability, in other cases we see multiplayer tacked on to games that don't need it. Nothing beats a great singleplayer experience in my eyes.

Studios Dropping like flies - It's such a shame really, but with developent costs for AAA titles ever increasing and corpoate control of the gaming industry expect to see this continue.

I declare 75% of the points in your OP as bogus. (With only the last two having valid content)

One example:
You do now what inflation is right ?
Check this out: http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
$50 in 2000 (PS2 launch) equal $67 in 2012.

I would say that sounds fair. Now compare it to SNES or PS1 games and you will see that gaming became much much cheaper over the years.

Huh, I would say that list is the reason I got into/love console gaming in its current state (sans the last point of course).

DLC is great, even amazing and what you were talking about in the OP about getting less in games because DLC is definitely the minority.

Pricing is fine considering inflation and skyrocketing dev costs.

Your multiplatform argument is bogus. Multiplatform games are a good thing and allow people to just have a single console and not be hurting too much because of it.

There are so many sequels that have and are coming out that I really want/loved. Borderlands 2, Halo 4, Mass Effect 3, etc. I would rather have those than 3 new IPs. FYI, just because it's a sequel doesn't mean it hasn't innovated anything and just because it's a new IP doesn't mean it did innovate anything. It's a wash really.

1st person games are awesome in my opinion (and obviously many others). Don't like them? Don't play them. There are plenty of great non-1st person games out there.

Patches are GOOD. VERY GOOD. Because of patches, gone are the days when you would fork over a nice chunk of change only to find out you got screwed because of a game-breaking bug or glitch. Nobody should ever complain about patches.

An online focus in games is something I love. I think every game should have at least some sort of online focus (not necessarily multiplayer BTW)


I should really be working on homework instead of this >_

Then you are part of the problem....... >:(  lol

I am completely aware of inflation. But do you know how badly this effected the gaming industry(from my observation)? Gamers, already dealing with a recession where they have to choose wisely on which games to get because we all have limited funds, then the prices go up for them making it even harder, this is actually the cause of the Developers closing AND Sequelitis. No one can afford to take chances on more obscure games.....so we stick to what we know.....leaving inventive games to rot. Last gen.....very few games were NOT profitable, now they struggle to make it.

This is basically what the industry is learning with mobile pricing now. You do not/should not try to price games appropriate to the inflation standard. When you do you are just cutting your hand off to spite the other. Price.... and Quality are the entry barriers for a consumer to buy a game. Quality is expected to go up and price stay relatively low. When you keep making them fluctuated side by side you get "break even" sales. The common consumer does not want to give equal payment for what they buy....they want MORE than their money's worth. And like I said in the OP, what really happened this gen, is that often times quality went DOWN and price still went up. 

At least some developers KNOW their product isn't worth 60 bucks and price it accordingly. Patapon was a cute little game, debuted at $20 bucks for PSP and sold like Hotcakes. Now in essense this game is smaller in nature but cost just as much as any platformer to make. If they had tried to sell it at 40 standard......it would have tanked. Many Japanese companies also release their RPGs at 50 or less, knowing they don't hold half the content they did in yesteryear or in comparison to FF or WRPGs(I would argue Mass Effect lacks in strong substance and should also be 50max tho).

I can see and somewhat agree with the OP's point other than the part of online play because I've been playing a shit ton of things online since the 90s' with PC gaming starting with Doom and I've also played all the Final Fantasy games up to 13(I said fuck it all after 13, but can you blame me?) Still rocking hard on JRPGs in general, just no more FF because it makes me wanna cry right now to see the series shitting all over itself.

I say get a good gaming PC and sign up for the Planetside 2 beta, maybe you'll change your mind after trying that out, hey, it's made by your beloved Sony too!

So sorry to hear that :(

At least handhelds seem to be holding the torch for previous gen era gaming

Agree, i dont like what HD consoles offer, pretty much what you listed
i would add that all this has created a the rare animal called "hardcore" gamer

DLC:Rockstar and Bethesda is about the only company that does the pricing/DLC right. There games are very much comparable with JRPGs of last gen that were packed to the brim with content and extra goodies. And when they release DLC they approach it as an "expansion pack" and not "add on". It might be because these games used to be soley on PC, and PC created the standard for what DLC was...yet consoles have make it a bad word almost.

Pricing: I realize this is skewed dependant on where you live. Wher I am PS1 and 2 era was capped at 50. Just think about that though. No accessory to an already pricey product(consoles) should be more than half of a 100 dollar bill. 2 games equals $120!!!!!!! Does that not strike people as absorbant? And god forbid I lived in latin countries where everything is twice as much.

Multiplatform: How I see MP is that yes more people get to play........watered down versions of of games that are shadow versions of previous entries(cough*FFXIII*cough). When comparing some sequels that went MP this gen to those of last gen that were exclusive, why do so many of them feel like a smaller package?