They say the future is always clouded and that nobody can predict it. I happen to agree.
However, some things are clear and for the game industry these are the things I see.
The most important one? How internet games are going to get more and more attention than AAA titles. You’ve all heard of games like “Farmville”, “Mafia Wars” and other such games right? Maybe some of you even play them once and awhile or are totally addicted to them. Me, personally I don’t like them that much because I’ve always lived my gaming life in the AAA titles. However, more people are focusing their attention to these kinds of games and are making them very cheap or free to use so they can attract more people and get more money this way. Now I don’t think this thing will last as long as most people think it will. Eventually this stuff will die out until something new comes out, but it will stay for awhile.
Why?
Well for one, it’s free and people love to get free stuff. The games are easy to understand and for those trying to work in the game industry these games make a good start to work on when you’re starting out. All the big companies don’t want prodigies. They want people who know how to work in a team, know about the game industry itself, and have spent two or three years working on games. Social games are great for gaining experience.
Another reason is that most of the games don’t need any sort of updated software or a console. You just need your computer and a connection to the internet. People don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars getting a new console or upgrading their PC’s to get the requirements to play the game, you just click and go.
So why do I, and a lot of other gamers, don’t like these kinds of games? A lot of companies are focusing on these social games so much that those who do want to do AAA titles have no choice but to comply and work on these when we want to play and create the next God of War or Demon Souls. But it’s simple to understand why these companies keep on issuing demands for more social games, its money.
Now I’m not going to go on a rampage and say why companies should focus more on creativity then money because A: Our economy sucks. B: It’s the same artist vs. business crap we hear every day. And C: It’s just how business works. When you look at the rank on how Zynga, the company that made Farmville, was worth 5.51 Billion compared to EA’s 5.22 Billion last year in October then that says something.
We also have more people going to the social games and such because the game industry is, in my opinion, at a turn. We have had the longest console time ever with the 360, PS3, and Wii and there is no sight of a new console being made yet. A lot of bad games are being made with the only big ones being from the same companies we always see, which are a bad sign; I think we need to see a few new rising stars. People are getting laid off (no surprise), companies are going down (again no surprise), things are costing more,and with the state the world is in with the economic backlash (Yes even you China, we all know your faking it) everything is just harder.
We also have a few idiots in the gaming industry who really need to get a bash on the head and start taking the industry seriously. Don’t come into this industry unless you’re serious because we have been trying for years to get everyone to take us as a real business and we’ve only gotten one foot out the door, don’t ruin it for us!
But I faith that everything will work out. AAA titles will be good again and social games will be like 95 percent of all the flash games you play on Newgrounds, just things to play if nothing else is left.
And if that don’t work….well there’s always hoping of a zombie apocalypse.
Later.
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