The 2nd video game crash is upon us.

**Cheebs** · 17 Aug 2005, 12:38 PM

What worries me is this: There doesn't seem to be any place for the "small" game anymore. People like me don't want to play a 50 hour game with controls and options so complex that you actually have to read the manual or do the in-game tutorial. We want shmups and platformers and Bemani games and simple crap like that. You pick it up. You play. You don't learn anything. You don't commit anything. You just have fun. Games like that aren't going to get developed with costs as high as they're going to be. People like me will be sticking to the old stuff if things keep going in this direction.

**StriderKyo** · 17 Aug 2005, 12:39 PM

Originally Posted by Yoshi

supermario is the absolute worst person to start this thread, because any logic he does have is lost in his mountain of blubbery bullshit, bad grammar, and misspelling. However the topic itself does warrant some discussion. A lot of the signs of a crash are there. Ironically, the company that would benefit most from a 2006 crash would be the same one that benefitted most from the 1983 crash: Nintendo. Sony and Microsoft would pack it in and run if the profit margin suddenly dried up, but Nintendo is here for the long haul, and they would emerge with an NES-style world beater.

I don't know if there will ever be a full-blown crash, but there will definitely be a levelling off in a generation or two as hardware reaches a dead end. Once everything's HD and photorealistic, there's nowhere else to go until you can produce a holographic display. They'll be stuck trying crap like Fahrenheit 451 surround-yourself-with-4-massive-screens support (PS3 already does 2). There'll be a standard level of game player for a while, and manufacturers will be stuck in a replacement economy like the business PC market hit.

One day everyone will have holodecks, but there's a whole lot of invention that needs to happen between here and there.

**RedCoKid** · 17 Aug 2005, 12:47 PM

Originally Posted by supermario

If you don't belive me, belive this guy http://www.pointlesswasteoftime.com/games/crash.html

I remember reading that a long time ago.

Anyway, I haven't bought so few games since before 2000. 2005 definitely sucks.

**StriderKyo** · 17 Aug 2005, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by Cheebs

But...You can get a DVD player for less than $100 and most DVDs cost around $15. You can't compare games to movies. The price is too far apart.

Sure you can. DVD players cost hundreds of dollars until PS2 brought their price down, and plenty of people were willing to shell out for them. Same with stereo components. 360 and PS3 are moving towards the mythical set top box that does everything in your living room - downloadable entertainment, plays movies, music, stores photographs, etc. - a TiVo peripheral is coming much sooner than later. And now that gaming has reached a point where it looks nearly as impressive as movies, alot more people are going to see it as worth the cost, whereas before it was considered a toy.

What worries me is this: There doesn't seem to be any place for the "small" game anymore. People like me don't want to play a 50 hour game with controls and options so complex that you actually have to read the manual or do the in-game tutorial. We want shmups and platformers and Bemani games and simple crap like that. You pick it up. You play. You don't learn anything. You don't commit anything. You just have fun. Games like that aren't going to get developed with costs as high as they're going to be. People like me will be sticking to the old stuff if things keep going in this direction.

PC will always be home to independent/small studio stuff like this. I wish I had bookmarked it, but a little while back MarkRyan linked to these Nintendo demos that may or may not have been Revolution related. The graphics were incredibly primitive, practically 2600 level, but the art style was simple and fantastic - think Rez. And the gameplay ideas were simple but really divergent. It looked like a really good direction for things to go in, not just ever-more-detailed versions of the same old thing.

**Ex Ranza** · 17 Aug 2005, 12:51 PM

I'm more concerned about the effects that the high price of next-gen game development will have on game makers. Fewer titles, more sequels, and possibly fewer publishers in the end.

**Bacon McShig** · 17 Aug 2005, 01:18 PM

I don't think we'll see a crash, but this higher-pricing shit isn't going to fly for long. Most games aren't successful priced at $40 or $50 now, I don't see the odds being very good on somehow finding success through increasing prices.

There's something seriously wrong with an industry that has an installed hardware base of tens of million, yet most titles are hard-pressed to break 200k copies sold. To me, it paints a very clear picture that games at large are priced higher than their percieved worth, yet the industry is making the problem worse rather than correcting it.

**Changeling** · 17 Aug 2005, 01:25 PM

Originally Posted by Cheebs

What worries me is this: There doesn't seem to be any place for the "small" game anymore. People like me don't want to play a 50 hour game with controls and options so complex that you actually have to read the manual or do the in-game tutorial. We want shmups and platformers and Bemani games and simple crap like that. You pick it up. You play. You don't learn anything. You don't commit anything. You just have fun. Games like that aren't going to get developed with costs as high as they're going to be. People like me will be sticking to the old stuff if things keep going in this direction.

Well my friend, you ALREADY OWN the system you seek. If fact, you used it to put this message on TNL!! YOUR PC!!! YaY!

Seriously though, there is more to do with your PC than any other system. All old school stuff is free! Emulate. Music- Free. Movies-Free. There will always be good games on PC. Not as many as console, but more than enough. There are tons of indy games out there waiting to be played for free. Shit, after this Microsoft 360 pricing bullshit, I'll probably just stick to PC, and pirate the next version of Windows that comes out, of course.