Gone in sixty sessions

Gaming, it’s a bit fickle sometimes, much like the people who play.  Some like this, some like that but not everyone likes the same thing.  As a result there have to be different games to cater for all the people with different preferences, but every now and again a game comes along that seems that everyone is playing.  Take Halo 3 or GTA IV for a few recent examples, but how long are we playing them for?  Is it long enough to justify the cost?  A strange thing has happened recently with regards to this that you may or may not have noticed.

Go back to the end of April and if you looked at your friends list, chances are that nearly all were playing GTA IV.  Fast forward now to a little over a month and if it’s like my list, there is practically no one playing it.  It seems that after all the hype we’ve now played it, seen what it’s about and moved on, or back, to other games.  This is not an isolated case though, I have noticed that it has also happened with Rainbow Six Vegas 2, Halo 3, Burnout Paradise etc, etc.  The list goes on and on even with Call of Duty 4, but not to the same extent as the others.

There are still a few games that are regularly played on live by the hardcore, mostly the aforementioned COD 4 and strangely, recently Halo 3 has made a comeback.  Of course the inclusion of multi-player and co-op lengthens the playability of games but they can still be cast aside for the new game.  For a long time it seemed that COD 2 would always be played on live, this was further supported when no one really picked up on COD 3 as was expected.  Then COD 4 came along and you struggle to find people to play with on 2.  Maybe we have too much choice these days, after all when COD 2 was out there really wasn’t that much competition for it on live, now quality shooters are ten a penny.  The most noticeable drop off has been in the racing genre PGR 3 was king, PGR 4 was a better game but didn’t have the legs to carry it.  GRID is amazing on and offline but very few are playing it on my friends list.

Have games become a quick fix?  Are we keeping up with the Jonses’?  After all, I’m sure we’ve all had that feeling of wanting when your friends are playing the next big thing and you don’t have it.  Years are spent making these games, millions are spent throughout the development process, hundreds of people are employed to make it and we are finished playing it in just over a month.  I have many games in my collection that were the next big thing but now sit unplayed because I’m on to the next one and it saddens me a bit.  I don’t have a disposable income, far from it, but there is a thrill in buying the new games.  The anticipation of how it’s going to be, removing the polythene wrapper, looking at the manual and finally playing it.  If only I didn’t get a regular wage, then the temptation to buy more wouldn’t be there,  I would squeeze every ounce of life out a game until I was unbeatable.

Sadly, that’s not the way the games industry works, we are hyped up for months about the arrival of Zombie Killer sim 5 until we want it, without really knowing why.  Then we buy it, play it and grow tired of it in a shorter space of time than it takes for the moon to go round the earth once.  Maybe, just maybe the next game I buy will be my last until I see all it has to offer then I will move on!  Please let it be a sequel to Lost, then I’ll be on to my next game within a week!