Forget HD: Why I decided to neglect this console generation

EDITOR'S NOTEfrom Sam Barsanti

Based on the reasons he gives here, I don't really blame Benjamin for taking a pass on this generation. I've played a ton of great games in the last few years, but I can only count a handful that have really shown me something completely new.

I'd consider myself a hardcore gamer. When I'm not attending college or working, I'm usually gaming. If I'm lucky, sleep will make it in there somewhere. While maybe not as much as I’d like to, I generally stay in touch with the latest happenings within the industry as well. However, despite my passion for games, I've almost completely written off the HD generation.

Why? Because of polish.

Is polish bad? No, not at all. It's helpful when a game actually works, so you can properly enjoy its content (you know, the reason you bought a game in the first place). But, over time, polish has slowly risen on to a pedestal over all other aspects of development. That means less attention has been given to areas like creating new ideas or taking things in clever directions. You can easily see this transformation from generation to generation.

However, it feels like we've gotten to an extreme. Eventually, I just sort of stopped bothering with most modern games, and looking from the outside in, the whole system cycle turned into a blur. Numbers would change on the end of franchise names, but the games would stay the same. Even some new IPs would borrow so many elements from other titles that they looked just like sequels with different coats of paint. Sure, many of these games were spotless, but it's like we're getting the same big hits year after year. The developers are spending too much time on polishing existing ideas, and not enough on creating new ones.

Of course, rising budgets definitely play a role in this. It's difficult to take risks when a single title's failure threatens to starve your whole family. Of course, the problem is on the consumers’ side as well. To some people, if a game gets an average review of seven, it might as well be zero. There's a cost factor for the consumer as well, but it seems most gamers value near-spotless polish over something actually new or interesting. That stands for both new and existing IPs.

However, this is a problem that already has a solution. Over the last two years, digital titles on the console front have really started to shine. What used to be only smaller indie-like experiences focused on singular ideas are now becoming more and more ambitious. Even the mid-budget title gap which formed this generation is starting to be filled in from the digital end. For most people, that’s great. Unfortunately, I'm anti-digital, but that's a story for another day.

So what have I been doing the last seven years? I've turned to the past and have been focusing on anything pre-HD, from the Commodore 64 to the original Xbox. While my collection for older systems continues to grow, my amount of PlayStation 3 titles sites at a whopping eight.

I didn't completely ignore this generation, though. I found some entertainment on the Wii, and still use it fairly often. Why? Is it because I'm a giant Nintendo fanboy? Probably, but I'd like to think that's untrue, as I'm sitting here without a Wii U. Honestly, the real reason is mainly because the Wii just didn't follow the trend of other systems. Creativity was at its forefront, as well as the terrible motion controls.

Reflecting on this generation in recent months, I do regret not giving many titles a chance, and I've been making efforts to redeem myself by tackling some of the bigger hits. The cycle is finally winding down, so I’m a bit late, but I guess it’s better than never.

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Yasin Bulhan

November 26, 2012

That was an interesting article. I agree that some games get rushed just to add polish, but I also think that there are a lot of games worth the time and money since they do try to push the envelope in what a certain genre is. A big example could be the new Batman games. They've done something that no other super hero game has done, made a more than competent and kickass game.

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Benjamin Yoder

November 28, 2012

Yeah, Arkham Asylum and City are on my list. I've never really been into the western super hero thing, so I've always kind of distanced myself from it. We'll see when I get to it.

Ed Grabowski

There is a serious lack of variety, that is for sure. It seemed like in previous generations there was so much variety on store shelves. Nowadays, I look at the shelves and all I see is shooters, action games, and a racing game. Where's the variety? What happened to people waiting in line for 10 hours to play the new Banjo Kazooie one day, and the next to get their hands on some obscure JRPG? I've been in this for 25 years, and I watched the variety skyrocket when the PS1 and N64 hit the scene.

The variety on display was awe inspiring. There was so much to see and do, and no one genre took the spotlight. Games like Ratchet & Clank on the PS2 weren't considered kiddie games, they were considered funny and intense action games. Nowadays if your game doesn't include shooting things in the face, you're not hardcore enough, and it's a damn shame. A damn, damn shame. I get so depressed when I think of all the great genres that gamers let die.

And sure, you can always find games in these genres, but not AAA ones, not the kind that people wait in line for 10 hours for, which is a shame, because publishers won't invest in them if they aren't going to knock it out of the park. Take the Ratchet & Clank Future series on the PS3. Two of the very best games ever made in my opinion. I have friends who still won't play it, because it ins't a realistic shooter. Yet they then turn around and complain about the lack of variety, and how all shooters are the same. And when I confront them with their stupid...ness...they brush it off like they aren't part of the problem.

And this is what it all boils down to. Gamers are the problem, not publishers. Gamers are responsible for this. A publisher is going to make what sells. That's their job. It is our job to vote with out wallets, and instead of supporting new, original and great IP on store shelves, we instead spend 500 million dollars in one day to buy another Call of Duty game. Where were these people when great, original shooters like Singularity and Metro 2033 were struggling? Where are these people when X-Com amazingly gets made, and then flops?

I'll tell you where they are, on hypocrite island, right next to their new copy of Blackops 2.