Is 2015 onwards the new Golden Age of video games?

[ravenmoon]

If you didn't include any remasters or remakes you'd have a point, but remakes or remasters happening at all is proof that at least those games aren't testament to it being a golden age.

That's because the biggest paying video game demography were kids in the 90s who are now in their 20s-early 40s and nostalgia pays off big


you'll find most kids these days and young adults so 10-25 have far more assortment of entertainment, not to mention ever increasing social media fixation, youtube and instagram (which is for the old ones), not to mention the big mobile splash, VR and AR.

So those titles are probably the last of a dying era. who knows, I could be totally wrong.

[Calfredd]

An age in which the new games made are often genre defining and instant smash hits, that also has the ability to take every one of the best games of the previous decades and remake them with massive graphical improvements, quality of life improvements and bringing them to new platforms to boot.

This doesn't sound like a golden age to you? If that isn't, what is?

A golden age made up of rereleases, remasters, and remakes of older games because there are not enough good new games doesn't sound much like a golden age. Another way to say it; a golden age propped up on crutches rather than standing on it's own feet isn't much of a golden age.

[guisadop]

There's a lot of good games coming out, especially out of Japan, but a lot of the games release were really overhyped and overrated IMO. I'm still mad that they ruined god of war's gameplay with that new entry to the series.

[Santti]

There have been good games for sure, but the way I see it, is that the opposite is happening. We are heading towards the second video game industry crash, not a golden age of any kind.

[exochaft]

While there are a bunch of good titles that have come out in recent history, I still wouldn't call this a golden age compared to the games that came out in the late 80's to early 2000's. The crazy boom of gaming titles as well as the various platforms and the normalization of PC's getting into homes was just the right environment for games to get great, varied, and plentiful. This was also a time when companies were much less safe about what content they chose to pursue, so they took risks to pursue out-of-the-box gaming ideas. Out of all the games I own, the ones I'll still play the most to this day are ones from back in those days, even if their graphics are substandard to today's market. Of course, this may be a perspective issue as I was around before computers and gaming systems in the home were really a thing, so I've lived through all the video gaming generations... so if you're younger and weren't around for 80's/90's gaming scene, you likely think the "golden age" was likely later.

If you want an era definition, this is more like the era of indie games or maybe online/multiplayer/social gaming.

[Tech614]

We are heading towards the second video game industry crash

People have been saying this for 20 years and it never stops being ridiculous.

1) The first "crash" only really effected console gaming in NA. The rest of the world and PC gaming went on business as usual.

2) Brands are far to powerful for there to be a crash again anyways. If someone dies someone will rise to take their place, this isn't the early 80s where Atari was the only game in town.

3) With the rise of digital adoption you will never see another situation like Atari had sitting on untold amounts of unsold product, shitty games they had already manufactured(and it costed a lot more to manufacture a cart then a disc).

[Santti]

People have been saying this for 20 years and it never stops being ridiculous.

1) The first "crash" only really effected console gaming in NA. The rest of the world and PC gaming went on business as usual.

2) Brands are far to powerful for there to be a crash again anyways.

Probably should have elaborated a bit.

What I meant, is that if there were a direction with the video game market right now ("Golden Age" or crash), it's a slow march towards crash, or at least stagnation. I don't think there is really going to be anything like the 1983 "Atari Shock". Just thinking "Golden Age" is far from what we have now or in the near future, is my point.

I do think there will be some sort of negative impact felt from all the shit AAA is releasing these days. Microtransactions in single player games, the near-copypastes of previous games with full price tags (Assassin Creeds, Call of Dutys etc..), Hilariously buggy messes (Aliens: Colonial Marines, Fallout 76 etc...) and so much more. It's all just gone to shit.

Honestly, we should have a crash. A big one.

[Tech614]

Probably should have elaborated a bit.

What I meant, is that if there were a direction with the video game market right now ("Golden Age" or crash), it's a slow march towards crash, or at least stagnation. I don't think there is really going to be anything like the 1983 "Atari Shock". Just thinking "Golden Age" is far from what we have now, is my point.

Slow march towards a crash when the industry keeps growing and making more money year over year. That's not a slow march, literally a backwards march going in the opposite direction of a crash.

Also I suggest ditching the doomer mentality, because the gaming industry is in one of it's best places ever. The resurgence of Japan, the resurgence of good western RPGs(thanks to Larian, Obsisian and CDPR), Nintendo and Sony both at high points in their history with current production, MS trying to get their act together and actually providing some good services etc.

The quality is high, and the market is growing. The only reason to constantly be a down on the industry is if you're one of the silly gooses that continually gets fed a bill of goods by the likes of EA or what not and then complain about it later. Stop wasting your time caring about shit games, there are more good ones then most people can play if you want to spend your time enjoying something instead of being mad.

[Alteiry]

People often talk about the 90s or the 2000s as the golden age of video games, but fuck, i think 2015 onwards has crushed that shit big time.

The Golden Age of the 90s and 00s hasn't ended yet. We're still in it.

[Ulfric Trumpcloak]

No. I've only played 3 of those games and most of the rest don't even remotely interest me. Video games nowadays are just arcadey garbage filled with micro transactions and nonsense.

The best concentration of high quality video games imo was between 2007-12.

[Tiwack]

Too many addicts and too many dealers these days, for better and worse.

[Absintheminded]

An age in which the new games made are often genre defining and instant smash hits, that also has the ability to take every one of the best games of the previous decades and remake them with massive graphical improvements, quality of life improvements and bringing them to new platforms to boot.

This doesn't sound like a golden age to you? If that isn't, what is?

Golden Ages are for innovation.

[Tech614]

Golden Ages are for innovation.

That's not the definition of a golden age.

[Stormspark]

We actually ARE entering a golden age, but only for indie games. Certainly not "AAA". "AAA" developers are circling the drain, and don't even make games anymore. They make casinos, with crappy minigames that sort of look a little bit like what the game is supposed to be. I read a review of the recent 2K NBA game. "Hey, who put this shitty basketball minigame in my casino?"

[spalernTJ]

You forgot the most important game of all. Fallout 76. I swear, that game has brought me more entertainment than most games ever has. No, not playing, but following the shit show that is still getting worse since launch, more than a year later.

If you don't know what I am talking about, look up "The Fall of 76" to get an idea.

[Daymanmb]

Sports games are bad games but they have almost always been.

Disagree wholly. Theyve become cashgrabs but theyre have been some great sports games over the years..

[spalernTJ]

We actually ARE entering a golden age, but only for indie games. Certainly not "AAA". "AAA" developers are circling the drain, and don't even make games anymore. They make casinos, with crappy minigames that sort of look a little bit like what the game is supposed to be. I read a review of the recent 2K NBA game. "Hey, who put this shitty basketball minigame in my casino?"

Indie games have caught my attention so much more than "AAA" games. Right off the bat, games like "Don't starve together," "Rimworld," "Oxygen Not Included," come to mind. Then we have games like Dauntless, which is the poor man's monster hunter world, free to play, but it's great.

- - - Updated - - -

Disagree wholly. Theyve become cashgrabs but theyre have been some great sports games over the years..

I remember a very fun street basket game from good chunk of years ago. Usually not into sports games at all, but they can be a lot of fun. Sadly, Fifa were the first to begin the age of Lootboxes, doesn't make'em look good.

[Tech614]

Disagree wholly. Theyve become cashgrabs but theyre have been some great sports games over the years..

Enjoying them doesn't make them objectively good, as I already said I have enjoyed mine own.

They have always been cashgrabs pushed on a short dev cycle to meet yearly release standards. This didn't magically change because MTX became a thing.

[Truhan]

In my personal opinion, no. Almost none of those are new IPs. I won't count Bloodbourne or Sekiro, since those are basically From Software games that operate very similarly to Dark Souls. You have Life is Strange (and I personally would not consider those good games), Rocket League, Overwatch, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Cuphead, and Fortnite. 6/29, just over 15%. A real golden age wouldn't be a series of remakes, sequels, and sequels at such a high number that they just give up on the number and rebrand it as just the name of the original game. It would have a big list of stellar new IPs (I'd say at least 30% of a 30 game list, but 40% would be ideal), one entire new genre or genre-defining game (like Demon/Dark Souls was), and also that remake of Tsukihime because I've been waiting for 11 years Type-Moon, stop fucking milking Fate and just make it already.

Also, 2015+ brought forward the age of lootboxes and microtransactions, that kind of harm hurt way more than all the good games that have come out.

[Tech614]

I remember a very fun street basket game from good chunk of years ago. Usually not into sports games at all, but they can be a lot of fun. Sadly, Fifa were the first to begin the age of Lootboxes, doesn't make'em look good.

Worth noting I'm referring mostly to sports sim games. Arcadey sports games made with fun in mind that weren't pushed out on yearly release schedules did indeed used to be quality games, but the genre died unfortunately. Not enough money in NBA Street or NFL Blitz etc for the publishers but that was true before mtx became hot.

Mostly referring to the guy trying to claim madden was ever an objectively good game cause... lol. It's always been some janky ass sim released in august every year regardless of it it was ready or not. People want their $60 roster updates.