Some thoughts about lack of thought and innovation

[ragtop70]

Am I the only one tired of all the retro collections and remakes coming out lately? Does anyone else think that a game being 20 years old does not automatically make it a classic? This problem is not restricted to games, it may be an even bigger problem when it comes to movies.
We've had The Dukes of Hazzard, Dawn of the Dead, The Fog, Herbie, etc. Not only are a large number of "new" movies remakes, many more which are new are almost identical. Can anyone count the number of zombie movies that have been released this year? I'm pretty sure it's nowhere near the number of World War 2 first person shooter games being released, but it's still a large number.
Back to the games. We have Namco, Tecmo, Capcom, and Midway re-releasing games that most of us already have or do not want. GameTap is entirely made up of older games. Nintendo has remade almost every Mario game for the DS. Speaking of Nintendo and Capcom, look at all the re-released Resident Evil games for Gamecube. I have no problem with releasing a game on several platforms to maximize profit, but this is something entirely different.
Have all the good ideas already been used? Can no one come up with a novel concept? Companies want to go with a proven idea or product, but it has to stop somewhere. We need to let our dollars do the talking. If we stop buying the same things time and again, companies will trying to sell it to us.
Just imagine when the 4th rendition of the Xbox and the PS5 have retro collections including Drake and 99 Dragons, Mojo, and The Guy Game among their classics. The way things are going, it WILL happen, people.

[sblymnlcrymnl]

Your post lacks any fresh thoughts or innovation. ;)

[Kain Vincent]

If a collection that bad ever exists in the future, then I wouldn't buy it in reaction. Remakes and ports are good for about two reasons:

1. To give people who never played the original, a chance to play it.
2. To give those who did play the original a chance to play the game in a more convinent and (possibly?) better format. Plus, extras and revisions can be present, as well.

[Dead of Knight]

Yet your avatar is Lindsay Lohan. ;)

[ragtop70]

Lindsay is my avatar because she's hot (or she was), not because of the movies she has been in.
Think about it, people, the fall season has just started for TV and they're already showing "encore presentations." Those used to be called re-runs.

[Jeoff]

Lack of innovation = free money. Money = what companies want.

[camoor]

It would be pretty funny if someone released the worst levels of the worst games of the past generation.

I'd buy it for novelty alone - to fall through bridges in Big Rigs, and try to figure out what's doin Bubsy 3d, just seeing all the subpar crap that ever got pressed to a disc.

[darkmere]

Lack of innovation = free money. Money = what companies want.
ahh...pretty much hit the nail on the head. see, two major types of people in entertainment are money men (producers, studios, corporations, etc.) and creative people (writers, directors, etc.). the money men like investing their money in something that will make money, and if said remake project was successful in it's first incarnation, they are likely to feel comfortable with their investment. new, radical ideas frighten money men, which is why if you want thought provoking cinema, for example, you often must look to independent or foreign films. exceptions are made for a-list creative people, because their name has enough money making potential by itself.

edit:
one of my roommates pointed out another interesting type of person yesterday...the tax write off (ex. uwe boll). the money men, to get a tax break, back a project they know will lose money because it's so crappy. now they get to keep more money from their big hits. not sure if it's true, but i like the theory.

[jshendel]

Case in point
Does. It. Sell?

[Sleepkyng]

innovative products require an educated and innovative buyer base.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

[jaykrue]

innovative products require an educated and innovative buyer base.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

Totally insightful. The unwashed masses are simply that - unwashed. By that I mean that most buyers doesn't do the due diligence and research the stuff they're buying be it a movie, camera, or whatever product out there. They're simply content to buy whatever is in front of them. The only way you can get innovation is if there is enough demand for it. In the case for movies and video games, each time you pick up that new Dawn of the Dead or Land of the Dead or Battlefield 1942 or Counterstrike or World of Warcraft or FF11, etc. you're saying to their respective owners that you like them and stuff like them (of this, I'm guilty as well) so they'll in turn crank out more of the same.

Innovation isn't totally dead but acceptance can only be had by an informed user base... and even then it might not be enough. Take the Revolution controller for example. Some ppl think it's the greatest since sliced bread. Others think it'll go down in flames and take Nintendo with them. But, no one's gotten their hands on it so no one can really say anything, pro or con. Until it's in the hands of the consumers, no one can really say whether it was a good idea or a bad one until it's already something seen in hindsight. If the controller is successful however, it will result in a paradigm shift into how games are made and then the copycats come into play. I wouldn't worry too much. Everything goes in cycles and right now innovation is in a downcycle. It's a time for growth and market consolidation. When that happens, it's time to get innovative again.