I didn’t want to believe it
For the last two months I’ve used my free time at home to play XCOM2 on the PS4. The game is a year old now, but I never got around to finishing it when it was first released. I’ve always loved the XCOM games, and this one is no exception. What brought me back to it was the lack of interesting games that have been released this year. I’m a bit picky with the games I choose to purchase. I usually find something of interest every couple of months, but not this year. Actually the next game I’m interested in purchasing is Hidden Agenda by the makers of Until Dawn. Hopefully it doesn’t run into some last minute issues and get pushed back. Not having anything new of interest for so long has had me feeling disappointed with my PS4. I haven’t bothered discussing it because I felt like it was just me that felt this way. Keep in mind that there have been some big game releases this year. They’ve just been games that felt too much like games I’ve played before. Injustice 2 and Tekken 7 we’re welcomed by fight game fans. The Witcher 3 set the modern Open World Fantasy game standard. Horizon: Zero Dawn, Nioh, and Resident Evil 7 are just a few others that made quite a few gamers happy. Still none of these titles had me waiting for the game store to open on release day. So obviously it had to be me right?
Not so fast
Last night I had a few friends over to my place for a birthday get together. Ironically part of what made this party a success was playing That’s You on my PS4. Even though I haven’t rushed out to the video game store that often this year. I have taken advantage of the monthly releases PS Plus offers. That’s You was one such release that has been worth downloading. While playing the game one of my friends asked me if I use my PS4 very much anymore? The question surprised me, but I answered quickly. “Not really” I said. “The only game I’ve been playing lately is XCOM2” I told him. He wasn’t surprised at all. He hadn’t played a game on his PS4 for months. Another one of my friends decided to join the conversation, and he felt the same way. The last game he bought on release day was Resident Evil 7.
He absolutely loved the game, but unfortunately beat the game in a single weekend. All of us agreed that the majority of games that have been released this year are pretty generic. They felt the same way as me. Keep in mind that all of us are casual gamers. We don’t play video games every day. We will binge play a game we really like until it’s completed. That just doesn’t happen all that often anymore.
What does it all mean?
Now that I know that it isn’t just me. I have to wonder how this has negatively affected the video game market. If more and more people are disinterested about the types of games being released these days. Then the number of games sold must be decreasing. If you have read my previous gaming posts. Then you’ll know that I believe that the large video game production companies are releasing too many games each year. A reduced interest could actually be the reason why. If you don’t expect to sell a huge number of copies of a single game. Then why not just attempt to sell an average number of copies of many games. As long as you divide your development budget between all the games. That way your expected profits will remain same. All you really require is for the hardcore Gamers to blindly buy whatever you release. Trust me, more people buy every hyped game that comes out than you think.
All the recent talk about PS5 development. The Ultra HD upgrade consoles that are already on the market. The introduction of Playlink to allow more people to play in a party atmosphere. All of this is beginning to feel like an industry that’s getting desperate for our attention.
The problem with peaking
What really caused all of this to happen? I’ll tell you what did it. Technology has peaked. It wasn’t all that long ago that a major Game release meant that the quality of video games was about to take a step forward. We couldn’t wait to see the improved graphics, or amazing attention to detail. Even if the game wasn’t great. Experiencing the newest technology at work for the first time made it worthwhile.
I just hope that Hidden Agenda doesn’t disappoint. It’s the follow up to Until Dawn, which was the last game I purchased that really impressed me. It is taking advantage of the Playlink system which adds to my interest. Sony does deserve some credit for looking ahead to where video games are going. Playlink and Playstation VR could be what keeps them on top for the foreseeable future.