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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Opinion: 8th generation is the worst generation in video game history

outlawauron on 26 March 2015
Veknoid_Outcast said:

I'm late to the party, but here are my two cents:

Is the 8th generation a disappointment? Yes. Has it continued many of the negative trends begun in earnest during the seventh generation, including micro-transactions; online paywalls; the proliferation of DLC, on disc or otherwise; day one patches; out-of-control development and advertising budgets; lack of backward compatibility, which opens the floodgates to last-gen ports and "remasters"; and, in the case of many high-profile studios, a deep focus on graphics, character design, and story at the expense of involving, rewarding gameplay? Yes.

But is it the worst generation in video game history? Far from it. The first generation, with its experimental hardware and Pong clones, provided a dreary list of games. The second generation brought the world many ground-breaking and revolutionary titles but, in general, the truly great games were few and far between. 

So the 8th generation is certainly better than the 1st and 2nd generations. By the time it ends, the 8th might also be better than the 3rd and 7th generations. Will it touch the greatness of the 4th, 5th, and 6th generations, in my opinion the golden age of video games? Probably not. But who knows. Among the detritus that defines modern video gaming are a handful of masters -- including Shigeru Miyamoto, Hidetaka Miyazaki, Hideo Kojima, Koichi Hayashida, Eiji Aonuma, Tetsuya Takahashi, Neil Druckmann, Michel Ancel, and Ken Levine -- who are capable of making masterworks with the proper talent, funding, and support.

tl;dr version: When historians look back on the period between 2011 and 2019, they'll probably see a middling generation that perpetuated the decline of the industry begun during the seventh gen, not the worst in the history of the medium.

lolwut. I didn't realize that anyone actually argued that 4th-6th generation were the golden age of video games. With industry gains in growth, it's a completely different landscape. If amount of good games is your barometer, the other generations don't even come close.



"We'll toss the dice however they fall,
And snuggle the girls be they short or tall,
Then follow young Mat whenever he calls,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows."

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Veknoid_Outcast on 26 March 2015
outlawauron said:
Veknoid_Outcast said:

I'm late to the party, but here are my two cents:

Is the 8th generation a disappointment? Yes. Has it continued many of the negative trends begun in earnest during the seventh generation, including micro-transactions; online paywalls; the proliferation of DLC, on disc or otherwise; day one patches; out-of-control development and advertising budgets; lack of backward compatibility, which opens the floodgates to last-gen ports and "remasters"; and, in the case of many high-profile studios, a deep focus on graphics, character design, and story at the expense of involving, rewarding gameplay? Yes.

But is it the worst generation in video game history? Far from it. The first generation, with its experimental hardware and Pong clones, provided a dreary list of games. The second generation brought the world many ground-breaking and revolutionary titles but, in general, the truly great games were few and far between. 

So the 8th generation is certainly better than the 1st and 2nd generations. By the time it ends, the 8th might also be better than the 3rd and 7th generations. Will it touch the greatness of the 4th, 5th, and 6th generations, in my opinion the golden age of video games? Probably not. But who knows. Among the detritus that defines modern video gaming are a handful of masters -- including Shigeru Miyamoto, Hidetaka Miyazaki, Hideo Kojima, Koichi Hayashida, Eiji Aonuma, Tetsuya Takahashi, Neil Druckmann, Michel Ancel, and Ken Levine -- who are capable of making masterworks with the proper talent, funding, and support.

tl;dr version: When historians look back on the period between 2011 and 2019, they'll probably see a middling generation that perpetuated the decline of the industry begun during the seventh gen, not the worst in the history of the medium.

lolwut. I didn't realize that anyone actually argued that 4th-6th generation were the golden age of video games. With industry gains in growth, it's a completely different landscape. If amount of good games is your barometer, the other generations don't even come close.

I think you'd be suprised how many people feel that way:

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=185574&page=1



outlawauron on 26 March 2015
Veknoid_Outcast said:
outlawauron said:

lolwut. I didn't realize that anyone actually argued that 4th-6th generation were the golden age of video games. With industry gains in growth, it's a completely different landscape. If amount of good games is your barometer, the other generations don't even come close.

I think you'd be suprised how many people feel that way:

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=185574&page=1

Geez. That's odd. SNES was a great console, but 4th gen was trash. One competitive console, crappy handhelds, and such small quantity of games releasing.

I can see a lot of good arguments for 6th generation, but 5th generation had a great amount of software but lacked so many great things coming from later generations.



"We'll toss the dice however they fall,
And snuggle the girls be they short or tall,
Then follow young Mat whenever he calls,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows."

Check out MyAnimeList and my Game Collection. Owner of the 5 millionth post.

outlawauron on 26 March 2015

Had to show SquidJizz what was up.

Please ignore, double post.



"We'll toss the dice however they fall,
And snuggle the girls be they short or tall,
Then follow young Mat whenever he calls,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows."

Check out MyAnimeList and my Game Collection. Owner of the 5 millionth post.

Soundwave on 26 March 2015
outlawauron said:
Veknoid_Outcast said:

I think you'd be suprised how many people feel that way:

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=185574&page=1

Geez. That's odd. SNES was a great console, but 4th gen was trash. One competitive console, crappy handhelds, and such small quantity of games releasing.

I can see a lot of good arguments for 6th generation, but 5th generation had a great amount of software but lacked so many great things coming from later generations.

Uh ... obviously you weren't gaming in the early 90s ... the SNES-Genesis console war was arguably the most fierce one the industry has seen, only one competetive console ... lol. The Genesis had many great games too and if anything Sony gets far too much credit, Sega really is the one that laid most of the ground work for the industry being aimed more at an older audience and changing how games were marketed. 



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OnlyForDisplay on 26 March 2015

I believe this generation will be fine. Each generation surpasses the previous one in some form or way. Let's give this gen a little more time. Besides, games like Second Son, Bayonetta 2, Ori, and BloodBorne all have this gen. pointing.



" It has never been about acknowledgement when you achieve something. When you are acknowledged, then and only then can you achieve something. Always have your friends first to achieve your goals later." - OnlyForDisplay

Mummelmann on 26 March 2015

A bit early to be saying that after only 1.5 and 2.5 years of 8th gen hardware and software. For me; the 7th gen is the worst generation by far.



Wildcard36qs on 26 March 2015
Mummelmann said:
A bit early to be saying that after only 1.5 and 2.5 years of 8th gen hardware and software. For me; the 7th gen is the worst generation by far.

Truth.



outlawauron on 26 March 2015
Soundwave said:
outlawauron said:

Geez. That's odd. SNES was a great console, but 4th gen was trash. One competitive console, crappy handhelds, and such small quantity of games releasing.

I can see a lot of good arguments for 6th generation, but 5th generation had a great amount of software but lacked so many great things coming from later generations.

Uh ... obviously you weren't gaming in the early 90s ... the SNES-Genesis console war was arguably the most fierce one the industry has seen, only one competetive console ... lol. The Genesis had many great games too and if anything Sony gets far too much credit, Sega really is the one that laid most of the ground work for the industry being aimed more at an older audience and changing how games were marketed. 

And? Genesis is only relevant because it was Sega's last console that survived a console cycle. I think the reason why people feel this way is nostalgia. Nostalgia plays a bigger role  during this period because that's your first (and likely fondest) memories of video games. I started gaming at the end of the 4th, start of the 5th for reference.



"We'll toss the dice however they fall,
And snuggle the girls be they short or tall,
Then follow young Mat whenever he calls,
To dance with Jak o' the Shadows."

Check out MyAnimeList and my Game Collection. Owner of the 5 millionth post.

A_C_E on 26 March 2015
DexInDaJungle said:
Jon-Erich said:
My only problem with remasters are the games that are getting remastered. I would have no issues if it were a game that was more than 5 years old, preferably a game that's 10 years old or older, but a game that came out a year or two ago? That's insane.


That seems to be the issue for most people. An HD remaster of a game that is already in HD doesn't make much sense to me.

Makes me wonder, if fans weren't so picky about resolution and FPS at the start of this generation, would we be seeing as many remasters.

Well it seems to me that people think a remaster of a game that is already in HD is an HD remaster, but it isn't, its simply a remaster with better resolution sometimes a higher body count, FPS, more foliage, better supported sound and just your general performance issues getting a fix up. While its true that some games might not 'need' that treatment (GoW3) there is definitely nothing wrong with releasing a better performing version of an amazing game. In the end if people want it they buy it.