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20 Years of the Same Games
Metroid, Donkey Kong, Mario, they've all been here for as long as we can remember. The big picture here is that, while ideas may not be limited, we have still been seeing the same darn characters since the culmination of video games.
There are actually many factors that contribute to this lack of original content. The primary and most significant reason may not be so obvious to consumers:
Development studios spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce a game. Depending on the size of the studio, that could be their whole previous year’s revenue or the extent of their business loan. They put to work their seemingly stellar game idea and put all their resources on the project. The game goes Gold and a publisher is found to get the game to the public. If the game flops…well, you can probably guess what happens. They’re out of business. We have to remember that, in this industry, one bad game can destroy a company.
Large companies with a lot of investors also have a lot to lose. They may not lose their company, but they lose stock and they lose face. This is primarily why we see so many remakes and re-hashes; companies just can’t, won't, or die when taking a chance on a completely new game idea unless they think they’ve got a guaranteed winner -- we all know that even good ideas flop. What they’re compelled to do is make Mario even better; make Ninja Gaiden 3D; make Metroid an FPS (that was pretty risky, though); make Bomberman more “mature”. Let’s take the franchises we know people like, and redesign them.
Knowledge is power, and understanding is a virtue. We know why we see the same games re-made for each generation, but does that make it right to us consumers? This tactic works because people, in general, don’t like change either. We like seeing the familiar face of Mario, or seeing Ryu Hayabusa kick even more ass. It’s nostalgic. We can relate. We’re reminded of how far video games have come and appreciate the game that much more if we can think back to when we were kids and how much fun we had or how awesome we thought the graphics were back then. I can’t even count how many times I’ve said: “Jeez, look at this game now!”
20 years of the same game isn’t a bad thing. We still get our fair share of completely new titles yet we can also reach back to our childhood when we see all our favorite characters in newly created titles that match the awe-inspiring power of each generation of video game consoles. Let’s not get over-sensitive, let’s be happy that video games have survived more than 2 decades and our favorite games have come with them.
Article By: Crusader
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