But every single game strives for more and more realistic graphics and that's a trend that started on pc and transitioned to arcades and videogames in the mid to late 90s. The most videogames looking like videogames are on Nintendo consoles. What I'm saying is, they displaced a lot of genres that I loved. Where are shoot'em ups like Thunderforce, Raiden or Gradius? Casual gamers who play their cod or bf games wouldn't buy most of those games, as they perceive them as kiddie games. The jump to mainstream definitely hurt the variety in games. Only indie developers seem to still make more varied games. But I don't find a lot of them visually appealing.
While I agree we don't need to have the entire discussion of RPG lineages over again, I think referring back to it is relevant. The Western RPGs that have been big on consoles over the past several years (i.e. anything from Bioware, Bethesda, CD Projekt Red, etc. etc.) comes directly from the PC lineage. Likewise, while open world/sandbox games may have a history on consoles, the entire strain that descends from Grand Theft Auto is distinctly PC-flavored.
Your argument here isn't even consistent though. You say that every single game is chasing graphics, then contradict that statement by acknowledging that Nintendo and Indies don't do that. You're also complaining that the older genres you like faded because people wouldn't buy them because of graphics, but then say that your not buying them now that they are back because of graphics. Do you want them or not? Will you blame yourself if they go away again? Videogames looking like videogames? Videogames have never has a single look and nor should they since they're a creative industry and artform. Your also undermining your own argument again by criticising games for lacking variety because of homogenisation around realistic graphics, then advocating for another form of visual homogenisation around your own perception of what you think that games should look like. Where are the SHUMPS? Raiden 5 just came out this year, Darius Burst is relatively recent and there's a bunch of indies out there as well. There's also a strong Doujin scene around that genre if you run out of commercial titles. If I sound like a dick, i'm not deliberately trying to. I just want people to find and buy the good games they claim to want so we can get more of them. You'll have allot more fun playing them then you will looking for reasons to not to. I'm not going to argue with that, just the perception that's the whole picture and that there is hardly anything out there for people who want something else.
I wouldn't agree that there's literally nothing else out there. But I do share the feeling of being underserved by the current console generation. The content I want is definitely out there (though ironically there's tons more classic console style content on PC than on consoles). But it seems pushed to the margins and sometimes difficult to discover through all of the CallOfNeedForFIFAScrolls2017. The games Murasame is talking about are the ones that get promoted. It's a lot easier to go out and buy the "good stuff" when you don't have to dig for it or rely on word of mouth from other "niche" gamers.
You didn't get what I was saying right. There is a difference between trying to emulate a certain look for videogames like indie games often do, or successfully recreating the look and have beautiful sprites and backgrounds. Even back then there were a lot of crappy and visually unappealing games. Look at DuckTales remastered, Castle of Illusion remastered, super Street fighter II turbo HD remix and Ni no kuni. That's a style that's more of a successor of what a videogame looks to me. Games like destiny, etc. Is what looks like a pc game. I have been playing video games and pc games for nearly 30 years. I know what I'm talking about. I don't want everything still be pixelated. I just want beautiful games, handdrawn or when it's 3d it should at least look anime like. I definitely buy the games I like. I don't pirate games. Thanks for the info about Raiden 5
You get what I'm talking about Another funny example: With mortal kombat it's the other way around. I loved that it looks so real with the digitized actors and over the top gore. Since it's 3D it looks less realistic and more like a brutal tekken. I still love mortal kombat. But that's the one exception where I would like to have the characters too look more real
I see what your getting at, You personally associate console gaming primarily with early-mid 90s Japanese console games and you want more like that with modern graphics. I still don't agree though LOL It's no different from any other entertainment medium thesedays so it doesn't really bother me, it's certainly easier to find everything i'd like now with the internet then it was back in the day with magazines and shop browsing. This console generation definitely started with a bad hangover which IMO has only really been shaken off this year.
I don't know guys. I enjoy many forms of gaming. While I don't play much of the FPS or open world games that are popular. There are a plethora of the shoot em ups, platformers, RPGs , fighting, and action games that we enjoyed with the older console. Japanese style games didn't stop being produced or being popular, they're not advertised as much as the so called big AAA titles. You will find tons of them in Amazon. There's even more on Steam. Here are a few things that I got this week as an example.
Japanese console games had a long rough period through last gen and the start of this one, but they've really been back with a vengeance in the last couple of years. On top of those above there's also Last Guardian, Nioh, Nier Automata, Yakuza Zero, FF15, Tekken 7, Dark Souls 3, RE7, Persona 5 and more. Plus Nintendo is really on fire now in a way which they haven't been for a very long time.
Since we're still on the subject. What do you guys think of this guys opinion? He brings up some very good points.
His persona, mostly his arrogant and snooty British accent, ticks me off. Maybe it's more like the top hat/accent bit. His teeth either helps or hurts his snooty British bit depending on your mood that day. Other than that yes, from the many videos I've watched, he's pretty awesome. The Gaming Historian's the only normal guy out there.
Had a skim through the video and it's bollocks. The initial premise of it being unnecessary to have a console with PC games because everybody could just play them on PC is tosh because it was 2002. Allot of people couldn't just play them on PC because gaming PCs were still 4 - 5 times as expensive as consoles, still had a relatively short upgrade cycle and still had a notably higher knowledge barrier then they do today. Nor is that console or Microsoft to blame for the whole genre extinction and brown shooter period during seventh generation, which is largely a story about western publishers chasing the easiest short term profits against a backdrop of spiralling development costs and Japanese publishers struggling with technical challenges and incompetent management. Also, gaming isn't ruined and the notion that one thing in one segment of the market could actually ruin the whole medium is ludicrous.
I actually trace this back to Sony's PS1. It wasn't as bad there, but Sony's emphasis on "realism" and "maturity" set the stage for Xbox to step in and go nuts with both. Penny Arcade used to call that era "The Suckening" I think the shift in gaming that started there is resented because it didn't happen naturally or gradually. It was a forced, concerted, deliberate effort due to Sony and MS needing to differentiate themselves in order to enter the market. Companies who had been outsiders came in, took over, and established their own new normal.
I don't personally think that Sony's and MS's efforts to expand the market were the problem, just that it eventually spiralled out of control until too much power ended up in the hands of corporate beancounters. Not going to deny that there were some dubious practices going on, but PS1 and PS2 both have really broad libraries and MS were going out of their way to bring all sorts of games to their platform during the OG and early 360 eras. Not into the resentment thing either, Sega and Nintendo handed Sony their lunch on a platter and the xbox line brought allot to the table in its earlier years regardless of what people want to think about MS burning money to make it happen. Things could have been better over the years, but they could have been allot worse as well and I think we've gotten to a pretty good place now where the market is huge and there are games for everyone.
Analogue just unveiled an FPGA-based SNES clone. It's about half the cost of their previous console. Pre-orders are now live.
Just had a light bulb moment earlier when setting up X6800 emulation on my computer. Had the hump because I thought I had to use a worse emulator because the best one is only in Japanese, but then realised I could use the AR stuff in the Google Translate app to translate the menus into Engrish in real time on my phone screen. Strikes me as something that might be useful for playing Japanese games with light amounts of text, definitely going to give that a go in the near future.
Finally managed to find a copy of Uninvited, CIB, for 70. Same place also had Deja vu. Once I have that,it should be a complete trio, since i have Shadowgate already.
