I have just noticed that the ps3 slim, psp, wii and 3ds are all having their prices dropped.This could be for a new console coming in but they usually do this when the new console has been released.
My question is the gaming industry dieing???
Is the Gaming Industry Dieing Slowly???
Slide To Unlock on 17/08/2011 - 18:08
Comments
dey don teech dat in skoul this dais
They simply need to concentrate more on games rather then different consoles.
consoles have always been loss making for companies
they get u on the gamesI'm scared to say yes - and surprisingly, not all that slowly. This year, XBOX LIVE numbers have dwindled. Halo is not what it used to be (hence Halo: Reach being 3rd for months on the top played xbox live games compared to halo 3 which held number 1 for YEARS). Top played game on xbox live at the moment is black ops, and even then, I log on every weekend or 2 and I notice numbers dropping gradually.
Another big hint is PC gaming. WoW announced a drop from something like 13million to 10million players with the release of Cataclysm (the latest expansion). Again, some significant dropping in players.
Overall, I am not sure if it's a gradual decline in gaming or if what's happening is that people are spreading out over games. For instance, there are many more video games being released these days compared to say, 10 years ago. Take for example, Rift, Guild Wars 2 on the horizon and a few of the other medium MMORPGS. Of course these are going to detract from WoW's subscribers and it could just be that rather than everyone lumping together and playing a single game, the fact that there are so many games out there means that people are spreading horizontally, not vertically.
The same can be given for Xbox Live, numbers are slowly dying out on Black Ops, but may be perhaps increasing in other games. I think for the specific gamers like myself (who prefer to stick to a few games at a time and rarely change), the effect this creates is a simulated dying out of the gaming industry.
On the whole, however, one could argue that numbers of gamers are increasing. People who own smart phones may have downloaded a game or 2. I know these people probably couldn't be considered gamers, but they are people who otherwise wouldn't have touched a game. Just the fact that there are too many games out there and too many consoles means that we are gradually losing touch with one another and moving into a solo-gaming empire as opposed to a multiplayer experience.
Piracy is probably what's killing PC gaming, if not, the high cost of hardware is also what is deterring younger generations and the poorer from being able to play and access PC gaming.
Also, PC gamers are more sensitive to the pricing of games. Most of PC gamers would probably balk at the idea of paying $60 to 80 dollars for that newly released game but for many console users, they have no problem forking out the cash for a highly desirable or popular game such as Halo or Modern Warfare.
So who does the developer turn to? The console crowd of course — if you can't milk the money out of PC gamers, then you just as well shorten the development time of the game, make it for the console and then port it to the PC.
And if you need more money, you can always turn to microtransactions and Zombie DLC's. Everybody likes hats and zombies.
i think unless there is real unique and innovative IP, you won't have much in the way of hitting the masses
games like the new Deus Ex and Saints Row 3 and Bioshock Infinite have a chance but even stuff like LA Noire hasn't been that successful
that combined with a cut back in expenditure on stupid shit has been games tail off
the consoles are coming to the end of thier expected life cycles, but the industry isnt dying
donkey kong turned 30 recently, and going back that far, shows you just how far gaming has come in 30 years
Maybe the gamers are growing up and having to get jobs, girlfriends etc so have less time on their hands.
Also given that like in the real world, more expensive and powerful weapons (Video cards etc) makes it harder for the casual player (Cannon fodder) to compete, so they just dont play multiplayer games
yes but there's always new young people who want it
problem is MS are riding XBox360 until 2015 and PS3 is still relatively new
consoles and PCs are basically fighting for a shrinking piece of the entertainment pie
If anything it seems to be growing much bigger each year.
The drop in price for the PS3 is due to a few reasons. The hardware is a lot cheaper now than it has been so they can afford to. Blueray players are getting cheap these days and PS3 competes with these on a certain level. XBox and Wii have both dropped in price so it needs to be more competitive. The Kinect has been a gold mine for XBox and this has really hurt the PS3 with the casual gamer market.
Well playing games is no longer attractive to me now, dunno if others are the same way. Maybe I just grew out of it but I don't find it as fun as when I was younger.
Lol when I saw 'gaming industry' in the title I thought you meant poker machines, casinos and sports betting for some reason, and of course that industry isn't dying…
What about all those iOS devices (and soon Android devices)?
For the older folks (finished study, having a job, relatively cash-rich),
- Can afford latest consoles and $50+ a pop on games
- However as they become time-poor, lengthy games become massive time-sink which they cannot afford.
- Therefore they turn to devices with large number of casual games, where you can pick up playing for 15 minutes and put down, i.e. iPad.
For the younger folks (still studying, in casual/park-time employment with little money),
- Relatively more time on hand but cannot afford $50+ on each new game
- Some of them choose not becoming pirates
- Therefore they turn to devices with large inventories of $2-$5 games, i.e. iPad or iPod Touch.
Obviously there are a lot of serious gamers who are willing to spend $50-$80 on new games. However they also raised their expectation a lot. Just look at the budget of some of those latest games. Massive, yet how many of them fail to live up to the expectation. I am not surprised that industry is in decline (I mean the massive budget big brand publisher games). People just have higher expectations these days and are not willing to pay more for them.
Not to mention they are also competing with many low budget independent developers who can push out lots of fun casual games at the price of a cup of coffee.
I think game companies are blindly following the advice of uninformed bean counters and the wants of
<14 y/o's.
Look at what is on offer and you will see. They have lost their way.
EA(Electronic Arts)is a classic example. Sad.FACEBOOK - People spend more hours on FB these days!
Most of the good games arent coming out til november anyway, don't know what some of you are on about
Don't know about the gaming industry, but the ability to spell is dying.