Shooters what is there not to say about them these days? most game releases each year are shooters, most current popular or best selling franchises are shooters and even some games who originally weren't shooters are moving more into that direction as well.
Are people really that much in love with the genre? or are developers taking the easy path by constantly abusing it to make quick cash. I think very few times this topic comes up in most media regarding games, so Im going to take the time to discuss it here.
Call of Duty: Why is it so popular again?
Lets rewind the clock a few years back, to lets say 2005. Back then shooters were common as much as other genres, rpgs, adventure, racing, sports and strategy games. It wasn't until games like Halo 3, Call of Duty Modern Warfare and others that began to come out that the genre really got a bump in releases, leading to pretty much a future where each year is dominated by nothing other than shooters.
Before the shooter craze began they were pretty much a staple of PC gaming in the 90s, Doom helped the genre immensely, but it wasn't until Unreal Tournament and Quake 3 that the genre got really competitive with its online multiplayer. From there, developers attempted to emulate the experience of the genre on consoles with games like Goldeneye, Perfect Dark and the Turok series.
Goldeneye: In 1997 it was new territory, today not so much.
These first attempts were successful and helped building the road for future games on the console of its kind.
Each year, out of 10 games released 6 or 7 will be shooters or shooter related and thats an undeniable fact. We rarely see adventure games now, strategy are also MIA and RPGs mostly from Japan are becoming a rarity, taking a backseat to its more popular Western cousin.
Japan whose known for great games in the past which became hugely popular are also following Western tradition by adopting a more shooter mentality in their games, in an attempt to sale games and appeal to the market.
Lost Planet: Japan joins the shooter craze.
Who can blame them? the genre is so popular that pretty much no other genre rivals it in terms of sales and since there is where the money is found, developers are going to look for it there.
But here is where I ask, are our needs so great that we need to constantly be satisfied with new shooters every month just to discard them for a new one the next? is this focus on generic shooter games forcing innovation and creativity out of the industry by utilizing tried and true game mechanics and settings just to make ends meet for developers?
My theory is that we've reached a point where shooters have become so common, developers are afraid of change, innovation and making less money for experimental games that might actually be good. Talking to my brother who is a programmer for a game company, I told him once that innovation and creativity in the industry is seen more these days in cheaper to produce games for mobile devices or down loadable games and I think that isn't far from the truth.
In the next part I will explore more the cultural and personal backgrounds of gamers (including myself) and how they match up with this current shooter era.
Stay tuned...
