After writing that review of Dead Rising Wii, it suddenly occurred to me "This is the best time ever to be a fan of videogames".
It's not because all of my favorite games ever are coming out right now, because they aren't. Probably my favorite era in gaming ever was the Saturn/PS1/N64/Dreamcast era, when 2D fighters were still huge, but 3D action games were just starting to come into their own. Parappa the Rapper was simply jaw dropping to me at the time, as were Final Fantasy VII, Guardian Heroes, Resident Evil 1 and 2, Street Fighter Alpha, Shenmue, and Seaman.
Those are games that suit my personal tastes, but that doesn't mean that the era they were released in was the best ever.
No, that time is now.
Now is the time when we have art styles of every era of gaming being represented on multiple consoles. Mega Man 9, Wario Land: Shake It, World of Goo and Castle Crashers are just three games that look like they could have been from at least ten years ago, yet they have all found success today. Point and click games are actually making a comeback. For an old LucasArts fan like myself, having the Strong Bad games, the Sam and Max, and Zack and Wiki are all a big deal. Shmups are also making it big again, with tons of releases in the genre hitting all the home consoles all the time.
The classics are doing alright for themselves as well. Mario, Chris Redfield, and Solid Snake have all shown up in games that are better than or equal to the most popular games in their respective series, the DS has THREE amazing 2D Castlevania games, Street Fighter has finally made a come back, and Contra 4 completely kicked ass.
Then there are the "new" icons, Ace Attorney's Miles Edgeworth, MadWorld's Jack, No More Heroes's Travis Touchdown, Noby Noby Boy's Boy, and Braid's Tim. All of them do things that, in their own ways, have never really been done by videogame characters before. Add them to the always growing army of videogame characters, and it only takes a few seconds to realize that the world of videogames has never been more inclusive.
It used to be that videogames were made to appeal to one age group, one gender, and one socio-economic demographic. All those games that I loved in the Saturn/PS1/N64/Dreamcast, they were really made just for 18-24 year old boys (a group I managed to be a member of at the time). These days, it seems like there is at least one game out there for everyone, regardless of your tastes.
Saying that you don't like videogames in this era is like saying you don't like TV, or books, or even food. It just sounds foolish. You can say that you don't like watching TV, or reading, or even eating, but you can't deny that there is at least one show, book, or food that you like. It's that kind of thought that came to me right after finishing the Dead Rising review.
"Capcom somehow knew that Dead Rising 360 came close, but didn't quite suit my tastes, and knowing that, they actually had the guts to remake the game just to please people just like me." It's an amazing thing to witness; a videogame company so confident that videogame playing populace is broad and deep enough that they attempt greatly alter one of their popular games, and with confident that it will still find an audience.
In the lat 90's, they would never dare re-make Final Fantasy VII for the N64 but make the battles in real-time, or remake Metal Gear Solid for the Saturn but make it a 2D fighter. Back then, developers didn't believe that their were enough "different kinds" of gamers out there to validate such decisions.
So really, it's because of us that gaming is better than it's ever been. There are more of us gamers now, and more "types" of gamers, enough so that more different kinds of games are being made now than ever before.
Just thinking about that makes me excited to see what the next "gen" of game consoles will bring us. I could care less about what the games of 2015 will look like. I want to know what kinds of games they'll be.
Could things actually be more diverse than they are now? Is so, I can't wait to see how.
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I was actually thinking the same thing earlier this week. This generation has been like no other before it, and it seems like it's only going to get better as we go.
Totally agree. I was jizzing (in.my.pants) over Star Ocean 4 and Killzone 2 yesterday and was like, fuck, video games are awesome these days! I'm such a simple person.
In the lat 90's, they would never dare re-make Final Fantasy VII for the N64 but make the battles in real-time, or remake Metal Gear Solid for the Saturn but make it a 2D fighter. Back then, developers didn't believe that their were enough "different kinds" of gamers out there to validate such decisions.
That's awesome and makes me re-evaluate Wii-makes and such. Nice post.
Great article and I completely agree. We are living in pretty good times right now. Only thing that could make it better is a new Jet Grind Radio game ^_^
Also, SEGA definitely needs to get Seaman on PSN and Live (but by name alone, the game would sell itself on the Wii haha)!! I think the game could really thrive as a downloadable game. I always wanted it to go to the DS which has a built in mic but I want to be playing with high quality sperm goddammit!!
Amen!
Not to mention being a gamer with a job, especially in today's economy! I truly feel blessed to be able to buy all this video game shit!
And dude! I'm on your friends list! Radical.
CelicaCrazed- I think Seaman DS is still coming. And yes, I shall love it.
And I agree about a new Jet Grind. JGR:F was the first reason I bought a Xbox, with Panzer Dragoon Orta being the second reason.
Here, Here.
Games nowadays are good. Now games (for some consoles) have the ability to be patched and perhaps be better than before, a feat' only videogames on computers could do.
Imagine what a patch/update might have done to older games.
--
I just wish that more older games be ported or as DLC (FUCKING JET SET/GRIND RADIO DREAMCAST PORT DAMMIT - WANT.)
Very thoughtful post. I am behind the sentiments, and I hope that the gaming public in general can share that magnamimous view. The backlash against Nintendo and casual gamers suggests that some "old guard" folks may take umbrage at making room for unorthodox gamers.
Sort of, I agree on the variety and I love that. Having all these types of games and them not being resorted to small niche's is awesome. But there are still those casual gamers, who play GTA and CoD, but don't even know what Ikaruga is. I feel like there are so many of those types of gamers, the guys who just play the super popular games and think they know everything about gaming. I mean some people think that games like the Gears of War series have amazing stories, and they don't even know what a SNES.
With all this gaming variety there is a huge split in gamers themselves as well. I'm the guy who uses his 360 to play Exit, and do speed/naked runs in CV: SotN. Then there are people who just play Call of Duty and whatnot.
I don't know, I love being a gamer in this era as well. But there's that universal comraderie that's missing. Back in the day, you find out someone games, you can approach them and start chatting about any game and you'll become friends. Today, I know gamers, but I don't hang around with them, b/c their gaming tastes are totally different than mine and they probably don't even know the games that I play... nor do they want to, they're perfectly fine with playing every FPS on the market.
Holy hell! Why didn't anyone tell me it was!? I'm extremely excited now!! Also, I just googled to get more info on the game and I found a man with the name David Seamands hehehe.
And I hate myself for never playing JGR:F :(
I totally fucking agree. I loved reading this, great job.
"JSR:F was the first reason I bought an Xbox"
We are on the same wavelength, you and I.
I agree with you on just about everything, but at an average minimum of $50, I'd say games still appeal to a select socio-economic demographic. Then again, there is GameFly... I really need to sign up for that.
I definitely agree with you there. With so much available to gamers nowadays, it's hard not to find something to play and enjoy.
While people bitch that the Wii is ruining gaming, it's created gamers out of people who would never touch consoles a decade ago. Just look at Street Fighter 4; when I was young fighting games were just niche.
Great article; it's good to be a gamer in today's market.
While you're on the topic of JGR/JSR:F. Wow. Talk about an incredible game that I would lock myself in my room to play. God I love Destructoid! You guys are awesome.
This is absolutely true. There is such depth and variety to games now.
I've probably played my 360 more than any other game system in the past.
Say now... that's dangerous thinking. You sound like a communist. You aren't a commie, are you?
Suddenly Maddox's stance on the Wii doesn't sound so uncharacteristic.
Yeah, at first I was really disappointed by the wasted potential of this generation. In a way I still am. I expected a greater emphasis on interacting with the environment. After seeing games like Assassins Creed, Dead Rising, Mirrors Edge, Battlefield: Bad Company, and even Killzone 2(seriously, sit there and just shoot things in the environment and see and hear all the different collision sounds and effects), I can see that there are still those developers that are aiming for something more than just the best looking environments possible. I hope that we are seeing the beginning of a nice push forward in this kind of development.
we probably are and the sad part is I have no time for all the games I want to play now a days, I hope we kinda hit a rough patch soon so I can catch up. But all the sequels have been top notch reinventing franchises and all the new franchise have been amazing in of theirself
It's all probably a matter of perspective, but it's true that there is something out there for everyone. I prefer more retro games so I think that the SNES era was the best, but when you think about it, even the retro gamer is catered to in this era.
Games now are awesome, but games of past are also awesome. Nice rant, J-Holmes (lol).
I still think the SNES era was some of the best gaming ever, but this generation is doing some pretty amazing things. There have been a lot of retro throwbacks and remakes and a lot of amazing games... so it is really hard for me to say which era of gaming is better than the other.
They are so different from one another and special for different reasons, that I don't think I could make that decision clear cut.
I will agree that games are fucking awesome these days though.
I definitely agree with this blog, but I also think that we haven't even seen the full blown effect of this incredible diversity in gaming. Until gaming is on equal footing with movies and television, we're still a niche market to companies.
This is a freaking amazing console generation, it's got groundbreaking new games, retro revivals, new ideas, and is just fantasitc overall.
it is a great era but i don't know if i can agree with you when you class the saturn and the dreamcast in the same era as most games that were done on the ps2 could have been done on the dreamcast (almost anyways) and the dreamcast offered online gaming, a first to consoles and not done again until halfway thru the ps2's life. and the dreamcast also offered a motion sensing controller primarily used for sega bass fishing and everyone who played that game at my house absolutely loved it. blue stinger fucking sucked huge though.
it is a great era though.
Nostalgia does funny things to your memory; I think it'll be a good few years until a lot of people realise just how much great stuff came out in this era.
Great read, great rant, great blog.
Agreed, This generation of video games is the best yet. Every console has many great games both exclusive and multi-plat. It really is a well balanced generation and I'm also only for the first time this generation. When I had a ps2 I never had the Ethernet adapter or cable running through my house. Last night I was playing Killzone 2 with some of the community members and it was such a good fucking time. I can also play online with my friends that I associate with in real like on a regular basis. Playing Left 4 Dead and soon to be RE5 will be great.
Dude, Dreamcast was part of the PS2/XBox/Gamecube era.
I could go on for a while with a topic like this, but the short story is that I totally agree with you.
You couldn't be more right. So many good games have come out this gen that it has become impossible for one to keep up. It is a great time to be a gamer.
Pretty much, yea. Years from now, we'll look back on this generation with fond memories. I honestly think we're approaching Super Nintendo levels of awesome.
Loved how this article made me self reflect about what i love about gaming. Thanks Holmes.
I still think falling into the age bracket of (18-24) back in 1995, and games played on the PS,N64, Saturn era, remain my favorite period of gaming.
I get your point on the diversity and retro comeback and something for everyone nowadays, while they seem to be bold design choices, they are not as groundbreaking as the first time i played MGS, mario kart, golden eye, tekken amongst several other games. This period for some reason reminds me of the SNES times after the NES and commodore...something about it is very stagnant/sterile/static.
Then again i was eighteen, had a whole bunch of friends, shit loads of free time being a student and did not have to nag my wife to play a couple of boom blox. Sorry im just not mind blown these days with the games...neither with online multiplayer compared to a room with 6 friends and an N64.
I totally and completely agree.
I'd half agree, but there's just too many generic shooters out there, while platformers and action adventure games are almost non-existant.