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"Next Generation or Next Ripp-Off"

With the recent arrivals of both the Dreamcast, and the Playstation 2, most gamers are looking to update their console collection with the latest and greatest entertainment money can buy. The question though, is are they really the best that money can buy? Recent poor sales figures for the Dreamcast are hinting at a sudden price reduction, only months after its release, and the reception of the Playstation2 in Japan has been less than friendly to say the least. What are the possible reasons for this? Well, take a quick look at the line up of both the Dreamcast and Playstation2 games and you will notice more than a few games ending with a 2, 3, 4 or some kind of numerical figure at the end of it. The point is that the games companies are seeming to reach a stage where they have come stuck for new and original games ideas, and are sticking with the tried and tested formulas of various other successful games, and just re-releasing them as sequels with nothing more than updated graphics and a few new levels. If you can get the same, or even better quality games, on your existing format compared to the new ones, why should you invest in a new console? After all it’s the gameplay that is the real making of a game, and not the graphics. The main problem with the games market at the minute, which has created this situation is the amount of “casual gamers,” who don’t really have much of an idea on how good what they are buying is, and just buy it because of the name. A classic example of this is the FIFA series. Although the last few updates have been quite impressive, that’s all they are – minor updates, yet all those “casual gamers,” have managed to give the series an impressive number of Christmas no.1’s over the past decade. As long as the same old type of game is selling, games companies are going to keep on producing run of the mill updates. This is why it is down to the public just as much as the games companies to improve the quality and increase the number of genres for games. If the public demands fresh, new ideas then the games companies won’t survive long without supplying them.

ARRRGGGGHHH!!!

WHERE THE PARAGRAPHS IN THESE DAYS!!

SPACES!! I NEED SPACES!!!

Anyway, i need some stuff that isn't in capitals, so here it is. This should be just about enough.

I still am....

And were just as desperate for free games

They used to discuss and debate more in those days, didn't they?

See, this one's even older.

ENGLAND HAVE WON 1-0 AGAINST GERMANY SO JUST BECAUSE I WAS THE FIRST PEERSON TO INFORM YOU OF THIS. GIVE ME THE GAME OF MY CHOICE

It would seem to me that the technology has not increased very much at all with the new consoles. Who remembers Mario 64? When that was released, it was revolutionary, and reinvented the platform game. After that came games like Resident Evil, but they are all based on the same 3D third person game engines. Back on the Snes, it was impossible to process this amount of data, or render it. Before the Snes (and Megadrive), the Nes, and Mastersystem had difficulties with colour depths, so games that involved smooth cartoon graphics, or metallic colours were not really viable. Each level of technology has provided the programmer with more opportunities for games. Each new capability may lend itself to a new style, or genre of game. Therefore, as the Dreamcast, and Playstation 2 are just faster, smoother versions of thier predecessors, the Saturn, and the Playstation, it is not surprising, to me, that there are just sequels. The transitions are less apparant on the PC, where technology constantly evolves, and newer more powerful components are produced every week. It is only by looking at the Quake series, for example, where you can see the improvements. Fundamentally the same game, it has been allowed more realism, more speed, more complexity, and more options, to make Q3 the same, yet more enjoyable now than the original. With Consoles on the other hand, new technology is pent up, and a whole new system is produced when there is enough call for it. Unfortunately there have been no real breakthroughs, or advances, other than speed, and resolution in recent years. People, it seems, are progressing faster than Machines.

I couldn't agree more!! The games industry are just out for our money. OK, so some companies do attempt to create new genres, take for example Messiah, but a lot do, as you say, keep with tried and tested formulas! I was appalled at Eidos and Sports Interactive who, after releasing Championship Manager 3 (note another game that has a lot of updates!) at around £30. Then, just a few months later, out comes what really was an update, Championship Manager 99/00, and that came out at £29.99!!!! Thats £60 for what, in affect, is one game, and if Eidos had waited that little bit longer, until the new football season had started, they could have released it with the new stats. But no, once again, the publisher eats our money!!


Chris wrote:
> With the recent arrivals of both the Dreamcast, and the
> Playstation 2, most gamers are looking to update their console
> collection with the latest and greatest entertainment money can
> buy. The question though, is are they really the best that money
> can buy? Recent poor sales figures for the Dreamcast are hinting
> at a sudden price reduction, only months after its release, and
> the reception of the Playstation2 in Japan has been less than
> friendly to say the least. What are the possible reasons for this?
> Well, take a quick look at the line up of both the Dreamcast and
> Playstation2 games and you will notice more than a few games
> ending with a 2, 3, 4 or some kind of numerical figure at the end
> of it. The point is that the games companies are seeming to reach
> a stage where they have come stuck for new and original games
> ideas, and are sticking with the tried and tested formulas of
> various other successful games, and just re-releasing them as
> sequels with nothing more than updated graphics and a few new
> levels. If you can get the same, or even better quality games, on
> your existing format compared to the new ones, why should you
> invest in a new console? After all it’s the gameplay that is the
> real making of a game, and not the graphics. The main problem with
> the games market at the minute, which has created this situation
> is the amount of “casual gamers,” who don’t really have much of an
> idea on how good what they are buying is, and just buy it because
> of the name. A classic example of this is the FIFA series.
> Although the last few updates have been quite impressive, that’s
> all they are – minor updates, yet all those “casual gamers,” have
> managed to give the series an impressive number of Christmas
> no.1’s over the past decade. As long as the same old type of game
> is selling, games companies are going to keep on producing run of
> the mill updates. This is why it is down to the public just as
> much as the games companies to improve the quality and increase
> the number of genres for games. If the public demands fresh, new
> ideas then the games companies won’t survive long without
> supplying them.

> No - doubt the playstation 2 will have it's own selection of tomb
> raider games. Whats new?????? Lara Croft in a green costume
> shooting a few bad guys. Again a few new levels and/or weapons and
> if dedicated fans are lucky, maybe she'll change her outfit!!!!!!!!!
> You are very very right in what you have said.
> I for one will not be buying a 'next generation' console unless
> they can think of some new games ideas an innovations.

I'm afraid theres very little the gaming industry can do about games at the moment. Virtually everything thats capable of being done has been, theres a lot of talk about multiplayer gaming now and the reason for this is it's the only way games are going to go.

But as you say why get a playstation 2 or dolphin when the PC does the job happily? Theres only one reason for buying a playstation 2, and thats because PC's can be really hard to get working. The amount of hassle a lot of people have trying to get online and trying to get their games to work is unbelieveable.

The amount of problems i have had to fix for people over the years is too numerous to count. The beauty of a games console is it's plug in and play method. Even getting online works so much better with these new consoles, t's all so simple and anyone can do it. Put the disc in, turn the machine on and your running within 5 mins. I'd like to see that happen on a PC, but while Microsoft have the OS monopoly it just won't happen.

As I have said, multiplayer is really thing that can be offered thats new now, and the next gen consoles will be geared much more towards this, with the Playstation 2 leading the way.

However, it will be interesting to see what happens with the X Box, after all, it being microsoft it should have quite a big software base, and they've commissioned NVidia to build the graphics cards for them, and we all know how stunning the GeForce 2 is....

If i had to choose between a PC and a next gen console i'd go for a PC every time, but then again i know about PC's and have worked with them for the last 5 years. If i didn't know anything about PC's and couldn't work them out then i'd get a console, for the simple plug n play method.

But as for the benefits of these next gen consoles as far as gaming is concerned? Well, the games aren't gonna change much as you said. We're seeing a few new styles of game lately on the PC (such as The Sims, which is really just Sim City taken one step further), and things like Evolva are really quite inventive, but the basic idea behind the game is still the same.

I believe you'll again see all the same things over and over with all the consoles until we get to the point were multiplayer really does take off in a big way. When that happens we'll see some quite inventive games i think, also as we see consoles having more capability we may see an awful lot more from them. For instance, when Q3 gets ported to the playstation 2, the console players will be at a distinct disadvantage to the PC players until the Hard Disc Drives for the PSX2 come out. This will allow the game to be heavily modified and really extends the life of a game, all the mods for Q3a and Q2 are the secret to their success. But it's the multiplayer element of these games that makes them survive for so long and get such a huge following. There is nothing quite like knowing your playing against real people, and you can never predict how somethings going to go.

I think this next gen of consoles aren't gonna be quite up to the job, but the generation after i think will see a major increase in capability, they will be much more like a home PC with so many capabilities but much simpler to use. But we're talking a good 2 years before we see anything like that.

I agree very much with Chris’s argument however, I think the reason that the Dreamcast has suffered low sales is the fact that it cost a bomb, if you look at the N64 for example, when it came out it cost £249.99 after low sales it plummeted to £149.99 and now it is under £100.00. This was when the N64 became great, but it was more the younger gamers that use the N64 because they were more at home with it's cartridge format there was not much new in style about this machine, other than its range of revolutionary games, but some were still re-made classics, but one thing I will say in classics re-makes defence is look at super Mario 64 and Sonic they are great but we cant live of them. With the Dreamcast problem they lowered game prices instead of the console. If we push company’s to make new games there will be more games like crazy taxi not in the same style but they will be excellent games rushed and missing just the little touches, the way to get round this problem is to take more time over there games I am sure most gamers would rather wait than get a bad game.