Was this generation a let down?

My biggest disappointment this gen is the lack of GOOD console jRPGs. I know Xenoblade is supposed to be the saving grace, but I haven't played it yet and no longer own a wii. Although, I am thinking about re-buying one for Xenoblade.
 
Takao said:
"Rayman - Origins HD showed 2D is viable"
No, it showed that retail 2D releases is suicide if they don't have "Mario" in their name.
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Fixed that for you.

On Topic, IMO this generation has been great. It's probably not the best one, but that doesn't matter because I enjoyed a lot of games that I'd never imagine myself playing. Some companies have unfair things like On-Disc DLC and stuff, but still, we have been given amazing games that could not have been possible on other gens.
 
This gen has been amazing for me!

Pros:
-NEW DEUS-EX!
-Gears of War, Uncharted, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Street Fighter, Infamous
-Rebirth of fighting games
-Great online play (XBL)
-Last-gen HD upgrades

Cons:
-DLC, online passes
-More casual games coming out

The pros outweigh the cons for me. The fact that a new Deus-Ex came out, something I never believed would happen, makes this one of my favorite gens ever. All that's missing is Shenmue 3.
 
cosmicblizzard said:
Survival Horror, fighting, Shmups, music, RTS.

Pretty much anything that isn't a Shooter, Sports game or Shooter pretending to be a WRPG died outside of indie development (though fighting is getting a nice revival).
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you MUST be high.

Survival Horror this gen: Condemned 1 and 2, Siren Blood Curse, Dead Space 1 &2, Resident Evil 5 and 6, Multiple Silent Hills. The quality is up and down but the genre is far from dead.

Music games? The only problem with music games is that there were simply TOO MANY in a short period of time and consumers lost interest. There's more music games than anyone can reasonably expect to play, and I don't mean just Rock Band, stellar as it is. This gen has given us DJ hero 1 and 2 which were OUTSTANDING (Though overlooked) and Rap games like Def Jam Rapstar. Hell, we even got Child of Eden which is basically Rez2, and again is outstanding and overlooked.

Fighters? you're crazy. we're in the middle of the biggest fighting renaissance since arcades died out. MVC3, Street Fighter 4, Online enabled re-releases of SSF2T and SF3: Third Impact, Tekken 6, Tekken vs. Street Fighter (!), Soul Calibur IV and V, Blazblue, Virtua Fighter 5 AND Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown...if you like fighters this is the best. gen. ever.

RTS has never been big on consoles. ever. so I don't know what the complaint is here.

anyone complaining that "it's all military bro shooters boo hoo" simply hasn't been playing games this gen. I have over 40 awesome current gen games in my collection, none of which are FPS, Sports games, or call of duty.

edit: my favorites?

*Demon's Souls and Dark Souls
*Uncharted (all of them)
*DJ Hero 1 and 2
*Rockband 1, 2, 3
*Dead Space 1 and 2
*Child of Eden
*Marvel vs. Capcom 3
*Alpha Protocol
*Lego Harry Potter (the fiancee loves this)
*Bayonetta
*Red Dead Redemption (and undead nightmare)
*Arkham Asylum and Arkham City
*Darksiders
*Castlevania, Lords of Shadow (criminally underrated, imho)
*Dragon Age
*Mass Effect 1, 2
*Valkyria Chronicles
*El Shaddai
*MGS 4, and MGS HD Collection
*RE5 Gold
*3D dot Game heroes

but yeah, it's all dudebro shooters out there, nothing worth playing.
 
cosmicblizzard said:
Survival Horror, fighting, Shmups, music, RTS.

Pretty much anything that isn't a Shooter, Sports game or Shooter pretending to be a WRPG died outside of indie development (though fighting is getting a nice revival).
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Does fighting goes as brawler? If it is fighting in general, like Street Fighter, then this generation saw a fair share release of that as well. Music too, if that goes for stuff like Guitar Hero and Rockband. The music genre almost got killed because of all the releases this generation. Not sure about RTS and survival horror though.

EDIT: Forgot about shumps. There were a noticeably amount of shmups released, especially for Xbox 360 in Japan. But i wish that we saw more shmups on multiplatform though.
 
I own all three consoles and I'm happy with each for different reasons. The fact that the casual crowd seems to be leaving consoles behind for mobile platforms gives me hope for more focus on the core audience next gen. We'll see.
 
Sothpaw said:
For console games, outside of RDR I would say yes it was extremely disappointing.

PC on the other hand was spectacular.
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What? they had almost the same games (Minus RTS and MMO of course). And yeah before the typical "zOMG but the graphics.. look at this shader deflection on the vortex pixels that the console doesn't have lol" jeez gameplay comes first. And it's the same.

I think this is the best gen ever. I firmly think that (with exception of the PSX/era) each gen has been betterthan the last one.
 
I was pretty late to the whole gaming business, seeing as I only started back when the N64 launched :p
But since then I've jumped on the gen-bandwagon following up the old ultra with the X-box and GC, and now lately the 360 and Wii.

Out of all those generations, I would probably call the latest one the best. All those lan-nights playing some Halo 2 and 3 were some of the most fun I've had so far when it comes to gaming (and I'm not even a massive Halo fan!), and I've enjoyed a ton of fun and interesting games on the Wii.

If you count in the DS as part of the current-gen then this gen is definetly not a let down (GBA and GBC were still awesome, the former is almost as good as the DS).
 
I don't really know how I feel about this gen yet, alot of positives and negatives.

MS: Brought XBL and online to the mainstream, started off strong with new IP but dwindled during the past few years. XBLA is the best download service on consoles. DLC has been good and bad, some devs have done it right while others make cheap cash ins. Overall, I was satisfied with my 360 experience, even though the past year hasn't been all that exciting. The next generation is theirs to lose.

Sony: Only had a PS3 late into this gen and i've enjoyed what I played so far. Lots of fun new IP, but lots of misses as well. I liked stuff like Heavy Rain and Flower, so in some ways the risks paid off. I only wish that they had a franchise that I really connected with besides UC (which I'm not a big MP fan of).

Nintendo: The Wii suffered from mismanaged release cycles in some years and lackluster third party, but overall had the strongest lineup of exclusives, and the most memorable titles of the generation. I neglected my DS a bit due to time issues, but it has one of the best libraries of any system ever. Nintendo stands to gain the most from the upcoming generation with the transition into HD.

PC: The rise of Steam is what stands out most in the last few years. Valve has contributed alot into getting me interested into PC gaming again. Indie developers have really shined as well.
 
No mention of online in the first post?

This was the first generation where pretty much every game had some sort of online component, even if it was just leaderboards. It's the single biggest change to console games in several generations. It's not just an evolution of something, like how better graphics or sound would be, but a completely new feature that was mostly absent on previous generations. While some AAA games had it on X-Box or PS2, just about every game has fully fledged online now, and that's a huge, huge difference.
 
cosmicblizzard said:
Survival Horror, fighting, Shmups, music, RTS.

Pretty much anything that isn't a Shooter, Sports game or Shooter pretending to be a WRPG died outside of indie development (though fighting is getting a nice revival).
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What does "died" mean to you? If you list the survival horror than came out last gen and those coming out in the present gen, you won't have much difference in numbers. Fighting you mean the Street Fighter 2 style of dual combat? It's a quiet genre since 2 gens. Traditionnal shmups survived through the "bullet hell" style. Music games aren't dead yet, they are just toning down from the ridiculous excitation publishers had at first. RTSs aren't many indeed, but were they ever? I personally follow those less than other genres.
 
Pippie Nipplestockings said:
There were only a few good console games released this gen. There were countless good PC games released this gen. Not sure if PC belongs in a specific generation though.
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Here we go again. Is people blind/deaf so insecure of their expensive pc purchase that they talk like they belong to a superior race saying the only good things come to them? :P
 
Jason's Ultimatum said:
Sequels were awful this generation:

-RE5
-MGS4
-GTA4

Other than that, only good games IMO this gen:

-Bioshock
-Mario Galaxy
-Uncharted series
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I think your "good games" list doesn't have a whole lot of thought put into it, but you did hit on something. What sets the bottom three games apart from the top three?

The difference is that the top three were designed to make the most of their hardware at the time they were developed. The this-gen sequels were simply shinier versions of the same concept, so yes, they disappointed. How many sequels to last gen games blew our socks off? Not very many; in fact, without putting too much thought into it I can come up with Deus Ex; that game shone, however, because it was a re-think of the core concepts and gameplay.

People think they want to re-live the experiences that thrilled them in the previous generation, but history has shown that not to be the case. The knife in my throat was SOCOM. I played SOCOM 4, and you know what? It was pretty good. However, I didn't play it much at all compared to the 1000 hours I put into SOCOM 1, because it was just a shinier version of the same experience.

I hope new hardware inspires the next Rock Band, Dark Souls, Skyrim, etc., while not really playing like the old stuff.

Ahasverus said:
Here we go again. Is people blind/deaf so insecure of their expensive pc purchase that they talk like they belong to a superior race saying the only good things come to them? :P
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The hilarious thing about the "PC master race" bullshit is that 99% of big budget PC games are developed with console limitations in mind. It's only a "master race" if you don't mind sloppy seconds.
 
Generally, I think it's the best, but JRPGs have been such a shit show, it used to be my favorite genre, now it's an embarrasing scrap of it's former greatness.
 
Why do people act like the rebirth of fighting games is the holy grail of this generation. This generation is when they really died, they finally gathered steam at the end but haven't quite made a comeback yet.

Last Gen:
Power Stone, Project Justice, Guilty Gear, Virtua Fighter, Soul Calibur, Street Fighter, etc. The list goes on an done with more obscure titles not scene today that were great.

Am I missing something, I just looked at my old collections and see more fighting games I personally own in the previous generations.
 
Ahasverus said:
Here we go again. Is people blind/deaf so insecure of their expensive pc purchase that they talk like they belong to a superior race saying the only good things come to them? :P
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Nice assumptions you got there, bro. I never stated I belonged to a superior race. I just said there were more worthwhile PC games released this gen than console games.
 
The one thing that's missing this generation is Persona 5.

The only let down in my opinion is the lack of JRPGs. Other than that, this generation was actually pretty good.
 
nHDR said:
The fact that a new Deus-Ex came out, something I never believed would happen, makes this one of my favorite gens ever.
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Totally with you there; that this game made it to retail is pretty fantastic, and of top-notch quality. Massive sequel outputs, FPS-overload and motion control craze all is forgiven :-)
 
I've had a pretty good time with this gen. I personally consider the introduction of Steam and GOG part of this gen; which drastically improves my opinion of things. Digital distribution of games in general (XBLA and PSN included) has been phenomenal.
 
As a Nintendo fan, this gen I got:

-The two best console Mario games ever made in Galaxy 1 & 2.

-A brilliant Zelda game in Skyward Sword.

-A sequel to Sin and Punishment

-A new Punch-Out game

-A Donkey Kong Country made by freaking Retro

-A beautiful Kirby game in Epic Yarn that I can play with my 6 year old

-Fun times playing video games with my family and friends in Wii Sports and Wii Fit.

-Metroid Prime 3. Metroid Prime 3. Metroid Prime 3 (and the trilogy)

-The ability to have tons of old NES/SNES/N64 favorites at my fingertips without having to blow on the cartridge

-Two new 8-bit Mega Man games (I know, not just Wii, but still).

-Three brilliant Professor Layton games.

-Etc, etc, etc...

In other words, I'm pretty freaking satisfied.

EDIT: Forgot the three "Excite" games. What a blast.
 
The Xbox 360 is my favorite console ever, so no, I'm loving this gen.
 
This gen seems to take less risks, which is sad, but I will say that what's here is incredible.

It seems to me previous gens had way more bad games coming out and also way more interesting stuff when it did succeed. This gen is all polish and doing a few things very, VERY well.

But yeah I agree with the general feel of this thread that some genres that aren't big money makers like RPGS, top down shooters, and strait platformers are basically dead this gen.
 
This gen invented the dawn of indie devs which, at some point are going to overthrow publishers. This gen rocks
 
The quality output out of Japan has been tremendously poor in the past half-decade or so. Some bright spots infrequently, but the golden age of Japan ruling the industry is long dead. To some that would certainly paint a very negative outlook on the current generation.

Looking beyond that however, the way current technology(read: internet) has benefited gaming is so far beyond any previous generation in the medium that it is hard to imagine NOT having an appreciation for this generation for those advances alone.

As Japan plays catch-up(as the PS3 mostly spent this gen doing), and the kinks in the digital distribution marketplace gets worked out, the next generation will certainly be even more interesting.

As for games? It's all relative. Every gen has a boatload of crap with a few classics that rise to the surface. Many longtime franchises have had a downward spiral this generation, yet many new properties arose to take their crown. It's happened every generation and will continue to happen.
 
Tylahedras said:
This gen seems to take less risks, which is sad, but I will say that what's here is incredible.

It seems to me previous gens had way more bad games coming out and also way more interesting stuff when it did succeed. This gen is all polish and doing a few things very, VERY well.

But yeah I agree with the general feel of this thread that some genres that aren't big money makers like RPGS, top down shooters, and strait platformers are basically dead this gen.
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I'd disagree with this, only because you can find plenty of "risky" indie games that aren't big moneymakers on PSN and XBLA.

They're just not promoted as well, so lots of people overlook them.
 
the OP seems to like eastern games. i can see why he may think it was a letdown. Western games have never been better though.
 
Manmademan said:
Survival Horror this gen: Condemned 1 and 2, Siren Blood Curse, Dead Space 1 &2, Resident Evil 5 and 6, Multiple Silent Hills. The quality is up and down but the genre is far from dead.
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I think most would consider those games to be action horror, with the exception of Siren Blood Curse. There's also Fatal Frame IV and Amnesia although the former was sadly never localized.
 
Been gaming since the NES generation, although I actually started on Atari. This is by far the best generation there has been for me. And I don't even own a PS3 or play a Wii. Only gen where I only owned one of the multiple competing consoles and I still game more than I ever did in any other generation.
 
I am in this gen for four or five months now and so far I quite liked it. Skyward Sword is a nice Zelda game, Arkham Asylum is really good and has some excellent ideas, Mass Effect had some problems like a bad framerate (I actually got slightly nauseatic by that, the same that happend with Turok 2 few weeks ago) yet it is still well done and Nuts and Bolts and Resonance of Fate are games that took some risks and are still good. I'm sure that I will find more games that I will like.

There's only one strange thing: I sometimes get some kind of sensory overload playing these games, it is like it is too detailed for me. I don't know why.
 
Non-Nintendo Japanese devs definitely had a time of it, but overall I thought this was a strong generation. The Wii doing well is great for the industry, and I'm glad consumers didn't bite on PS3 at its ridiculous launch price -- hopefully that kind of thing will never happen again.

I actually had a decent PC for most of this gen so I was able to play TONS of games there -- indie games, high-quality PC games, etc. Pair that with a DS which had a great game or two in just about every genre and you have a quality generation.
 
My biggest gripe with this generation was no KH3. I'm really excited for 3DS though, so hopefully it'll hold me over.

Oh and I hate the whole DLC thing making games feel incomplete as fuck, especially in fighters (I'm looking at you Capcom).
 
Vrakanox said:
I think most would consider those games to be action horror, with the exception of Siren Blood Curse. There's also Fatal Frame IV and Amnesia although the former was sadly never localized.
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personally I feel that's picking nits, really. I don't see a significant distinction between the two. There's no distinction between resident evil 3 and Dead Space 2 for me, other than the absence of terrible tank controls.
 
This is the most comericalised generation so far.

Which has lead to publishers wanting the next big hit hollywood style game, sadly this means that innovative and unique games have basically fallen off the wagon.

I can only see this trend getting worse with next gen, budgets will increase and we will end up with the same rehashed sequels and safe concepts.

I imagine that 3DS and Vita will be my consoles of choice next gen.
 
Perhaps the best generation ever, if you include the handhelds (and I don't see why you shouldn't).

The DS is the only system, along with the SNES, that you can utter in the same sentence as the PS2. So in terms of a spiritual successor to greatness, we had it this generation, except in the form of a handheld.

Then we had something totally different in the Wii. Love it or hate it, it brought something original to the table that was either understated or absent in the other systems.

Love the PS3, and I feel that it had some of the best exclusives this generation. While its software lineup isn't in the same class as its predecessors, the machine definitely made its mark this generation.

XBox 360 has, IMO, overperformed and overshadowed the original XBox, and that's all you can really ask from a console. I don't think it was a good enough system to have on its own, without complementing it with a PS3 or Wii, but out of all the other consoles, it came the closest to being the all-in-one device.

So hell no it wasn't a let down. It exceeded expectations. Every system, for the exception of the PS3, improved upon its predecessor this generation - the Wii, the XBox 360, and the DS - in terms of quality software. If you have all these systems, how can you not say that this generation wasn't fantastic?
 
If you aren't happy with this gen, then you likely won't be happy with any 'gen' ever again. Sucks to be you.
 
Kamek said:
Oh and I hate the whole DLC thing making games feel incomplete as fuck, especially in fighters (I'm looking at you Capcom).
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From the games I played, only Assassins Creed 2 feeled a bit incomplete because it has two missing sequences (which were released as DLC). I actually haven't bought any DLC yet and don't plan to so far. Games like Nuts and Bolts, Arkham Asylum, Prince of Persia and Mass Effect felt pretty complete to me.

But then I see or read about stuff like the Assassins Creed 2 thing I mentioned above and that FFXIII-2 has a casino where most things don't work because they are DLC and that quite annoys me. If you add DLC, don't tease us with that stuff in-game.
 
A bit of a problem op. your whole post is incorrect.

Graphics improved hugely, game length increased dramatically, as did the quality, we were given ways to extend the playtime of our already too long games even further, all old genres exist plus we gained a few new ones.

In other words, this is the best generation ever.

I started with the Atari generation by the way.
 
Manmademan said:
personally I feel that's picking nits, really. I don't see a significant distinction between the two. There's no distinction between resident evil 3 and Dead Space 2 for me, other than the absence of terrible tank controls.
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Survival Horror places more emphasis on surviving. In re3 for example you spend a lot of time running from lickers, zombies, nemesis and so on. Often times you have to choose between fighting or fleeing. In Dead Space 2 you can just kill everything in your path and it's always the best decision. Both are great games but different enough.
 
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