Do Consumers Want Original Games?

Thanks to GameCritics.com for their 'Critical Hit' editorial discussing if consumers are actually interested in buying groundbreaking/unique videogames. Giving the example of Sega's PS2/DC shooter, Rez, the author asks: "United Game Artists' answer to the cries of gamers looking for those new and original games was largely met with ambivalence by those very same gamers.... Why is Sega, or any publisher for that matter, obligated to support a game or games that no one is interested in?" The article concludes: "...how do you criticize the industry when it produces these games yet consumers repeatedly flock to the likes of Square's, Konami's and Capcom's sequels and rehashes?"

Comments

Simple

[AlexMax2742]

Who here had ever seen a commercial for Rez? What about a magazine ad (more than one time)?

It's simply that it wasn't marketed enough. Ask almost any gamer what Rez is, and they will give you a dumbfounded look. This doesn't mean the game sucked, it means they didn't know about it. Not good. Yet look at all the ads for the dime-a-dozen games that you probably have played before in one way or another. See a difference?

Ratings mean jack shit. It's the marketing that counts. Unfortuniatly, it seems more recently that the budget gets blown on games that suck. Hopefully, the industry will realize this in time and make a quick 180 and start marketing the truely innovative games.

More of the same?

[Decaffeinated Jedi]

I think Fry from Futurama put it best when he argued that people always wanted more of the same when it comes to entertainment, because "clever things make people feel stupid, and unexpected things make them feel scared."

DecafJedi

Let's take a look

[Iscariot_]

Here is a list of the best selling games of all time:

1. "Super Mario Bros." for NES: 40 Million Units
2. "Tetris" for Gameboy: 33 Million Units
3. "Super Mario Bros. 3" for NES: 18 Million Units
4. "Super Mario World" for SNES: 17 Million Units
5. "Super Mario Land" for Gameboy: 14 Million Units
6. "Super Mario 64" for N64: 11 Million Units
7. "The Sims" for PC: 10 Million Units
8. "Super Mario Bros. 2" for NES: 10 Million Units
9. "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" for PS2: 8.5 Million Units
10. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" for PSX: 8 Million Units
11. "GoldenEye" for N64: 8 Million Units
12. "Donkey Kong Country" for SNES: 8 Million Units
13. "Super Mario Kart" for SNES: 8 Million Units
14. "Pokemon Red/Blue" for Gameboy: 8 Million Units
15. "Half-Life" for PC: 8 Million Units
16. "Tomb Raider II" for PSX: 8 Million Units
17. "Final Fantasy VII" for PSX: 7.8 Million Units
18. "Myst" for PC: 7 Million Units
19. "Gran Turismo 3" for PS2: 7 Million Units
20. "Dragon Warrior VII" for PS2: 6 Million Units

Of these twenty games, only four could really be considered "original" (imho). So based on this data I would conclude that most gamers do not want original content. They want improved versions of games they've already played.

Now for my opinion.

I don't think that it is necessary to make a game orignal solely for the sake of. Most of the games I own and regularly play these days are not original. However, eventually rehashes do become tired and old. Final Fantasy comes to mind. It has been a beautiful series that has taken many twists and turns. But, the last few iterations have been without innovation, simply substituting one battle system for another [similar] one. Eventually this series will die without radically changing direction. I know it is on the verge of losing my interest.

Usually every year there is at least one good original title released. And, inevitably, it is copied until it is no longer unique. But for every one good original title (Grand Theft Auto III), there are dozen's of bad ones(Star Wars Rebellion). This is why innovation is not the most important thing in the world to the gaming industry. It's all about fun factor. Wether or not something is truely unique/original/whatever is not so relevant to wether or not it is fun.

So I leave you with this. Half-life was not the first FPS, but it was (and perhaps still is) the most fun.