The Golden Age Of Video Games
The Golden Age of Video Games
Remember back when gaming was fun? When youd get a new game, plan the next few days around it and nothing else, and just have the best time making memories with your friends or enjoying some quality alone time exploring a new world? I cant be the only one whos noticed the change. We have more games than ever to play but somethings missing. Theyre just not fun anymore.
Now thats not to say we dont still get some bangers. Games focused on giving you nothing more than a good time, a distraction from everyday life, some with systems and mechanics so deep you can lose yourself in them for dozens or hundreds of hours. But what happened to the simpler escapism of gaming? The games you can beat in a weekend that give you the complete experience in one go.
Welcome to MojoPlays and the best days of our favorite hobby might truly be behind us forever. Just be warned this may come off very much as a back in my day type of essay but thats also kind of the point, showing how quickly and drastically everything has changed for the worse in the last twenty years of gaming.
Modern gaming just feels different. Its hard to quite pinpoint what it is, but something feels off. We have access to more games than ever, more genres and ways to play, but it just doesnt feel the same. Gaming used to be an escape from real world stresses, but now, its a second job. Whether it's the grind of constantly updated live service games or even just simply trying to keep up with every new release, gaming just doesnt feel fun anymore. It feels like work.
I LOVE video games. Almost everything I do is based around video games, whether it's playing, watching, reading or scheduling time off around the next big release, I live and breathe video games. But for as much as I love them, Im just not as excited about them anymore. Every new release these days just feels hollow, like it's the same game over and over again, and thats because well, it is. Modern gaming is more expensive than it's ever been, either from the price of the game itself or the ever-ballooning development costs that publishers could never hope to recover, gaming is slowly pricing itself out of its core demographic: gamers. For the majority of gamers, this is a hobby, a pastime they use to unwind or play and connect with friends, but recently, and especially this generation, game studios have lost sight of the fact that first and foremost, games were designed to be fun.
This wasnt always the case however, only a couple decades ago, gaming was still seen as a niche hobby and didnt receive the mainstream attention it does today. Because of this, gaming could be cheaper, games were produced faster, and development teams were significantly smaller. Theres a reason gamers are so nostalgic for the PS2 and Xbox 360 eras and its because quite simply, they were better games. While the PS1 and N64 got the ball rolling with bigger, more creative games, the PS2 generation all the way through the 360 was where gaming as entertainment peaked. Again, Im not saying there arent great games today, just a lot less of them. Back during the PS2 and the 360 generation, we would get entire video game trilogies within the same console cycle, rather than waiting almost a decade for a single sequel, and because the teams were smaller, most of the time, the games were built by gamers, for gamers.
And whats even crazier? The entire game was on the disc! Wild I know. There is an entire generation of gamers who have no idea what it feels like to just put a game in the console and be able to play it without a deluge of updates or requests to purchase or download the newest DLC pack. You bought a game, you owned the game, and you played the game. While the Xbox 360 and PS3 would be the beginning of DLCs and patch updates, these werent necessary to enjoy the game itself and rather offered improvements to an already complete experience. Except for Asuras Wrath. That was just some scummy bullshit Capcom!
Whats more is there was far more innovation only a couple generations ago as well. The vast majority of game mechanics that are considered standard today were created and iterated on back with the PS2 and 360 generations respectively. Whereas today the industry is majority trend chasing, previous generations were the innovators and were allowed far more creative freedom. While yes there was a boom of third person cover shooters after the success of Gears of War, at the very least most of them attempted to put their own spin on the mechanic and offered a variety of experiences rather than todays copy/paste version of innovation. Experimental titles led to game industry leading game mechanics while others developed niche or cult followings that are still impacting games and developers today who grew up with these titles.
The PS2 was especially influential and arguably had the most significant impact on the gaming industry. We had no shortage of games to play, but almost every one of them felt like an event. Big splash pages in gaming magazines, complete with new screenshots and information for fans to pour over, and if a game was delayed, there wasnt a big announcement about it and discourse tended to be more minimal as gamers just moved on to the next game until that one was finally released. The lack of direct communication with fans was actually a benefit. Not only did it make the gaming experience more impactful and surprising, but not being flooded with a deluge of trailers and constant updates made the whole experience feel more special because everything felt new without every aspect of the game already having been explained or spelled out for you.
This was a generation that trusted the player to find their own way, without constant quest updates or markers and allowed players to lose themselves within the experience, and explore and discover the game and its secrets all on their own. If you truly got stuck there were of course online guides to help you and naturally schoolyard gossip, but the game didnt used to tell you the entire solution before you even had a chance to figure it out for yourself. Theres a reason recent titles like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and the Oblivion Remaster resonated with gamers so much and it's because they let players uncover the game for themselves.
We had so many amazing games to choose from, we didnt know how good we had it. Naturally not every game was an award winner but there was usually some redeeming quality that made it a fan favorite. This was the age of licensed games and yes, a lot of them were cheap cash grabs but others have managed to not only stand the test of time, but also continue to influence their own series today. Looking at you Spider-Man 2. Speaking of Spider-Man, we had so many different versions of Spider-Man games to play. There was the tie in games of course but also standalone titles such as Web of Shadows or Shattered Dimensions and those games are still beloved today. These days it seems like were lucky if we get a decent superhero game every five years, simply because the licenses to do so have become so expensive. I mean, when was the last time we got an amazing Transformers game? We once had War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron and now theres basically nothing! And we had so, so many Simpsons games. SpongeBob too! And they were all stupid fun for a weekend and gave us some of the best memories. Especially The Simpsons Hit & Run. Why that game hasnt been re-released will forever be a mystery.
We once had an overabundance of games to choose from and there was something for every kind of gamer. Love racing? Heres Need for Speed, Burnout, Gran Turismo and Midnight Club. Skateboarding? Tony Hawk. BMX? Mat Hoffman, Downhill Domination or if youre feeling risque, BMX XXX. First person shooters? Medal of Honor, Call of Duty, Timesplitters. Stealth? Metal Gear Solid, Splinter Cell, and Tenchu. RPGs? Do you want turn-based or action? Weve got both. What about horror? Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Fatal Frame and any number of similar titles. We got all manner of experimental games too. Mister Mosquito, Katamari Damacy, Okami, Shadow of the Colossus, and so, so, SO many more. Gaming was at its creative peak during this time and gamers were the ones who benefitted the most. Even heading into the Xbox 360 and PS3 generation, this trend continued but with more streamlined and accessible game mechanics, options and controls.
Video game releases also used to be huge events. Major releases came with midnight launches and lines of fans waiting around the block waiting for their copy of a new console or game. The launch of the PS2 was nationally covered on the news with dedicated fans camping out days before the consoles launch. Halo 3 set records with its midnight launch and many people created entire friendships and teams from people they met waiting in line for the newest release. In the modern age of digital however, those days are long gone. No longer do you need to rush to Blockbuster or Hollywood Video just hoping the newest release hadnt already been checked out or hoping your favorite game store wasnt sold out before you got there. I can remember specifically that Tuesdays used to be new video game day and I would anxiously wait for those new titles if I had the money to buy it or planning my whole weekend around renting the newest game I was looking forward to.
Digital games are always at your fingertips, but theres something hollow about these releases. For a medium built around communities and bringing people together, modern gaming feels lonelier than ever. With access to more video games than ever, nothing truly feels special anymore. Gaming has become Netflix-ed. Were constantly bombarded with a deluge of high-profile releases and trailers that most of them are forgotten by the time they actually release. However, this wasnt always the case. Back on the PS2 and even on the 360, almost every release had its time in the spotlight no matter how small. Some naturally got overlooked but most gamers were at least aware of their release. With the rise of Xbox Live Arcade, smaller games had access to even more players and games like Limbo and Braid became icons of the indie scene because of this and paved the way for the thriving indie developers we love today.
Beloved gaming franchises debuted during this time and built their devoted fan bases that continue to follow the newer titles today, but these arent the same games we fell in love with. Assassins Creed has become the definition of copy and paste with each new game barely feeling different from the last outside of the time period, Call of Duty used to be a gritty, violent and realistic shooter franchise that has become Fortnited and is barely recognizable anymore. Even Grand Theft Auto isnt what it used to be. Back on the PS2, we got 3 absolutely stellar games almost annually, each offering unique experiences that vastly improved on their predecessor, and even GTAIV had multiple DLCs to keep the experience going. But GTA Online changed all of that and instead of focusing on creating new experiences, Rockstar chose to chase the money and have released only two games in a single decade. Admittedly both are some of the best open world games ever created, but Rockstar used to offer so many different and unique experiences that it feels like we truly lost something after GTA Online exploded in popularity.
That actually highlights another thing the PS2 and 360 eras did better. Games were developed faster and by much smaller teams, but you could feel the passion that went into them, the developers working hard to give players the best possible experience. I mentioned Expedition 33 before, and that team managed to develop one of arguably this generations best games full stop with a mere fraction of the typical development team working today. Most games these days have game credits longer than The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Trilogy, and many staff dont even know the full story of the upcoming GTA6 because the team is so unbelievably large and bloated. If game development tools have made game creation so much easier and streamlined that a single developer can create and release a game, why do they take hundreds if not thousands of devs, millions upon millions of dollars and entire console generations to release a single game?
The problems dont stop there however, with industry layoffs becoming nearly a daily news cycle, all while the industry itself continues to report record profits, and the heads of these studios who have nothing to do with the games creation continue to rake in ludicrous salaries year over year. Most of these CEOs arent gamers and dont even play the games they sell. Gaming has become commercialized and has lost the passion and creative vision they used to have. Nowadays everything revolves around shareholders and ridiculous sales expectations, which leads to less risk taking and more and more safe games that continue to recycle franchises and game mechanics all while trying to gas-light gamers into believing this is what they want. Gamers arent viewed as customers anymore and are instead only seen as endless cash flows for the corporate machine, transforming what was once a budding new artform into yet another soulless machine.
While I naturally understand gaming is a business and needs to make money, the way modern gaming approaches the industry is night and day compared to the practices used to make it the entertainment juggernaut it is. Game companies and developers werent focused on making sure players continued to play only their game for the next ten years while they worked on a sequel, they innovated and continued to release games that developed loyal customers and fans. God of War, Ratchet and Clank, Assassins Creed, and even Call of Duty continue to be successful today because of that fan loyalty and players who grew up playing these games back when they were experimental ideas. There are some gamers today who werent even alive when some of these franchises began but through sheer popularity from the old school fans and name recognition, know about their history and continue to keep the franchises alive. Unfortunately, many of the studios who created some of the best games of the 2000s have either long since shut down or been folded into larger developers to work on the biggest IPs. Signing with Activision is essentially a death sentence as you WILL become assimilated into the COD machine one way or another eventually.
Gaming used to be so much fun, and I miss those times. Couch co-op, multiplayer weekends, and just talking games with my friends. Unfortunately, gaming isnt gaming anymore. It feels like weve lost a part of ourselves with each new console cycle, like theres less to play when we have more to play than ever. I remember scheduling my vacation days around the release of specific games but these days, new games like that are so few and far between, its hard to really get excited about whatever new big AAA game happens to be coming because the game wont be feature complete or sometimes even playable until months after release and a myriad of updates.
The Golden Age of gaming might be truly gone forever, but there is still some hope. The rise of AA developers alongside indie have been consistently outperforming many AAA releases by giving players exactly what theyve been wanting: a solid and complete experience with interesting gameplay mechanics or stories to tell. These are not only the types of games players want, but also the ones developers clearly want to make with many developers leaving massive companies for smaller teams dedicated to delivering quality games and memorable experiences to an audience desperate for them. Older and retro games have routinely outsold modern AAA releases and a large number of indie developers are crafting an entire sub-genre which recreates PS1, PS2, and Xbox 360 style video games with retro graphics and gameplay mechanics. We all long for the days when gaming was something entirely different than what it is now, and thats not just me being nostalgic, I truly had more fun playing games on less powerful hardware that offered more linear experiences that I could replay multiple times than I do with most games released today.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the culmination of frustrated devs and gamers longing for the good old days of video games and has become a rallying cry for gamers who are tired of the same games being repackaged as new year over year. There is hope for gaming to turn itself around but it's absolutely going to be an uphill battle, and its not only the devs that are fighting back. Continue to speak with your wallets and let publishers know we want fun, artistic, experimental and memorable gaming experiences again. Or even better, if youre able to, start creating your own game. The tools are all there for us to finally create the video games weve always wanted and theres no better time than now to start.
Tomorrow comes and we lay the path for those who come after.
Do you think the best days of gaming are truly behind us forever or is there hope for gaming to return to its glory days? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.