Do You Think AAA Games Are Asking Too Much of Gamers?

[PGen98]

It feels like, with every new release and every new advancement in technology that comes around, the specifications for that game seem to be slightly more excessive than the game which came before it, and so on and so forth.  Now it seems like every massive budget title that gets released doesn't typically look or perform well with even a mid-range GPU in place.  This means a lot of money on upgrades and other essentials to get to the point where you meet the recommended settings.  Is this a good thing for gaming, or do you feel the constant pushing of the envelope is getting to be too much for the average consumer?  I think we need to plateau a bit, enjoy what we have before we move onto what we don't have.  Step back from the bleeding edge a bit.

[Head_Hunter]

I'll simply say that the AAA game series aren't performing well lately due to the fact they've placed more money as their main target and forget about improving the quality of their gaming. 

[Reality vs Adventure]

Some people prefer the simplicity of gaming like playing on an older console or even those that enjoy the classic games. But technology is going to keep moving forward and expenses will keep rising to keep up with it. I'm usually not a fan of getting the latest tech that comes out. I don't even game on a 4K TV. The only thing I can suggest, is to wait a couple years to get whatever latest tech is out today so you can save money. It must be more difficult for PC users because on consoles, game are released for that console. For PC, you have to keep up with your computer. So in that case, you have a good point how things should plateau a bit. But no way it will unless there is a world war or economic collapse. 

[Crazycrab]

On 10/4/2021 at 5:43 AM, PGen98 said:

It feels like, with every new release and every new advancement in technology that comes around, the specifications for that game seem to be slightly more excessive than the game which came before it, and so on and so forth.  Now it seems like every massive budget title that gets released doesn't typically look or perform well with even a mid-range GPU in place.  This means a lot of money on upgrades and other essentials to get to the point where you meet the recommended settings. 

 

This is what always happens in PC gaming when next generation consoles come out.  This is why I always say to anyone considering building a PC around that kind of time that's it's better to wait until a year or two AFTER next gen comes out to build a PC.  That's not however, taking into consideration that high demand, low supply and the subsequent scalping has still kinda fucked the market a bit.  So it might be better to wait even longer now.

[killamch89]

On 10/3/2021 at 11:43 PM, PGen98 said:

It feels like, with every new release and every new advancement in technology that comes around, the specifications for that game seem to be slightly more excessive than the game which came before it, and so on and so forth.  Now it seems like every massive budget title that gets released doesn't typically look or perform well with even a mid-range GPU in place.  This means a lot of money on upgrades and other essentials to get to the point where you meet the recommended settings.  Is this a good thing for gaming, or do you feel the constant pushing of the envelope is getting to be too much for the average consumer?  I think we need to plateau a bit, enjoy what we have before we move onto what we don't have.  Step back from the bleeding edge a bit.

It's the progression of graphical technology that causes the requirements of games to increase. Every time a new version of technology is launched such as NVME 2.0, it has a domino effect where every manufacturer will start making their devices require NVME 2.0 because they'll make a lot of money for implementing more modern tech standards and the competition will do the say and as such, the creep in requirements happens.

[Shagger]

On 10/4/2021 at 5:43 AM, PGen98 said:

It feels like, with every new release and every new advancement in technology that comes around, the specifications for that game seem to be slightly more excessive than the game which came before it, and so on and so forth.  Now it seems like every massive budget title that gets released doesn't typically look or perform well with even a mid-range GPU in place.  This means a lot of money on upgrades and other essentials to get to the point where you meet the recommended settings.  Is this a good thing for gaming, or do you feel the constant pushing of the envelope is getting to be too much for the average consumer?  I think we need to plateau a bit, enjoy what we have before we move onto what we don't have.  Step back from the bleeding edge a bit.

 

This is exactly why, despite what the so called "PC Master Race" will say, we need consoles. Consoles effectively "tie down" game development so it doesn't run too far forward out of control. Without them, dev's would push games too far and too fast towards running on top-end hardware that a lot of people can't afford. Thus the install base is lowered. Combine that lower install base with the fact these games would cost even more to make, games would have to be even more expensive to buy and/or filled with more monetisation bullshit than they already are. This would push even more people out of gaming, lowering the install base even more creating even more expense for all parties, thus lowering the install base again. Basically, it would be a massive negative feedback loop that would cause the ecosystem of the gaming world to pretty much collapse.

 

Look at Cyberpunk 2077. That game was developed to get the best out of PC's then they made console ports, and we remember how well that worked. That's why developers usually design their multiplatform games primarily as console games the further develop a PC version. Like it or not, that's the way it needs to be done.

Edited October 8, 2021 by Shagger

[PGen98]

On 10/5/2021 at 3:42 PM, Reality vs Adventure said:

Some people prefer the simplicity of gaming like playing on an older console or even those that enjoy the classic games. But technology is going to keep moving forward and expenses will keep rising to keep up with it. I'm usually not a fan of getting the latest tech that comes out. I don't even game on a 4K TV. The only thing I can suggest, is to wait a couple years to get whatever latest tech is out today so you can save money. It must be more difficult for PC users because on consoles, game are released for that console. For PC, you have to keep up with your computer. So in that case, you have a good point how things should plateau a bit. But no way it will unless there is a world war or economic collapse. 

You're not wrong, waiting for technology to come down in price after being released, and the newest technology to get properly tested and broken in is a great approach.  I never buy bleeding-edge stuff, I wait for things to get tested and become more readily available.  It would be great if we hit a plateau and let things settle for a bit, but you're right, that doesn't sell new gear, new technology or new GPUs, so it won't happen anytime soon.

On 10/5/2021 at 3:57 PM, Crazycrab said:

 

This is what always happens in PC gaming when next generation consoles come out.  This is why I always say to anyone considering building a PC around that kind of time that's it's better to wait until a year or two AFTER next gen comes out to build a PC.  That's not however, taking into consideration that high demand, low supply and the subsequent scalping has still kinda fucked the market a bit.  So it might be better to wait even longer now.

Oh absolutely, gotta' wait a minimum of two years for everything to normalize a bit, IMO, everything gets tested, defects get worked out, availability becomes less of an issues, etc.  So what would be a $2k+ at release goes down considerably after time.  Of course, yeah, with things as they are right now, it's not ideal for anyone to start building at this point.

On 10/5/2021 at 5:24 PM, killamch89 said:

It's the progression of graphical technology that causes the requirements of games to increase. Every time a new version of technology is launched such as NVME 2.0, it has a domino effect where every manufacturer will start making their devices require NVME 2.0 because they'll make a lot of money for implementing more modern tech standards and the competition will do the say and as such, the creep in requirements happens.

Yeah, the sad reality of business overtaking common sense.  Gotta' move new units of new tech and pump out more new tech at higher prices in order to keep afloat.  The circle of business.

23 hours ago, Shagger said:

 

This is exactly why, despite what the so called "PC Master Race" will say, we need consoles. Consoles effectively "tie down" game development so it doesn't run too far forward out of control. Without them, dev's would push games too far and too fast towards running on top-end hardware that a lot of people can't afford. Combine that lower install base with the fact these games would even more to make, games would have to be even more expensive to buy and/or filled with more monetisation bullshit than the already are. This would push even more people out of gaming, lowering the install even more leading even expense for all parties... basically the ecosystem of gaming world collapse.

 

Look at Cyberpunk 2077. That game was developed to get the best out of PC's then they made console ports, and we remember how well that worked. That's why developers usually design their multiplatform games primarily as console games the further develop a PC version. Like it or not, that's the way it needs to be done.

Couldn't agree more!  Consoles do help to keep things in check and stop the PCs from running away into the stratosphere with their requirements.

[Empire]

I think it's a very mixed bag in both directions. Most of AAA is graphics, which is fine and all. The stories are cool, too. I'm more of an interesting mechanics plus game flow guy. And, you don't need superb graphics to be pretty, either.

Most indie games frankly suck. They would, they're mostly by new devs. I like indies mostly. I don't mind sorting through a hundred crap games to find that one passion project where the dev has looked into every aspect of the game, like Stardew Valley or Vintage Story.

In the end, I'd have to lean towards indies. AAAs are made by teams. I like my games to be labors of love. Just one dev, or a couple of friends putting their whole hearts into a world of their own making.

[Withywarlock]

On 10/6/2021 at 7:43 AM, Shagger said:

Like it or not, that's the way it needs to be done.

I went into this thinking I don't like it but you speak true. I still don't like it, but the arms race is out of hand. The PC market right now is abysmal, and it's not going to get much better until GPU and RAM manufacturers better align their release dates with upcoming consoles, and/or the cryptocurrency mining dies out. Even then the first one's a temporary problem that solves itself as more consoles come out; cryptominers are a consistent thorn in builders' sides.

[Justin11]

1 hour ago, Empire said:

I think it's a very mixed bag in both directions. Most of AAA is graphics, which is fine and all. The stories are cool, too. I'm more of an interesting mechanics plus game flow guy. And, you don't need superb graphics to be pretty, either.

Most indie games frankly suck. They would, they're mostly by new devs. I like indies mostly. I don't mind sorting through a hundred crap games to find that one passion project where the dev has looked into every aspect of the game, like Stardew Valley or Vintage Story.

In the end, I'd have to lean towards indies. AAAs are made by teams. I like my games to be labors of love. Just one dev, or a couple of friends putting their whole hearts into a world of their own making.

Every one have choice, just as you've chosen to love indies kind of game than AAA games. I've been a strong lover of AAA games for over 14 years now, it started from my early childhood. The graphics of AAA games are simply superfluous, the gameplay is matured and realistic.