I feel like I'm the only one who likes AAA games [rant]

[immortalfrieza]

Wow , 33 posts in and no one said: " you're never the only one ". Is this forum maturing ?!

OT: This is really hard to answer to . People complain about what they don't like naturally . When it comes to AAA games , most of these series are held in high regard by gamers , therefor when something happens that people don't like , they have good reason to complain . Because they have played or grew up with the series . The best example i have of this is DMC . New dante , his characterisation ( forget what he looks like ) , is not to my liking . I grew up with old dante , and honestly in my opinion , old Dante was badass . Now all these years later , iv'e gotten older , and there is a new dante . Do you know what i see when i look at new dante? I see a 16 highschool kid . And i hate it . BUT the game is no longer aimed towards me , the old generation , it's aimed towards the mew generation of gamers , the 16-17 year olds who will be the future of gaming . Just like Old dante was aimed towards my generation of gamers , New dante is for the new generation . Old dante represents what was cool 10 years ago , New dante represents what's cool now . I just grew up and am no longer the target demographic of that game . Some people upon the realisation ***** and moan that their favorite series is dead . Are the wrong? No , the series is dead to them , but they weren't the target demographic for that game . But to the people who that game is marketed to , it's and ball full of awsome .

I forgot what my point was . Take from that what you will.

This^ doesn't fly, it just doesn't. There are plenty of game sequels and reboots out there that find a way to keep their old target demographic and also draw in people from other demographics, and there are also plenty of games that manage to avoid being trapped in only one target demographic from the outset, that just about everybody can find good, and there's no reason other games can't do the same. Quite frankly, there's NO REASON whatsoever for any game developer and/or publisher to piss of their old fans just to reel in some new ones.

 

[deviltry]

You're not alone, indie scene can go ef itself. ^.^

 

[Erttheking]

Tell me about it, I know what it feels like. It really sucks being a Halo fan, then going gaining access to a website filled with gamers, only to find that you have nothing in common with any of them. It makes you feel...very lonely.

 

[krazykidd]

Wow , 33 posts in and no one said: " you're never the only one ". Is this forum maturing ?!

OT: This is really hard to answer to . People complain about what they don't like naturally . When it comes to AAA games , most of these series are held in high regard by gamers , therefor when something happens that people don't like , they have good reason to complain . Because they have played or grew up with the series . The best example i have of this is DMC . New dante , his characterisation ( forget what he looks like ) , is not to my liking . I grew up with old dante , and honestly in my opinion , old Dante was badass . Now all these years later , iv'e gotten older , and there is a new dante . Do you know what i see when i look at new dante? I see a 16 highschool kid . And i hate it . BUT the game is no longer aimed towards me , the old generation , it's aimed towards the mew generation of gamers , the 16-17 year olds who will be the future of gaming . Just like Old dante was aimed towards my generation of gamers , New dante is for the new generation . Old dante represents what was cool 10 years ago , New dante represents what's cool now . I just grew up and am no longer the target demographic of that game . Some people upon the realisation ***** and moan that their favorite series is dead . Are the wrong? No , the series is dead to them , but they weren't the target demographic for that game . But to the people who that game is marketed to , it's and ball full of awsome .

I forgot what my point was . Take from that what you will.

This^ doesn't fly, it just doesn't. There are plenty of game sequels and reboots out there that find a way to keep their old target demographic and also draw in people from other demographics, and there are also plenty of games that manage to avoid being trapped in only one target demographic from the outset, that just about everybody can find good, and there's no reason other games can't do the same. Quite frankly, there's NO REASON whatsoever for any game developer and/or publisher to piss of their old fans just to reel in some new ones.

But they are the future . While people my age are starting their adult lives and have less time for gaming because of real life , the new guys are going to be the ones buying dozens of games a year , and playing them and talking about how awsome everything is . I can see why they would target them. And every "old" fan that buys the game is an added bonus . Anyways that's my theory.

 

[Something Amyss]

I have a problem, you could say.I hear all this talk of the big evil corporations being big and evil and AAA is a big evil awful thing and I feel conflicted

Conflicted? Weren't you actively chastising people for that talk?

people are predeicting and even calling for another crash if not of the AAA model then of EA,EA crashing actually wouldnt bother me at this point....but anyway

Again, I'm confused. You feel like you're the only one who likes AAA games, but you're fine with EA crashing, even though it really is the AAA model.

I feel kind of frustrated, when I play games I play for a certain expereince, the big worlds, cinematic storys, and (in a perfect world) fun gameplay, do all games tick thesse boxes? no of coarse not, but I sure as hell did not spend as much as I did the other day on a new computer so I could play "retro graphics indie wankfest"

Man, if there was only some happy medium between the two of them.

Wait, there is.

Of course, if yuo sank a ton of cash into a computer so you could play those shiny new games, who do you have to blame?

actually I think my point is the frustration felt when somthing I like (I guess you could say somthing kind of important to me) is met with such hate and negativity,

*sings* Welcome to the huuuu-man race!

Spoiler: the reference

Seriously, this is part of the human condition. Odds are if you are breathing, you like things that other people hate. I don't know why you should get special treatment (especially after you just took a dig at indie games. They may not be your cup of tea, but you don't want to be bashed for something "important to you," soooooo...).

Actually, let me follow up on the parenthetical there. You, you specifically. I notice you a lot because of your avatar, so I can readily associate you with your comments. Not everyone has that. It's easy to look back at things you've said before, and you are pretty quick to condemn that which you don't like. So why are you so quick to cut down if you find it frustrating when it's done to you? That seems like a huuuuuuge double standard.

does "voting with your wallet"? make any difference? It didnt for Diablo, it didn;t for ME3 and I doubt it will with DS3

First off, in all three cases, voting with your wallet DID work. People voted "HELL YEAH!" The people voted, and they said "Always online!" They said "Hackneyed ending!" They are saying "microtransactions!"

Okay, not literally. See, there's a part people tend to forget about: while you're "voting," so is everybody else. There's millions of other people who don't give a flying fish about the issues you do. A lot of people really are fine with microtransactions. If you don't believe me, look at the various app stores. They make these games because they sell so well, and if you object to that, you might want to steer clear.

But I'll be honest. It looks like you're looking for a reason to buy the game, an excuse to get it despite moral objections. If that's the case, just buy the damn game. It's basic human nature (the same thing that they're preying on). Pleasure is a strong motivator, to the point animals will demonstrably starve themselves given the choice between food and sex. I bet that would apply to gaming, too.

If you do really want to be a creature of principle, however, you might want to try actually abstaining if you object to the things that are being done.

However, and I will bold this to make sure it's noted, if you choose to buy the game, you are choosing to vote with your wallet.

And since you are voting on the game as a whole, you are at least saying "I'm okay with microtransactions."

I get a little mad when people label people like myself as idiots...hey fine, dont get the fucking game if it makes you feel good, but its my money and I'll do what I damn well please with it, I'm not an idiot, my principles are just different...and SURE "retro graphics indie wankfest" is great for you but its not my thing

So your values are diffferent, but you have a moral conundrum that says your morals aren't, and you hate being judged and labeled, but you're judging and labeling. Huh.

Anyway, rewarding bad behaviour is not a smart move. It doesn't make you an idiot, but be mindful of your actions before you start in on the criticism.

Myself? I have no moral conflict. I'd buy DS3 in a heartbeat if I had played the first two and enjoyed them. Why? Because I don't give a damn about optional microtransactions. But it's obvious it's bugging you, so maybe you should reconsider instead of recoiling at criticism.

 

[Therumancer]

I have a problem, you could say.I hear all this talk of the big evil corporations being big and evil and AAA is a big evil awful thing and I feel conflicted

Conflicted particually after Jims peice featuring Dead space 3, I'm the same in that I love dead space but this micro transaction BS is a step too far...oh I'll probably still get it but I'll feel kind of bad, but that said it doesnt have to be a game killer in terms of the game (ethically though)

people are predeicting and even calling for another crash if not of the AAA model then of EA,EA crashing actually wouldnt bother me at this point....but anyway

I feel kind of frustrated, when I play games I play for a certain expereince, the big worlds, cinematic storys, and (in a perfect world) fun gameplay, do all games tick thesse boxes? no of coarse not, but I sure as hell did not spend as much as I did the other day on a new computer so I could play "retro graphics indie wankfest"

so whats my point? I dont know, I think I forgot my point

actually I think my point is the frustration felt when somthing I like (I guess you could say somthing kind of important to me) is met with such hate and negativity,

its not that I understand, I do....but whats the answer? does "voting with your wallet"? make any difference? It didnt for Diablo, it didn;t for ME3 and I doubt it will with DS3 I dont know what the answer is...except for complaining...I think we should complain more not to ourselfs on forums but to the companys themselves...

I get a little mad when people label people like myself as idiots...hey fine, dont get the fucking game if it makes you feel good, but its my money and I'll do what I damn well please with it, I'm not an idiot, my principles are just different...and SURE "retro graphics indie wankfest" is great for you but its not my thing

It's because of the business aspects of things. Right now if your supporting a AAA title your not generally just being given a game for your money and being told to have fun with your product. Your being made to jump through hoops just to play (online registration, DRM, etc...), only to find your given part of the product (day 1 DLC, etc...), and are then bombarded with attempts to get you to pay more and more money into a product you already bought. It's been getting worse and worse, and just hit a new climax with EA demanding people buy microtransaction currency in "Dead Space 3".

Nobody really hates the games themselves, they hate the things being piggybacked onto them. It's important to understand that.

Also, the people calling for a crash, are those who realize that if such a crash DOES happen, it's not going to be the end of gaming, any more than the one in the 80s was. It means there won't be any more games for a while, but the bottom line is that due to the demand people will return to AAA game development, but will have hopefully learned not to get involved in the crap that lead to the crash. The hope is that we'll go back to being able to just buy a complete game for your money, and play it, without DRM and online authentication, not be harassed for DLC, and similar things.

We all want games that are going to push our system to the limits, and we don't mind paying for them, what we care about is all the other garbage increasingly being added to it as a rider. Even people who defended a lot of the practices up until this point are getting fed up.

If the current trends don't bother you this much yet, give it time, you will reach your breaking point eventually since the industry continues to push, becoming greedier with each passing day.

We've basically gotten to the point where looking back at the old $15 CoD map packs and how we all went "WTF" seems nostolgic and not that bad in comparison to the current antics. That's what people are getting upset about.

The "I must game, no matter what" mentality is an attitude people need to get out of if we're ever going to see any improvement, because as long as people keep buying into these cash grabs it just won't stop.

 

[immortalfrieza]

But they are the future . While people my age are starting their adult lives and have less time for gaming because of real life , the new guys are going to be the ones buying dozens of games a year , and playing them and talking about how awsome everything is . I can see why they would target them. And every "old" fan that buys the game is an added bonus . Anyways that's my theory.

That's not my point. My point is that it is easily possible for games to retain their current audience while also gaining more. There's no reason that any video game company has to leave the old fans out in the cold in favor of bringing in the new ones. In fact, it also makes much more sense financially for the industry for them to ensure they keep their old fans coming back, it's more stable that way. It's much more important to keep things stable than destroy yourself trying to get something unattainable.

 

[Kroxile]

AAA needs more variety and less bullshit.

100% agreed here. Less cash grabs and more variety.

OT: I think all my games (save free downloaded ones off PS Plus) are AAA games. Other than the yearly sports crap or CoD's annual gun-wank I believe that AAA games really do give you the most bang for your buck.

There have been a few indie games that I liked but they don't really draw me in or keep me occupied for more than 5 minutes at a time. Mobile gaming also sucks for the same reasons as well as having even crappier controls.

That said, I absolutely despise where the AAA gaming industry is heading with micro-transactions and "everything must have multiplayer" horse shit. I despise online multiplayer in 99% of its forms and the remaining 1% that I don't despise I generally have a passive "meh" feeling toward. You'd think with as well as Skyrim did (and a few others whose names escape me at the moment) that perhaps publishers/devs would look and think that maybe if their games don't suck they don't need tacked on crap to attempt to distract people from the awfulness that their game is... but whatever, I guess.

 

[Rad Party God]

The only correct solution is to just enjoy the games you enjoy and don't give a fuck what other people think. Works for me.

This right here should be the quote of the decade.

I love MMO's and they're not very popular around these parts (at least anything beyond WoW) and then, the ones I do love get smacked time and time again, even to the point of actually changing my stance over said MMO negatively.

Same with Bethesda's games, I love them to bits and they get smacked time and time again for having dumb stories and for being an untested bug fest and while some of that may be true, I still enjoy them immensely.
[small](I love Fallout 3... deal with it)[/small]

Don't even get me started if I ever mention something remotely positive about Nintendo and/or Wii in the same sentence.

I had a stroke of brilliance recently, just like this guy says, I just stopped giving a shit about what other people thinks about the things I like and enjoy. I'm actually starting to feel happy. Remember that feeling?, I kinda like it.

 

[Ishal]

Tell me about it, I know what it feels like. It really sucks being a Halo fan, then going gaining access to a website filled with gamers, only to find that you have nothing in common with any of them. It makes you feel...very lonely.

I'm a Halo fan too, for everything it has to offer. Single player, multiplayer, and its awesome lore.

Just like what everyone says mate, you are never the only one.

 

[shemoanscazrex3]

I have a problem with how AAA titles are handled as of recently. I have no problem with you guys all trying to make the next COD, knock yourselves out as there's plenty of variety to hold me over. My problem is how money grubbing the industry has become. ME3 was fine to me, the ending didn't give me the masive diarrhea of OMG THE ENDING SUCKZ hysteria as everyone else. What made me mad was the whole launch day DLC that was an essential part of the game. This whole project 10 dollar thing pisses me off. Fighting games and their DLC aka color swaps that we used to get for free by pressing different face buttons. The yearly release of games that add a few features here and there and charge you full price for em. Activision and EA you can release your yearly titles, that's fine, but don't charge me full price for what is essentially an expansion pack. I'm mad Bethesda made a buggy game and didn't care because that platform was making less profit for them. Ok the game is so buggy that you can't release some DLC for it(why did you release it?) right now but you can go ahead and make Watered Down Sims: Skyrim Edition and then some more DLC to extract as much money as you can without losing money on fixing the PS3 version. Luckily enough PC owners can fix things themselves.

That's my problem with AAA games and sure my voting with my wallet might not amount to much but if we all did it'll really have a voice. For now, I'll buy games I want to support and from companies I want to support that do practices I support

 

[MASTACHIEFPWN]

"retro graphics indie wankfest"

Hey man, don't bring Retro Graphics Indie Wankfest into this! It is so much better than Stylized Graphics Indie Wankfest!

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

AAA games would be fine if they were 20$ at 40$+ its highway robbery....

 

[Dead Seerius]

I love triple A games. I'd venture an assumption that a vast majority of gamers do. What I don't like (as I'd likewise assume most people don't) are the piles of money-squelching BS triple A publishers insist on putting into their latest releases. Long story short - love the games, hate the way they can sometimes be manipulated to turn an extra profit at the expense of shipping an incomplete/semi-restricted game.

But that doesn't often stop me from buying the games I love anyway. I won't buy into their half-hearted DLC or shameless micro-transactions, but I won't let a worthy gaming experience slip by just because I don't favor such practices.

If other people try to tell you that you're a sheep or a mindless consumer for buying into AAA games, fuck 'em. They're missing out.

 

[Full]

Hey, Indie games have some of the finest originality in the industry! I adore stylized platformer number 454,673! I also love somewhat non-linear survival adventure game 232,458! If that's not your thing, ultra hard retro shoot-em up number 139,431 is outstanding!


EDIT and OT: I'm not one to sit back and force a game impress me, I will have fun with most things. That said, do I feel bad for giving attention and money to these bloated companies that overwork developers and shoehorn in features "to broaden appeal" and maximize profits, over whatever original good game company? Yeah, kinda. This does and will not effect my enjoyment in life and the product, however.

 

[Auron]

I like lots of big titles, quite a bunch of them from EA no less, they ruined a lot of good stuff in the last 13 years around the time they axed bullfrog, the original maxis, origin most importantly Westwood and etc... But there's some good titles and decent teams, I daresay that if EA didn't have an extremely heavy handed corporate culture based on profitability, stupid dead-lines to maximize, retarded marketing and caring fuck-all for long term support they would be the best publisher around with the huge array of great IPs and actually competent dev teams. Sadly most games come out unfinished or are tarnished by Marketing department and shareholder's pressure and are rarely fixed.

Generally people going "against the system" and supporting retro indie stuff reciting how it used to be better, forget this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWHHlnbZOYQ

And about voting with your wallet, I say this http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/6187-Why-Boycotts-Fail-Where-Whining-Tantrums-Win unless it's a completely hopeless game like the last medal of honor or something.

I love triple A games. I'd venture an assumption that a vast majority of gamers do. What I don't like (as I'd likewise assume most people don't) are the piles of money-squelching BS triple A publishers insist on putting into their latest releases. Long story short - love the games, hate the way they can sometimes be manipulated to turn an extra profit at the expense of shipping an incomplete/semi-restricted game.

Yeah... Like, the fact that Call of Duty is the same exact game with almost the same level of graphics and no changes in the gameplay or weapons or setting whatsoever(world at war was an anomaly I admit.) since Modern Warfare irks me to no end.

 

[Vault101]

And then there's the negativity, seriously has no one noticed how much of a downer some escapists are, there's just... so much hate here.
.

when I see a posative opinion Its actually jarring

"retro graphics indie wankfest"

Hey man, don't bring Retro Graphics Indie Wankfest into this! It is so much better than Stylized Graphics Indie Wankfest!

at least stylised graphics wankfest is trying and not being all pandery

Considering that the OP has actively called people idiots in other threads regarding their opinions on topics, it seems a bit rich for him to now post a thread whining about being called an idiot by people who don't share his opinion.
.

? only if they deserved it...

anyway

I dont know where the cost comes from in regards to AAA games...mabye it is graphics , it seems at this point graphics have reached their peak on the console end of things

I did once read that AAA or AA games shouldnt be as hard/costly to make like having 200-500 peole on one project...or somthing

regardless mabye things need to change, but I dont know how

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

Aww, Heck, fellers, I for sure do enjoy my three A games, never you mind the powerful hate them folks heap on 'em. Somethin' about all that splooey splodie action, and them there giant set pieces with beyuteeful graphics and complex confusin' button mashes makes me all excited in the pants!

Seriously, the only games I've purchased in years are AAA games. Sure, I would like to play Journey, but I just don't have $15 to spend on a two-hour game, I can get better value than that in the mainstream industry. Certainly Bastion looks like a game I would like, but I got no Xbox and so it's a moot point. Indie games are a growing front and I think that's a great thing. But AAA is still where it's at.

It's still only AAA that I can count on to deliver a large, exciting experience with dazzling graphics and complex gameplay. Yes, it is often a breeding ground for committee design and spineless publishers who take no risks. But I don't want all my games to redefine the genre. I want to go out and blast shit like the old days with Borderlands. I want to run around in a sandbox and fuck up everybody's day in Prototype. I want the gigantic spectacle of Mass Effect 3.

The AAA industry is often very generic and uninspired, but you can't tell me that its bereft. Stories like Bioshock are still told here. Innovating designs like Catherine are still being made. Characters like the ones I grew to love in Mass Effect are still giving us reasons to care.

Just look at the best games this year (in popular opinion). The Walking Dead: yes, it's indie, so a point there. Mass Effect 3: exact opposite of indie. Dishonored: AAA again. Spec Ops: don't think that was indie... Borderlands 2: very not indie. Go ahead and think of some more. For every TWD and FTL there is at least one AAA title that totally lives up to the promise of quality gaming.

So no, Vault, you are not the only one. AAA games are not a guilty pleasure for me, they're just a pleasure.