Author Topic: Do you think they come out with new consoles too fast?  (Read 3412 times)

maximo310

Re: Do you think they come out with new consoles too fast?
« Reply #15 on: August 08, 2016, 06:40:13 pm »
^ Monster Hunter 4U, by Capcom, has better framerate and textures and loading times on the new 3DS.

Re: Do you think they come out with new consoles too fast?
« Reply #16 on: August 08, 2016, 06:55:21 pm »
Only a few games benefit from it though.  Majora's Mask and Monster Hunters would be some, and Hyrule Warriors Legends should never have even be released on the original 3DS.  It should've been an exclusive like Xenoblade Chronicles, which that didn't even run super great on the new 3DS.

necrosexual

Re: Do you think they come out with new consoles too fast?
« Reply #17 on: August 08, 2016, 11:53:53 pm »
^ Monster Hunter 4U, by Capcom, has better framerate and textures and loading times on the new 3DS.

i think that was the point of the new 3ds tho.
it was supposed to make things better, but not be required.


if i'm an NPC, i want to be the secret boss in a low tier niche JRPG.

gf78

Re: Do you think they come out with new consoles too fast?
« Reply #18 on: August 09, 2016, 12:33:05 pm »
Not really. It's just that the home console marketing has been in a downward slope since smart phones took over and the dominate form of entertainment. Major publishers and developers who've been in the game for decades have dropped out, companies have tanked. The cost and time of games now is hardly worth the investment, and that's why it seems like nothing really comes along anymore and you need 10 years to build a solid collection of games for a console.

Think of how many great games were on the SNES and it was only Nintendo's primary console for roughly 5 years. Personally, I think it says something about the state of games today being overly ambitious in their efforts, and overestimating what it takes to make a great or successful game.

I disagree with your assertion that console gaming has been on a downward slope.  Combined console sales each generation have steadily risen.  These are rounded figures.

SNES & Genesis:  80 million combined
PlayStation, N64 & Saturn:  144 million combined
PlayStation 2, Gamecube & Xbox:  201 million combined
PlayStation 3, Wii & Xbox 360:  273 million combined
PlayStation 4, Wii U & Xbox One:  79 million combined (less than three years in)

There are a ton of games coming out.  But the reality is that gaming is dominated by big, AAA expensive-ass titles like your Halo, Call of Duty, Uncharted etc. with the other titles being made up mostly of indies which are 99% of the time released as digital downloads. 

You are also completely off on your time table.  The SNES was launched in '91 and discontinued in '99 in the US.  That's eight years.  It was followed by the N64 which was released in late '96.  So while it was the primary system for only five years, it was available for eight.  Comparatively, the PS3 was launched in 2006 and replaced by the PS4 in 2013.  That's seven years.  The SNES has 783 official games released for it while the PS3 has 1,023 and the Xbox 360 has 1,173. 

So there is no huge discrepancy in the amount of games made for these systems.  Development hasn't fallen off the map as you have suggested.  And this also doesn't take into account digitally released titles.  There are nearly 700 digital titles released on the PS3 and as many on the Xbox 360.  Of those, several hundred were digital-only.  If you figure 200 of those digital titles were digital-only, the breakdown by year looks like this:

SNES (since you mention this console):  156 games released per year on average
PlayStation 3:  174 games released per year on average
Xbox 360:  171 games released per year on average

Of course you cannot state without a lot of research that some of the game totals for these consoles didn't come after their successor had been on the market.  For example, God of War II on the PS2 launched after the PS3 was on the market.  But it gives you an average estimate to go by. 

While we have lost companies that were "in the game" early on like Konami and a few others, many like Bethesda, CD Projekt Red, Bungie and various Sony and Microsoft studios have risen up and taken their place.  There are more development houses actively developing games now than there has ever been. 

As for lower cost games, one need only look at critical independent hits like Ori and the Blind Forest and Song of the Deep.  Games made on smaller budgets that decimate many of the 16-bit era games.

You should also look into the fact that in the SNES heyday, games ranged from $60-$80 new on average.  Larger RPG titles like Illusion of Gaia were $80 plus tax!  Over 20 years later, games sell for $60 on average.  This in spite of the rises in income, cost of living, food, gas, etc.  Developers are having to spend more to make games today than they did in the 90's and only taking in the same amount in sales.  So they have started releasing post-game content/DLC.  And even then, most indie titles sell for under $20.

Gaming is stronger now than it has ever been.  I think you just see the 16-bit era through rose-colored glasses. 
« Last Edit: August 09, 2016, 12:38:24 pm by gf78 »
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rayne315

Re: Do you think they come out with new consoles too fast?
« Reply #19 on: August 09, 2016, 06:46:51 pm »

SNES & Genesis:  80 million combined
PlayStation, N64 & Saturn:  144 million combined
PlayStation 2, Gamecube & Xbox:  201 million combined
PlayStation 3, Wii & Xbox 360:  273 million combined
PlayStation 4, Wii U & Xbox One:  79 million combined (less than three years in)

personally I find software sales to be more of an indicator of console success over time. with that being said as of july 2016:

SNES & Genesis:                                      554.86 Million combined games sold
PlayStation, N64 & Saturn:                      1234.51 Million combined games sold
PlayStation 2, Gamecube & Xbox:            2142.02 Million combined games sold
PlayStation 3, Wii & Xbox 360:                2929.17 Million combined games sold
PlayStation 4, Wii U & Xbox One:               470.92 Million combined games sold

unfortunately the problem with my source is they do not include digital sales (only distribution totals through retail stores) and this console generation it seams people are more apt to download games than to buy a physical copy.
PS2 Palooza: 8/2XXX games finished
Now Playing: Dark cloud
Stopped recording so now back on track.

XIII
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Bully

Re: Do you think they come out with new consoles too fast?
« Reply #20 on: August 10, 2016, 03:37:18 pm »
I'll be shocked if this ends up being the case. Both companies are touting these new systems as being only for "hardcore" gamers who also own 4k TVs. They aren't pushing them to the general public, and the price is probably going to reflect that. So devs would be insane to put out games that ran that poorly on the current hardware. And to your New 3DS example, Hyrule Warriors was a first-party Nintendo title, no 3rd parties have made anything that ran like that on the old 3DS. Heck, correct me if I'm wrong but I think Nintendo themselves are the only ones so far that have put out games that actually take advantage of the specs of the New 3DS.

Hyrule Warriors is developed by team ninja and omega force who are parts of koei tecmo. Nintendo was basically there to handle publishing duties and to tell them what they can and can't do with the zelda name. So it kind of is a 3rd party title.