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CNN Chris Morris takes on industry future(great read)

A

Andrew2

Banned
A little interesting interview from gamespot. Anyhow I can't say I disagree with him either on the state of the industry.


http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/07/20/news_6129349.html

Graphics is getting better, but both originality and creativity is quickly being squeezed out by mostly by the "trendy" e.g clone games, and I personally thing the industry could use one less GTA knock-off; if not many. Whats worst, developers are resorting to "genre-blending", IMO the lazy and less creative method simpily because they don't know how to innovate or be creative anymore.

I'm no nintendo fan, but for thier sake hopefully the Revolution bring back creativity, cause the videogame industry is quickly turning into the motion picture and music businesses -- two forms of entertainment that have already lost thier innovative ways.
 
It's funny... the bitching now about GTA clones... I can remember a generation where people bitched that there were too many Mario 64 clone games.... each generation you'll see copies of that particular generations very "popular" title... and each generation you'll still find creative games... if you look.
 
I agree we do need more creativity in the industry. It's not like there is a terrible lack of good games, we just need more developers to be creative. Killer 7 is one of the more creative games I've played in a while.
 
Here's a fun part:

GS: Who do you think are the five most powerful people in the game industry today? In order, if you care.

CM: Wow. That's a tough one, since it's so hard to segregate the executive side from the developer side, in terms of raw power. I'll take a stab at it, but I'll refrain from putting them in any sort of order: Ken Kutaragi, Larry Probst, the buyer for Wal-Mart, Mark Rein, Doug Lowenstein. (My apologies to Sam Houser and Will Wright, both of whom were on the list several times as I struggled over it. They're currently locked in a deathmatch struggle for sixth.)
Click to expand...
 
DarienA said:
It's funny... the bitching now about GTA clones... I can remember a generation where people bitched that there were too many Mario 64 clone games....
Click to expand...
True. There's far less GTA clones than say, platformers or fighters in the 16-bit era.
 
_1460805_today.jpg

"This is the news"
 
aoi tsuki said:
True. There's far less GTA clones than say, platformers or fighters in the 16-bit era.
Click to expand...

The side scrolling brawler was the most overused genre in the history of gaming. There were hundreds of these damn things.
 
Baron_Calamity said:
I wasn't aware there was a plague of GTA clones. There was True Crime, Mafia, Scrapland, errrr Spiderman 2?
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Simpsons Hit and Run, Destroy all Humans... er.... 25 to life?
 
Unison said:
Jak II was the worst offender, imo.
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Freeroam design does not necessarily = GTA :lol
Or Dukes of Hazzard is a GTA clone. Edit: well, maybe it is after all LOL. But Jak2 is so not GTA...
 
Seems like every new generation we have an article asking where is the creativity. New exciting creative games still manage to come out each gen despite of all the handwringing. Halo 1 is probably the most fun I had playing a videogame ever, mainly because of the coop play and GTA definitely represented a new and innovative approach to gaming. I'm sure their will be games this gen that will do the same. Spore already looks like it will.
 
sonycowboy said:
What about Jak(ing) the cars? Crowds that react to the interaction?
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It's clear that there's elements from GTA in Jak2 as in many games. GTA was one of the most (if not the most) influcial game this gen. And it's gonna influence gaming for years again. Jak2 is still a platform/shooter and does not feel at a GTA attempt imo.
And the crowd is dumb, it only start shooting you if you hit them, it's not like they "react" really.
 
If you're complaining about game variety and don't have a PS2, that's like complaining about not having technology advance, and only owning a DS.

A lion's share of the quirky, innovative stuff and original IP this generation showed up on the PS2.
 
DarienA said:
It's funny... the bitching now about GTA clones... I can remember a generation where people bitched that there were too many Mario 64 clone games.... each generation you'll see copies of that particular generations very "popular" title... and each generation you'll still find creative games... if you look.
Click to expand...

The thing about it though, an industry could only take a certain amount of "knocking-off" or "repeating" that it reaches the point that the core user audience become bored.

I'm sure your familiar with the motion picture problem of ever loosing its core audience, and its not because of the proliferation of Dvd -- its also because with the core audience its a been there done that affair and nobody want to see a Indiana Jones wanna be with different label slapped on it.

IMO if the motion picture industry is ever to really recover and regain its audience, it would have create another revolution in way Jurassic Park did when it made believeable special effects the main attraction.
 
Andrew2 said:
The thing about it though, an industry could only take a certain amount of "knocking-off" or "repeating" that it reaches the point that the core user audience become bored.

I'm sure your familiar with the motion picture problem of ever loosing its core audience, and its not because of the proliferation of Dvd -- its also because with the core audience its a been there done that affair and nobody want to see a Indiana Jones wanna be with different label slapped on it.

IMO if the motion picture industry is ever to really recover and regain its audience, it would have create another revolution in way Jurassic Park did when it made believeable special effects the main attraction.
Click to expand...

Are you saying the VG industry is losing it's core audience? IMO I don't think that's happening, rather the core audience is growing because in the last two generations more folks who grew up on videogaming are sticking around to continue to videogame... and youngsters are still coming in to the fold. With that growth however comes change, the core audience age is starting to skew older, so there tastes are changing as well.

Screw the movie industry BTW. ;)
 
DarienA said:
Are you saying the VG industry is losing it's core audience? IMO I don't think that's happening, rather the core audience is growing because in the last two generations more folks who grew up on videogaming are sticking around to continue to videogame... and youngsters are still coming in to the fold. With that growth however comes change, the core audience age is starting to skew older, so there tastes are changing as well.

Screw the movie industry BTW. ;)
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Considering that people are very conservative with thier money, the $60 MSRP is going to scare alot of current customers and potential customers. I mean, you already have gamers now taking a tact view of spending with the next-cycle of consoles that the economic effects going to be felt in some manner.

Heres another scenerio now that gamers going to be fickled about thier spending -- X publisher dumps $20-30 million(minus marketing cost) into a potential Y title(it has AAA written on it from the publishers POV). Now say only 40k of Y title(with the $20-30 million investment) is sold during its lifetime, thats a huge loss for the publisher.

You see, this is the very same thing with the motion picture business and it very much parallel what will happen in the game industry.

Universal dumped more than $200 million(minus marketing) into WOTW and apparently the film is bombing. IMO, looking at the fact Dvd sales is dropping, Universal better have a prayer that WOTW recoup the cost and provide some sort profit. Its the same with with games -- there going so many median to big budget titles thats going to bomb because the consumer aren't going to pay $60. In fact, this is the very thing that played a part in the death of the arcade business -- big investment titles, but consumers are too conservative to pay the increased cost. Sure they say the videogame has too much money to be made, but I personally think they're wrong.

btw, do you know the list of unprofitable movies grows year by year? I would interesting if this happend to the games; even if though it actually happening.
 
Andrew2 said:
Universal dumped more than $200 million(minus marketing) into WOTW and apparently the film is bombing. IMO, looking at the fact Dvd sales is dropping, Universal better have a prayer that WOTW recoup the cost and provide some sort profit.
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Huh? Bombing? Universal? 200M to make?

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=waroftheworlds.htm

WAR OF THE WORLDS
Distributor: Paramount
Release Date: June 29, 2005 (we're at less than 3 weeks released)
Production Budget: $132 million

Domestic Total as of Jul. 19, 2005: $196,159,547
Overseas Total as of Jul. 17, 2005: $255,375,000
= Worldwide: $451,534,547

and DVD sales/rentals now account for ~doubling a movies income.

I think you picked a bad example. This movie is a freaking blockbuster.
 
sonycowboy said:
Huh? Bombing? Universal? 200M to make?

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=waroftheworlds.htm

WAR OF THE WORLDS
Distributor: Paramount
Release Date: June 29, 2005 (we're at less than 3 weeks released)
Production Budget: $132 million

Domestic Total as of Jul. 19, 2005: $196,159,547
Overseas Total as of Jul. 17, 2005: $255,375,000
= Worldwide: $451,534,547

and DVD sales/rentals now account for ~doubling a movies income.

I think you picked a bad example. This movie is a freaking blockbuster.
Click to expand...

I stand corrected :)
 
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