320°

5 Game Genres On The Decline

Yahoo- The circle of life doesn't stop -- even in the video game world. No matter how popular a game genre might be, it's always in danger of becoming irrelevant.

Sometimes, that's due to oversaturation, or perhaps interests have simply shifted elsewhere. While no video game death is permanent, several genres are in deep hibernation -- and others are threatening to join them. Here are five game types in serious need of some extra lives.

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games.yahoo.com
MGRogue20174891d ago (Edited 4891d ago )

The Ridge Racer series (at least on the consoles & PS Vita) is pretty much dead in the water.. Hopefully, the newly announced Ridge Racer: Unbounded can give the series a much needed kick in the ass :D

badz1494891d ago

is in a serious decline! no more Banjo from MS and R&C are selling just enough too (I think!) last year's Rayman also turned out to be a flop sale wise and we are seeing less and less platformer every year! I'm glad there's J&D collection and Sly 4 this year but what's else there for platformer fans like me in the coming years?

gnb20034891d ago

I am a platformer fanatic, and I agree that the genre in general is past its heyday.

True platformer fans should own a wii. There are so many great platformers that were released on the little white system this gen.

badz1494891d ago

But most of those are Mario and the others are just crap! As silly as it sounds, I don't like Mario albeit being a huge platformer fan. Nothing to do with fanboyism, but I just can't digest Mario since the old days. I have always opted for others like Banjo, Rayman, Earthworm Jim, Rocket Knight, R&C and so on.

I forgot that Epic Mickey is also coming hopefully this year. I'm excited for that too

cyguration4891d ago

What, FPS games aren't on the list? This fool doesn't know jackspit about video games.

There are more FPS flops then there are success stories.

And racing games aren't in decline...Forza 4 and GT5 say hello.

The major problem is that publishers like Activision and EA don't want to waste money on genres that they can't milk regularly.

Uncharted 3 outsold Bodycount, Operation Flashpoint and Medal of Honor and it's an adventure-puzzle-action title.

Also what is this fool talking about mascot games on the decline? Nathan Drake, Master Chief and Mario are still mascots and all their games still sell well.

Wow, gaming journalism is all kinds of fail at larger sites...just wow.

GamerSciz4891d ago

It's Yahoo...nuff said. Haven't seen a credible article from them in...well...ever.

torchic4891d ago

I kind of disagree with your comment.

FPSs are definitely not in decline. two FPS's will be the biggest selling games of 2012, being Halo 4 and Treyarch's new CoD. Bioshock Infinite is that game which looks like a very solid GOTY nominee. us Sony people are getting Dust 514 in the summer. FREE. then Valve is releasing Global Offensive which will be the first true multiplatform online game (will be very popular with PC folk). everyone is crying for Half-Life 3. I, personally, am really really waiting for Metro: Last Light... I could go on forever. so no. first person shooters are not in decline. there might be those who hate them, but it's obvious to see that the FPS marketis where it's at.

there is an over-saturation, sure but FPSs aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

I would say that racing games are in a bit of a decline. GT and Forza are the heavy hitters of the racing game genre, but, what else is there other than those two? maybe the Dirt series, but other than that there isn't. back in the PS1 days we had so many properly good racing games, from Ridge Racer to Colin McRae; Driver to the old Need for Speeds. even arcade racers like Twisted Metal sold in heaps. a game like ModNation Racers would've sold much better back then than in today's times. my favourite game of all time is Sled Storm which was a racing game / extreme sport game, made back in 2000.

this gen, we haven't had a properly good racing game (other than GT5 and the Forzas of course)

cyguration4891d ago

A lot of the racing games today aren't marketed very well at all. I'm a gear-head and I hardly know when a new racing game is coming out. I've really sunk my head deep into the Project C.A.R.S. counter-culture marketing with their community-based promotion tactics, but otherwise racing games are rare and poorly marketed.

Now, we both agree that there are A LOT of shooter games out there and coming to the market, but let's be honest outside of Call of Duty and Halo 4 this year none of the others are actually pegged to be HUGE successes. In 2011 there was Call of Duty and Battlefield but what other shooter moved half as many copies as GT5?

My point is, the FPS market is not where it's at...it's simply that is the easiest market to saturate and milk with various corridor shooters. Really think about the shooters they release, most are cash-ins.

Only a few big shooter brands actually sell and the rest sit on a shelf and die. Also, how often are racing games promoted like Battlefield or CoD? How often are platform or misc games promoted like CoD/Battlefield/Halo?

Most non-FPS titles are poorly marketed and are rarely made so it's easy to yell "Decline!" when companies don't even bother venturing outside the proverbial "safe zone".

theWB274891d ago (Edited 4891d ago )

He wasnt writing about flops, its the sales figures overall that are declining. The major problem isnt publishers...I think the biggest problems are the consoles themselves. Most of the genres he mentioned, save for Forza and Gran Turismo, are pretty 1 dimensional in nature. Simply put since they get so much horsepower out of these machines the games contain most of these genres into each other.
NBA analogy- Why give a max contract to a one dimensional scorer IE Allen Iverson.. when you can spend that same contract on Lebron, points rebounds assists and defense. ( Laker fan btw)

Yi-Long4891d ago (Edited 4891d ago )

... has been the DLC-milking that goes on with them.

I would have bought Forza 3 and 4 on launch for 50-60 euro, IF I would have known the DLC would be 'free'.

Now, I just picked up the Ultimate Edition of Forza 3 with all DLC for 7 pounds NEW from amazon.co.uk.

I'll do the same with Forza 4: I'll wait for a complete edition to be released.

Modnation Racers I didn't buy because of all the DLC. Split/Second I didn't buy because of the DLC. Need for Speed Hot Pursuit I didn't buy because of all the DLC. Dirt 3 I didn't buy because of all the DLC (but its getting a release that includes all DLC, so I might still pick that up). Etc etc.

Racing games have been milking DLC this generation, and maybe more and more people are wising up about it and will now just wait a little while to pick the game up cheaper.

cyguration4891d ago

"Simply put since they get so much horsepower out of these machines the games contain most of these genres into each other."

Yeah for the handful of open-world games out there, but those lack any kind of depth to make up for an entire genre. I admit Just Cause 2 is fun but the driving pales greatly compared to any racer on the market...ANY racer. Saints Row The Third is all right for juvenile fun but the fighting is no where near the caliber of Fight Night Champion or Street Fighter IV.

No game this gen has really bucked trends by being all-encompassing with mixed genres, especially not shooters or action games.

I still stick to my stance given that, again, outside of a few FPS titles most are flops.

We also haven't really had anywhere near as many racing titles this gen compared to the PS2/Xbox era, so it's easy to point fingers of decline when most genres that aren't shooters are basically in decline for the reasons mentioned in the other post.

theWB274891d ago

Agree with you...im just thinking along their lines. One of my fav racing games this gen was GRID, straightforward unabashed racing and I cant for the life of me understand why they wont make another one.I love Forza but it was the most fun since Most Wanted. I dont really know about FPS, the most recent FPS i enjoyed was both Killzones and Halo 3, I beat modern warfare 1 and didnt enjoy it AT ALL and havent played another since. Tried Battlefield and couldnt wait for it to be over. Once i noticed that I thought, as a gamer, is something wrong with me : )

A LIVING LEGEND4891d ago

If it contains a shooting element.....it will sell.
and born every few minutes...claims marketing.

Show all comments (16)
60°

Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition: Was it Really Needed?

The Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition has arrived for $399.99, but we wonder if it was really needed or just a simple cash-in.

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xrsource.net
Vits1h ago

We're talking about a limited edition item here, and by definition, those aren’t exactly 'needed'. But when you look at what’s included, the controller, the strap, and a few months of Game Pass, it actually turns out to be a surprisingly good deal.

What’s weird is that this is a VR headset branded with Xbox, a platform that doesn’t even support VR. And Xbox is part of Microsoft, a company that more or less walked away from all of its VR efforts. Yet somehow, this ends up being the best value available for a VR headset. If you're looking to get into VR, unless you're buying used, it’s hard to find anything that offers more for the price.

thesoftware7306m ago

Nope, wasn't need, but It's another incentive to try GP, and retain increase or maintain subs.

It lends to the "Everything is an Xbox" marketing they have going on...if it has a screen, it's a Xbox.

I don't see the harm here, it's a limited item...shit MS and Sony have Sneaker deals as well, are those necessary? Nope, but if you like PS or Xbox, or are a collector of limited edition of stuff then, why not?

70°

AC Shadows Title Update 1.0.6 - Release Notes

Ubisoft: "Hello everyone,

Tomorrow, June 25, we will be releasing Title Update 1.0.6 for Assassin's Creed Shadows @ 2 pm UTC / 10 am EDT / 7 am PT.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to report these issues to us via the Bug reporter. As always, you can contact our support team if you run into any trouble.

Have a look at tomorrow's upcoming changes and be sure to check out the Year 1 Roadmap for more information on what's coming next for Assassin's Creed Shadows!"

60°

Rematch devs confirm crossplay is “top priority” as the team plans improvements

Sloclap's Rematch is far from done with major improvements on the way for the multiplayer football game after launch.

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videogamer.com
MetroidFREAK211h ago

Any multiplayer online game that doesn't launch with crossplay is a big skip from me...