Modern gaming... is this decline actually a real decline in quality? or are we fooled by nostalgia?

[TelHybrid]

I've noticed a lot of threads with some comments saying that modern games aren't as good as classics, that we'll never again see the quality of such classics as Final Fantasy VII, Ocarina of Time, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Half-Life 1, and some lesser known titles such as System Shock 2.

Are comments like these valid, or are many gamers simply clouded by nostalgia?

 

[Amnestic]

We're blinded by nostalgia. The power of rose-tinted glasses should not be underestimated.

 

[Sassafrass]

I think these comments are valid. I've got Oblivion, Fallout 3, Halo 3, Gears Of War 2 and I've played The Last Remnant for my 360, but none of them, in my eyes, are as good as Final Fantasy VII. FF VII was an awesome game and to me it's better than most games that are released today.

 

[Kollega]

I think these comments are partially valid. On one hand,there's more developers,and they crank out more games,which means higher shite percentage.

On the other hand,there's still games of incredible quality - Valve's franchises,Ratchet & Clank series,the list goes on.

 

[j0z]

I think it is a combination of both, because amazing games are still being released, Bioshock (so what if it was not as deep as SS2? Go play Fallout 3 if you want an inventory screen!), Mass Effect, Fallout 3, the list goes on.
I think that many times the haze of many years obscure the old game's faults in the minds of some gamers.
I will not say that some of the classics were not some of the best ever made, but that is like saying architecture has gone down the tubes because we no longer make the like of the pyramids and collisium.

 

[tehroc]

Real decline. The future portrayed in the Mike Judge comedy Idiocracy will come a lot sooner. The world is being dumbed down to maximize profits. Soon people will expect less and less from their entertainment and someday we all will be watching Ow My Balls!

 

[You_have_a_name]

I don't think that applies to me as probably about 90% of my favourite games are on the 360

 

[Pendragon9]

It's a combo of both, like someone above said.

Really, sometimes a game or genre can stop being original after thirty different games come out and are the exact same thing.

 

[Molten Discharge]

My completely non-scientific theory is that when I was younger I had a not better but more wild and free-flowing imagination that allowed games to really come to life and be truely memorable. As I get older and I know how games are made, what patterns to look for to advance to the next level as quickly as possible etc the magic seems to be dwindling.
Put a 7 year-old infront of Fable II and they'll be talking about it non-stop in ten years or so.

 

[Fauxity]

I think it is a combination of both, because amazing games are still being released, Bioshock (so what if it was not as deep as SS2? Go play Fallout 3 if you want an inventory screen!)

Well that's awfully unfair. It WAS a sequel, keep in mind.

As for the question: I'd say that we're really not taking advantage of the technology we currently possess to make the games as best as we could if we wanted to. There's something to be said for nostalgia, but maybe we're nostalgic because they were doing something right.

 

[ntw3001]

I suspect the appearance of a decline is probably due to heavy marketing of dull, derivative games. The good games are getting better and better, it's just that the bad games are more and more noticeable.

 

[Koeryn]

Real decline. The future portrayed in the Mike Judge comedy Idiocracy will come a lot sooner. The world is being dumbed down to maximize profits. Soon people will expect less and less from their entertainment and someday we all will be watching Ow My Balls!

...but, I like that show!

 

[TriggerUnhappy]

Real decline. The future portrayed in the Mike Judge comedy Idiocracy will come a lot sooner. The world is being dumbed down to maximize profits. Soon people will expect less and less from their entertainment and someday we all will be watching Ow My Balls!

...but, I like that show!

And soon, you'll love the game!

 

[DrDeath3191]

Some of this, some of that. Given the heightened popularity of the gaming industry, there are more companies to make more games. Since the majority of things made are worthless by Sturgeon's Law, this leads to there being a larger amount of crap than there was in the past. However, this does not apply to the modern greats, like Bioshock, Mass Effect, Fallout 3, etc. These games are adversely affected by the nostalgia of better days. I played Super Mario 64 close to the launch of the N64. When I played Sunshine, I felt as if it wasn't as good as the N64 version. Nostalgia affected my outlook on Sunshine for the worse. So, it's a mixture of nostalgia and truth.

 

[The Blue Mongoose]

Great games have been around for ages. And they are still around.

Devil May Cry (1 and 3).
Deus Ex.
Batman: Arkham Asylum.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess.
Quake.
Killing Floor.
The Path.
Ratchet and Clank.
Jak and Daxter.
Prototype and inFamous.
God Hand.

If anything games are getting better as a whole...

 

[DanDeFool]

I think the main issue here is newness. Games like Mario and Zelda: OOT and FF VII and Capture the Flag on Quake II multiplayer were all really good games because when you played them for the first time it was a new and exciting experience. Can you believe that Capture the Flag was actually a third-party mod in the Quake II days? But once we started getting around to FFXII and Quake IV and Mario Sunshine and Zelda: SDGFT (Same Damn Game for the Fifteenth Time), the experience is no longer new and isn't nearly as exciting because we've been through it all before.

Pretty much all the new generation of games has had to offer for veteran gamers is better graphics, better multiplayer, and a sprinkling of innovative new game mechanics. It's not that the new generation of games are worse than the older ones; arguably the newer games are far superior to the ones we're so enamored with from days long past. It's just that, for those of us who have been around since electronic games were a new think, we've gotten so familiar with the core elements of most games over the years that we've started to get a little bored with games in general.

Right now, I'm playing Silent Hill 2 and 3 and loving every minute of it, because I've never really played a survival horror game before (outside of the original Resident Evil). However, it's still really familiar and a little run down because I'm very familiar with the third-person action adventure game mechanic. If I had never played a third-person action adventure game before, I'd probably be downright obsessed with SH2. Still, I'll probably only play SH2 once, where I distnictly recall back when I first got Oni for the PC and played through it at least a dozen times in spite of the fact that there was absolutely no motivation for doing so in terms of unlockables or harder difficulty modes.

But people are probably getting sick of my text walls by now, so allow me to express my feelings in song for a little change of pace.

"The thrill is gone
It's gone away for good
Oh, the thrill is gone baby
Baby its gone away for good
Someday I know I'll be over it all baby
Just like I know a man should"

-from "The Thrill is Gone", by. BB King

 

[Xelioth]

it's perception, is all.

I mean, think about it. look back at what you're saying here. FFVII, Ocarina of Time, Mario 64, Goldeneye, etc etc etc. you look back on a few extremely awesome games from years ago and you judge ALL new games by them.

well obviously not ALL new games are going to measure up. most games, even back in those days, were crap. you just forget about the bad over time, so the new bad seems more significant.

we're still getting good games, though. likely in equal amounts as back in the old days. Portal, Modern Warfare, Braid, FallOut 3, etc etc etc.

overall quality isn't going down any, it's just easier to see all the bad stuff of today than to remember the bad stuff of yesterday. 10 years from now we'll be looking back on the great games of 2009 wondering if games will ever be that good again.

 

[dorm41baggins]

The problem is, when people talk about 'modern gaming' they usually mean games made in the last 3-5 years. Gaming has been around for about 40 years now. If you look at all the games released in those 40 years and compare it to the ones released in the last 4, of *course* there's going to be a higher quantity of really top tier games in the former category rather than the latter. The thing is, their were many more crappy games released in those 40 years that have been (rightfully) forgotten. I very much doubt the ratio good games to crappy games has changed all that much, we just haven't had a chance to forget the most recent load of crap that has been produced.