I saw this in another forum and I just thought I would post it here because it's also what I think.
You will notice that I don't mention much of X-Box or computers in this thread. Simply put, I don't believe Microsoft should be in the console hardware industry (which is a whole other rant I'll get into later), and computers...well, they're pretty much obsessed with MMO games at this point. No innovation there.
This whole train of thought was sparked while reading about this new PS2 Linux Kit (which allows you to create your owns games) in my latest OPM magazine. It seems, as time goes on, that Sony is pounding out more high-tech gadgects and gizmos, that they're pushing the boundaries of technology to create all-in-one systems that can do anything, and then some. And all the while, I'm wondering why Nintendo isn't doing the same thing. Online gaming would certainly be even a creative goal wouldn't it? Yet, it's not (or at least, they haven't firmed up much about it.)
So, why?
I think the answer is games. As a game publisher, Nintendo is far and above SCEA in both quality, quantity, and popularity (any person on the street knows who Mario is; most don't know what Gran Turismo is). While Sony is out trying to make the big bucks, Nintendo toils in their little offices and makes games. So? PS2 has tons of 3rd party support. SCEA can afford to do other stuff.
Yet what I find is that the only source of innovation is on that little rectangular prism. Face it. 95% of all PS2 games can easily be slapped with a genre label, and the only ones that sell are franchises (Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear Solid, etc) or new games with some sort of quirky new gameplay which is thus copied by everyone else (Devil May Cry, Resident Evil.) So my question is, "where has all the innovation gone?"
It's in Nintendo. But at this rate, Microsoft is going to buy out Rare and everyone else, and Sony will consume the rest of the market. Innovation will be sucked dry and all we will have left is the occasional Deus Ex port.
I'll always be a Nintendo fan, but even so, I can't help but think that games are slowly slipping. Even the best companies, Square and Konami, are losing their touch. Sony is monopolizing the market, and Microsoft is out to replace them (read: Sega). It just seems like we're losing our touch, as gamers, and as designers. Games are becoming more mainstream now, as well, and we're lucky if that $50 game will last us a month before we beat it three times over.
Perhaps some of you could care less if innovation dies off, and if gaming ceases to evolve (except on a technological level.) But personally, I'm a little distraight at where the industry is going. Even despite the innovation I believe Nintendo still places a priority on, it seems like the golden age of gaming has passed.
Written by Sodon, administrator www.omegaintertainment.com
You will notice that I don't mention much of X-Box or computers in this thread. Simply put, I don't believe Microsoft should be in the console hardware industry (which is a whole other rant I'll get into later), and computers...well, they're pretty much obsessed with MMO games at this point. No innovation there.
This whole train of thought was sparked while reading about this new PS2 Linux Kit (which allows you to create your owns games) in my latest OPM magazine. It seems, as time goes on, that Sony is pounding out more high-tech gadgects and gizmos, that they're pushing the boundaries of technology to create all-in-one systems that can do anything, and then some. And all the while, I'm wondering why Nintendo isn't doing the same thing. Online gaming would certainly be even a creative goal wouldn't it? Yet, it's not (or at least, they haven't firmed up much about it.)
So, why?
I think the answer is games. As a game publisher, Nintendo is far and above SCEA in both quality, quantity, and popularity (any person on the street knows who Mario is; most don't know what Gran Turismo is). While Sony is out trying to make the big bucks, Nintendo toils in their little offices and makes games. So? PS2 has tons of 3rd party support. SCEA can afford to do other stuff.
Yet what I find is that the only source of innovation is on that little rectangular prism. Face it. 95% of all PS2 games can easily be slapped with a genre label, and the only ones that sell are franchises (Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear Solid, etc) or new games with some sort of quirky new gameplay which is thus copied by everyone else (Devil May Cry, Resident Evil.) So my question is, "where has all the innovation gone?"
It's in Nintendo. But at this rate, Microsoft is going to buy out Rare and everyone else, and Sony will consume the rest of the market. Innovation will be sucked dry and all we will have left is the occasional Deus Ex port.
I'll always be a Nintendo fan, but even so, I can't help but think that games are slowly slipping. Even the best companies, Square and Konami, are losing their touch. Sony is monopolizing the market, and Microsoft is out to replace them (read: Sega). It just seems like we're losing our touch, as gamers, and as designers. Games are becoming more mainstream now, as well, and we're lucky if that $50 game will last us a month before we beat it three times over.
Perhaps some of you could care less if innovation dies off, and if gaming ceases to evolve (except on a technological level.) But personally, I'm a little distraight at where the industry is going. Even despite the innovation I believe Nintendo still places a priority on, it seems like the golden age of gaming has passed.
Written by Sodon, administrator www.omegaintertainment.com
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