Anyone Else Really Bummed Out By The Gaming World After E3?

Two points:

1. Interesting and cool things in gaming often come out of left field, and aren't shown at E3, or aren't really covered. For all we know, The Witness could come out and be the most amazing thing we've ever seen.

2. There were enough games on the floor, or in the pressers, that I really want to play, that they'll keep me going for the next year.

Either way, I still think it's a good time to be a gamer. Anyone old enough to remember the early 80s will tell you, we've seen MUCH worse!

I know the gaming world, be it with journalists or small-time internet commenters, are pretty synnoymous for being negative moaners but after this E3...it's honestly got me down.  Arguably, every company showed some really interesting, great looking stuff, and yet I was personally hard done by to find consistent positive comments. Maybe I'm just being unrealistic, but back when I was a kid I remember flipping through games magazines, seeing all these amazing new announcements about games and consoles and being amazed and happy and optimistic...now, people release a trailer and its ripped apart.  My main annoyance was the reception to the Wii U. Crappy name, crappy reveal, but some genuinely new and clever concepts that I'm interested to see develop. Five minutes after, people were predicting it's failure. Literally every preview I saw said the controller looked great, it wasn't awkward or heavy to hold, and the tech demos were interesting. But the internet, for some reason, couldn't accept this, and decided that it was impossible to hold, with only crappy Wii-level graphics. My favourite incident was the whole demo reel thing. For people who don't know, during the conference Nintendo showed a trail of third party games being developed (Darksiders II, Dirt, Tekken etc). You couldn't go to a site without people lambasting it as being below 360/PS3 level....even though it was video of the games playing on those systems. Now, I'm in no way defending Nintendo. They've said far from enough to satisfy people, and in all honesty, if they just eluded to the specs more clearly it'd probably placate a whole lot of people, but I'm really getting tired of this instant-write off thing the gaming world has got going.  The other hardware reveal, the Vita, seemed to be automatically and inexplicably be written off too. Now, I totally understand people's views. Patrick perfectly explained on the Bombcast why he didn't think the system would sell all that well, and Sony doesn't have the greatest history of keeping their handhelds going, but I've heard a few cases where it's already the butt of jokes. "Guess it'll sell as well as the Vita, LOL". Wow, people really? The thing hasn't even started selling and it's already a failure?  I think at the heart of it, there's this inherent need on the internet to be seen as the most cynical, because then you get to feel like you're superior somehow. Saying anything positive is somehow weak and silly, unless it features guns or has some nice lighting in it. Games like Tomb Raider, Mario 3DS, Battlefield 3, MW3...all had chunks taken out of them. But apparently, if the internet's going to be believed, all handhelds will cease to exist, Nintendo will sell a total of 15 Wii U's before going third party, and Halo 8 will be the new pinnicle of games. What fun.  RANT OVER.

The longer something exists, the more cynical people will become because the general audience will be more and more jaded by experience. Also, you have to consider the fact that most people that sit on the internet and complain are enthusiasts, not the broad market. And we tend to have seen most things and bought every version of those things to the point were we know too much and we don't give developers the benefit of doubt. Generally. We judge things before it's even in our hands.

Personally, I think the best sentiment about this E3 I hear was probably Ryan (I believe) who said something to the effect of this E3 being marked by great games being demoed using parts of the games not necessarily representing the strength and qualities of those games. And we don't get to go behind the scenes to see the rest that represent the good stuff, we the audience just watch what we're fed, and if we're fed hollow carbs, we'll whine after a few minutes again.

As for the Wii U, I am sure it'll be interesting to see the potential of that thing being realized. But I was honestly excited for the Wii when that was announced, but that turned out to not be what I actually wanted from it, so I didn't buy. And this one seems like it could be a half generational leap that will be passed once Sony and Microsoft do their next switch. And, perhaps, this is the dawn of the console release synch to come undone and generational leaps will happen less like clockwork and more when whichever manufacturer feels the need to update.

We really didn't need another Halo game >_<

The most exciting news was the Wii-U  but even that isn't too impressive.   It doesn't seem to be a next generation system... just something with similar power to consoles already out on the market  with a gimmicky controller, which I found to be fairly disappointing.  There was no show stopper announcement, just some interesting games.

@paradox121 said:

...

for me im bitter toward e3 because of how many sequels, dirivative titles, and non-announcements were there. e3, or ces if youre old like me, used to be about new characters, new worlds and new experiences. now you can predict the whole thing before it starts and all anyone shows are movie clips. 

The gaming world has been a bummer since it's start because of the gamers in it

i thought it was alright. i think most of the things were disappointing because they didn't show anything exciting.  wii u and vita were exciting to see but i'm talking about the games. most of what they showed were just sequels to games. we should get new IP instead of sequels. yes, new games are expensive to make but it would be more money to think of something different to make.

The conferences were less fun than they have been at some point, but let's face it, the only truly exciting conferences are the ones that show off new hardware coming out, and the ones that come right after. However, I saw a lot of games that I'm really interested in. My "most anticipated of E3 2011" list holds like 24 games after having followed the Giantbomb coverage. Even Future Soldier has me interested. I really liked GRAW, and am still willing to give it a chance.

I thought it was great, I actually had a hard time picking only 15 games for the E3 Anticipated list. My only complaint is that there seems to be zero coverage on Atlus's The Cursed Crusade bar one terrible interview, hoping more will pop up over the next week.

Don't let the vocal few over weigh the content masses.

All I care about is DARK SOULS! I also want Vinny's opinion on this since he is the only one of the gang who finished Demon's Souls.

I've been growing more and more disappointed with the gaming world for 10 years now.  The shift to consoles, the death of core RPGs, the death of fast-paced shooters, the invention of online DRM, the motion gaming boom, the social gaming boom, games as a service, etc. etc.  None of it is my thing, all of it bums me out.  This year's E3 was nothing new, lots of focus on things I dislike and trends I want to stop.
 
That said there are still many games I enjoy and many games I am interested in.  Bioshock Infinite, Mass Effect 3, Skyrim, Farcry 3, Battlefield 3, XCOM and more all look great and like games I will enjoy immensely.  In a lot of ways there are more games coming out now I want to play than ever before really, they're just not the games that get a lot of press and hype and I fear their days are limited.

I get bummed by how many few new IPs appeared at E3. Not hating on the sequels shown, most looked pretty great. Just seems that no one was really trying anything new, other than the downloadable space. I want some new experiences occasionally, while visiting some of my favs also.

I've been unhappy with the "core gaming community" at large for a long time. I think here on Giant Bomb we've had a largely fair and reasonable approach to E3 but yes, there are a lot of guys out there who are still stuck in that immature pattern of "I don't give a damn about any of this stuff so that makes me cool" and there are a lot of people still convinced that anything that might appeal to the casual side of gaming must be the spawn of Satan because they can't come to terms with the fact that a gaming product might not be aimed at them and that video games are no longer an exclusive club for the people who can sit down and rattle off 2 hours of trivia about the PS2 off of the top of their head.

While I think there are some legitimate worries to be levelled with the Vita a lot of the anti-console whining this E3 has come from the immature fanboys who always seem at their loudest and most idiotic around this time of year. That being said while I agree this kind of crap has to stop and that we'd all benefit from a more optimistic outlook on video games, this is more of an ongoing problem with gamers on the internet as a whole than anything to do specifically with the post-E3 criticism this year.

Nah I think the industry is getting the reaction it deserves for the most part. There seemed to be a lot of emphasis on QTEs and On-Rail this year, and for me it's like... if you all secretly want to make movies, why don't you just go and do that?

I want games that I can sink my teeth into and which require a little thought and engagement on my part, and those are still around, but they're rarely put front and center anymore. I'm not necessarily talking about super niche historical TBS or whatever either, I mean games like Rainbow Six, Hidden & Dangerous or even Brothers in Arms - games which had action but weren't afraid to also ask the player to think a bit rather than just go through the motions. XCOM might have potential in this regard, but they seem shy about actually showing any of the stuff that might be interesting about it.

I respect Nintendo for trying something different again with the Wui, but I got the same 'this isn't for me' reaction that I got from the Wii. Nintendo themselves seem more about the fun 5 minutes / arcade experience, which I've never really been interested in, and I already own the best available platform for multi-plats (a decent PC), so I don't need it for that either.

I think your just not remembering your childhood...... trust me there was a lot of shit, but since you're older you are seeing it more often. If you would flip through a magazine today though it be filled with great games as well. If not next then at least in 2 years MS will be talking new xbox, sony maybe the year after that. I doubt those will just be shoulder shrugs. Or you can play PC games and always live the life of happiness :)

@OP 
 
No, it was pretty much more of the same and what I was expecting. I think the only surprising reveal was the Wii U. We knew it would have some kind of "pioneering gimmick", but I don't think anyone thought it would be an amalgamation of pretty much everything like it appears to be.

Woo! I've actually managed to create a happy place on the internet. It's like some kind of scary, new untouched ground. 
 
@nail1080 said:

cool story bro

I really hope you're being hilariously ironic or you've just gone on to prove how dickish people online are.

I've been growing more and more disappointed with the gaming world for 10 years now.  The shift to consoles, the death of core RPGs, the death of fast-paced shooters, the invention of online DRM, the motion gaming boom, the social gaming boom, games as a service, etc. etc.  None of it is my thing, all of it bums me out.  This year's E3 was nothing new, lots of focus on things I dislike and trends I want to stop.  That said there are still many games I enjoy and many games I am interested in.  Bioshock Infinite, Mass Effect 3, Skyrim, Farcry 3, Battlefield 3, XCOM and more all look great and like games I will enjoy immensely.  In a lot of ways there are more games coming out now I want to play than ever before really, they're just not the games that get a lot of press and hype and I fear their days are limited.

Bummed out by the companies, hyped about the games.

I get bummed by how many few new IPs appeared at E3. Not hating on the sequels shown, most looked pretty great. Just seems that no one was really trying anything new, other than the downloadable space. I want some new experiences occasionally, while visiting some of my favs also.

While I thought practically all the press conferences were boring, cheesy, and inconsistent, we have a great holiday season coming up, and next year looks to be filled with interesting releases.

@ryanwho said:

I concur. This E3 taught me some people are just bitterly resentful and perpetually unhappy, they just want to complain about things they haven't even played themselves.

Either games are getting shittier or were getting older and time doesn't stop for anyone.

Internet culture and posturing to set oneself above everything and everyone makes basing any kind of accurate model on what the "people" really think about anything a fool's errand.  Both the Wii and Kinect proved that money talks and bullshit walks.

I thought this years E3 was awesome, not the most "hardcore gamers" friendly but there were some really promising games and technologies shown.

There are so few people in this topic who actually read the first post.... He is disappointed in the community not in E3 or the games at all

For me personally it was largely the shooter fatigue. Not only are there more shooters then ever, but they are even going so far as to take non shooter franchises like x-com and make them into god dam shooters! I like a good shooter from to time if it has some interesting stuff wrapped around it like an awesome universe, Space Marines, a deep and adult looking open world, Far Cry 3, or just balls out crazy fun, Saints Row 3, but I want to see developers make games that involve something other then running around shooting guns. Yes there were some, but the big ones that got public face time were mostly shooters and it's just tiring.

@StingingVelvet said:

I've been growing more and more disappointed with the gaming world for 10 years now.  The shift to consoles, the death of core RPGs, the death of fast-paced shooters, the invention of online DRM, the motion gaming boom, the social gaming boom, games as a service, etc. etc.  None of it is my thing, all of it bums me out.  This year's E3 was nothing new, lots of focus on things I dislike and trends I want to stop.  That said there are still many games I enjoy and many games I am interested in.  Bioshock Infinite, Mass Effect 3, Skyrim, Farcry 3, Battlefield 3, XCOM and more all look great and like games I will enjoy immensely.  In a lot of ways there are more games coming out now I want to play than ever before really, they're just not the games that get a lot of press and hype and I fear their days are limited.

Pretty much all of this.  But according to this thread we're part of the problem, working to create a world of perpetual disappointment and cynicism, unable to be happy people, delinquents even. Because we have opinions, I guess.

There are so few people in this topic who actually read the first post.... He is disappointed in the community not in E3 or the games at all

Hey guys, let's bitch about shit and be constantly unhappy.  
 
If the gaming lineup coming up in Fall/winter 2011 disappoints you, arguably the busiest and most crowded time in AAA gaming history, then there's nothing to help you. 

I'm looking forward to all the great games coming out but console-wise I didn't think E3 was that good. Battlefield 3 looks great, Saints Row 3 looks fun, etc.

-

A controller I can point at the TV to shoot things or use as an inventory, whoop de doo. It's a gimmick that will get old after a few weeks of using it.

More rubbish kinect stuff. Hardly any of it has interesting features. Jazz hands to shoot, what the christ?!

SonyVita, eh. Very good graphics for a handheld but not much of a strive forwards in technology.

@paradox121 said:

What I do get annoyed by is people being cynical for the sake of being cynical.

This is unfortunately not unique to the gaming community nor the Internet i'm afraid. =(

I totally hear you.

Personally I think it's a fantastic time to be a gamer or "one who enjoys games". As someone who has gamed avidly since the days of the C64, I still think games are magical products of imagination and technical prowess. I don't know if I will end up purchasing a Wii U but I certainly appreciate the things it claims it can do. I also think it's amazing how far handhelds have come as far as horsepower and feature set. Who would have thought sans-glasses 3D was possible? And from a handheld which costs $250? incredible.

As a new father, I also really appreciate some of the ideas coming from developers like Double Fine. When my child saw the Sesame Street Monster game being shown, the look on his face was priceless. The completely brought me back to the first time I saw Pac-Man or Super Mario Bros. Magical memories for me.

I think to myself, how lucky the new generation is. The stuff being dreamed up by members of the earlier gamer generations is fantastic and speaks to how far this industry has come and leaves me excited for what might be next.

So let the haters hate.

It's a great time to be a gamer!

You'll always have more negative people on the internet because they usually think they've got a great point that people need to hear. I bet most people on this site will wait to see how most of this stuff turns out before judging it, the vocal minority make it seem otherwise. I've stopped judging things based on E3 because it is mostly smoke and mirrors.

So true. People get pumped for E3 only to come online and talk about how much they hated it. Happens every year.

There was nothing I care about at E3.

Dude - bitchin' and moanin' about the gaming industry is their bread and butter. Every gamer with some livin' under their beltbuckle has had quite a few magic moments in gaming and nothing ordinary can live up to such a thing. Hence all the jaded and semi-cynical banter.
 
I for one am lucky enough to love a couple of currently active franchises, like Battlefield and World of Warcraft. I'm pretty content with the gaming baseline these franchises provide me with. Everything else is just icing on the cake of my gaming hobby.
 
That's my advice to all the 'world-weary' game journos (goes for any videogame afficionado really). Find your baseline gaming experience. A game or franchise to stick with through the ages. A singular expression of gaming being your hobby. The one game you go off the deep end for. Games like Battlefield or Street Fighter or Call of Duty or StarCraft or any given MMO or sports franchise. Games that in-itself qualify as a hobby.

Uncharted 3, Battlefield 3, Skyrim, Bioshock Infinite, Far Cry 3, and plenty other games looked great. Not to mention 2 new innovative gaming platforms. No hate here!

@Pinworm45 said:

@StingingVelvet said:

I've been growing more and more disappointed with the gaming world for 10 years now.  The shift to consoles, the death of core RPGs, the death of fast-paced shooters, the invention of online DRM, the motion gaming boom, the social gaming boom, games as a service, etc. etc.  None of it is my thing, all of it bums me out.  This year's E3 was nothing new, lots of focus on things I dislike and trends I want to stop.  That said there are still many games I enjoy and many games I am interested in.  Bioshock Infinite, Mass Effect 3, Skyrim, Farcry 3, Battlefield 3, XCOM and more all look great and like games I will enjoy immensely.  In a lot of ways there are more games coming out now I want to play than ever before really, they're just not the games that get a lot of press and hype and I fear their days are limited.

Pretty much all of this.  But according to this thread we're part of the problem, working to create a world of perpetual disappointment and cynicism, unable to be happy people, delinquents even. Because we have opinions, I guess.

I wasn't inferring that just because you have a negative opinion you're an asshole killing the community. What I do get annoyed by is people being cynical for the sake of being cynical. Jumping to conclusions and looking into their magical gloom filled crystal balls that predict the end of all things.   If you can base a decent opinion about something, that's fine by me. I'm a totally sarcastic twat in real life myself.

@SadPatrol: Some of the greatest games I've played were the result of sequels, but to each their own.

Nope. I'm content.

@Pinworm45 said:

Let me ask you something. Do you honestly believe a large amount of people sit around and think of ways they can be cynical and unhappy? Do you honestly believe they form up ways and look for things just to be cynical about because they... enjoy being cynical, I guess? And second, if you actually believe people do that, do you think that's whats more likely happening, than say.. people just have different opinions and sometimes those aren't positive towards something?

The funny thing is, part of the way you've worded this implies that you expect (and believe yourself) the answer to be "obviously not", but wow, you've hit the nail exactly on the head. Yes, people are cynical, and enjoy being cynical, very much so. In fact, many, if not most of the people I see regularly day to day are extremely cynical about everything, to the point where I don't know how they even get up in the morning if they believe that all the ways they envision the world ending will come to pass.

I believe this is the world-view of the cynics, regarding E3. You can either say you like the stuff you saw at E3, which implies that you are a sheeple enjoying the pablum that's being force-fed to you like a good little consumer, or you can bitch and moan and try to seem cool and enlightened because you're seeing past the smoke and mirrors. Once you start playing that game, it becomes impossible to appreciate anything you see because you start from the position of "how can I be cynical about this?"

But hey, what do I know? I've now become cynical about people being cynical, so go figure! :P

@paradox121 said:

@Pinworm45 said:

@StingingVelvet said:

I've been growing more and more disappointed with the gaming world for 10 years now.  The shift to consoles, the death of core RPGs, the death of fast-paced shooters, the invention of online DRM, the motion gaming boom, the social gaming boom, games as a service, etc. etc.  None of it is my thing, all of it bums me out.  This year's E3 was nothing new, lots of focus on things I dislike and trends I want to stop.  That said there are still many games I enjoy and many games I am interested in.  Bioshock Infinite, Mass Effect 3, Skyrim, Farcry 3, Battlefield 3, XCOM and more all look great and like games I will enjoy immensely.  In a lot of ways there are more games coming out now I want to play than ever before really, they're just not the games that get a lot of press and hype and I fear their days are limited.

Pretty much all of this.  But according to this thread we're part of the problem, working to create a world of perpetual disappointment and cynicism, unable to be happy people, delinquents even. Because we have opinions, I guess.

I wasn't inferring that just because you have a negative opinion you're an asshole killing the community. What I do get annoyed by is people being cynical for the sake of being cynical. Jumping to conclusions and looking into their magical gloom filled crystal balls that predict the end of all things.   If you can base a decent opinion about something, that's fine by me. I'm a totally sarcastic twat in real life myself.

Let me ask you something. Do you honestly believe a large amount of people sit around and think of ways they can be cynical and unhappy? Do you honestly believe they form up ways and look for things just to be cynical about because they... enjoy being cynical, I guess?  And second, if you actually believe people do that, do you think that's whats more likely happening, than say.. people just have different opinions and sometimes those aren't positive towards something? 

It's the internet: People like to make split-second judgements, and overreact to the slightest thing. The new media encourages people to make instant judgements about extremely limited information and tells people that first impression are always correct.

Also, it's not cool to ever been seen supporting something: It is, however, deemed "cool" if you are relentlessly, needlessly cynical about everything. Which is one of the reasons I am such a cynical person.

Frankly, we don't know enough about the Wii U to predict success or failure. But that doesn't stop people from acting like they do know things. It's part of a problem with modern culture: we tell people that their opinions are valued, even when they are dreadfully ignorant. For instance: Some hippie bozo saying that GM food is bad despite never picking up a single text book on genetics in his or her life! Yet their opinion is treated seriously, despite the fact that they are incredibly ignorant and have no first hand knowledge of the subject.

Same with video games: people feel their opinion is valid and should be respected, even if it is based on a few seconds of trailer footage. I will repeat that, to let the stupidity sink in: on a few seconds of trailer footage.

I was in the chat on the day when the Wii U was announced. Not 10 seconds in, people were saying it was under-powered and had no third party support. Had they bothered to wait 3 or 4 minutes, they would have learned that it does have quite a bit of third party support (Irrational, 2K, Warner, etc) and it can run games like the new batman game. But no. No need to wait until you have all the information - smart people, as we all know, make judgements even when they know nothing about the subject! Only chumps actually wait for information before launching into a vitriolic attack! Who has time to wait for info! I wanna say mean things NOW!

Also fanboyism - there will be people who will hate the Wii U or the Vita or the Kinect for no other reason than the fact that they don't have one and it makes them feel better about the console they own if they can trash those they don't, because they're 10 year olds without income and mommy wouldn't buy them two consoles. For anyone who is an adult with a job and owns all consoles, fanboyism is stupid. I own a 360, a PS3 and a Wii, and I have a great fun rollicking time will all consoles. I don't own a Kinect, but I might pick one up one day.

My Opinion on the Wii U? My opinion is worthless, and so is everyone else's because we know next to nothing about it. We don't know what the specs are. We don't know any of the launch titles for certain! Hell, we don't know the price. As for how the controller handles, unless you were at E3, how the hell do you know how it handles? Looks.... can be deceiving! I thought the 360 controller was going to be very uncomfortable to hold when I first saw the pictures, but when I actually held it in my hand, it's very comfortable to use!

Nobody knows if the Wii U will fail or succeed, and anyone who claims to know is either a liar or a fool. No one knows how the new tech will be implemented, or exactly how under or over powered the system is - again, anyone other than a technician at Nintendo is lying or being an idiot if they claim to know. We don't even know the PRICE! It's a cipher at this point!

There is nothing to speculate about the Wii U, because other than the name, a few shots of the controller and a few third party publishers, we know next to nothing about it.

I held the Wii U controller, and it felt fine. I didn't know people were saying it was hard to hold. When I was playing New Super Mario Bros. Mii, it felt like any other controller, except it was running what was on the TV screen on the controller screen. 
 
When I was playing Battle Mii, I had to move around the controller a bit to steer the spaceship. But at no point did I think it felt awkward.

As mainly a PS3 player I'm really excited about the potential of the Wii U. I think the negativity you describe is to balance out the amount of over hyped makjeting that is churned out on a day to day basis to the masses. So I agree with your point on the consumer wanting their own power.