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Game Sales Figures To Improve Throughout Decade
IGN is reporting that according to a recent report, gaming sales figures will contribute significantly to entertainment industry figures through 2009. From the article: "The report cautions that these projections are highly dependent on the success of the next-generation gaming consoles to be introduced by Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. The embedded online capabilities expected in the next-generation consoles as well as the global growth in broadband capabilities should also provide a significant boost to online gaming, according to the PWC report."
I thought Interest in Comsole Gaming Is Declining. So interest is declining but those who keep playing will be buying more?
In other news, here's some numbers I pulled out of my ass... Oooh, don't they smell nice?
Seriously, is there any possible way that someone can predict what game sales will be like NEXT YEAR, let alone 10 years from now? Maybe, possibly, after the launch of the next-gen systems, you can start to project future sales by assuming that demand will level off then start to drop over the life of the system. Maybe. But to pretend like you can accurately predict sales trends for gaming into completely different eras of technology?? Well, I hope that they enjoyed their brick of hashish at least.
I've been a gamer for 25 years, and this next generation of consoles will be the first time I'm not really going to buy any. The prices of the systems are too high, and I feel the $60 price tag is a load of crap, quite frankly. (One look at the profits gained by the larger studios pushing this price raise and I think you'll agree it's unnecessary).
In addition to this, one trip to Fry's, or most other stores that carry games, and I see more used/bargin-bin games for $10-$20 than I have ever seen in the history of gaming. The market is completely over-saturated with titles.
I think these arguments combined will ring true with a lot of people paying closer attention, and I foresee a more rapid fallout similar to the one that Hollywood is experiencing right now. You can't run an industry on bullshit and effects (for too long).
We should really remember that this industry collapsed once already during the mid-80's, and many things seem to be repeating themselves.
You're completely missing the point of the Revolution controller. If it really was just a "lightstick thingy," you'd be completely justified, of course. There's only one kind of game you can really make with that, and it *would* be dumb to try to make, say, a platformer use a lightgun for control. What it is, though, is more along the lines of a very, very precise pointing device - analogous to a mouse, as a lot of the media mentioned after trying their Metroid FPS demo - but with additional degrees of freedom (what with the rotation along 3 axes and movement in 3 dimensions). For the first time, there's a console with 3D graphics capabilities that also gives the player intuitive full range 3D motion. That's nothing to thumb your nose at.
--- Bwah?
The pedantic response here is that if you really were up to something new as much as the next guy, you would be up to the revolution's controller. But what it really sounds like is that you are the kind who spouts off wanting new genres but only to sound like you're hardcore. "Yeah man, I play so much I'm bored to death with FPS's...oooh look, Halo 2!"
And really, are people going to competitively play FPS games by pointing a stick at a screen and shooting?
Maybe, maybe not. While the controller will allow for such, it wasn't necessarily made for it. Who knows, it may be better at FPSs then current controllers. If it isn't, then plug in a regular controller; they'll still work.
It'll more likely be used for some dorky version of "bubble bobble" where bubbles fall from the top of the screen and you pop them with the pointer.
I see that you are like Charles Duell. He was the commissioner of the patent office who said "Everything that can be invented has been invented," found here. IOW, you are saying that since you cannot see a use for something, obviously it has no use. If you can't see into the future all you have shown is that you cannot see into the future. Everyone thought gaming was dead in the early '80s and then Nintendo revitalized it with, of all things, the D-Pad. Nintendo has a long history of changing the way games are played, and I have no doubts that if this next generation of consoles fails that Nintendo won't. What are my reasons? They are the only company doing something different. Soon, I will upgrade my PC. Does that suddenly mean games are going to be so much cooler? Of course not. If a game sucked before, it will still suck; turning up the resolution isn't going to change a thing.
While I will still play FPSs, RTSs, RPGs, etc., I am looking forward to what can be done with the Revolution's controller. If nothing else, it will present a new way to play old genres. I suspect, however, that it will introduce at least one new genre. And mark my words, if it is successful to any degree, MS and Sony will have one on their next-next-generation consoles.
Anyway, doesn't this already exist? In gameplay to some degree, at least. It's called a stylus for the DS...
Not hardly. The sylus lets you go left and right and up and down, and to do so rather quickly. The revolution's controller let's you go left and right, in and out, up and down, pitch, yaw, and roll, and all fairly quickly. I can see gaming on the revolution being very fast paced if need be. Maybe even more of a twitch-fest than PC gaming is now. The only problem I see is someone might accidentally hit someone else while swinging it around.
Stop Global Warming!
Just say no to irreversible processes!
I own a DS. I love it and the games. Of the next generation systems the Revolution is looking to be the most likely to get my money, and chances are it will cost much less than PS3 and XBox2.
So yes, there are interesting look games out and coming out in the future. However the market is very poor despite MTV swearing it's the hottest new thing on the block, and Nintendo will not stop that alone. My opinion is one of an open minded gamer and developer who would love to see the best for our artform. Telling me to "try something new", that's practically my job, kid.
Everyone thought gaming was dead in the early '80s and then Nintendo revitalized it with, of all things, the D-Pad.
It wasn't the D-Pad alone, Nintendo's Official Seal of Quality had a lot to do with it, as well. One of the contributing factors to the video game crash in the 80's was that the market was flooded by a lot of awful games, and Nintendo's Seal of Quality and 10NES lockout helped a lot with ensuring customer confidence in the console.
As for game sales figures being expected to improve, I'm extremely skeptical. I honestly think that much of console gaming's future rests on the shoulders of Nintendo. The XBox 360 and PS3 are both going to be extremely expensive systems with very little improvement aside from prettier graphics, and this high price point is going to be a barrier to the more casual gamers. The Revolution's unique control method as well as Nintendo's commitment to keep its hardware affordable will most likely be extremely appealing to the less hardcore who just want something to keep them entertained for short periods at a time.
You have to remember that these are just people's opinions. Not everybody is going to agree. In my opinion, it is a good thing to hear the perspectives of multiple points of view. Read two articles that say the opposite thing and then choose for yourself who is right(or if both are wrong). Slashdot does not bring us absolute truths, but it brings us a the power to judge for ourselves.
"The report cautions that these projections are highly dependent on the success of the next-generation gaming consoles to be introduced by Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo." So they are saying that sales over the next couple of years will improve if sales over the next couple of years go well. If sales aren't very good, then sales just might not improve very much.