If you were a gamer in the 90s and 00s you witnessed the thriving ascension of our wonderfully addictive hobby of videogames. Videogames engulfed and smothered the market in their polypropylene and polyethylene packaging, with an assortment of different games spanning various genres and catering to as many people as possible-providing the masses with plenty of choice in what they wanted to play while opening the field up so any developer and publisher can make a name for themselves. With so much to choose from and an abundance of excess to go along with it, it was only a matter of time before the industry became embroiled in a game of survival of the fittest-or indeed survival of the businesses that make the most money. As a result in the past decade we've seen mainstream interest increasingly narrow so that only the biggest publishers garner the greatest extent of marketing machismo. Juggernauts like EA. Activision, Ubisoft, Bethesda, Take Two, Square Enix and 2K among others have built up their seismic reputation in recent years by scaling back the videogames in which they allow to get greenlit and seemingly implementing parameters on the developers so they reflect the publisher's standards. The result is an industry that has tested markets en masse and now has decided to shrivel down with the sole purpose of doing what every major big business in a capitalist economy does-make more money-because that's what it's always been about and always will be about as long as capitalism remains an entity in our day-to-day lives.
Without a doubt the most alluring aspect of videogaming in the 90s and 00s was variety because after all variety is the spice of life. No matter where you looked you'd be inundated with choice that was terribly hard to resist. You had the huge mainstream games that were always upfront and became staples that defined a console generation. On PS1 you had your heavy hitters like Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VII, Tomb Raider, Tony Hawks Pro Skater 1 and 2, Gran Turismo, Resident Evils 1, 2 and 3, and Crash Bandicoot. On PS2 the pool widened even more with Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter, Sly Cooper, GTAs 3, Vice City and San Andreas, Burnout, God of War, Guitar Hero and TimeSplitters. Of course these examples are only a microcosm of the variety and prestige on offer-and there's no mention of any Nintendo or Microsoft games here either-but it's abundantly clear that if you were a gamer during these times-you were stuffed to bursting with great games that came out left, right and centre-making choice undeniably difficult-always managing to give you bang for your UK pounds while offering a pleasingly diverse selection of experiences. Let's not forget the excellent games that have long disappeared from the limelight and remain buried in the years they came out like the Maximo games, iNinja, Psi Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy, Second Sight, Haven, The Getaway and The Getaway 2: Black Monday, the Futurama Videogame and so so many more.
Heck celebrity involvement in videogames were a big deal throughout this time as well. Remember when Spice Girls had a PS1 game? Or what about Pop Idol on PS2? The way videogames stretched out as far as they could to make fans of films, TV shows and pop culture get on board was remarkable-promoting the rapid and unstoppable rise of videogames through the cloying avenues of shovelware. The Nintendo Wii was masterful when it came to putting out shovelware with all kinds of cobbled together twisted disfigurements that call themselves videogames out there for you to track down and probably scoff or cringe at. If you like them Barbie Horse Adventures or you like your corny gameshow schlock like Deal or No Deal then Nintendo had you covered. Still there was a lot of choice and plenty of variety so you can explore and find diamonds in the rough.
Heck celebrity involvement in videogames were a big deal throughout this time as well. Remember when Spice Girls had a PS1 game? Or what about Pop Idol on PS2? The way videogames stretched out as far as they could to make fans of films, TV shows and pop culture get on board was remarkable-promoting the rapid and unstoppable rise of videogames through the cloying avenues of shovelware. The Nintendo Wii was masterful when it came to putting out shovelware with all kinds of cobbled together twisted disfigurements that call themselves videogames out there for you to track down and probably scoff or cringe at. If you like them Barbie Horse Adventures or you like your corny gameshow schlock like Deal or No Deal then Nintendo had you covered. Still there was a lot of choice and plenty of variety so you can explore and find diamonds in the rough.
Today we are at the mercy of huge publishers and there's considerable unrest about the decisions they make. We are hating EA because they don't produce the games we want and they exploit us with microtransactions. Loot boxes have become synonymous with shady money-making practices. Skate 4 still isn't a thing even though many of us have been clamoring for EA to make it since Skate 3 came out in 2010. EA themselves put development teams out to pasture as they see fit and they continue to find the most unashamed ways of making money-but all we do is complain and complain instead of supporting the developers and publishers that make the games we enjoy.
Ubisoft predicate themselves on making huge open-worlds that are sometimes buggy and they're packed with chore-like activities and repetitive objectives that bore players into oblivion. The characters in their games lack appealing traits and are hard to like or feel emotionally attached to. Furthermore Ubi have incorporated grindy features into their franchises where there weren't grindy features before like including enemies with health bars you have to shoot over and over again until they die. The Assassins Creed trundles on with entries coming out every year or two and while they're impressively realised and addictive they can too be chore-like and redundant.
As evidenced with EA and Ubisoft, the mainstream videogame climate has shrunk and the inspiration and vitality is funneled and is no longer allowed to germinate and fecund beyond the degree of which the publisher allows. The Indie scene is where the majority of the risks are taken and it's truly sad it doesn't receive the exposure that the mighty triple A lot does-but where the mainstream triple A publish keep dirtying themselves and vying for control and supremacy, the Indie scene gives gamers what they enjoy about videogames-supposing they want more than games with pleasing visuals.
If there's one thing that is remarkably clear about the way the videogame industry has been going for the past 20-30 years, it's that the only true outcome is that money decides where the industry goes-not art, creativity or imagination. There's plenty of inspiration still blooming out there in the videogame wilds, but when you gaze upwards and watch as the top publishers carve caverns of gore out of each other to reap monetary supremacy-you will hope that one day the bottom falls out and the industry collapses and rebuilds itself under greater foundations. Sadly it's unlikely that capitalism will allow for formidable foundations to be laid thanks to the overwhelming greed triggered by it. Indie games are our saving grace and the delightful work of many developers are being realised everyday, and money is seen as secondary to showing players a great time. The only way videogames can continue to blossom is if the emphasis on creativity outweighs monetary need-so they can continue to inspire and amaze us with their endless wonderment.
Ubisoft predicate themselves on making huge open-worlds that are sometimes buggy and they're packed with chore-like activities and repetitive objectives that bore players into oblivion. The characters in their games lack appealing traits and are hard to like or feel emotionally attached to. Furthermore Ubi have incorporated grindy features into their franchises where there weren't grindy features before like including enemies with health bars you have to shoot over and over again until they die. The Assassins Creed trundles on with entries coming out every year or two and while they're impressively realised and addictive they can too be chore-like and redundant.
As evidenced with EA and Ubisoft, the mainstream videogame climate has shrunk and the inspiration and vitality is funneled and is no longer allowed to germinate and fecund beyond the degree of which the publisher allows. The Indie scene is where the majority of the risks are taken and it's truly sad it doesn't receive the exposure that the mighty triple A lot does-but where the mainstream triple A publish keep dirtying themselves and vying for control and supremacy, the Indie scene gives gamers what they enjoy about videogames-supposing they want more than games with pleasing visuals.
If there's one thing that is remarkably clear about the way the videogame industry has been going for the past 20-30 years, it's that the only true outcome is that money decides where the industry goes-not art, creativity or imagination. There's plenty of inspiration still blooming out there in the videogame wilds, but when you gaze upwards and watch as the top publishers carve caverns of gore out of each other to reap monetary supremacy-you will hope that one day the bottom falls out and the industry collapses and rebuilds itself under greater foundations. Sadly it's unlikely that capitalism will allow for formidable foundations to be laid thanks to the overwhelming greed triggered by it. Indie games are our saving grace and the delightful work of many developers are being realised everyday, and money is seen as secondary to showing players a great time. The only way videogames can continue to blossom is if the emphasis on creativity outweighs monetary need-so they can continue to inspire and amaze us with their endless wonderment.