Is this the least exciting 'new' video game gen?

[Nintegageo | 582]

I know it's new-ish and things got screwy with covid though I just am not as excited as I was the other generations. The AAA titles are prettt same-y and just enhanced last gen and the indie games don't need the new consoles to play them. Anyone else think this or am I just a curmudgeon? 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,510]

No, we're all just old as fuck.

[Sumez | 2,933]

Yes. The last generation was incredibly unexciting, but this one has it beat easily.

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

It's definitely been a very quiet and underwhelming transition. As you mentioned, COVID has really mucked things up with game delays and console shortages, but that's not the whole story. Game design feels stagnant and we just aren't seeing much in the way of revolutionary experiences. I feel that this was also a problem when we went from 360/PS3 to last gen.

If you really think about it, every new release could have worked in a scaled down form on previous generation consoles. There are only a handful of current gen exclusives and they are all minor evolutions of what we've already seen. Here is a partial list:

• Ratchet and Clank
• Destruction All-Stars
• The Medium
• Returnal
• Prettier Demon's Souls
• Deathloop

I had a really, really hard time even coming up with that short list that encompasses an ENTIRE YEAR of releases. Next gen games basically don't exist and almost all of them are sequels and remakes. So I'm with you, this has been a very boring transition.

Edited September 10, 2021 by DoctorEncore

[mbd39 | 2,017]

There won't be much difference between generations anymore. It will keep being the same thing with slightly improved graphics.

The hardware shortages, scalping and ridiculous prices don't help much either.

 

[cj_robot | 540]

This console doesn't look exciting to you guys?

[mbd39 | 2,017]

3 minutes ago, cj_robot said:

This console doesn't look exciting to you guys?

 

It was exciting for the monkeys in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

[ICrappedMyPants | 302]

I personally prefer my games to be pick up and play and beatable after a few hours. I don’t have the free time to play games for 6+ hours straight and I hate picking up games after a long break. Therefore, most major games are not for me. 
 

Honestly, I think I would need something like excellent 3D gaming without the use of a large headset to make me feel like there is a huge evolution in gaming. Otherwise, most of it is quality of life improvements to me and lacks the significant jump that we saw in the 80s to 00s.

[TDIRunner | 2,727]

19 minutes ago, ICrappedMyPants said:

I personally prefer my games to be pick up and play and beatable after a few hours. I don’t have the free time to play games for 6+ hours straight and I hate picking up games after a long break. Therefore, most major games are not for me. 
 

Oddly enough, the PS4 has a HUGE number of these games.  Probably the most of any generation since the SNES.  

[ICrappedMyPants | 302]

3 minutes ago, TDIRunner said:

Oddly enough, the PS4 has a HUGE number of these games.  Probably the most of any generation since the SNES.  

I assume many of these were on the Switch too, which I have bought.

[Brickman | 3,982]

I’ve switched to PC and don’t have much desire to get a ps5 or Xbox. I love what Nintendo has done with the Switch so hopefully they continue with that. I am also hopeful the steam deck works out.

In terms of games, pretty uninspiring so far. Just a lot of ports and remakes. A few upcoming games look alright like elden ring, god of war, new horizon game and project eve. Indie stuff is still good too, but like you said, don’t need new gen for that.

So I wouldn’t say it is all doom and gloom but it could be a lot better.

[sp1nz | 611]

Xbox One library was bad and stayed bad, PS4 was weak at start but has grown tremendously over the years and I love collecting for it now. I have near zero excitement for both PS5 and Xbox Series X/S from physical software standpoint at this time. I'll get a PS5 eventually but will likely be buying games with laser focus. I don't think it has to do with me aging as much as every new console being more and more like a small PC with no personality of their own - high retail prices, low availability and generic AAA slop offerings don't help with building excitement either.

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

I have a lot of trouble picking up and playing new games these days and rarely get excited about any new announcements. Between the time investment of learning and getting through a new game and most games being rehashed ideas/remakes, it's tough to get excited. Even games that are really good are typically a pretty close copy of a previous game I've played.  I generally agree with Reed though, that getting old is a big part of it.

This is kinda how I started that thread a while back about modern day gaming being sustainable. Soon (kinda already there) we'll see things like CoD/GTA/Minecraft universe where they have a base game and just build on it or have seasons for 10-20 years but not actually have a new game every few years. Just like the movies, companies cater to the blockbuster franchises and put a lot of resources into a few money making titles as physical media becomes a thing of the past.

[DefaultGen | 5,400]

Games are too expensive now to take risks. And why bother when you can just rerelease a game and everyone is just as excited. The first KOTOR game in 17 years was announced... KOTOR 1... and the crowd went wild! Switch is the most beloved console in long time and people cite it's library full of ports and rereleases as a positive. It's great if you haven't played those games but I wouldn't call it exciting.

There's still indie games with new ideas or made for niche audiences though (and still a lot of reskinned Metroids and pixel platformers). You can find cool new interesting games, they just don't come with the amazing next-gen technological boost that playing Super Mario Bros, GTA3, or Bioshock for the first time did. Baba is You is a very "Oh, there are ideas in puzzle games that we still haven't explored in the past 40 years" experience, but you don't need an Xbox 7 Million to play it.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,510]

Well, every year the pool of available existing games gets bigger, and the number of good games people haven't played gets bigger, so it's a logical development.

People clamor for all sorts of things and I feel like we're already drowning in quality content.  Things were better when we got 1 or 2 new carts a year for Christmas and our birthday?

[Tanooki | 4,930]

So far, if we exclude the Switch, definitely, and I guess you kind of have to as it belongs squarely in the last generation.

While honestly I would have called THAT the least interesting, until this one was so botched good stuff comes out few and far between due to console scarcity caused by hardware bunglers and other issues out of their control combined.

[Estil | 1,261]

2 hours ago, cj_robot said:

This console doesn't look exciting to you guys?

Are you sure that's a game console and not some weird office building?

[TDIRunner | 2,727]

2 hours ago, ICrappedMyPants said:

I assume many of these were on the Switch too, which I have bought.

Some are, but that doesn't matter.  I was simply pointing out that in recent years there have been more games that fit your preferred description of game then we have seen since the NES/SNES era.    

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

Ironically, the only PS5 title that has my full interest is Knights of the Old Republic Remake. And what adds to that irony is the fact it will also be on PC (via Steam, maybe GOG).

Beyond that, I guess the whole feeling I get when it comes to the PS3 and PS4, as well as virtually every Xbox console, is similar to how I felt when I heard a pitch for Dungeons & Dragons 4e at Anime Expo. The premise always sounds great to me at the start, but there is also that one thing they chose to do that helps me lose interest.

Then again... I also wish that Nintendo would do a few tweaks for the Switch's OS system. But compared to how Sony treated the PS4's OS system... I am 100% fine with it as-is.

[a3quit4s | 4,093]

I agree with @DoctorEncore, I’ve had the series x and ps5 since pretty much launch, maybe a month or two after, and besides most of the titles the doc mentioned they have just sat there and collected dust. I may have played my switch more if it wasn’t for playing pubg for awhile on series x. I could have easily saved the cash and kept my ps4 and Xbox one x. I think I just got caught up in the excitement of finding them rather than owning them.

I think we are really getting close to what is possible on a console at this point.  

Edited September 11, 2021 by a3quit4s

[Brickman | 3,982]

My thoughts when I read about people complaining about modern games being boring lol:

 

[ICrappedMyPants | 302]

5 minutes ago, Shmup said:

My thoughts when I read about people complaining about modern games being boring lol:

 

Two things I cannot stand in modern gaming: long cut scenes and open world games with side quests. For the former, I’d rather watch a movie, for the latter, I’d rather work than feel like playing a game is work.

[Brickman | 3,982]

34 minutes ago, ICrappedMyPants said:

Two things I cannot stand in modern gaming: long cut scenes and open world games with side quests. For the former, I’d rather watch a movie, for the latter, I’d rather work than feel like playing a game is work.

I personally don’t agree but I get why you would feel that way. I actually think some modern games have better stories than modern movies but that’s just my opinion. I’d rather play the Witcher than watch another marvel movie or MI or 007.

But there are also heaps of other games out there. Modern Indies are arguably better than a lot of NES/SNES games they get inspiration from and a lot are trying new things like gris and journey.

While there is a lot of rubbish out there mid size studios are still putting out quality like bayonetta, dark souls, sekiro etc.

[a3quit4s | 4,093]

1 hour ago, ICrappedMyPants said:

Two things I cannot stand in modern gaming: long cut scenes and open world games with side quests. For the former, I’d rather watch a movie, for the latter, I’d rather work than feel like playing a game is work.

I fucking hate games that have new game + or whatever the game decides to call it. I beat your game and my reward is to play it all over again? I don’t believe that is a selling point nor should you get credit for incorporating it. It’s lazy. It almost worse than all the good shit in the game not being available until the endgame. 

[Estil | 1,261]

Well I am very much looking forward to Dragon Quest 12 and Final Fantasy 16...that's about all I'm really looking forward to as far as new gaming goes.  It's just as well I still got much to get caught up on just the first Playstation, never mind the fifth!

Edited September 11, 2021 by Estil