Video games just aren’t as good as they used to be

I have a younger sibling. He’s quite the games enthusiast. Whenever I visit home, I notice some new console videogame being played on the TV and I’m often greeted with an explanation of the gameplay. I can’t help but notice, however, that commitment to single games has weakened over the years, and it appears that stopping halfway through a level to play something entirely different has become acceptable behaviour.

Now, it could just be that I’m getting old, but it would appear that the games of this generation no longer offer sufficient reward for the various hardships that players are forced to endure. The motivation to continue is, as a result, severely diminished.

I remember the days of true Role Playing Adventure Games, where the player would spend numerous hours attacking a base, attempting to defeat a single boss or breaking through whatever obstacles were placed before them, and they would be sufficiently rewarded afterwards. Storylines from the very structured (Pokemon, attaining badges as one fought from gym to gym across the land), the magical (Golden Sun, Final Fantasy), and the downright Freudian (Super Mario Sunshine, where Bowser Jr. had been duped into believing Peach was his mother) were able to completely immerse the player. This was achieved by a layer of role-playing which isn’t seen nowadays. A layer supported by external paraphernalia.

Gone are the days of a single franchise taking the world by storm. This was, in my opinion, the key to immersive gaming

Gone are the days of a single franchise taking the world by storm. This was, in my opinion, the key to immersive gaming. You would pick up a copy of Pokemon Red. You’d follow the anime closely. You’d collect the cards. Playing, you’d run into Articuno in Seafoam Islands and this would ignite a memory linked to the brief moment in the opening of the cartoon series where you get a glimpse of it with Zapdos. I would shed a tear upon viewing the opening sequence now, shamelessly. Now sure, Articuno is no Charizard (card-wise), but the point to consider here is the vast array of external influential and consistent factors contributing to the game’s ability to engage.

What is Pokemon now? A cult. Players became die-hard fans of the original 151. Gamers lack the external consistency they once had and now crave, hence we end up forever switching with the intent to complete them as soon as possible, not appreciating whatever thin storylines are presented. Can anything save us now? I’m hoping for Portal 2.

This article was imported from an earlier version of Felix Online - see the original article here.

Old Comments

Why i agree with the title, i do not agree with your explanation. The audience has considerably widened. The people that would try that same level over and over still exists, but due to the rise of casual gaming there now is a majority of players that do not have the eagerness to do so. In fact current games are over-rewarding, not under-rewarding, compared to older games. You get a crown just for buying the game so to say. You don't have to be good, you get you gold anyway. This is so the majority of gamers feel they accomplished something. To oldskool gamers the challenges involved may seem ridiculously low, but it's just a new audience nowadays. the casual gamer does NOT want to wait or retry or work hard for his rewards. the industry just caters to that need. its like hollywood vs artfilm, there are good movies, more then ever in fact - the problem is just that most films are made for most people, not for the enthusiast-cinema-freak. people want it, people get it.