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Today I'ld like to ask the question:
Are videogames becoming too mainstream??
And is this a good thing or a bad thing? I've thought about it and there are many advantages and disadvantages. One of the main advantages is that its no longer seen as "Nerdy" to play videogames, also bigger and better games are now being made, as more money is now circulating in the game industry.
There is of course a bad side too, Barbie Race and Ride and the Spice girls videogame spring to mind! Not to mention the ton of really really poor Film to Videogame rip offs!
So whats your opinion?
Are videogames becoming too mainstream??
And is this a good thing or a bad thing? I've thought about it and there are many advantages and disadvantages. One of the main advantages is that its no longer seen as "Nerdy" to play videogames, also bigger and better games are now being made, as more money is now circulating in the game industry.
There is of course a bad side too, Barbie Race and Ride and the Spice girls videogame spring to mind! Not to mention the ton of really really poor Film to Videogame rip offs!
So whats your opinion?
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Today I'ld like to ask the question:
Are videogames becoming too mainstream??
And is this a good thing or a bad thing? I've thought about it and there are many advantages and disadvantages. One of the main advantages is that its no longer seen as "Nerdy" to play videogames, also bigger and better games are now being made, as more money is now circulating in the game industry.
There is of course a bad side too, Barbie Race and Ride and the Spice girls videogame spring to mind! Not to mention the ton of really really poor Film to Videogame rip offs!
So whats your opinion?
Are videogames becoming too mainstream??
And is this a good thing or a bad thing? I've thought about it and there are many advantages and disadvantages. One of the main advantages is that its no longer seen as "Nerdy" to play videogames, also bigger and better games are now being made, as more money is now circulating in the game industry.
There is of course a bad side too, Barbie Race and Ride and the Spice girls videogame spring to mind! Not to mention the ton of really really poor Film to Videogame rip offs!
So whats your opinion?
I'd say it was a good thing.
If the industry didn't continue to grow, then developers couldn't afford to put in the vast amounts of money they are into games.
I'm quite happy to accept Barbie, and the Spice Girls, if it means that the Metal Gear Solids, Metroids and Marios benefit from it!
If the industry didn't continue to grow, then developers couldn't afford to put in the vast amounts of money they are into games.
I'm quite happy to accept Barbie, and the Spice Girls, if it means that the Metal Gear Solids, Metroids and Marios benefit from it!
That's right, meka. Besides, the vast majority of games that are affiliated with Barbie and the like generally aren't made by any reputable developer - like Rare, SquareSoft, or Namco. At least I don't think any of those have wasted their time on games for people who aren't really interested much in the mechanics of it.
On the other hand, there's now less room for error than there ever has been before. As a result, only the biggest developers can afford to take chances and try something different.
Overall though, I'd say it's a good thing that the industry is more mainstream, not least because it inevitably lowers prices the consumer has to pay.
Overall though, I'd say it's a good thing that the industry is more mainstream, not least because it inevitably lowers prices the consumer has to pay.
At least now developers have increasingly larger sums of money for game development...
Although I still love the game, I'd hate to still be playing Manic Miner clones...
Although there are some people who would say that, despite the 3D perspective, we still are? :)
Although I still love the game, I'd hate to still be playing Manic Miner clones...
Although there are some people who would say that, despite the 3D perspective, we still are? :)
VenomByte wrote
"Overall though, I'd say it's a good thing that the industry is more mainstream, not least because it inevitably lowers prices the consumer has to pay."
I would disagree Videogames are just as expensive as ever, particularly on consoles! Console games have been and still are expensive. New Playstation games still cost £30, with PS2 games around £40.
If console games being mainstream made games cheaper then I would expect to pay the price of a new DVDvideo for a new PS2 game! About £22
"Overall though, I'd say it's a good thing that the industry is more mainstream, not least because it inevitably lowers prices the consumer has to pay."
I would disagree Videogames are just as expensive as ever, particularly on consoles! Console games have been and still are expensive. New Playstation games still cost £30, with PS2 games around £40.
If console games being mainstream made games cheaper then I would expect to pay the price of a new DVDvideo for a new PS2 game! About £22
New Jimmy wrote:
I would
> disagree Videogames are just as expensive as ever, particularly on
> consoles!
I remember buying the original "Legend of Zelda" for 60 when it first came out. Truthfully I can't recall buying a game for that much since then. Buying games now, I generally pay between 35-45 - not too bad comparatively.
I would
> disagree Videogames are just as expensive as ever, particularly on
> consoles!
I remember buying the original "Legend of Zelda" for 60 when it first came out. Truthfully I can't recall buying a game for that much since then. Buying games now, I generally pay between 35-45 - not too bad comparatively.
I know there are always a few really expensive games about, I remember paying £45 for Streetfighter2 on the megadrive (£15 discount!), but it was worth it! DonkeyKong64 retails on the high street for the same ammount!
My point is only cartridge based games can justify high prices, as they cost more to produce. CDs however are cheap, if you can pick up a pack of 10 CDRs for £4 at staples...how much does it cost games companies to produce them?? And isnt £30-£40 a bit too expensive for a CD based game!
My point is only cartridge based games can justify high prices, as they cost more to produce. CDs however are cheap, if you can pick up a pack of 10 CDRs for £4 at staples...how much does it cost games companies to produce them?? And isnt £30-£40 a bit too expensive for a CD based game!
New Jimmy wrote:
> My point is only cartridge based games can justify high prices, as they cost more to produce. CDs however are cheap, if you can pick up a pack of 10 CDRs for £4 at staples...how much does it cost games companies to produce them?? And isnt £30-£40 a bit too expensive for a CD based game!
Well, the issue really isn't whether CD-based games should be that expensive; it's whether people are willing to pay that for the game. Since they are, what's the point of lowering the cost? If, for instance, the gaming industry took a sudden dive in popularity (which isn't likely to happen), the prices would go down to entice consumers. However, with nothing like that about to occur, it look as though we're going to be continuing to pay a fair amount per disc.
> My point is only cartridge based games can justify high prices, as they cost more to produce. CDs however are cheap, if you can pick up a pack of 10 CDRs for £4 at staples...how much does it cost games companies to produce them?? And isnt £30-£40 a bit too expensive for a CD based game!
Well, the issue really isn't whether CD-based games should be that expensive; it's whether people are willing to pay that for the game. Since they are, what's the point of lowering the cost? If, for instance, the gaming industry took a sudden dive in popularity (which isn't likely to happen), the prices would go down to entice consumers. However, with nothing like that about to occur, it look as though we're going to be continuing to pay a fair amount per disc.
Arent you sick of PC gamers getting a better deal than console owners!
Its not fair, and the price cant be justified. Just look at Unreal on the PS2, that will set you back £40 on the PS2. However if you have a PC special reserve will give you a free copy of Unreal for you PC when you join the club for only £6.99. OK so its an earlier version of Unreal, but its more or less the same game as the PS2 version.
Which is my point, even though consoles are now mainstream we still pay far to much for our games.
Its partially the governments fault though, they continually tax the videogame industry but never put any money back into it! Films are supported by government funds, and so therefore so should small videogame companies!
Its not fair, and the price cant be justified. Just look at Unreal on the PS2, that will set you back £40 on the PS2. However if you have a PC special reserve will give you a free copy of Unreal for you PC when you join the club for only £6.99. OK so its an earlier version of Unreal, but its more or less the same game as the PS2 version.
Which is my point, even though consoles are now mainstream we still pay far to much for our games.
Its partially the governments fault though, they continually tax the videogame industry but never put any money back into it! Films are supported by government funds, and so therefore so should small videogame companies!
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