The Friday letters page expresses concern about the gaming habits of modern gamers, as one reader compares Helldivers 2 to Earth Defence Force.
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Familiar inquiries
I have a bad feeling that the new Astro Bot game is simply going to be Astro’s Playroom 2 and utilized as a way to showcase the PS5 Pro. The timing makes sense and while I enjoyed the original, it was fairly short, around two hours, and not quite a full game.
So the query is, when will they announce anything substantial? And can they really launch a new console without any major games? I'm not even sure which third-party games they could pair it with, given the lack of releases this winter.
We know they have a bunch of live service games and projects like Ghost Of Tsushima 2 in the works, but why are they reluctant to announce them? It feels like we've been asking this question for years now and I have no faith that anything significant will be revealed next month.
Crosshairs
Time is valuable
I found the Newzoo report on gaming fairly intriguing and offers a nice insight into what is quite a secretive industry.
The reporting on average monthly users seemed somewhat pointless. Last year, I played Mario Kart more months than Alan Wake, but is that significant? It's not surprising that games with a definite end rank lower, as you generally stop playing when you finish.
However, Nintendo seems to be a surprising exception. Super Mario Bros. Wonder has a higher average number of monthly users than Minecraft, despite only being available for three months of the year. I believe this is because the game has a much higher total number of users.
The total number of players continues to puzzle me. The Switch has sold 140 million, while everything else has sold less. Presumably, many PlayStation 5 owners also had a PlayStation 4, and the same goes for Xbox Series/One. Some will have more than one console, and some will have stopped using it. Despite this, the total number of active console players is estimated at 625 million! As an assumption, this means each device has an average of three users, leading me to wonder why local multiplayer isn't more popular on Xbox/PlayStation.
Lastly, the part that publishers are likely most interested in is the financial aspect. 59% of new game revenue (i.e. not Fortnite/Minecraft/Roblox, etc.) came from live service games. This demonstrates that despite being a competitive market, new games are still generating more revenue than traditional games. This also includes Sony’s MLB: The Show, which they released on all consoles, and accounted for 2.2% of new game revenue.
The one positive piece of news is that gamers are still purchasing just as many games. They may not be playing as long, but the total number of games bought has remained consistent.
Tim
GC: If you were playing Mario Kart (a seven-year-old game), that was time you couldn't use to play other, newer games. Nowadays, publishers are interested in your time and money equally.
Survey inaccuracies
The results of that Bafta poll are somewhat puzzling. I would argue that the most recognizable video game characters, for an average person, would be Mario, Sonic, Pikachu, and maybe Pac-Man at a stretch. However, this isn't the general public; these are 4,000 random… I don't know… fans of the Baftas?
I can almost understand why Lara Croft is number one, because she was really popular in the 90s. But it seems like there is a bias towards recent things, especially with the recent remaster of Tomb Raider and the characters from Baldur’s Gate 3. However, this argument doesn't hold up when you consider that Sackboy and Agent 47 are also in the top five, even though neither of them have had a mainline game this decade.
Either a group of people purposely chose this strange mix of characters to get a laugh, or the question in the poll was not clear at all.
Sunny
GC: Yes, it was very strange. The main issue was the small sample size, but even then, Sackboy and Agent 47 are odd choices to be at the top. Although, Hitman 3 was released in 2021 and Sackboy: A Big Adventure in 2020.
Independent recommendation
I thought you might be interested in Minishoot’ Adventures. I only found out about it yesterday, but after seeing some great reviews, I downloaded it last night and couldn't stop playing.
It’s like a mix of old school Zelda and a twin-stick shooter, and it looks, plays, and sounds amazing. It's one of those little games that feels perfect from the moment you start playing. It didn't get much attention from me at first, but I think it deserves more.
AudioSpanks
GC: We’ll take a look; we always appreciate indie recommendations from readers.
EDF! EDF! EDF!
Playing Helldivers 2 made me think, this is almost the perfect version of Earth Defence Force. If they swapped the galaxy for cities/areas around the world, they already have their bugs and robots… one thing it has better than Helldivers is more interesting weaponry and different character types.
If these games were combined, it would be great. Or I’d like a remake of Global Defence Force, without a 'story' like the sequels have had, no voice acting, just a modern clean-up of one of my favorite guilty pleasures.
Liam
GC: We miss the old days of the series too. But just so you know, Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 is coming out later this year.
Small vs. silver
The recent video game TV shows have mostly been great and better than what a film could have been. Gaming films are usually not what gamers want and not what the average moviegoer wants to see on the big screen!
The recent Super Mario animated movie worked well, because it stuck to the familiar world from the game franchise. The 90s Mario movie with Bob Hoskins was the complete opposite.
Mortal Kombat has had better attempts, while Street Fighter not so much. I remember an Alone In The Dark film a couple of decades back, which might as well not have been based on any game! It was just a pointless horror movie. The CGI Final Fantasy: Spirits Within was a much better attempt at a gaming movie and matched the Final Fantasy vibe a lot more than most gaming movies.
The recent TV production of Resident Evil on Netflix, starring Lance Reddick, was enjoyable and portrayed the games well, just like the film series starring Milla Jovovich. But, ultimately, they’re not what us gamers take from the games. The CGI films of Resident Evil do a better job at getting closer to the gaming franchise we love.
The recent TV series like The Witcher, The Last Of Us, Halo, and the upcoming Fallout series succeed in capturing the essence of the games and staying faithful to the original material. TV budgets have increased in recent years, allowing for more extravagant productions.
I have high hopes for more TV adaptations of classic game series, which appear to be much improved compared to the controversial movies of the past.
Alucard
Jet Set pricing
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is currently available as a physical copy for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch for £19.99, its normal price on Amazon is £34.99, and when not on sale on PlayStation Store, it is.
£34.99.
I would have bought it, but I'm saving my money for a few mid-range releases in May.
Andrew J.
Glaring inconsistences
Your article about gamers playing fewer new games than before made some good points but failed to address the most obvious issue. People aren't playing new games not because they don't want to, but because there aren't any good new games to play. For example, when the beta for Palworld was released, even gamers like me who don't typically enjoy survival games flocked to it. At its peak, it had 19 million active players on Steam and Xbox.
Gamers have stuck to games like Fortnite and Call Of Duty because they know what to expect from them, having been disappointed by failed titles many times. Games like Anthem, Skull And Bones, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, Star Wars Battlefront 2, Fallout 76, Halo Infinite multiplayer, and Mass Effect: Andromeda failed to meet expectations set by their publishers. These were not small franchises, but major titles from well-established companies. Gamers love new experiences, and always look forward to the next digital adventure. However, the rise of the battle royale genre has had a strong influence. Warzone and Fortnite, with their battle pass systems, have set a trend that now seems to be a requirement for new games to deliver new content through a battle pass.
The heyday of video gaming, which once boasted some of the best storytelling in entertainment, may have peaked a few years ago with the Mass Effect trilogy, Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, and Dragon Age: Inquisition. There have been some attempts to revive this with the release of Bethesda’s Starfield, but they are too few. Games now take longer to develop due to advances in technology and increasing complexity. It's fair to say that making a video game now requires as much time and money as producing a Hollywood blockbuster. Gamers are playing fewer new games simply because there are fewer high-quality new games available. Nowadays, gamers prefer playing with their friends. The influence of streamers is also crucial.
It’s safe to say that producing a video game requires more manpower and likely costs the same as making a Hollywood blockbuster. Gamers are playing fewer new games because there are just fewer good new games to play. It's that simple. Nowadays, gamers want to play with their friends. It’s also important to understand the influence of streamers, which can’t be underestimated.
The most well-liked streamers are playing the games mentioned in your article. These individuals are very popular and gamers enjoy watching their content and attempting to defeat them, leading to what's known as stream sniping. It becomes a challenge to compete against some of the best players in that game.
Game developers are now facing increased pressure to create the next Fortnite, Call Of Duty, Pokémon, GTA, etc. – the next billion dollar franchise. They lack the freedom and trust to develop games that they truly desire.
2023 is widely seen as one of the greatest years for video games. And while there appears to be a shortage coming, 2024 has also been good so far. The notion that gamers are fond of new things is not supported by any reliable data and is even contradicted by your own comments.
Christian
GC: Inbox also-rans
Since it has been a year since it was released on PC, I wondered if Pizza Tower was any closer to being ported to consoles?
Surprisingly, there’s still no sign of any console versions. Which is a real shame.
Chaosphere
GC: I really can’t see how Xbox is going to get anyone excited about Gears Of War 6. It’s not even that the last two were bad, they were just so average.
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The Friday letters page expresses concern about the gaming habits of modern gamers, as one reader compares Helldivers 2 to Earth Defence Force. .
