Has gaming become too mainstream?

I'm just wondering if the industry is suffering from finally becoming mainstream in the same way some bands do. You know how a small, unknown garage band builds up a cult following because they're cool. Then they get a record deal and for a few albums they're still cool. But ultimately, as they grow from being cult to mainstream, they lose their edge and become parodies of themselves, trying and failing to recreate their former glories. That what I thinks happened with this generation of games/consoles. They're bigger and flashier than ever, but they're losing their soul.

Thankfully there's still a few bright sparks out there to cling on to, but you do have to wonder about the future.

So we're comparing the game industry to metallica now?

I think its a good thing.  More people buying games means more and better games.  ("more and better" seem weird together, but I couldn't think of a better way to put it) It also helps get rid of the "nerd" stereotype thing.  Of course it also could mean an influx of horrible games directed towards the extremely casual gamer.

Meh, kind of I guess... I really hate Fox News.

But they got me back a bit with their Fat Princess stuff, at least they were on OUR side this time. I was expecting to see the headline say something like "Video Game Mocks Obese Woman Around The World", or some shit. XD

I agree with Batman, it might mean good news as getting rid of those stupid stereotypes but we mihgt see a lot of crapy games.... So we gotta think it over when we say "the more the merrier" but anyways that chitchat about games losing their soul and whatnot, well I have to disagree. We have seen the best games ever (and I don't mean this just as a Fanboy) lately. E.g. Fable II (though it's not out yet) Metal Gear Solid 4, Gears of War,  GTA IV. Games are going towards the right direction and that is, in my opinion, cinematic. Cinematic story telling and gameplay is a great new (well not that new) level for games. So mainstream? i don't think so.

It is very unique for a band to have the creative zest to stay interesting for a very long time. Those garage bands were bound to run out of ideas anyway. Only some are destined to maintain their original levels of cool.
I think the game industry is a lot like the movie industry. As more people buy into it, tech improves, and as you can see modern day classics are better than ever! I think the game industry can only go up from here.

You should quit gaming to show everyone how avant-garde and what a free thinker you are.

How are games losing their soul? Because millions of people are enjoying them? Wow, an industry is a commercial success; it is a good thing! People make games with money from investors and publishers with the singular intent of making money. This is like how back 6 decades ago we had sportsmen playing sport for no money at all and now some of these guys are making millions of dollars just to sink a little white ball into a hole. There haven't been a large garage game development in years, we're seeing a few good things coming out of small developer houses; like Poker Smash for example on XBLA, but even Big Fish Games started as a small time business and now it is dominating casual gaming digital download games on the PC; why? Because they are in this line of work to make money.
We're hardly getting clones as much as before, I mean in the 90s we had 'Doom Clones' as a term to define any FPS game that was an FPS game, we had 'Diablo Clones' as a term to define any hack and slash RPG, we had 'WarCraft Clones' to define any RTS that was an RTS, we had 'Civ Clones' 'Sim Clones' 'Might & Magic Clones' 'Splinter Cell Clones' 'Metal Gear Clones'.

Now however we are seeing some really divergent game development, such as the FPS genre, we have Bioshock, CoD 4, Halo 3, Dead Space, F.E.A.R., S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Far Cry 2, they are all totally unique experiences, Bioshock is an underwater dystopia, CoD 4 is modern warfare, Halo 3 is sci-fi FPS heroism, Dead Space is horror in space, F.E.A.R. is horror in office buildings, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is post-apocalypic, Far Cry 2 is Africa. Just because they have you holding a gun and shooting things doesn't mean gaming is losing it's soul, it never had a soul to begin with, games aren't magically created under a wishing tree, companies make these things to put food on their plate and the plate's of their workers, people design art, write code, develop games with the point being; it is their job.

Most game publishers are listed on the stock market, THQ, EA, Ubisoft, Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Activision, they have quartly projections to meet for their investors and if that means making an expansion pack for F.E.A.R. or putting money into a start up to develop a Parkour-inspired game from a newbie developer then they'll usually go with the safe bet; because it makes them money.

I think we'll see more spinoff titles, like Call of Duty: World at War, like the now-on-hold StarCraft: Ghost or even Halo Wars, the name brand attracts the consumer to whatever crap you're trying to peddle. We all know Treyarch is not in the same league as Infinity Ward but the average consumer doesn't know the difference and so come release week they'll be looking for a new game and pick up World at War, or Halo Wars because they liked that other Halo game. We, the hardcore, see such things in an alternative light, we see Treyarch's name and groan, we see Cliff Blezinski not wanting to be called CliffyB anymore, we hear Peter Molyneux talking about how planting a seed and watching it become a tree is virtually orgasmic and we roll our eyes and come onto message boards to talk about the philosophy of gaming but the average consumer will read the back of the box, see it saying it has Big Tech Graphics and Amazing 32 Player Multiplayer with DLC to keep you hooked and plop their money on the counter. Is gaming losing it's soul? Nah, gaming is just offering more choice to a wider audience at an increased profit to appease investors of their companies.

Oh please. Everyone hates everything that is popular.

As said, it's appealing to a wider audience - but there are still many quality titles.

It's fine. Let it be.

I'll agree.. Somewhat.

"You should quit gaming to show everyone how avant-garde and what a free thinker you are.
"

Wow, it only took 5 replies before someone insulted me - and it was a moderator at that.  Not bad, even for an internet forum.  Now if someone can just cut to the chase and call me a Nazi, I can be on my way.

"Wow, it only took 5 replies before someone insulted me - and it was a moderator at that.  Not bad, even for an internet forum.  Now if someone can just cut to the chase and call me a Nazi, I can be on my way.
"

"MDub said:

"Wow, it only took 5 replies before someone insulted me - and it was a moderator at that.  Not bad, even for an internet forum.  Now if someone can just cut to the chase and call me a Nazi, I can be on my way.
"

It's because you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about and making bad analogies while doing so.
"

"CitizenKane said:

"MDub said:

"Wow, it only took 5 replies before someone insulted me - and it was a moderator at that.  Not bad, even for an internet forum.  Now if someone can just cut to the chase and call me a Nazi, I can be on my way.
"

It's because you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about and making bad analogies while doing so.
"

Okay, it seems obvious forming an intelligent reply will be a waste of time, so kindly get my account deleted and I won't trouble you any more.

"

Saying gaming is too mainstream is like asking if movies and books are too mainstream, it was a media that was bound to become more popular. With that said, yes, there will be more crappy games made to appeal to a certain audience. However, the fact that there are more companies and developers nowadays also means there are more creative minds in the industry. I think the balance of crappy games versus good games will remain stable.

Few people take this industry seriously and for this to change the industry needs to branch out and become available to more people. A la mainstream.

"MDub said:

"CitizenKane said:

"MDub said:

"Wow, it only took 5 replies before someone insulted me - and it was a moderator at that.  Not bad, even for an internet forum.  Now if someone can just cut to the chase and call me a Nazi, I can be on my way.
"

It's because you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about and making bad analogies while doing so.
"

Okay, it seems obvious forming an intelligent reply will be a waste of time, so kindly get my account deleted and I won't trouble you any more.

"

True, because being a little bitch about it is definitely a better approach than forming a more intelligent answer.
"

"MDub said:

"CitizenKane said:

"MDub said:

"Wow, it only took 5 replies before someone insulted me - and it was a moderator at that.  Not bad, even for an internet forum.  Now if someone can just cut to the chase and call me a Nazi, I can be on my way.
"

It's because you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about and making bad analogies while doing so.
"

Okay, it seems obvious forming an intelligent reply will be a waste of time, so kindly get my account deleted and I won't trouble you any more.

"

True, because being a little bitch about it is definitely a better approach than forming a more intelligent answer.
"

I don't understand why gaming going mainstream is a bad thing. I think it'll be a welcome relief to have someone not look down upon you when they find out you are a gamer.

In a lot of ways but gaming's true indie scene is really just starting to grow. For more info check out tigsource.com

    Well first of all, video games cost a lot of money (well the ones that people expect these days) : they can't be made by four guys mostly living in a van. If there was a "band" for a video game, it'd be a room full of people. If there is music in the game, there's at least a composer, if not a rock band. If you want games with the biggest bangs, latest physics engines, and most massive multi-player, then it's going to have to be at least somewhat corporate. Businesses have to make money.
     But if you're not all into that, maybe you'd rather have a game that's more quirky or a vision of a single person, that's cool too. There's smaller companies and individuals out there, you just have to look around for them.
    There seems to be something here I call soccermomophobia - people afraid of the masses, usually represented as soccer moms, buying games. First of all, who cares what they do? It's their lives and if they want to do whatever, it's their choice. Sure, it's okay to make fun of them every so often, but don't give a 5 page rant because you saw one at Electronics Boutique asking dumb questions about Wii Fit. Their money is just as good as yours. And I don't want to find myself saying "Remember [insert game store here]? Yeah now it's a nail place or one of those dumb clothing boutiques that sells 10 dresses and all of them are that ugly green." And can we please get over this cool/cult/hard core mentality. What you buy doesn't make you cool. An item is the same item whether nobody buys it or everyone buys it. "Uncool" people buy cool games. For all those people who repeatedly tell us how hard core they are and hate those are not, here have a cookie...

It might help to site some game related examples.

I really don't see the problem here.

MOD EDIT - Quoting huge images clutters up threads and is annoying.

"CitizenKane said:

"MDub said:

"CitizenKane said:

"MDub said:

"Wow, it only took 5 replies before someone insulted me - and it was a moderator at that.  Not bad, even for an internet forum.  Now if someone can just cut to the chase and call me a Nazi, I can be on my way.
"

It's because you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about and making bad analogies while doing so.
"

Okay, it seems obvious forming an intelligent reply will be a waste of time, so kindly get my account deleted and I won't trouble you any more.

"

True, because being a little bitch about it is definitely a better approach than forming a more intelligent answer.
"

CitizenKane, you strike me as either someone who is very young, in which case you've not yet learnt how adults talk to each other, or you've become so insolated from the real world that you've forgotten how adults talk to each other.  Either way, my thread obviously poked a hole in your fragile little world and like a cornered animal, you lashed out.  My real concern is for Giant Bomb, as I'm guessing they don't know how you and MB treat their user base and how, as moderators, your comments are harming their reputation.  Well done.  With that, I'm leaving before you drag me down to your level."

CitizenKane, do you really need to stoop to his level? You're right he is pulling a concept out of his ass without applying logic and/or reason. But there is no reason to turn this into a personal dispute by calling him a little bitch. He said what he said in retaliation and I cannot believe I am forced to be the referee.

If you think he is a dick, actually debate his point intellectually; don't try to just insult his character. Once again, you're a mod. Be a notch higher.

Usually I don't get into entanglements such as this, but people who think like he does just really piss me off.

Either way, for whatever reason, I don't think you should have called him a "little bitch", you are a mod remember.... Just chill.

"Either way, for whatever reason, I don't think you should have called him a "little bitch", you are a mod remember.... Just chill."

The rarity should increase.

Like all media I do think that gaming has gotten mainstream, when you look at the scandals it's accused for on FOX news and such particularly with the Mass Effect sex scene, it's hard to deny that gaming doesn't have some kind of influence on the media. But like all other forms of media, be it music,movies or television, gamers will have to look past the mainstream influence and just think for them selves, don't play games just because of hype, play them because they are worth it.

"Sentry said:

"Either way, for whatever reason, I don't think you should have called him a "little bitch", you are a mod remember.... Just chill."

I can call it like I see it every now and then, but I do it very rarely."

"CitizenKane said:

"Sentry said:

"Either way, for whatever reason, I don't think you should have called him a "little bitch", you are a mod remember.... Just chill."

I can call it like I see it every now and then, but I do it very rarely."

Ok then, if you can, then so can I whenever I want. Expect me to call fanboys little bitches more often around here, just don't ban me or delete my post for it, since its ok now."

Ok then, if you can, then so can I whenever I want. Expect me to call fanboys little bitches more often around here, just don't ban me or delete my post for it, since its ok now.

"Sentry said"

Ok then, if you can, then so can I whenever I want. Expect me to call fanboys little bitches more often around here, just don't ban me or delete my post for it, since its ok now.

You're going to call yourself a little bitch?  Why would you do that?"

That's hot.

"Sentry said:

"CitizenKane said:

"Sentry said:

"Either way, for whatever reason, I don't think you should have called him a "little bitch", you are a mod remember.... Just chill."

I can call it like I see it every now and then, but I do it very rarely."

Ok then, if you can, then so can I whenever I want. Expect me to call fanboys little bitches more often around here, just don't ban me or delete my post for it, since its ok now."

Oh yeah, it's fine if you do it every now and then.  Some people just need to be called out on it.  Just don't go over the top and do it almost every single time, though.  If somehow the rules change down the road, I'll let you know."

"Sentry said"

Ok then, if you can, then so can I whenever I want. Expect me to call fanboys little bitches more often around here, just don't ban me or delete my post for it, since its ok now.

You're going to call yourself a little bitch?  Why would you do that?
"

MB said:

"Sentry said"

Ok then, if you can, then so can I whenever I want. Expect me to call fanboys little bitches more often around here, just don't ban me or delete my post for it, since its ok now.

You're going to call yourself a little bitch?  Why would you do that?
"

Wow, this site has some excellent mods lately. -_-
"

Sigh....there are always people who will complain about moderators, no matter how lenient they are.  We could really start cracking down on a lot of stuff that goes on here, but we prefer the community to be able to manage itself for the most part.  You guys don't know how good you have it, I advise you to choose your battles very carefully.

I think it's a good thing actually.

"Sigh....there are always people who will complain about moderators, no matter how lenient they are.  We could really start cracking down on a lot of stuff that goes on here, but we prefer the community to be able to manage itself for the most part.  You guys don't know how good you have it, I advise you to choose your battles very carefully.
"

To try and get this back on topic.... video games were inevitably going to become mainstream. It's only like 20 something years old and is finally starting to break away from the stereotype of "video games are for little kids"

But then again, what do I know? I'm just a 16 year old punk poster on these forums with zero influence.

"MB said:

"Sigh....there are always people who will complain about moderators, no matter how lenient they are.  We could really start cracking down on a lot of stuff that goes on here, but we prefer the community to be able to manage itself for the most part.  You guys don't know how good you have it, I advise you to choose your battles very carefully.
"

*hug*
"

. I'm not trying to pick a fight, but as a moderator he should be more mature in his moderation."

"CitizenKane said:

"Sentry said:

"CitizenKane said:

"Sentry said:

"Either way, for whatever reason, I don't think you should have called him a "little bitch", you are a mod remember.... Just chill."

I can call it like I see it every now and then, but I do it very rarely."

Ok then, if you can, then so can I whenever I want. Expect me to call fanboys little bitches more often around here, just don't ban me or delete my post for it, since its ok now."

Oh yeah, it's fine if you do it every now and then.  Some people just need to be called out on it.  Just don't go over the top and do it almost every single time, though.  If somehow the rules change down the road, I'll let you know."

I was being sarcastic bro..