Not Enough Games ?
 

Is it just my imagination or is it for every new generation of consoles, there are less and less games available and less and less being released each month ?

Now i know that computer games nowadays are huge products/projects and take a lot more developing but still !

I remember for the PS 1 there were oodles of new games being released each week. Ditto for PS 2

I know many gamers prefer quality over quantity but the fact is now that the basic gaming bases arent being covered by the game libraries of these new consoles. E.g. i want an MMA game and there aren't bloody any ! I also want a very violent fighting horror game and there aren't any. I want a new Leisure Suit Larry game and there isn't one !

By the looks of this thread, most people here have plenty of games to get through.

As a matter of fact, I think I'm playing more titles this gen than last. Hardly a month goes by without an excellent game being released on the 360 that I want, which wasn't the case with the original Xbox. Not to mention the Live Arcade keeps me busy, as well as the Wii and the half dozen or so good titles on it and their Virtual console. Then there is that whole other animal, the DS which has a plethora of great games to play with more being released all the time. I have plenty of games and there are a dozen and a half being released by the end of the year that I want, so I find there are many, many games this gen worth playing.

There are for more games out there than I have time to play. Not just games in general, I'm talking games with good reviews and word of mouth that are of interest to me personally.

Quoted for truth. :(

Way too many games.

Yeah, I think there are plenty of games. I have to force myself not to buy new games so I can finish the ones I have and actually save some money on a price drop in the meantime.

Quantity <> Quality.

I think there was a shif in the industry about 3-4 years ago to focus on bigger, better games. A lot of publishers cut their titles and changed their focus -- less small budget, poorly reviewed games, more big budget games. The reason for the shift? Mostly shelf-space. If a place like Wal-mart only has, say 100 total spaces for video games and there are 300 games available, which ones will Wal-mart want to carry? No-name low budget game or Resident Evil 5?

With that said, I have a bunch of games on my plate (some old, some new) that I need to get through.

The only thing I would complain about isn't that there aren't enough good games (there's plenty), but that the release schedule of new games is all fucked up. I mean, over the Summer, where I have more time than ever to play games, we don't really get much as far as new releases, but then closer to Christmas, when I have less time, we get almost every must-have game released within just days of each other, which kills the sales of the good, but lower-profile games (I'm looking at you Okami), that should've just come out in the Summer, instead of Fall/Christams.

Yeah it's silly. I think the industry thinks 2 things: Games don't sell in the summer because people are on vacation/outside. And that games sell better for the holidays.

I think #2 is absolutely true, but #1, is completely false. When I was kid, I played tons of video games in the summer. Also, if people are on vacation, wouldn't portable games sell really well then?

It's just your imagination. The first year for any new console is pretty slow.

Last year was pretty slow for the 360, but this year there a ton of high quality games coming out.

This year looks to be pretty slow for the PS3 and Wii too, but it will most likely pick up next year.

New console drought: Agreed. I played Tekken Tag as my only PS2 game for the first year of the PS2's life.

Lots of xbox360 games: Not for me. Depends on your types of games. I have only 2 360 games (Dead Rising, Gears) with only Blue Dragon to look forward to and DMC4 if it makes it in 2007. Along with a couple of maybes like Army of Two which I would get sometime in 2008 when they get cheap.

Point 3: Sort of. There's a pretty decent handful of Wii games I'm tentatively interested in, though: Batallion Wars provided it has online play as promised, Project Hammer, Metroid, Smash Brothers, RE: Umbrella, etc. Combined with Zelda, Super Paper Mario and Rayman so far it's been a great release year lineup.

Same.

Yeah, I think all new consoles have few games the first year they are out. I was starving for software with my DS, and this is the reason for me waiting on getting a Wii. I even waited a year to get my 360, but now I've got a ton of games to play.

I have games from last gen I've yet to get through, games from this gen I've yet to get through, and there are at least 25 upcoming games I'm very excited about. And that's just video games, I'm not even including the time I spend on board/CMG games.

Should say "Not Enough Money" to buy game

Amen! I have dozens of GC games to finish. :(

I agree. Game sales go down in the summer because most big releases don't come out in the summer.

You're telling me if Halo 3 and GTA4 came out in July, these games wouldn't sell?

Popular franchises will always sell well regardless of the month. NCAA Football and Madden are released every summer and the sales are great.

If I was a publisher, I would be tempted to release my game in the summer because there's less competition. Capcom did this with Dead Rising and it sold a ton of copies.

If you've got a PS2, a 360, and a DS, I think you're crazy.

If you've got a Wii and a PS3 I can see where you're coming from.

The Nintendo 64's first year was pretty bad.

I actually have to pass on some games that I really want because I know I don't have time to play them all. I still play Halo 2 a ton, I haven't finished Dead Rising, Tomb Raider, Burnout, etc... I wanted to get the Oblivion expansion (SI), but I was going to get NHL 07 instead...THEN I heard Guitar Hero was coming out, so I passed on Shivering Aisles AND Hockey.

I guess what I'm saying is, I don't need a ton of good games to come out, just feed me ones that I can play forever. I played over 1,000 hours of Oblivion, probably triple that on Halo 2, Dead Rising had a nice chunk of my time, Burnout filled any gaps, and now Guitar Hero sucks my time. May not sound too exciting to many here, but I can't quit playing these games.

Once Halo 3 hits, I think I'm going to kick out my family, quit my job, and live off my profit sharing until it runs out, LOL.

I have to say for the 360 it's about right. Face it, a new game every week would be to much now. With online play the lifespan of the game is being extended and throw in new content in form of maps is even better.

Also I've noticed seveal here are still playing older games which is fine. Halo is ...well Halo and not a dull moment and myself, threw in Unreal Championship last night. Now come 3rd and 4th quarter this year I have no idea what we're all going to do? I just know it won't be a bore.


Kenny J - Buzz Starhopper

Yeah, I think there are plenty as well. Certainly more that I'd like to play than I have time to even with my fairly narrow and limited interests these days.

But then again I have a hell of a lot less leisure time than I did in past generations, so I'm not sure whether there are more games or just less time to play them (or both). :shrug: