Will this be the most boring generation yet?

[Fonejackerjon]

When do you think the PS4 and xbone will get their killer app?

average game after average game with nothing very inspiring on the horizon.

When do you think will be the turning point? if ever.

 

[Fappy]

I kinda think gamers may be too broad a demographic to provide a killer app for these days. I mean Halo is great and all, but do you really think if it had come out today (obviously updated) that it would be the system seller that it was 15 years ago? I'm just not convinced the market works that way anymore.

 

[Whitbane]

The industry doesn't encourage new ventures or risk. When you're spending 300 million dollars on a game, you gotta sell to everyone and their Mom. The only way to do that is to make the most boring, generic trash possible, because that's the most accessible game.

At this point, you'd be better off funding unique stuff on Kickstarter for PC.

Although the PS4 line-up looks pretty decent this year with MGS5 and P5.

 

[Fonejackerjon]

So...it seems the only innovation is happening on the indie scene. So if that's true why the hell did we need new consoles?

Most indie games wouldn't make a 3 year old smartphone break a sweat.

 

[Papadam]

I play more games than ever thanks to the new gen. Lots of great games already on PS4, barely play on my PC anymore.

What games were considered "killer aps" last gen?
Can't think of any except Last of us and it was released just at the end of last gen.

 

[Lilani]

So...it seems the only innovation is happening on the indie scene. So if that's true why the hell did we need new consoles?

Most indie games wouldn't make a 3 year old smartphone break a sweat.

Has anything ever been different from this? I'm not just talking about video games either, I mean in books and movies as well. There have always been indie book and film scenes which release in different places from the big blockbusters. But both big blockbusters which release in chain theaters and indie films that hit little indie film houses have their own place in the film scene. Lots of indie films are made by up and coming filmmakers and star up and coming actors. Indie films are also their own market in general, like the difference between fast food and fine dining.

And it's the same with video games. Both AAA console games (which are easy to play and get into and easy to find due to the nature of consoles and how they are marketed) and indie games (which can be harder to find and get into due to the way they are created and marketed, or rather often not marketed except by word of mouth) have their own places within the video games market. They serve different customer bases and fulfill different marketing needs. And the indie games market is only growing larger and diversifying because of the Internet and social media.

So no, this isn't the most boring generation. It will probably be one of the most exciting, given the sheer amount of choices which are available and the ease of obtaining them. No longer are we shackled by what games make it to store shelves or video rental stores, or by whatever can be made in Flash and uploaded to places like Newgrounds or Ebaumsworld.

And don't even start in the whole "all games are the same these days, all the most popular games are shooters" thing. What do we consider to be the classics of bygone generations? Mario, Sonic, Zelda, Mega Man, Metroid, Spyro, Donky Kong, Banjo Kazooie. What are all of these games in some way or another? Platformers. Back in the day platformers were the easy to make and pick up go-to formula for games, exactly what shooters are today. Variety in concept has never been an aspect to the most popular games, just as with any consumer entertainment product.

 

[Evonisia]

I kinda think gamers may be too broad a demographic to provide a killer app for these days. I mean Halo is great and all, but do you really think if it had come out today (obviously updated) that it would be the system seller that it was 15 years ago? I'm just not convinced the market works that way anymore.

Good example, seeing as Halo 5 (which is likely going to be the first "killer app" of the Xbox One) is gearing up to be a weird hybrid of Titanfall, Advanced Warfare and Halo 4.

I shudder at the thought myself, but that's where we're at now.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

When do you think the PS4 and xbone will get their killer app?

average game after average game with nothing very inspiring on the horizon.

When do you think will be the turning point? if ever.

Disgaea 5 is just around the corner. That's gonna make it worth owning a ps4.

 

[Bombiz]

When do you think the PS4 and xbone will get their killer app?

average game after average game with nothing very inspiring on the horizon.

When do you think will be the turning point? if ever.

I'm not sure about Xbox one but I have a hunch that Bloodborn will be a huge killer app for the ps4. I know that I'm getting a ps4 just for it.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

To be fair, I think most gamers have an inflated nostalgia blinded view of the previous generations. For all the hype and love and "OMG childhood!" of the Gamecube, N64, PS1-2, 360, etc... we all only remember like two or three games per console that were any good. Its not like most of the old libraries were memorable in any way.

I mean what percentage of the Gamecube or PS1 library was shit? 80%? 90%?!

I don't mean to defend the Xbone of PS4, but 'boring' is relative. I was plenty bored 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 15, 20.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Go back to Yahtzee's videos in the begining of last gen and it's the same, it takes about 2 years before the industry moves to the next console

I agree with this. I didn't pick up a PS3 for several years after it came out because there was just...nothing on it. But then, developers started getting the hang of it and games started to shine. My PS3 library now almost rivals my PS2's. Give it a little more time, probably another year, and then we should start seeing stuff. If we don't by then, then it might be time to start wondering.

Also, Bloodborne is coming. That may not be a killer app for you, but it damn sure is for me.

 

[Atmos Duality]

When will they get their "killer app"? ANSWER: They won't.

We have SO MANY individual games coming out annually that only the very biggest will stand out to the market at large, and yet, even THAT kind of presence is eroding ever so slowly. At this point, the AAA game market is now so heavily consolidated that those publishers are slowly just becoming their individual game franchises.

Ubisoft is "becoming" Far Cry and Assassin's Creed, Activision CoD, Blizzard WoW...etc etc.
Even Nintendo is in that boat now ("Becoming" Zelda + Mario), and I find that hilarious considering how they practically OWNED the video game market once upon a time.

There are GOBS of indie developers out there now; and many are willing to offer what AAA will not (or cannot).
(still no good mecha games though...*sigh*)
Frankly, I have to agree with the assessment of the Xbone and PS4; I just can't find any reason to own one.

 

[rgrekejin]

(still no good mecha games though...*sigh*)

Seriously, though, I'd kill for a new Mechwarrior game. Or a Gundam game that's a mech simulator rather than an embarrassment.

 

[laggyteabag]

We seem to be sitting in that odd position where most of the big releases are for both current and last gen consoles, and any game that comes out exclusively for current gen seems to disappoint a lot of people. I would say that the first big killer app for the PS4 will be Uncharted, but Bloodborne is going to get a lot of attention for sure. For the Xbox, the obvious choice would be Halo 5.

I am kinda glad that I skipped on this generation so far, to say the least.

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

There are GOBS of indie developers out there now; and many are willing to offer what AAA will not (or cannot).

The one plus I see here is that the AAA is taking a hard look at the indie scene, and we see some changes based on that from time to time. PSN and Xlive will look at Steam's highest sellers and get them on their platforms (or look at Minecraft), but my biggest joy about all this is the horror genre. It pretty much dis-a-fucking-ppeared. Then we got 2 Amnesias, Lone Survivor, Claire, Among the Sleep, etc. and AAA is noticing. The Evil Within wasn't exactly what it should have been, but if PT is anything to go by Silent Hills should be scary as all hell. Though I do wish you luck with the proper mech games.

 

[viranimus]

You know what the most boring game is? The one you didnt play.

I find its not the games that are the real problem near as much as it is the consumer hostile fashion the various platforms have become. It is making it real hard to buy anything on any given client when attempting to play a game becomes a laundry list of terms and conditions, followed by mandatory forfeiture of personal rights and then capped off with a formal pledge of allegiance.

As for people crying indies are our salvation, NO.

Indie games might not have the same issues as large development houses, but more and more they come with the same ridiculous demands due to errors in decision making by the devs regarding distribution. Making them no better off than X big budgeted bloat triple A title. While you might see more innovation from indies, as a whole you do not because the indie scene is infinitely more stagnate with so many countless variations on the same theme that was run into the ground ages ago.

It is all about the ratio. Triple A games seem like innovation wastelands because you get say 100 new games a year and only 2 did anything reasonably different. Compare that to indie games where you find 10 unique and interesting ideas embedded into games marred by incomplete status, poor quality control, abandoned projects, Infinite development cycle ect, out of 10,000 new entries in one year.

 

[Lithan]

It seems like ever since the original Xbox, consoles have had much less effort focused on producing quality games to sell the box and more on shifting the purpose of the console to a more general entertainment center that people feel justifies a $500-1000 price-tag.

The last console I can remember actually wanting to buy for a title (that was later ported to PC anyway) was an Xbox. This generation it's The Wii. And in both cases it's a single title. How many games existed on the PS2 that could alone justify the purchase? Most people could name a dozen or more. Now, devs seem to focus more on creating a single generic title that they hope appeals to everyone and then funding the hell out of its promotion (Titanfall, Destiny, etc); whereas in the past a smaller market produced many times more titles, that often were more specialized but also (in my opinion anyway) more enjoyable. It was more about satisfying your consumer and less about winning GOTY or being the biggest title on the platform. It's gone the way of Hollywood where a handful of titles are given the time and focus, just because it's decided they're the ones people ought to like, they aren't expected to earn it.

The last console I bought was an Xbox one, and that was to replace my Xbox which had transitioned into a DVD player (the original Xbox could read a dvd that had been chewed up by a dog, the laser in that thing was amazing); which it proved inferior at. The Wii is the only one I see myself buying in the next ten years if nothing changes. While PC gaming is suffering many of the same troubles as console, it was a larger pond to begin with, so it seems to suffer them better. After eight or ten consoles owned in my life, these days I have a hard time thinking of a reason to even consider owning a PS4 or Xbox1.

 

[Lithan]

To be fair, I think most gamers have an inflated nostalgia blinded view of the previous generations. For all the hype and love and "OMG childhood!" of the Gamecube, N64, PS1-2, 360, etc... we all only remember like two or three games per console that were any good. Its not like most of the old libraries were memorable in any way.

I mean what percentage of the Gamecube or PS1 library was shit? 80%? 90%?!

I don't mean to defend the Xbone of PS4, but 'boring' is relative. I was plenty bored 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 15, 20.

The difference was with the exception of boxes like DC that had short lifespans; consoles of the past had much more varied titles; so even if 90% didn't appeal to you, 10% was a LOT of games worth playing. NES? I couldn't even tell you how many titles it had. A thousand plus anyway. PS1 (or maybe it was PS2)? I think it was in the range of three thousand. And these were not Indie games that 1-5 guys made in the space of a few hundred (or even thousand) man hours, these were their days versions of AAA titles today. Now rather than make fifty games to appeal to a variety of gamers, it seems to me the tactic we're seeing is make one game for X market and Y time and spend all the money and time you saved by not making the other forty-nine games trying to convince people that your one game is what they want. Hell, I could probably break down my past year by what title was being advertised at a given time. TF, AC, COD, Destiny, Farcry. I don't remember much if any overlap.

 

[Stg]

Why are people calling video games "apps" now? Last I checked, app is short for application and video games aren't considered applications.