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VIDEO GAMES: THEY'RE ALL BORING by Mr Biffo

18/11/2015

20 Comments

 
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Physical game sales are 8.5 percent down this year, according to Charttrack data.

​That's a real bad thing, but what seems to be giving retailers a dose of the runs is that several of this year's blockbusters have failed to ignite as the mega-sellers that they'd been expecting.

Though, understandably, the publishers are being cagey about releasing accurate figures, rumours are swirling around Halo 5, Call of Duty Black Ops 3, Assassin's Creed Syndicate, and Rise of the Tomb Raider that they've all underwhelmed.

Indeed, Sony even came out gloating about the latter, with a snide tweet from its senior product manager laughing at the "poor" game's 63,000 first weekend sales, and cocking a snook at its 12 month window of console exclusivity.

Admittedly, Rise does indeed appear to have been hobbled by being an Xbox One exclusive - something which might give other companies pause before entering into similarly compromising clinches with Microsoft - but what do all of the above games have in common? Firstly, they're all sequels. Secondly - and importantly - there isn't a whole lot originality going on with any of them. 

​Could it be that gamers are getting bored?

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO LICK?
Let's lick the facts, guy.

​Halo 5 is the most tepid, lazy instalment of the series to date, the gaming equivalent of a playing card sandwich. Assassin's Creed Syndicate is basically Assassin's Creed Unity, but with all the characters breaking intermittently into the Lambeth Walk. Rise of the Tomb Raider is essentially the first Tomb Raider reboot - a mix of Far Cry and Uncharted - but featuring a character who now has all the charisma of a phlegmy sigh.

And a new Call of Duty has been a pre-Christmas tradition for years, as reliable and predictable as news reports about Nestle shrinking the size of the Quality Street tins.


Fallout 4 and FIFA 16 appear to be the sole glimmers of optimism for games sales, with others pinning their septums on Rainbow 6 Siege and Just Cause 3. Why? Just 'cause!
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ARGUABLY WHAT?
​Arguably, none of the games mentioned above are out and out catastrophes or broken beyond repair... they're the very definition of 72% games... but I entered into all of them feeling that I'd seen it all before.

There was nothing in Halo 5 that really stood out from all the other Halos, Assassin's Creed is another Assassin's Creed set in a grimy city, Call of Duty Black Ops 3 had the misfortune of coming on the heels of last year's Advanced Warfare, staged in a similar post-apocalyptic battlefield full of exo-suited soldiers.

​And Rise of the Tomb Raider is basically another one of those open world games where you forage for stuff. Much as I love The Great Outdoors, I'm sick of forests and mountains now. And I'm so sick of looting crates, corpses and copses that I was literally just sick - and I hate being sick.


Gaming is playing it safe, and getting stale as a result. The industry hasn't smelled this musty since that time E3 was held in your grandfather's attic.    

An injection of originality is fast needed twixt its toes, because my fear is that if this path continues, it's going to result in still lower sales, and - perversely - developers and publishers playing it even safer, rather than take much-needed creative risks.

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ADMITTEDLY WHAT?
Admittedly, I hold out some hope. Next year's No Man's Sky promises to be quite unlike anything else (the risk of that project being somewhat offset by its relatively tiny development team), while Far Cry Primal - yes, I know it's another Far Cry game - at least takes guns out of the equation.

​The need to play things safe, and trade on tried and tested formulas and brands, only works for so long before people have their fill. You might have a favourite burger, but how many of them can be stuffed down your wretched throat before you beg your mother to stop pushing them into your mouth?

With annual instalments now coming from several of those big brands, and other games clambering aboard the open world map-mopper bandwagon (Far Cry 4, Witcher III, Mad Max, Syndicate, have all followed the woefully familiar formula), it's time to look at the broader potential of video games, rather than what has worked up until now.

Aside from anything else, all of the games mentioned here are enormous, swallowing months of your time if you can be bothered doing the same sorts of things over and over again. I'm all for VFM, but could that also be contributing to the sales wobble? Are we all spending so long playing one or two games that there's no time before the next one comes along - especially if the next one is more or less the same sort of thing as the last one?

​Answers on a brown postcard.

FROM THE ARCHIVE:
VIDEO GAMES: A REFLECTION OF TERROR by Mr Biffo
A ROUND TUIT by Mr Biffo
TELL ME WHAT TO FEEL by Mr Biffo

20 Comments
DrDagless
18/11/2015 01:24:10 pm

Well said.

I've been looking forward to No Man's Sky for what seems like an eternity, it looks like a wonderful experience.

I love the idea of exploring this vast universe teeming with life, it really appeals to me.

That said, and quite appropriately for this article, I am worried it might turn out to be a bit, well, boring.

The exploration looks fantastic, but the lack of any real information regarding a story or goal to work towards makes me think the novelty might wear off fast.

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Bugler
18/11/2015 01:30:48 pm

Sad to say, but I've been feeling the same way for some time. I seem to approach each new game these days with a sense of mild dread, knowning that by the time I've figured out what I'm supposed to be doing, I'll probably already be bored of it. If these games were half as long, would anybody really notice? Does anybody really enjoy the now-obligatory base building bit, or poking around in endless menu screens? Huge amounts of money is being wasted on content that nobody really likes, or is buried so deep into the game that hardly anyone will see it.

As lovely as No Man's Sky looks, I'd still rather have a shorter, hand-crafted experience than an infinite amount of randomly generated stuff.

At least I still have Splatoon...

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Carl Harrison
18/11/2015 01:38:48 pm

Next month will be the 2 year anniversary since No Man's Sky's first reveal and we still don't know everything about it which is quite refreshing compared to the other games that you mentioned (wether or not that is a good thing is down to the individual).

Was it announced too early though? I remember Bioshock Infinite was announced 3 years before release and by even though I was initially excited by the prospect, by the time it came out I really wasn't that bothered. I like that Fallout 4 was announced just a few months ago and it is out already and selling well by the sounds of it. Maybe other publishers will follow suit?

This generation hasn't been a massive let down for me personally but we're 2 years in now and most of the games available with the exception of graphics, could have been done on the 360 or PS3. I'm still waiting for that new experience but I don't know what it will be. One thing that does annoy me is (Ubisoft seem to like doing this) publishers boasting how many people they have involved working on a game. I think 1000 was the number for Assassin's Creed Syndicate, around 200 more than last years Unity. Is that something to be proud of? I'm more amazed that No Man's Sky has such a small team working on it and it's eagerly anticipated. I guess we'll see next June and then hopefully all of these big name developers can re-assess what they're actually creating next time and deliver something new and exciting.

Just realised this post doesn't really offer anything but hey-ho.

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Euphemia
18/11/2015 02:58:21 pm

For the first time I'm not even that fussed about the new Souls game next year. Enn-fucking-ui-me-do. It's been a right fallow season AND NO MISTAKING. I blame the terrorists. Sorry, I mean Ubisoft.

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Col. Asdasd
18/11/2015 03:01:00 pm

I haven't really felt excited about big AAA games since the mid 2000s, back when it seemed the horizon was limitless and every year brought something newer, something better, something never before seen. At least the indie renaissance has provided us with some genuinely great and inventive games, alongside retro retreads, questionable haircuts and overinflated egos. Unfortunately it seems that the budgets for making and marketing even those is beginning to once again price out the bedroom coder.

My solution has to been to find a game that can become an obsession. Too many middling and superficial titles are inflated with this grim Ubigame padding, but there are others out there that will really pay back those hours you invest in them. They tend to be systems-led, rather than narrative-driven. So things like rhythm games, the more hardcore third-person action games (Platinum or From titles, basically), schmups, fighters or MOBAs.

Personally I'm over a thousand hours into Dota 2. It's not the sort of game I would EVER have pictured myself playing, but somehow I got sucked in and I still feel like every game gives me that glorious feeling of gradual mastery of a skill set or of learning something completely new.

An additional bonus of these sorts of games is that they are big enough to have dedicated communities. Yes they can seem impenetrable to outsiders and often ill-behaved and insecure, but the lure of being one of the tribe, of sharing inside jokes and getting to know personalities (especially if there's an associated competitive scene) is almost as much of a hobby as the game itself.

It was a bit scary at first, to think of all the big-name releases I would have to let pass me by. If you don't have a huge amount of time to spend playing games and these kind of games will suck up most if not all of it. But when, as you say, so much on offer is is coalescing into this samey mush of sequels and spin-offs, the trade becomes more attractive.

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combat_honey
18/11/2015 03:42:57 pm

"With annual instalments now coming from several of those big brands, and other games clambering aboard the open world map-mopper bandwagon (Far Cry 4, Witcher III, Mad Max, Syndicate, have all followed the woefully familiar formula), it's time to look at the broader potential of video games, rather than what has worked up until now."

For one heart-stopping half-second of pure joy I took the list in parentheses to mean that there had been a new Syndicate game that I'd somehow managed to miss. And now I'm crying oily tears into my leather-gloved cyber robot hands.

Brilliant article, anyway, particularly on the 'map-mopping' stuff. I love - or possibly used to love - open world, freedom-heavy games but over the last couple of years they've really started to feel like a chore. Every time I start one I find myself reasoning with myself as to how much of the optional collectibles, activities and side-missions I should be obliged to bother with, feeling on the one hand that I've got to 'get my money's worth' and on the other hand that I can't justify spending so much time on repetitive 'filler' content. (Inevitably I end up doing about as much of the optional stuff that I can do without going too far out of my way or referring to guides, which in a way is the worst of both worlds.) That's not what I want to be thinking about when I play games!

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Carl Harrison
18/11/2015 08:01:37 pm

Have you played Satellite Reign? It's Syndicate in all but name (and even that is a reference). I highly recommend it.

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combat_honey
19/11/2015 01:16:57 pm

Just Googled it and it looks great! Will definitely check it out. Thanks for the recommendation!

Old Red
18/11/2015 07:07:56 pm

This is why I've jumped to nintendo for a while. I didn't have a Wii, so I've got a hell of a lot of good games to play for cheap and some quality WiiU games.

I feel that I almost have to skip a generation to stop gaming from crusting up a stale. In the two years since the release of the ps4 and xbone there's been only 2 games I've wanted to play... 2! That's just not good enough. I would have said 3 with Metal Gear Solid V, but I got a ps3 copy and it was perfectly fine to play, only emphasising how pointless the new machines really are.

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Euphemia
20/11/2015 04:27:56 pm

Solid advice, we're seriously considering a WiiU for the kids this year as there's knack all for families or youngun's outside of tablet games. The PS4 has so far been a mighty disappointment. Mind you, chasing the same feelings we all had 15 years ago for older generations of consoles is always going to end in bitter tears and soggy tissues. And then crinkly tissues.

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alan
18/11/2015 07:46:58 pm

This generation has been at best dull so far and i just cant raise any hope that it'll get better i hope im wrong but i doubt it we're going to see any vast improvement anytime soon maybe my time as a gamer is coming to an end?

Hope not.

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Steve McBored
21/11/2015 08:54:46 am

With about two games so far that I really want to play (Arkham Knight and Assassin's Creed Syndicate), this generation been kind of a let-down. I'm taking the opportunity to step out of the Day One release hype cycle and get round to all those games I'ce always meant to play. I've restarted Myst, and getting into GOG.com, and have a pile of PS3 games to get through. At some point I'll get a PS4, but it still doesn't really feel necessary yet.

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chris
18/11/2015 08:01:54 pm

yet they're all north of 80 at metacritic (probably). even 72% seems very favourable if we think about the number, and not gaming's weird notion of an "average" score.

sales drying up seems to signal the end of AAA rather than the beginning of a fresh approach, because where's the feedback loop?

that said, everything beneath AAA seems rosier than ever. bloodborne, everybody's gone to the rapture, life is strange, her story, rocket league... all great, for me.

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Timmypoos
18/11/2015 08:53:25 pm

I think that monsieur Biffo l'ours nailed it for me with his comment about the length of games. The average age of gamers is that of the 30 somethings now and spare time is a rare thing, in the past 3 months I've map mopped Farcry 4 and Dying Light, then suffered fatigue when I played Shadows of Mordor. I'm on a break now, recuperating before I play Fallout 4 in the hope that I can actually be arsed to get the most out of it. In the mean-time its just working or pornhub for me.

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PS1Snake
18/11/2015 11:48:19 pm

Loss of mid-tier experimental games has amplified the problem. The industry is out of ideas - everything just seems to be a rehash of old stuff.There's too many reboots, remasters and sequels and not enough risk taking.

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Paul Morris
18/11/2015 11:53:48 pm

are we headed for a early 80's style video games crash?

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ian
19/11/2015 07:35:13 am

Tellingly I've bought none of the so-called big releases yet. Destiny is keeping me ticking over nicely..

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That Little Koala Reveal-O That Went 'Chaa-ak'
19/11/2015 06:04:44 pm

If you watch all the No Man's Sky gameplay vids and the interview with the bloke in charge of the game you do get a sense that the team is passionate about what they're trying to create.

It really does seem a bit loose in terms of gameplay at the moment though... they've put in a bit of resource mining a la Minecraft, but you can't build bases or your own spaceships. People can give hilarious names to creatures they find but no-one will ever see them because the universe is so big - it also means you could never find your friend if you wanted to. They've put in a GTA-esque wanted level system as well for some reason. Just concerned that they've lost focus and are now throwing in copy and pasted features from other games in a bid to stop people saying 'there's nothing to do'.

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ThinkYourselfFat
19/11/2015 07:59:22 pm

PS1Snake, that's exactly why I miss the 128bit era so much.

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ChorltonWheelie
19/11/2015 10:03:02 pm

I think it's a sign of the market maturing and the audience doing the same thing.

Let me draw an analogy with film.
I've always liked a blockbuster and had time for a bit of arthouse.
However, after seeing Face Off, Titanic and Marky Marks Planet of the Apes I promised I'd never part with money to see a Blockbuster again...shit formulaic rehashes...waste of everybody's time.

This wasn't the end of my cinema love though...far from it. I found my niche. I found all sorts of great shit hiding in the shadows. The odd Tarantino or Scorsese flick still pushed my buttons but by and large the good stuff didn't have a megabudget advertising campaign and a bunch of sequels.

As our favourite medium evolves we can expect more diversity. That'll mean, among the blockbusters, there'll be other under-advertised stuff to grab our attention.

In short, we don't need your steeeenking blockbusters. We've got plenty of other shit to get into so if you're going to spend millions on developing a game it better be good.

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