Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Next-Gen Graphics Might Not Sell Games

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the give-me-decent-ai-or-give-me-death dept.

jayintune writes "2old2play has a great editorial up regarding the next generation of gaming, and suggests that maybe 'next-gen' graphics and sound will not be what sells games this time around. Instead the next-gen champions will be the ones that provide better content and innovation in their games." From the article: "The average gamer is in their mid-thirties. Many of these adult gamers understand the value of a dollar and have a firm grasp on technological trends. The trend is simple: new technology arrives and costs a ton of money, then prices lower as newer technology hits the market. Developers are not screaming for larger removable disk capacity, yet Sony is forcing a consumer (and developer) to purchase a high capacity Blu-ray device 'for the future.' By the time Blu-ray and HD-DVD's are needed for gaming we will be in the 8th generation of console systems. Why force it on us now?"

14 of 106 comments (clear)

  1. Lemme get this outta the way... by imboboage0 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    maybe 'next-gen' graphics and sound will not be what sells games this time around. Instead the next-gen champions will be the ones that provide better content and innovation in their games.
    No shit. Graphics are cool and all, and my 5.1 sounds great, but I'm not gonna play if it isn't fun.
    --
    Honesty may be the best policy, but by process of elimination, dishonesty is the second best policy.
    1. Re:Lemme get this outta the way... by scolby · · Score: 3, Insightful

      No shit. Graphics are cool and all, and my 5.1 sounds great, but I'm not gonna play if it isn't fun.

      And there are plenty of people, like me, won't play it if it doesn't look good as well. Poor graphics have become the video game equivalent of shoddy workmanship; if it doesn't look good, there's something very annoying about playing it.

    2. Re:Lemme get this outta the way... by SetupWeasel · · Score: 3, Insightful

      There is a big difference between "looking good" and having cutting edge graphics. Most people agree that Geometry Wars both "looks good" and uses relatively simple graphics.

      If a game s ugly, I won't be likely to sit through it. But I play games like Asteroids and Dig Dug on a regular basis, because beauty and simplicity are not mutually exclusive concepts.

    3. Re:Lemme get this outta the way... by SetupWeasel · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You don't catch many people sitting at home playing cell phone games while their Xbox or PS2 gathers dust.

      Maybe, but you do find people playing their DS or casual PC games in the presence of high-powered home consoles. Among my group of friends there is the much revered "drunken Pong tournament" where we set all the consoles aside for a Tele-Games Pong machine.

      You may be different, but I'm pretty sure that even you have examples that break your own rules. Maybe I'm less of a fair-weather fan than other people, but I don't abandon things that I love simply because there is a shinier version. I may like the shinier version too, but that has nothing to do with what I liked about the older game.

  2. Blue ray NOT FOR GAMES by theNetImp · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Sony wants the HD DVD market. By putting a Blue ray drive into the machine, it puts that many more blue ray drives in households so they can get the movie studios to want to release movies on blue ray discs. plain and simple.

    1. Re:Blue ray NOT FOR GAMES by Babbster · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You people have got to stop talking about multi-DVD games and how that relates to the increased capacity of Blu-Ray.

      1) Multi-disc games in the DVD format are rare.
      2) Multi-disc games in the DVD format have sometimes been single-layer discs - possibly because of manufacturing issues or possibly because of console reliability (or lack thereof).
      3) Cutscenes are going to be done within the game engine more and more as those engines advance because FMV is expensive.
      4) Cutscenes tend to bore a lot of people and they really have been the primary reason for multi-DVD games.
      5) Getting up once during a game to change discs shouldn't bother anyone with legs.

      Blu-Ray is cool, and so is HD-DVD. I'm on Slashdot so it can be safely assumed that high tech is interesting to me, and larger storage capacities get me a little hot. That said, it's a factor that I consider all but irrelevant to console gaming at the moment.

    2. Re:Blue ray NOT FOR GAMES by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Everyone loves to point out the sheer amount of space that Blu-Ray offers and how we're all running out of space on our current media. This is true, but only to a point.

      You may be able to get 25 gigs of data to fit onto the disc, but you still have to get it off of the disc, and in a reasonable amount of time... not to mention the fact that a limited amount of RAM means you can only store so much data at a time anyway. Compression does a lot more than just save disc space, and last I checked, a 2x BD-Rom reads at 72Mbps, compared to... say X360's 12x DVD-Rom reading at ~130Mbps.

      Shove all the HD textures and 7.1 sound you want to get that HD experience on your 27" SDTV... it's gonna be a hell of a load time before you get to play it.

  3. There is not a single selling feature for games by 9mm+Censor · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Graphics alone doesn't sell games. Gameplay alone doesn't sell games. Cinematics alone doesn't sell games. If you want to sell games, have abit of all of the above, gamers want a full game, not just a cool feature or buzz word. Good games have a balance of what makes games good, so have abit of everything in them.

  4. Not surprising by mozumder · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Gameplay always sells over graphics quality. Consider games like World Of Warcraft and GTA: San Andreas, with their blocky 3000 polygon character models, and how it sells far more than any other game.

    1. Re:Not surprising by Cutriss · · Score: 2, Insightful

      No, gameplay *occasionally* sells over graphics quality. In truth, neither has nearly as much mindshare as concept. Football and basketball games will always sell because everyone likes them already as a genre. People buy movie games because the name and theme sells the game, the quality of the game usually taking a backseat. Seasoned gamers know that media-oriented (movie, TV, etc) and gimmick games almost always stink, and yet they almost always sell too.

      You're confusing "sells" with "get critical appraisal".

      Many, many adventure games had excellent gameplay over graphics, and very few sold "well".

      --
      "Mod, mod, mod...and another troll bites the dust."
  5. Hate to say it but... by OctoberSky · · Score: 2, Insightful
    "2old2play has a great editorial up regarding the next generation of gaming, and suggests that maybe 'next-gen' graphics and sound will not be what sells games this time around. Instead the next-gen champions will be the ones that provide better content and innovation in their games."

    Maybe is a powerfull word. It makes this entire article pure speculation, opinion, and suggestion.

    I would like better game play, better coding so games run smooth on older hardware and better overall scene emersion but I will play anyway.

    The truth is that these next gen games will sell just as well as the last, with or without game play... it that were not true Id would not be in business any more.

  6. game development goes like this.. by matt+me · · Score: 2, Insightful

    1. sparkly graphics
    2. great gameplay
    3. low budget

    pick two.

  7. 600,360,250 by Nightspirit · · Score: 3, Insightful

    First, let's get something out of the way. The top of the line version of each system is really the only one to get. The big thing about PS3 is blu-ray, and that will eventually be useless as a movie player unless you have the $600 version (HDMI). You get a good value for the premium 360, as componenet cables and a memory card would nearly take up the difference themselves. MS stated they would drop the price of the 360 yearly, so let us assume in november the premium will drop to $360. Nintendo would be considered a value at $250 this generation, so I'll assume they will go for that. So that leaves us $600 vs $360 vs $250.

    I believe most gamers will vie for something with next-generation graphics, and likely something innovative as well. So this means likely a Wii and either a 360 or PS3.

    The problem I have with the PS3, other than price, is that it is a gamble. First, I'm gambling that blu-ray will become the established format. Then, I'm gambling that $70 APEX (or some other cheap chinese) blu-ray/HD-DVD players won't come out within a year and negate the PS3. All the DVD player technical reviews I have seen stated that the ps2 dvd player was mediocre quality, how do I know that the ps3 player will be superior to a cheap chinese knockoff?

    So, for $600 in novemeber I can get a premium 360 and a Wii, and I bet within a year a combo HD player for under $100. Why should I get a PS3? I get both innovative gameplay and next-gen graphics for the same price as a ps3, and I won't be stuck gambling that bu-ray will be the next format. (yah, it took a long time for DVD player prices to go down, but the cheap chinese companies are already here this time, and I doubt they care if they get the blu-ray specs legally).

  8. 'Good' graphics by BenjyD · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Good graphics just means that the game is pleasing to watch, it's not necessarily anything to do with technology.

    Take Katamari Damacy: flat shaded, small textures and low polygon objects, but the whole thing looks great because of the art style. Compare that to something like Unreal Tournament 2004, which has technologically better graphics but just looks dull and soulless in comparison.