Pixelspeech said:
Exactly what the title says.
I used to watch LotR when I was a kid and I played many of the games, but I don't care about the universe anymore. Most of the once-groundbreaking ideas have become fantasy standards, so when I rewatch the old movies, I usually quit after about an hour; I haven't even bothered glancing at The Hobbit yet and have no intention of changing that.
Has the story grown stale after years of license-milking or has it simply being outdone by stuff like Warhammer and Dragon Age? What do you think?
I think, from your post's content, that you are confusing "relevant" with "fresh" or "exciting." Relevancy is pretty much an indisputable quality that Tolkien's work has earned by packaging previous mythos content into a cohesive and updated package that provides the basis for much of fantasy related writing (books, games, video games, etc.) into the present day - and is expected to do so into the foreseeable future. Some of the other posts here mention and/or detail that.
As far as "fresh" and "exciting," maybe not so much. I mean, we know now what we expect to see and hear and know when we are presented with words like "Elf" and "Dwarf" and "goblin" etc. etc. These weren't new "fresh" concepts when Tolkien introduced his impressions of them either. There's been a troll under the bridge since bridges have existed. Are they still enjoyable? Tolkien's work is, in my personal opinion, immortal. I am a fan who reads the trilogy annually, of course, so take that for what you will.
Imitation, repetition, borrowing, and re-imaginings do not, for me, change the quality of Tolkien, which is really why his became the standard for so long. It's an extremely well put together world with multifaceted characters all working without totally overpowering any other element of the story. It's a damn masterpiece is what it is. So, no. I don't think it's lost anything with time. That would be like saying spending time on Deviant Art reduces the splendor of the masterworks of art we have in the world.
More good things existing doesn't diminish the good things that already exist in the world of creative expression the way they do in the world of electronic devices. A better iPad comes out? Yours isn't as good anymore. Simple as that. Electronics can be quantified exactly in all their parameters that are objective. Art is subjective, the quantification process isn't exact and it isn't universal. Even if something better than Tolkien comes into being, even if it is replaced as the standard (a thing almost unthinkable at present), it would not diminish Tolkien's work simply by existing. Some people would still prefer Tolkien to the new thing. Just like some people might not give a moment's thought to the new iPad, even though it is quantifiably better than their old one, for some subjective reason - perhaps the new functionality is one they will not use, and therefore irrelevant to them, perhaps their grandma who passed way last year gave them this one, imbuing it with a sentimental value, whatever.
Okay that got a little ramble. TLDR: No relevance lost. No greatness lost. Not that I can see anyway.
Oh, and if all you've experienced of LoTR is the movies and game? go read the books. Please. Don't cheat yourself of some of the finest fantasy literature around just because you think the movie and the games have already got you covered on "knowing the story." Extensive liberties were taken by both that diminished the products in which they were taken when compared to the original story and its nearly perfect blend of components. King Theoden was not that cranky. Faramir was nothing like Boromir. Other contradictions await you in the written word.
