The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly:  Trends in Gaming 2009

by Heather Anne Campbell -- Play Magazine Executive Editor

Play Magazine Volume Eight Issue Four April 2009

pgs. 21-22

2009 Gaming Takes a Breather

Have you seen the stock market lately?  I'll tell you what it indicates:  This may be the longest generation in gaming.  There has been little mumbling from Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo about the next-next generation.  Sony posted its first loss in a very long time.  Microsoft is still taking a beating in its Xbox division, and Nintendo probably won't touch the Wii as long as it continues to print out money.  That means we're sitting on our systems for a while, kids.

This is fantastic news.  I have always wanted to get as much as I could from my consoles, and have felt that each generation gives way to the next before we really see what the systems can do.  Latter day development on the PS2 was shiny stuff.  The final moments of the original PlayStation gave us Final Fantasy IX.  And have you ever really looked at Donkey Kong Country 2?  That game is ridiculous, and came out after the PS1.

So here we are, swimming with our systems, treading water on a sunny day.  I hope we get a true decade from the 360 and the PS3.  I can't wait to see what they've got to give.

Five Things that will Define Gaming in 2009

1.  The Economy

As outlined above, gaming is going to experience a generational lag for the first time since Atari.  Great news.  Sony has mentioned that the PS3 is still for early adapters and the more I play with the big black box, the more I think they're right (streaming files from my Mac is so amazing; I was just too lazy to do it until now).  Microsoft is re-inventing the 360 every nine months or so.  And the longer the Wii stays in first place, the more likely we'll actually see some games on the system.  So everybody:  stay where you are, and play games!

2.  Independent / Downloadable Games from the Art House Scene

Since games are giving up their 'gameyness' and becoming more like brainless movie blockbusters (screening Gears of War 2 at a multiplex is more conceivable than getting everyone together at Lowe's for Ocarina of Time), smaller publishers and independent games are going to be where the real changes occur in the industry.  It's hard to take a risk when you're steering sixty million dollars, so the only shifts in video games are going to happen where there's little money but big potential reward.  We'll be marveling at some tiny game in ten months, mark my words.  And the stuff that happens in that game will show up in Gears of War IV.  It's idea outsourcing.

3.  The Death of Japan

It's too bad that Capcom seems to be the only company interested in making good Japanese games anymore.  Square Enix, check out the house of Ryu:  They're doing everything right.  The classy release of Street Fighter IV, the slow and deliberate development of Bionic Commando and the smart handling of old franchises (Megaman 9, SFII) are examples of how to keep the engine running.  We don't need Advent Children Complete on Blu-Ray with a pack-in demo, tethered to a new edition of the PS3 with  a silly graphic scoured onto the side.  We need Vagrant Story 2, or at the very least Final Fantasy VII HD Remix.

4.  The Wii

Whatever the big Wii announcement is this year, it won't be a game.  Sure, we might hear about Zelda Next or Donkey Kong Kids or whatever, but Nintendo has long ago realized that to expand the market, you need a gateway drug.  You need new addicts.  We should all thank the Wii for guaranteeing that there are gamers in 2019, but we don't have to love what they're doing right now.  My prediction:  WiiStickers or WiiPics.  Something that lets Wii owners trade Mario Paint style original content with friends, and it comes with a pack-in, low-res camera.  If WiiMusic is Garage Band, and Wii Sports is Minesweeper, then all we need is WiiPhotoshop.

5.  The Playstation 3 becomes The Saturn

The people who love PS3 can already feel it happening.  The PS3 is going to become this generation's Saturn / Dreamcast, a place where hardcore loyalists carve out a corner for games that will stand the test of time as true classics.  We might like games on the 360, but we'll love games on the Playstation.  The PS3 already has the prerequisite for being the long-term darling of this generation:  geeky, tech fetishism.  Think of the Dreamcast.  Think of the NEO-GEO.  Too advanced for their time, too daringly technical . . . these systems were home to some of the best games ever made.

And now, THINGS THAT NEED TO CHANGE:

1.  The Wii

So obvious I almost feel piggish for putting it down.  Do you know?  The last time I turned on my Wii to play a game for FUN, a game that I wasn't reviewing was more than a year ago.  I was an idiot for believing that the Wiimote meant something new for video games.  It's something new, alright, but it's not for video games.  Even with the WiiMotionPlus stuck into it, it's not accurate enough for gaming.  Can you imagine if the first time you played Super Mario Bros. on the NES, Mario had jumped three out of every five times you pressed a button?  Here's my quick fix for the Wii:  Release a $75 Controller called Wii'reSorry, that is absolute 1:1 accuracy, and pack it with an actual game.

2.  The Demise of the Lonely Game 

Shadow of the Colossus was the last time we played something quiet, ponderous, soft, and sad.  Cave Story may be coming out this year (and it almost counts as a Lonely Game), but what this generation needs is more of the titles that came out towards the end of the PS2 era.  It's been too many years since we experienced a melancholy moment by ourselves.  We don't need everything to explode, or about space-time marines.  We need a horse, an open field, and a five minute gallop without music.

3.  Sonic the Hedgehog

Either give us an HD 2-D game or kill him off.

4.  The Cover Mechanic

Alright, so it was great the first time, and even the second time, but every game doesn't need a cover mechanic.  If we wanted to avoid gunfire in the old days, we just didn't go around the corner.  We didn't need to be stuck to the wall staring at our character as he grinds his teeth like he's three days constipated.  There's more than one way to make a game, guys.  Wanted, 50 Cent:  Blood on the Sand, Resident Evil 5, Dark Void .  .  .  I'm looking at all of you.  Actually, maybe I'm just looking at one of these games -- it's hard to tell them apart.

5  Games Journalism

If gaming is going to mature, then the coverage  has to as well.  An industry-wide ban on scores would be a nice start.  Maybe we could start some kind of union, with self-imposed regulations.  A minimum requirement of two thousand words for any industry-approved, registered and classified game review.  Let's put our minds to it, instead of just listing the features of each game as it arrives.  Gaming needs a New Yorker, a Roger Ebert, an adult face to push gaming into an adult place.  Romeo_Check_Fail is the right direction.  Metacritic is not.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly:  Trends of 2009 Pt. 1 Brady Fiechter

http://www.vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?id=65616

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly:  Trends of 2009 Pt. 2 Casey Loe

http://www.vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?id=65624

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly:  Trends of 2009 pt. 3 Greg Orlando

http://www.vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?id=65745

What a disagreeable list.

Come to think of it, just about the only point I agree with on "things that need to change" is number 5, which is almost hilariously ironic in the context of this article.

Wow, you're absolutely right. It's almost painful.

No wait, it is painful.

This.  It's hilarious that he mentions this in the same article where he suggests the "Wii're sorry".

Wow. What a horrible article. It's very hard to get almost everything wrong like that.

1. I really don't think the economy will delay the generation as much as everyone assumes. The line between this gen and next gen might be blurred a little more (forwards compatibility maybe?), but the next generation will arrive on schedule. 2011-2012.

2. I kinda agree with this one, but the problem with art house games is that they're too... arty. You're not going to see the big innovations that change the world of gaming come from a little guy, at least from a gameplay perspective

3. Damnit, Japan is not dead. Who has the #1 console right now? /Topic

4. This is where i really knew the article was getting poor. Nintendo's in a better position to announce "games" this year than otherwise. Wii doesn't need gimmicks to stay afloat as implied

5. The PlayStation 3 has been gaining relevance as of late, between 3rd party parity with the 360 and Sony's own initiatives. GameCube or N64 maybe, but not Saturn. You have to dig back to realize just how irrelevant the Saturn was outside Japan.

Changes.

1. Got this one right, but for the wrong reasons. Motion Plus and 3rd parties finally getting with the program means the Wii will grow in relevance and dominance

2. I agree with this, too, but again, the article exaggerates the situation. Dead Space is a franchise now, ICO is poised for their next announcement, and more desolate games are on the horizon.

3. Screw you, Sonic's fine.

4. Agree with this too, actually

5. Agree with this, but as Khuutra said, it's highly ironic in context.

I actually liked the list. It made sense to me at least,and was very well written.

Good read.

why get 1:1 for $15 when you can get better 1:1 for $75

also wiistickers? fail

Wow! I was going to say the same thing -- but both of you beat me to the punch.

Typical high-end geek* whining that technology <> (or !=) popularity.

(Fusion also publishes geek monthly).

But this article is right about one thing -- Nintendo will have a big non-game announcement. My money is on video streaming.

Mike from Morgantown

PS -- Did we really need four threads about this?

is she hot?