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[Bungie]

I do miss the PS3/360 Gen when releases were more consistent. We got so many trilogies back then! Gears of War is a great example. I personally don't see this being said anywhere. I see people saying dead game in the comments on a Fortnite post. That's about it. Gaming is growing faster than ever, So maybe you are seeing more negative opinions/trolls?!

 

[Mr Reasonable]

Except some political stuff in some games

Like what?

 

[supernova8]

Not necessarily that games are not fun anymore, more that as you get older the bar for what will wow me naturally goes up.
I remember back when I was a kid and Resident Evil 1 on the PS1 looked practically photorealistic (and thus terrifying) to me. Now I look at it as an adult and just chuckle, even Minecraft has better models than OG RE1.

Other thing is that I naturally get bored of stuff more quickly because I control what I spend my money/time on (which can include just going out of the house without having to ask for permission), which by itself is a massive change from being a child, being told to stay in your room and having maybe or two video games to play and literally nothing else to do (especially back in the pre-dialup internet days).

Funny thing I've experienced with Game Pass is that while it's great to be able to try a lot of different titles (big and small) all for one monthly fee, it also kinda feels too easy to just drop a given game and move onto something. It's a bit like back when everyone (at least around me) had a Nintendo DS with one of those R4 carts loaded full of games and you'd end up with choice paralysis. Of course that's on me in terms having self-control/discipline, but I've found myself appreciating my Switch games a lot more since I only ever own 2 or 3 games at a time (to make sure I either complete them or at least give them a really good run).

 

[YOU PC BRO?!]

Whilst I agree that gaming today isn’t terrible. With a few exceptions games aren’t pushing the boundaries anymore. Developers don’t even use the most up to date hardware features available I.e. VRS2, Mesh shaders, SFS and the big one …DirectML. We have been practically slapped in the face with AI in the past couple of years and there are no games utilizing the technology. Modders are capable of implementing ChatGPT in game chat with NPCs in an afternoon and devs won’t have that tech for years. Many games don’t even have a half decent physics system, never mind large scale destructible environments. This shit was possible years ago on trash hardware and we still don’t see it in the largest franchises. Other systems like the nemesis system in Shadow of War had promise but was ignored industry wide.

Even look at what’s possible with tools like Nvidia Remix. Why aren’t the big publishers investing in similar software to easily remaster their old libraries? AI texture upscale has been a thing for years. Where are the FSR2 patches for current gen titles? The devs are failing in real time and they don’t even know it.


Making things look pretty is nice but we could have so much better than the regurgitated crap we are being peddled. The worst has to be the modern sandbox. What a joke. Copy pasta of the same few activities spread across a map. My expectations are higher than most but given the number of people working on these games and the years it takes to make them I am astounded at the basics most devs just can’t get right.

 

[murmulis]

I don't think gaming is dying but obviously it can't compare to what is was 20 years ago in terms of innovation.
All the games you mentioned are sequels, except for Starfield being Elder Scrolls in space.

The biggest games ~20 years ago also were sequels. Doom 3, Half Life 2, Final Fantasy X, GTA 3 & Vice City, TES:Morrowind, Warcraft 3, Metal Gear Solid 2, Hitman 2 & Contracts and many others.

 

[trent_the_gent]

I definitely agree that I'd rather see devs focus on other stuff besides graphics, and I do agree that right now there's a big focus on samey sequels that essentially boil down to "more of the same".
At the same time though I can understand devs and publishers, bacause that's what sells . If you are spending $200 million on a game do you make a samey sequel that's guaranteed to sell several million or do you take a risk with a new IP with very creative but untested gameplay?.

Modern gamers are spoiled. They want super creative gameplay but also the game need to look incredible and it needs to run at high resolution and high framerate and it still needs to feature all the samey stuff like combat, quests, story, skills trees, etc, and it can't be cross gen because that automatically mean it's bad, and also it needs to be at lest 40 hours long
"Everything is just movie games with no real gameplay"
"Hey did you see this game Viewfinder that just came out and is doing some cool stuff?"

"That doesn't count because it's an indie and also the the graphics aren't photo real and there's no combat and it's not based on an IP I like. I'm going to buy Diablo 4 instead and complain that it has microtransactions"


Imagine Shadow of the Colossus coming out today in it's original state running at 15fps during fights and looking very dated compared to AAA game on PC. It would get destroyed by criticism

I played this game when it was called Superliminal.

 

[ProtoByte]

If you embrace and follow AA and indies games then its mostly fine. Hopefully, AA/mid-budgets will eventually get fully revitalized. Its still a shame that AAA publishers are squatting on some cherished series and not paying them proper service.

I keep seeing people refer to the indie scene as a bastion of creativity, and I really don't see it. Everyone is making farming simulators, 2D platformers, or Bastion wannabes.

 

[NahaNago]

Gaming has simply changed. Most of the games I was a big fan of are barely being made or has changed drastically. I can still find enjoyment in gaming but it isn't what it used to be for me.

 

[Hypereides]

I keep seeing people refer to the indie scene as a bastion of creativity, and I really don't see it. Everyone is making farming simulators, 2D platformers, or Bastion wannabes.

The problem might be that you're just covering one isolated corner of the indie/AA scene. Its pretty vast, but more interesting titles don't get much word of mouth or get eclipsed by exposure from bigger titles peddled by gaming media. Today, its essentially a gamer's "duty" to do research and go "digging" on your own in order to find anything that remotely tries to differentiate or deviate itself from the norm. The sheer scale of the market demands it.

You sure as heck can't count on gaming journalist "experts" doing that footwork for you.

Also, counter-point: aren't we witnessing homogenity in AAA too? why use this as dunk on indies? - most AAA publishers furiously chase templates and trends that hardly distinguish themselves.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Gaming peaked in the PS2/XB/GC era.
It went downhill from there.
Nowadays new releases (especially AAA) consist in remakes/remasters, sequels/reboots of already established franchises and GaaS.
New IPs are exceedingly rare and most of the time derivative as all hell. And if that's not enough development cycles are much longer and microtransactions are everywhere.
So no, I can't really agree with you, OP.

That's how I feel too

 

[spons]

People who think gaming isn't fun anymore haven't played Pikmin 4. God may be good, but Miyamoto is great. Absolute fun.
It's games like these that keep me invested in this hobby.

 

[gunstarhero]

You got it all mixed up.

People are dying and not fun anymore. The games are fine.

 

[lame gag1990]

The peak years are definitely behind us. But there's still good games to be found. Forget anything Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, EA, Ubisoft & Activision (there's probably more I'm forgetting). They're all generally shite these days. Forget "professional" review sites such as IGN. Delve deeper into the the endless sea of games. There's still good experiences to be had. You just have to research to find them I'm afraid.

 

[TheUsual]

Discovered Halls of Torment through word of mouth. Got it for $4. Some of the most fun I've had in quite some time. It's out there and can be hard to find.

 

[Punished Miku]

Discovered Halls of Torment through word of mouth. Got it for $4. Some of the most fun I've had in quite some time. It's out there and can be hard to find.

Looks like Vampire Survivors with a Diablo skin. I'd buy it on console.

 

[RoboFu]

I don’t understand people who say they don’t understand that people say gaming is dying.

I mean who is saying that? I never see that. It’s not dying in the slightest. It’s not the same as it was and for people like me that means it’s worse but alot of people seem to like the dumbed down interactive movie games so I would never say it’s dying. It just mostly sucks

 

[Tedditalk]

I keep going back and forth on this issue, but I think this year convinced me that people are not looking at the video game landscape as a whole.

Gaming as a whole is far cheaper than what we experienced in the early 2000s and before, even with the 10 dollar price increase.

Games are longer than ever before. Back then a 40-50 fifty hour game was rare. Now people expect a 0 added unto that play time.

Games are generally more creative if you look beyond the triple A space, and many are even as difficult if not harder.

Games allows connectivity with friends now, and even are more female friendly so you can bring your wives and girlfirends on board.

Countless other improvements.

The only thing that changed is that brand named Games, the ones from Capcom, Sony, Nintendo, Bethesda, Microsoft, Kojima and even fromsoftware, are usually derivatives of prior works and represent refinements rather than break throughs or major improvements in a genre, so the landscape feels like it stagnating. Worse yet if you fall for the marketing and believe the lies these people tell, start expecting Games that never existed. I think this is it. People are judging the industry health based on the stagnating triple A market. Imo that the gaming market fault, as the constant demand for graphics is what eating up the budget, and the added content is bloating the team sizes to an ineffective volume. It just not affordable for many studios to deliver an all around top end experience anymore, and those that can are securing funding from investors that want safe, profit increasing sequels rather than something that risky. Expectations gonna be reigned in.

Anyway, I think gaming the best it ever been this year, and I am pretty sure it gonna get better.

 

[Tedditalk]

I don’t understand people who say they don’t understand that people say gaming is dying.

I mean who is saying that? I never see that. It’s not dying in the slightest. It’s not the same as it was and for people like me that means it’s worse but alot of people seem to like the dumbed down interactive movie games so I would never say it’s dying. It just mostly sucks

There is dozens of game released this year that do not fit that mold. Why not buy those instead of the triple A ones that are selling games on the experience, rather than quality gameplay?

 

[Evil Calvin]

Except some political stuff in some games and greedy tactics by some companies gaming has never been more fun and creative

We have big releases like

Baldur's gate 3 - big rpg with alot of choice and consequence , alot of freedom when it comes to gameplay , alot of interesting characters , everything you could want in an rpg

Legend of zelda TOTK - another game with alot of gameplay freedom that stimulates your creativity , if you think of a solution its probably is a posibility

Star wars Jedi survivor - sure the game has optimization problems but the game itself is amazing , it improves everything from the prequel

Starfield - another huge rpg , from the looks of it they improved the rpg mechanics from fallout 4 , no more dialog wheel with answers like "yes , no , maybe "

Armored core 6 - sure the graphics are nothing special but the combat looks amazing and the costumization options of the mech is insane

Resident Evil 4 remake - ive never played the original so for me this game was a new experience and it was amazing


And then we have smaller games but very good too like Entrophy center , Viewfinder , Five nights at freddie's security breach , amnesia the bunker , dark light , dredge , age of wonders 4

You would have to be very picky to not find anything fun to play

Because all of the titles listed (except Starfield) are sequels. ALL of the titles are derivative of the same old stuff. Lack of new IP's and lack of innovation.

 

[Punished Miku]

Because all of the titles listed (except Starfield) are sequels. ALL of the titles are derivative of the same old stuff. Lack of new IP's and lack of innovation.

People don't buy new IP. Just look at Exoprimal. They always tell themselves that they'll wait for a sale, or if it's good they'll try the next one.

Reviewers are often the same as well. Most of the time they don't really know how to react until the community tells them. They were harsh on Dragon's Dogma until everyone in the community made it known how great it was, and now reviewers will feel stupid if they are harsh on the sequel. Same thing happened to the original NieR. Same thing happened to Wanted: Dead. Everyone also seems to have ignored Evil West. The list goes on. People line up for the big sequels. People call them GOTY 10 months before they even come out and day dream about the sales #s.

 

[saintjules]

It could be a phase or because I'm just getting older, but I feel like longer games are becoming a chore. It's some of the reason as to why I semi-retire some games. Did it with GOWR and Horizon.

PSVR2 is back in the box. Haven't played it much once the hype died down for it. Hmm, might have to go back at some point.

 

[Evil Calvin]

People don't buy new IP. Just look at Exoprimal. They always tell themselves that they'll wait for a sale, or if it's good they'll try the next one.

Reviewers are often the same as well. Most of the time they don't really know how to react until the community tells them. They were harsh on Dragon's Dogma until everyone in the community made it known how great it was, and now reviewers will feel stupid if they are harsh on the sequel. Same thing happened to the original NieR. Same thing happened to Wanted: Dead. Everyone also seems to have ignored Evil West. The list goes on. People line up for the big sequels. People call them GOTY 10 months before they even come out and day dream about the sales #s.

True. And that is a problem. I bought Wanted Dead and Evil West upon release. I prefer new experiences, but still also dive into AAA sequels....but outside of indie games, there is very little new out there.

 

[Shifty1897]

At some point as you get older, gaming starts to become repetitive, been there done that, nothing captures the same gaming high as it did when you were younger. We call this "becoming jaded".

If you become jaded, you have three options:
1. Quit gaming.
2. Still game but hate it and complain all the time.
3. Become unjaded and love gaming again.

 

[Hypereides]

People don't buy new IP. Just look at Exoprimal. They always tell themselves that they'll wait for a sale, or if it's good they'll try the next one.

Reviewers are often the same as well. Most of the time they don't really know how to react until the community tells them. They were harsh on Dragon's Dogma until everyone in the community made it known how great it was, and now reviewers will feel stupid if they are harsh on the sequel. Same thing happened to the original NieR. Same thing happened to Wanted: Dead. Everyone also seems to have ignored Evil West. The list goes on. People line up for the big sequels. People call them GOTY 10 months before they even come out and day dream about the sales #s.

The punished Miku telling it as it is. The majority of the community have a very narrow taste in games.

A bit of sidetrack; don't look at me, I bought Wanted: dead (physical copy) near launch. Its in my backlog and I'm absolutely going to give it a whirl. Just have to get through some games before I get to it.

 

[Destruction-1002]

 

[Filben]

Don't care too much about those ten people.

I'm still having fun as it was 30 years ago.

 

[MiguelItUp]

I think it's a pretty normal phase many people go through..

Most definitely! I think it's extremely normal, and honestly the older you get the more you will have experienced it. As someone that's approaching 40 I've already gone through multiple patches of that, kind of making my way through one right now, actually. But the first few times I went through it, it felt like it broke me lmao. I wondered if I was even into video games anymore, if it was me, if it was the games, etc. I think it was a little bit of both.

As years pass I feel like I've experienced so many different types of games, and it gets to a point where you feel like you're just seeing things get recycled over and over again. Or just nothing feels interesting. It's just made me more selective regarding what I want to play and put time into, I don't think that's too uncommon. That being said, good and great games are more certainly still present, you just got to find them. With the AA and indie scene growing larger and larger, the amount of new games these days is staggering. There's no possible way to play every single one. But you can look through what's available and check out the ones that are the most appealing to you.

 

[deriks]

Games are better but everything is about monetization now
They work with psychological teams to make people spend the most and be addicted
Consoles gaming is becoming like mobile gaming just with better graphics

One could argue that games are becoming more like mobile with better graphics, getting mechanics that doesn't reward the player, like the XP boost on Assassin's Creed...

But

They work with psychological teams to make people spend the most and be addicted

this is since ever. Arcade got made with that in mind, and some has a built in cheat to get difficult spikes only to get more coins. It's part of the thing to addict people, and that's why we have eSports now, and I hope never changes

 

[EverydayBeast]

Gaming today is loaded, it’s a gaming world, video games have been around for a 100 years now.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

2023 is one of the best years in gaming history, if not the best. Full stop. Incredible times

 

[Humdinger]

Funny thing I've experienced with Game Pass is that while it's great to be able to try a lot of different titles (big and small) all for one monthly fee, it also kinda feels too easy to just drop a given game and move onto something. It's a bit like back when everyone (at least around me) had a Nintendo DS with one of those R4 carts loaded full of games and you'd end up with choice paralysis. Of course that's on me in terms having self-control/discipline, but I've found myself appreciating my Switch games a lot more since I only ever own 2 or 3 games at a time (to make sure I either complete them or at least give them a really good run).

I don't think it's just on you. It's part of the "paradox of choice" -- beyond a certain point, more choices leads to less satisfaction. Barry Schwartz wrote a book about it. A simple analogy is to think about an extremely handsome man who has hundreds of ladies vying for his time and attention. He is not likely to settle down and commit to one woman. He is probably going to hop from bed to bed, growing bored of one woman, moving on to the next.

Now that I write it out, I realize that's not a great analogy, because it sounds like fun, lol. But my point is, he is (like the gamer with lots of choice) unlikely to commit to one game, and more likely to dump one game after another because of dissatisfaction. (He's also more likely to get an STD, but I suppose the analogy breaks down at that point...)

At some point as you get older, gaming starts to become repetitive, been there done that, nothing captures the same gaming high as it did when you were younger. We call this "becoming jaded".

If you become jaded, you have three options:
1. Quit gaming.
2. Still game but hate it and complain all the time.
3. Become unjaded and love gaming again.

I think there's a fourth option. You keep your toe in the water of gaming, and you play the occasional game that grabs your attention. That may only be one or two games a year. You don't quit gaming entirely, but you ratchet your involvement way back. You are not able to "love gaming again" (I'm not, anyhow, not the way I used to). I don't bother complaining -- partly because complaining is useless, and partly because the cause is internal (getting older, "been there, done that"), not something external ("the state of gaming").

That's how I do it. I wouldn't describe myself as "jaded," exactly. It's more like I'd rather spend my time and mental energy on other activities, for the most part. But I stay in touch with gaming news. Occasionally, a game will grab my interest enough for me to give it a try. I'll go months in between without gaming, though.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

It’s because people compare it to generations from their childhood when we were all naive stupid kids. Now we’ve been beaten down by adulthood and some have became jaded. For some it only affects part of the hobby. For example if I see a cool looking Ubisoft game, I have to remind myself that it will likely be a bloated mess with disgusting monetization. For others, this kind of attitude has taken over them for the entire industry.

There’s also those afraid of change, console worriers upset about the digital future.

 

[Last Hearth]

I don't think it's just on you. It's part of the "paradox of choice" -- beyond a certain point, more choices leads to less satisfaction. Barry Schwartz wrote a book about it. A simple analogy is to think about an extremely handsome man who has hundreds of ladies vying for his time and attention. He is not likely to settle down and commit to one woman. He is probably going to hop from bed to bed, growing bored of one woman, moving on to the next.

Now that I write it out, I realize that's not a great analogy, because it sounds like fun, lol. But my point is, he is (like the gamer with lots of choice) unlikely to commit to one game, and more likely to dump one game after another because of dissatisfaction. (He's also more likely to get an STD, but I suppose the analogy breaks down at that point...)





I think there's a fourth option. You keep your toe in the water of gaming, and you play the occasional game that grabs your attention. That may only be one or two games a year. You don't quit gaming entirely, but you ratchet your involvement way back. You are not able to "love gaming again" (I'm not, anyhow, not the way I used to). I don't bother complaining -- partly because complaining is useless, and partly because the cause is internal (getting older, "been there, done that"), not something external ("the state of gaming").

That's how I do it. I wouldn't describe myself as "jaded," exactly. It's more like I'd rather spend my time and mental energy on other activities, for the most part. But I stay in touch with gaming news. Occasionally, a game will grab my interest enough for me to give it a try. I'll go months in between without gaming, though.

That's where I'm at. I buy 1 to 2 games a year for the last few years. I'm basically completely done with the AAA cut-scene filled action games, and the 3P Open World collectathons, which is what 95% of AAA game release seems be nowadays. Lately it's going to be very unusual because I'm going to buy 3 games within a span of 2 month (JA3, BG3, and Starfield), but I think those 3 games might last me the next year or two before I buy again.

 

[VideoGameEnjoyer]

Yea, it's been a very bad year for that narrative, been great so far and so much more good stuff coming.

The one I don't see mentioned as much that I have seriously been craving lately is Mario Wonder. A fun, whimsical, 2D Mario just sounds so good right now. And of course it comes out the same day as Spider-Man. We are eating, no doubt about it,

 

[Raven117]

Gaming is definitely not dying. Its not as quaint as it used to be... So the adolescence of gaming is dying. (see e.g. Microsoft/Activision).

 

[IAmRei]

it's like any big media these days.
You will always offered 100000xxxx turds, and have to find "your game" as well
like i once said that anime is turd fest right now, but i found some gold behind the turd wall.
also i once said that music is dung hell right now, but i can still find new (hidden) release behind the bar.

just like anything in creative industry, including culinary, you can find the gold if you try enough.
there are a lot to explore, but depend on your search, you might find gold or rough diamond behind the wasteland

 

[K2D]

Most definitely! I think it's extremely normal, and honestly the older you get the more you will have experienced it. As someone that's approaching 40 I've already gone through multiple patches of that, kind of making my way through one right now, actually. But the first few times I went through it, it felt like it broke me lmao. I wondered if I was even into video games anymore, if it was me, if it was the games, etc. I think it was a little bit of both.

As years pass I feel like I've experienced so many different types of games, and it gets to a point where you feel like you're just seeing things get recycled over and over again. Or just nothing feels interesting. It's just made me more selective regarding what I want to play and put time into, I don't think that's too uncommon. That being said, good and great games are more certainly still present, you just got to find them. With the AA and indie scene growing larger and larger, the amount of new games these days is staggering. There's no possible way to play every single one. But you can look through what's available and check out the ones that are the most appealing to you.

And failing that, put hundreds and thousands of hours into obscure indies or simulators. <cry>

Edit: Hey.. I'm not complaining

 

[Muffdraul]

I've been gaming since the 1970s. It's definitely a "them" problem.

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

Game devs are scared of offending anyone, this leads to things feeling a lot more boring and bland than they used to be, games aren't as sexy, exciting or fun, everything's got to be watered down and very "safe".

In addition to that there's so much nickel and diming with cosmetics and other MTX, remember when a game was just something you played for the fun of it? Too much monetization sucks the fun out of things.

 

[tr1p1ex]

Except some political stuff in some games and greedy tactics by some companies gaming has never been more fun and creative

We have big releases like

Baldur's gate 3 - big rpg with alot of choice and consequence , alot of freedom when it comes to gameplay , alot of interesting characters , everything you could want in an rpg

Legend of zelda TOTK - another game with alot of gameplay freedom that stimulates your creativity , if you think of a solution its probably is a posibility

Star wars Jedi survivor - sure the game has optimization problems but the game itself is amazing , it improves everything from the prequel

Starfield - another huge rpg , from the looks of it they improved the rpg mechanics from fallout 4 , no more dialog wheel with answers like "yes , no , maybe "

Armored core 6 - sure the graphics are nothing special but the combat looks amazing and the costumization options of the mech is insane

Resident Evil 4 remake - ive never played the original so for me this game was a new experience and it was amazing


And then we have smaller games but very good too like Entrophy center , Viewfinder , Five nights at freddie's security breach , amnesia the bunker , dark light , dredge , age of wonders 4

You would have to be very picky to not find anything fun to play

or you just have to have been around for awhile. lol.

reality being most games have been the same thing as 20+ years ago with a nicer coat of paint and more features/options.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

There's likely a correlation with people's age and relation to the hobby as a whole that plays into it, too. The magic trick isn't as fun when you know how it's done, and also that the magician is an idiot.

 

[HazukiSensei]

if you don't understand what the issue is...then to be honest, you're part of the problem.

how old are you OP, this matters lol

23 and under then you were like...4 years old when half life 2 came out at most. and you grew up in the age of gaming when there were less releases and dark souls and assassins creed were the only frequent releases.

Bioware is dead
Bethesda isn't as good as they used to be except to casuals.
Rockstar releases 1 game a gen
valve doesn't make anything anymore
ubisoft used to be an amazing dev
irrational games is dead

seemingly ambitious creative games like WilD, beyond good and evil 2, half life 3(lol), prey 2, silent hills, don't come out or get cancelled.

in 2007 alone we got...

hl2 episode 2
portal
God of War 2
halo 3
bioshock
mass effect
super Mario galaxy
uncharted
modern warfare
ass creed 1

all in one year...compare that to now. and ask that question again OP. if a souls game came out that year it'd be a side game. now it's like top tier becaise our standards lowered lol

But if you are 23 years old. you were only 7 years old and lacked the capacity to even understand those titles. and hence why you think this gen is decent...if you are young.

 

[Poplin]

i suspect its people on the younger but not super young side who are going through the "gaming is not what it used to be" phase and at that junction where you

1) wall up in retro gaming gardens and only play the old stuff/retro revivals while grumbling about change on the internet
2) bail on gaming entirely, but still periodically pop into forums to rant about how good it used to be, while not really playing anything
3) embrace change

odds are the people saying its dying are in camps 1 and 2. what they call gaming is dying, but thats the nature of all things - everything changes, everything ends. Gaming as an industry/medium has never been stronger, but certain genres and game types are falling behind. Same thing happened to the RTS, for example. Fans of RTS would be saying gaming is dying, but its what they call gaming.

Which is also why gaming is at a point where we may need to just stop calling it one blanket medium. We dont say "film" is dying, so much as we say action movies, or blockbuster movies, or mid budget movies, or comedies, are dying. But we rarely sweep the totality of film into a single opinion. So too it needs to be with gaming.

 

[HazukiSensei]

i suspect its people on the younger but not super young side who are going through the "gaming is not what it used to be" phase and at that junction where you

1) wall up in retro gaming gardens and only play the old stuff/retro revivals while grumbling about change on the internet
2) bail on gaming entirely, but still periodically pop into forums to rant about how good it used to be, while not really playing anything
3) embrace change

odds are the people saying its dying are in camps 1 and 2. what they call gaming is dying, but thats the nature of all things - everything changes, everything ends. Gaming as an industry/medium has never been stronger, but certain genres and game types are falling behind. Same thing happened to the RTS, for example. Fans of RTS would be saying gaming is dying, but its what they call gaming.

Which is also why gaming is at a point where we may need to just stop calling it one blanket medium. We dont say "film" is dying, so much as we say action movies, or blockbuster movies, or mid budget movies, or comedies, are dying. But we rarely sweep the totality of film into a single opinion. So too it needs to be with gaming.

read my post above,

it's not "change". there are things that objectively have gotten worse. especially release windows and risk taking.

so it's more like, those who need gaming so bad that they ignore these things. or they are not detail oriented enough to notice. or they are young.

 

[64bitmodels]

23 and under then you were like...4 years old when half life 2 came out at most.

You do realize that younger people just like older people have access to emulators, backwards compatibility and remasters, right...? We can play these games. They aren't time walled.

 

[Destruction-1002]

 

[Romulus]

Gaming peaked in the PS2/XB/GC era.
It went downhill from there.
Nowadays new releases (especially AAA) consist in remakes/remasters, sequels/reboots of already established franchises and GaaS.
New IPs are exceedingly rare and most of the time derivative as all hell. And if that's not enough development cycles are much longer and microtransactions are everywhere.
So no, I can't really agree with you, OP.

I feel we're just playing the same type of games since this generation and early 360/ps3 but worse outside of visuals.

I think part of negativity is there hasn't been much progress in gameplay. I was playing Just Cause on the original Xbox. That's a shitty game and it managed to feel as good as many modern games.

 

[CrustyBritches]

I suppose you could say gaming has experienced diminished returns compared to the past. As a whole, I think it's as good as it's ever been. I love having PC handhelds like Steam Deck, subs like GP and PS+, VR, PC getting 1st-party exclusives from MS and Sony, awesome emulation scene, affordable and/or highly advanced bigscreen TVs, game streaming, digital games, abundance of indie games, etc.

2023 is set to be great year for gaming with all sorts of awesome games being released.

 

[HazukiSensei]

You do realize that younger people just like older people have access to emulators, backwards compatibility and remasters, right...? We can play these games. They aren't time walled.

They kind of are though. playing them 10 years later won't have the same impact, however it's not because all other titles are SO evolved i.e. in a progressive universe where valve was still making games. half life 4 would be out and there'd be no NEED to play half life 2 theoretically...if only for story

similar to how when games were truly evolving, we didn't necessarily need to play say... streets of rage, the games our dads played, because devil may cry was immensely more technically and mechanically advanced than anything they experienced. can't really say the same today. in some ways mechanic's have devolved for accessibility. look at assassins creed vs PoP warrior within.

so my point is...being so young around that Era sucks because things got....more and more corporate since then, that was the level of groundbreaking we expected to wow us and progress the medium, if you were told that ELDEN RING was considered groundbreaking in 2022 by a time traveler visiting you in 2004 after hl2....You'd be sad.

and some aspects of that game (HL2) and others will be improved upon, but won't be as ambitious and groundbreaking for the time.

 

[Lynkk]

Nostalgia is dangerous, you only remember the best part.

Younger people will say the same things and miss the good old days playing Fortnite.