The gaming industry is definately going down hill...

[Mishimaryu]

Video games just don't have much value as they did in the past, Look at EB games pretty soon it'll be trade in 5-8 preowned games for a new one. :shock:

[The Successful Dropout]

Just because EB screws ppl over, doesn't mean that the Gaming Industry is going down hill.

[sblymnlcrymnl]

Yeah, don't trade it in, CAG or ebay it.

[Legolas813]

the market is just too crowded with titles

[The Successful Dropout]

the market is just too crowded with titles

the only problem that i see with this is the simple fact that we dont have enough money to buy/play each and every one...other than that, whatever...everything is too crowded with everyone trying to cash in....their are way too many vehicles, way too many movies, way too many brandnames of breads, way too many...you get the point....so i guess everything is going down hill because everything is so up hill that everyone wants to cash in on it :roll:

[Trakan]

Video games just don't have much value as they did in the past, Look at EB games pretty soon it'll be trade in 5-8 preowned games for a new one. :shock:

You shouldn't really be trading in your old games to get 1 new one, because you're getting ripped off. Ebay it, or trade it here. EB and GameStop fuck people over.

[Mishimaryu]

Video games just don't have much value as they did in the past, Look at EB games pretty soon it'll be trade in 5-8 preowned games for a new one. :shock:

You shouldn't really be trading in your old games to get 1 new one, because you're getting ripped off. Ebay it, or trade it here. EB and GameStop shaq-fu people over.

I haven't trade anything to EB within over a yr or 2 actually but yea, they do shaq-fu over people.

[Rig]

The only thing I could see wrong with the industry now is that they are taking all of my money! :(

[Ledhed]

The only thing I could see wrong with the industry now is that they are taking all of my money! :(

Yep. This is gonna be the most wallet-raping season in recent memory. I'm gonna have to do some serious prioritizing.

[sblymnlcrymnl]

The only thing I could see wrong with the industry now is that they are taking all of my money! :(

Yep. This is gonna be the most wallet-raping season in recent memory. I'm gonna have to do some serious prioritizing.

I've already got my preorders in through January, everything else is going to have to wait for a price drop.

[Admiral Ackbar]

I think it was Greg Kasavin at Gamespot who pointed out that three great games that are very similar are all coming out on Sept. 21st. Kohan II: Kings of War, Rome:Total War, and Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War. I think his quote was, "That's a whole lotta war for one day!"

He was just pointing out that there's no way someone is going to buy all three of those titles. They're too similar. Someone might be into warhammer and get that. Someone might know of the excellence of the Total War series. But hardly anyone will get all three. It's crazy for all three titles, of the same genre, same platform, same cost point, and same anticpation level (we all know they'll probably be good and would want to play them but they're not Half-Life 2) to be released on the same day. And the next four months are FULL of days like this!

The problem is, the Game industry still sufers from the holiday cycle. I know it's hard to call an industry larger than the movie business "immature." But the vast majority of its sales occur during the holiday season. even if they released these titles a month apart in the middle of the summer, say May, June, and July, the sad thing is it probably wouldn't sell as much as it does launching all three at the same time in September. The industry needs to get over this hurdle that way titles are spread otu through the year.

It wouldn't suprise me if we'll be seeing 50% of titles released this winter in the bargin bin for $20 or less by February.

[Fatesealer]

It wouldn't suprise me if we'll be seeing 50% of titles released this winter in the bargin bin for $20 or less by February.

And I for one say 'here, here!' It wouldn't be so bad to start seeing EPSN-esque pricing on games when they first hit the streets... Hot Shots Golf Fore is more like an addon than a full game... why charge full price? In a sea of sequels, this wouldn't hurt...

[David85]

I think it was Greg Kasavin at Gamespot who pointed out that three great games that are very similar are all coming out on Sept. 21st. Kohan II: Kings of War, Rome:Total War, and Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War. I think his quote was, "That's a whole lotta war for one day!"

He was just pointing out that there's no way someone is going to buy all three of those titles. They're too similar. Someone might be into warhammer and get that. Someone might know of the excellence of the Total War series. But hardly anyone will get all three. It's crazy for all three titles, of the same genre, same platform, same cost point, and same anticpation level (we all know they'll probably be good and would want to play them but they're not Half-Life 2) to be released on the same day. And the next four months are FULL of days like this!

The problem is, the Game industry still sufers from the holiday cycle. I know it's hard to call an industry larger than the movie business "immature." But the vast majority of its sales occur during the holiday season. even if they released these titles a month apart in the middle of the summer, say May, June, and July, the sad thing is it probably wouldn't sell as much as it does launching all three at the same time in September. The industry needs to get over this hurdle that way titles are spread otu through the year.

It wouldn't suprise me if we'll be seeing 50% of titles released this winter in the bargin bin for $20 or less by February.

It's not "immature" at all.

If you had a product that cost $50 putting it near holidays is helpful because if a 10 year old wants a game he has to wait for his birthday or Christmas, and the gaming companies know when Christmas is.

It's like the movies, all the name movies come out in May / June / July, not because they are "immature" but because that's when people go to them the most.

[cmdryuk]

Are you kidding? Other than PC gaming which other than a few MAJOR titles is pretty much KO'ed I haven't seen the gaming industry so inundated with quality games in a very long time.

[ViolentLee]

Video games just don't have much value as they did in the past, Look at EB games pretty soon it'll be trade in 5-8 preowned games for a new one. :shock:

The reason for this is simple: supply and demand. More people are buying games now, which means that more games are being manufacturered. When a store like EB has more people wanting to trade in the same game, obviously they're going to offer less. Plus, there are a lot more serialized titles nowadays -- meaning games that get sequels. Once Splinter Cell 3 comes out, of course Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow will go down. That's the same across the board.

Soon, there will only be 5 or so publishers out there. The big guys (EA, Activision, etc.) will have bought up the smaller and/or less successful companies (Eidos, Bam). Then, there will be a niche, cult section, much like Atlus has been doing all these years. Atlus really limits its production run (say 20,000 of each game), so its releases are rarely bargain-bin material and they almost always sell out.

[Alpha2]

EB sells their games for way more than they should, so just because they have a 10 dollar game sale every now and then dosent mean the industry is having any problems at all. It just means the retailer bought too many of a game they can't get rid of at the ridiculous price they're asking and once the game gets a year old it's not going to sell at 50 bucks because a new heard is quickly comming down the pipe from developers that are quickly getting used to the technology they've been asked to use and program for.

The result is they got to get rid of the old festering stuff before the new stuff drowns them in unsellable product, and how do they do that? WITH A SALE.

In a year everything will go right back to square one as the big players all release new systems and develoeprs have to start building the libraries back up.

[Gothic Walrus]

First off...we've talked about this before, repeatedly.

http://cheapassgamer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17018&highlight=game+industry+cras h

http://cheapassgamer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30684&highlight=video+game+crash

the market is just too crowded with titles

This is a very, VERY bad thing. Think about how much time and money goes into your average game now. If the price drops to $20 after two or three months because of bad sales, it's going to be difficult - if not outright impossible - to break even on the game.

Since most PC gamers focus on one or two niches, though, this isn't a bad thing...for them, anyway. a person dedicated to war games might get Kohan when it's first released and Warhammer and Total War later on, when the price has dropped off.

I have no idea how the console market will handle it, though, since things will most likely get worse before they change. Like defender, I'm beginning to think the market might crash again.

Especially for used games...but that's another story in itself.

[bob_the_goon]

The biggest problem is people like us. We all look at the new release shelf, and maybe buy one or two titles that we just have to have, but then we wait for price drops on everything else. I don't need to buy sequels at $50 because I'm so back logged with my games now, that by the time I finish the prequel, the sequel will be cheap. The holiday season is filled with parents and grandparents that want to make little Johnny happy and don't much care about the inevitable price drop, and is therefore, far more profitable.

[Cornfedwb]

It wouldn't suprise me if we'll be seeing 50% of titles released this winter in the bargin bin for $20 or less by February.

And I for one say 'here, here!' It wouldn't be so bad to start seeing EPSN-esque pricing on games when they first hit the streets... Hot Shots Golf Fore is more like an addon than a full game... why charge full price? In a sea of sequels, this wouldn't hurt...

Yes, it would be bad. Look at the budget PS2 line in Japan (the $18 games) they almost all are boring and have major bugs. A developer simply cannot put the same sort of effort into a game and release it at a 60% markdown from normal. ESPN is using the $20 price point as a marketing ploy to increase its player base.. they see it as "take a loss today for a bigger gain tomorrow"... 95% of the games out there wouldn't profit from this strategy.

[GuilewasNK]

If anything EB is aware of sites like this and don't want to give $12 credit on something that someone paid $5 for.

A lot of people don't like trading with people online or dealing with ebay epecially after seeing all the "So and so screwed me over on our trade" posts here. Even if you get lower value, more people are comfortable with dealing with an actual business.

Also, you people have to understand, a lot of people don't collect games. They play them, get tired of it, then want something new. That's primarily what Gamestop and other store are looking for, not the hardcore collector. You can't run a decent business by giving 75% of the original retail value back to customers. You wouldn't be in business long. No one is going to take a $49.99 title and give you $29.99 credit for it because then that store would have to sell it for $34.99. With sites like CAG, no one in their right mind would pay that unless it was a really rare title.

[DigitalSpace]

THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!!

[Admiral Ackbar]

It's not "immature" at all.

If you had a product that cost $50 putting it near holidays is helpful because if a 10 year old wants a game he has to wait for his birthday or Christmas, and the gaming companies know when Christmas is.

It's like the movies, all the name movies come out in May / June / July, not because they are "immature" but because that's when people go to them the most.

Yes the industry, like many inustries rely on cycles. Many companys make or break the year in the holiday season. But most professional anylists will point mout that compared to traditional media the video game industry is relatively immature.

I just read an article the other day, that mentioned this. Though I can't seem to find it now. Here's an Industry Thesis from 2002 (http://www.gamasutra.com/education/theses/20030210/piccinno.doc) that has the line, "However, the industry is immature when compared to mass market entertainment mediums." Then here's a CBS article from last year (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/06/02/tech/main556569.shtml) where an analyst states, "It's still a pretty immature media, but a discipline for actual game development is starting to make sense." Or take this article (http://www.azcentral.com/shopping/0121vidgirls21.html) about games for women.

'"To be really candid, being Number 1 in girls video games isn't very impressive," said Robert Thorne, co-founder and chief executive of Dualstar Entertainment Group, the video game division of Mary-Kate and Ashley's Dualstar Entertainment. "The numbers are indicative that the business is immature."'

Most analysts will agree that the game industry has a lot of gorwing up to do compared to other mediums of entertainment.

[Quackzilla]

Leave it to corporate America to strip Christmas of its religious roots and make it a commercial holiday, conveniently making it nondenominational by removing that whole 'god' and 'Jesus' thing so that they could expand the target market.

[Admiral Ackbar]

Leave it to corporate America to strip Christmas of its religious roots and make it a commercial holiday, conveniently making it nondenominational by removing that whole 'god' and 'Jesus' thing so that they could expand the target market.

Did you see Lewis Black last night on the Daily Show? He talked about the five stages of response to september 11th. First there's shock, then grief, anger, acceptance and finally, exploitation!

[Parathod]

There's only major problem with the industry right now: big games that try too hard. That's where we get collectathons, should have been movie-games, and games that try to fit into every genre but don't strive in any of them. Other than that, everything is for the better. Competition made developers struggle to make better games for a cheaper price. As a consumer, that's good news.

[Sartori]

Leave it to corporate America to strip Christmas of its religious roots and make it a commercial holiday, conveniently making it nondenominational by removing that whole 'god' and 'Jesus' thing so that they could expand the target market.

You live in 2004 A.D.

I live in 2004 C.E.

Keep in mind that Christmas isn't Jesus' birthday. This date was chosen based on something other than your "Christ's" birth. Do some research, Christian.

[ElwoodCuse]

I've seen a couple articles from people complaining that they've bought only a handful of games all year and now there's a ton of stuff that they would buy, but they won't because there's too much. I agree 100%. Christmas is no doubt a big business boost, but you can't shoehorn all your big releases that close together because they will get lost in the shuffle. I've done this prioritizing too, and there are lots of games that I would have paid for at its initial price but won't because I'm not going to spend $500 on games in 2 months.

[WarrenGekko]

The gaming industry is definitely mature. It is now generating more revenue than established industries such as movie and revenues are only predicted to go up.

Games are heading the way of magazines. There are hundreds of magazines but they are targeted for specific groups. Games will be the same. Games will be geared more and more to certain groups. Instead of just two categories
Adult and Kids

[camoor]

Leave it to corporate America to strip Christmas of its religious roots and make it a commercial holiday, conveniently making it nondenominational by removing that whole 'god' and 'Jesus' thing so that they could expand the target market.

Christmas was originally a pagan ceremony anyway, dolled up in Christian clothes so the people could still have their festival without interference from nervous Xians. It's a celebration of life in the middle of the annual period of time in which the sun has "died". This is why the Fir tree and mistletoe are incorporated into Christmas - they symbolize the life that has continued in spite of winter (as opposed to trees that lose their leaves, small plants, etc). Of course, the pagans would have never cut down the fir tree and killed it (it wouldn't make sense to kill your symbol of life) - leave it to Christianity to kill the true meaning of rituals handed down by our anscestors :wink:

[Cornfedwb]

Leave it to corporate America to strip Christmas of its religious roots and make it a commercial holiday, conveniently making it nondenominational by removing that whole 'god' and 'Jesus' thing so that they could expand the target market.

Christmas was originally a pagan ceremony anyway, dolled up in Christian clothes so the people could still have their festival without interference from nervous Xians. It's a celebration of life in the middle of the annual period of time in which the sun has "died". This is why the Fir tree and mistletoe are incorporated into Christmas - they symbolize the life that has continued in spite of winter (as opposed to trees that lose their leaves, small plants, etc). Of course, the pagans would have never cut down the fir tree and killed it (it wouldn't make sense to kill your symbol of life) - leave it to Christianity to kill the true meaning of rituals handed down by our anscestors :wink:

Wow.. can you bastardize that history lesson any more? It's like you heard the story ten years ago and have since adapted it as necessary. There was a Pagan ritual at the same time.. Christians celebrated Christmas at the same time to avoid persecution (also the same reason Easter is at the time it is).

[Lootr2Core]

Wow.. can you bastardize that history lesson any more? It's like you heard the story ten years ago and have since adapted it as necessary. There was a Pagan ritual at the same time.. Christians celebrated Christmas at the same time to avoid persecution (also the same reason Easter is at the time it is).

First I've ever heard someone say Christmas was celebrated to avoid persecution,

In the early years of Christianity, Easter was the main holiday; the birth of Jesus was not celebrated. In the fourth century, church officials decided to institute the birth of Jesus as a holiday. Unfortunately, the Bible does not mention date for his birth (a fact Puritans later pointed out in order to deny the legitimacy of the celebration). Although some evidence suggests that his birth may have occurred in the spring (why would shepherds be herding in the middle of winter?), Pope Julius I chose December 25. It is commonly believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival. First called the Feast of the Nativity, the custom spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end of the sixth century. By the end of the eighth century, the celebration of Christmas had spread all the way to Scandinavia. Today, in the Greek and Russian orthodox churches, Christmas is celebrated 13 days after the 25th, which is also referred to as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day. This is the day it is believed that the three wise men finally found Jesus in the manger.

By holding Christmas at the same time as traditional winter solstice festivals, church leaders increased the chances that Christmas would be popularly embraced, but gave up the ability to dictate how it was celebrated. By the Middle Ages, Christianity had, for the most part, replaced pagan religion. On Christmas, believers attended church, then celebrated raucously in a drunken, carnival-like atmosphere similar to today's Mardi Gras. Each year, a beggar or student would be crowned the "lord of misrule" and eager celebrants played the part of his subjects. The poor would go to the houses of the rich and demand their best food and drink. If owners failed to comply, their visitors would most likely terrorize them with mischief. Christmas became the time of year when the upper classes could repay their real or imagined "debt" to society by entertaining less fortunate citizens.