The lack of new AAA third party IP's is hurting this generation.

This is the most lackluster generation in gaming history in my opinion publishers are to scared to create new IPs because there afraid of losing money so they're taking the safe route and just doing sequels HD remakes or reboots. I can look back to the NES era and the end of the last generation and everyone of those generations had amazing new AAA third party games. I feel if this trend continues people will just have enough of the same old shit feeling I know I'm getting bored of playing sequels. It's 2017 where is the innovation? we should of have some amazing AAA new third party games by now when there barely is any.

last gen new IP's four years in.

• Bioshock
• DeadSpace
• Mirrors Edge
• Condemn series
• F.E.A.R series
• Batman Arkham series
• Portal series
• Saints Row series
• Assassin creed series
• Mass Effect series

This gen

• Watch Dogs series
• The Crew
• Evil Within
• Dying Light
• The Division
• Destiny series
• Titanfall
• Shadow of Mordor

I know I'm forgetting alot on both sides but you see the picture also there's the quality factor too.

All though it's sad, its not killing anything. I think games and consoles are selling better than ever.

And yet all you have to do is step out of the top dog triple A releases and this "generation" has been one of the best so far, with so many genres coming back and new ones emerging. More creativity and more diversity and more games period then one can absorb, even people playing games full time have difficulties handling the flow, no scratch they they can't and they don't. There are too many good games to play and not enough time.

The market changed. It's not all revolving around singular $60 releases from massive traditional studios anymore. There were more good games that came out this first third of a year alone then that entire bottom list, and most of them are better games too.

Nevermind that this "generation" is far from over and that word may not even apply soon, while the other was massively stretched out and has concluded.

I'm actually glad there are less AAA games I want. Now every game I'm excited about is like $30 or f2p instead of $60!

What about The Shadows of Mordor I know its only one but that's a pretty damn good game.

Big games are expensive so if you want innovation look to the indie and small game developers. Film is the same way companies are less willing to take risks when more money is involved, but there are good games everywhere.

Bruh, don't you know you gotta reload every gun you pick up?

It's definitely true that there are fewer "AAA" releases than there were in the past, though your list is not exactly comprehensive (Where's Shadow of Mordor, which got a lackluster release on 7th gen consoles but is clearly an 8th gen game. Or Overwatch?)

On the other hand as people have said there's a lot more going on in the indie space, and some of the games you list as AAA for 7th gen weren't (Portal, Condemned, Mirror's Edge and Saints Row were more B-tier games that big publishers used to make than huge AAA projects.)

I don't think it's fair at all to say that this gen is being "killed" by the lack of IP, since sales are good and there's a ton of great stuff still coming out, but the industry is changing. It's not just games though. There are fewer studio movies than there were 10 years ago, and obviously the music and book industries have changed too. The only entertainment media that's pumping out more expensive content than ever is TV, and that's because there are new distribution platforms there.

Personally I'm ok with the state of things. Do I wish there was more cool stuff out there? Sort of. But I don't have time to play all the games I want to anyway so to some extent it's a moot point. A lot of the games that come out these days are longer and bigger than they were 10 years ago (How many 6-8 hour campaigns do you see at this point outside of shooters that are intended to be played as long multiplayer experiences? It seems like every game is 20-30 hours long and most are open world.) And they're supported for longer too. 10 years ago Forza Horizon 3 Hot Wheels would have been its own game, and we'd be going on Destiny 3. So the industry has changed in a bunch of different ways, some good, some bad, but as long as there are still great games out there, and the 15 hours of Zelda I played this weekend say that there still are, I'm willing to roll with the punches.

Plus my backlog is ridiculous. I still want to play Horizon Zero Dawn, Yakuza 0, Prey, Nier: Automata, Gravity Rush 2, more Forza, the Voodoo Vince remaster, etc... and that's all from this year alone. A lot of those are sequels, but they're still fresh and creative games, and it's really hard to feel like this generation is "being killed" when that stuff is pouring out.

With you pointing out your lists are lacking got me thinking I would actually like to see what the new IPs for last gen and this gen are. This generation certainly does feel like its holding together on sequels and remasters but I wonder how true that feeling really is. I can think of a few new IPs that aren't third party and then a few third party new IPs that could be argued as to whether they're AAA or not.

I wouldn't look at the state of third party triple A games as the one determining factor for this generation's health. Indie development is very different today than it was in 2009, and a lot of people who have worked on triple A games in the past have moved to indie development. Not only has Steam made indie games more noticeable, but practices like Microsoft removing the size limit and price range limit has made it easier for indies to publish on Xbox Marketplace, among other developer programs Microsoft has introduced to ease indie publishing. And more recently, Sony and Nintendo are great places for indie games with cross-buy between PS4 and Vita, and the portability of the Switch making less handheld friendly games portable. Other aspects of video games have gotten better too. DLC practices have matured and are less nefarious about pricing and core content, and free to play games have figured out better ways to keep people playing without nickel and diming everyone. These have helped players stay with their favorite games longer, and feel less inclined to buy more $60 games.

Those are some of the least convincing lists I've seen online in a while. We got two new IP's in the beginning of this year alone (Horizon, Nioh).

Dawg a bunch of those new IPs for last gen got milked the fuck dry during those console generations. So sure we had that new stuff but then we had 4 iterations of them that led to you feeling burned out.

The past 3 years has been pretty rad for AAA. While not every game was wrapped up in a new IP there were some unique and awesome games that changed what was expected of them and that's not nothing.

Also there's a wider breadth of great indie games than ever before.

*edit Horizon isn't 3rd party so scratch that one

How do you come to the conclusion that it's killing this gen?

I think this is important. A lot of times these days a game will be tied to an older IP via name while being a significantly different game. Nier: Automata could have been a new IP, but they decided to connect it to Neir (which itself was connected to Drakengard). Ghost Recon: Wildlands isn't really a traditional Ghost Recon game, but they used the name.

You can even make an argument for TLoZ:BotW, which IS a Zelda game, no doubt, but changes so much about the way that series plays that it definitely feels fresh. We need a term for sequels that are so different from the prior games that they are nearly new IPs.

Basically what everyone has said about indie games. The size, scope, production values, and post-release support of indie games is drastically different from 2009. They've almost replaced my wants for new triple A IPs.

There is something to your point. New AAA IPs are expensive to produce, and with the departure of people like Riccitiello and Levine (people that believed in the value of creating new IPs) from positions of power, it seems even less likely that we are getting an influx of new games in what remains of this generation. During the SNES generation, a big game could be produced with a handful of people, while now the Assassins Creed's credits feel as long as the game...

But, as others has pointed out, it is not the end of gaming... Indie development has grown exponentially in the last 10 years, both in scope, quality and production value. Sure, the $ 60 range has grown smaller and less original with each passing year, but the $ 20-40 range is were most of the good stuff is at.

FEAR came out for PC and was later ported to consoles, and has one good game in it's great "IP".

Some people are hung up on that shit. Batman isn't a new IP. There's one good Condemned game (I know some disagree). There was one Mirrors Edge game on that gen even though you call it a franchise.

Far Cry was one of the biggest and most influential franchises for that gen and it started before that gen with the original on PC.

All going to say, any time game fans start too seriously talking about "IP" I just slowly back away. It's marketing talk. In the end, we have had some great AAA games, IP be damned. "Indies" are making big 3D games too so who cares.

I wouldn't campaign for publishers to make anything at this point when something as great as Hitman can come out and apparently be a failure.

@tennmuerti said:

Pretty much this.

There is a wealth of creativity born from the indie scene that was nurtured last generation that has bloomed into a creative firework of a thousand myriad amazing colors. Everything from Playerunknown's Battlegrounds to Crypt of the Necrodancer to Metroid 2 remakes to Firewatch.

Sales are also doing fine. The only hard part is doing the research to find what will please you. In that way, it's a lot like the music scene. If you only follow the heavily promoted mainstream stuff, then you're going to feel like there isn't a lot to match your tastes.

I don't think you need a new IP to do something creative or interesting. Breath of the Wild cribs basically everything from popular open world games, but still felt totally unique despite that, and very unlike Zelda games before it. Nier Automata might as well have been a new IP with how little in common it had to do with the original game (I'm not really talking narrative connections here, I'm meaning characters, setting, art direction, and gameplay all feeling super different to the first game).

What you actually have a problem with is the ballooning cost of AAA game development, plus the people in charge needing to guarantee a return on their investment, equating to the stifling of creativity by forcing a lot of companies to just make "the safe stuff". Brand recognition and gameplay trends are basically a built-in assurance of success in their minds, whether that's actually true or not. Making all these sequels into new IPs probably isn't going to change the fact that the people in charge will still want to make something generic and safe to make money.

I don't know, man, I think games are doing okay.

AAA is a weird term I think.

I dunno these days I am mostly a PC gamer and I feel this stuff is going pretty well. Can't speak for the console market right now.

Hey, I heard PC gaming is dead...oh and I also heard that console gaming is dead too.

I agree the original F.E.A.R. on PC is the best the others are shit but still F.E.A.R is a amazing new IP but unfortunately the sequels got dumbed down.

Killing was the wrong word I would say making it boring and lackluster games are still selling great but these Publisher need to take chances.

I suppose it's not too surprising. Gaming seems to just get bigger and bigger in both audience and development. With the stakes being so big I can see why developers who are putting millions and millions of dollars into their games might choose something more familiar to sell than something brand new and unproven.

Good catch I forgot to add this.

or I'm still playing a lot of great games and things will be OK.

I feel if this don't change this generation it's going to get really bad for next gen innovation is what makes gaming great I don't want to play FarCry 10, Assassin Creed20, Battlefield 8. ect....

"what are your thoughts on games?"

"they are so done, they were cool before."

Then don't play those games. It's an inherently creative medium, someone's always going to be trying something new. Might be rarer in AAA games, but indie games basically need to do something new and different to stand out and get people playing them, and there are more of those games being released with every passing year.

If you're playing Far Cry 10 in 2020 and complaining about how innovation is dead, that's entirely on you.

@bigsocrates: Zelda and Nier were the two that sprang to mind when I wrote that. Zelda is so much different than what is expected from a Zelda title and of open world games right now. And Nier just sounds like some next level interactive storytelling on some themes the director has been ruminating on for a while now. Those are my top two games from this year to play.

I'm in the middle of Horizon, which is getting tons of praise for being a new IP, and it's one of the most familiar feeling games I've played in a while. I'm still enjoying it but every time I look at the map I feel bored.

Gaming is awesome when Publisher let Developers try new things.

Be that as it may, this year has been amazing for me and video games so I can't complain.

I just don't see it. I can't recall a time in the last 10-15 years where so many games I'm interested in keep releasing every other week. New and interesting indy titles keep coming and Japanese games are making a huge comeback. You want a third-person open world game? All kinds of choices. You want a RPG, be it C or J? All kinds of choices. And that can be said for every genre.

It is the best time to be playing video games.

Last generation lasted 8 years, we are only four years into this generation. And, I have had blast with the current games, new IP or not does not matter. What matters is are we getting good games or not.

Until Dawn, Life Is Strange, SOMA, Metal Gear Solid V, Rocket League, The Witcher 3, Assassins Creed 4 Black Pearl, Firewatch, Hitman, Oxenfree, Night In the Woods, Thumper, and so many more to come. For me Assassin's Creed coming out last generation doesn't matter, I enjoyed the hell out of Black Pearl - that is what matters. The first Yakuza game I ever played was "Zero", I couldn't give two shit the IP is old that was fun as hell.

What is good about some new IP is that it often it can feel fresh. However, even a well worn series can have a fresh feeling title. I'm sure there have been dozens more new properties made, that just aren't all that interesting.

One game I think is particularly interesting is Star Citizen. Some in the media seem pretty against that game and I get why they're cautious but at the same time I love that they are making such a specific game on such a budget and scale. While there are interesting games like PUBG that qualify for this discussion of the line being blurred, I think Star Citizen is a whole different level. At least, is supposed to be. I think that is very cool, because we would not see a publisher take that gamble. I'm rooting for it.

You forgot Overwatch.

Everyone else has said what I was going to say for the most part. I will add that last gen also had The Witcher games. Last year we had Overwatch.

I get that maybe it FEELS like not enough new IPs are getting made, but if that's your argument, you should at least make a comprehensive list that isn't based on what you happen to remember at the time.

There's plenty of good AAA. They just didn't retire the brands at the end of last generation like they usually do.

It's trivially easy to just not play those games. The last Far Cry I played was 2. The last Assassin's Creed I played was Brotherhood. The last Battlefield I played was 3.

I'm honestly struggling to even think of the last 'AAA' game I played/enjoyed. Most AAA games feel too focus-tested/unfulfilling to me, but luckily there are hundreds of other games coming out each year.

Fewer games release each generation due to the increased development cost the PS4/XB1 has halve as many retail titles compared to the PS3/360 which had halve PS2/XB, Shuhei Yoshida 2014: "We've been saying that the number of AAAs might be getting smaller because the cost of development for AAAs is getting higher,"

Also safe is being somewhat unfair we've seen many unlikely third party games be reborn, reimagined and brought back from the dead Doom 2016, God of War, Resident Evil 7, Prey, Nier Automata and Battlefield 1 none of these are new IP but their far from safe. Ubisoft have been on the warpath 6 new IP nearly all hitting in a big way a 7th to be revealed at E3, EA have Bioware's new game and several Star Wars games in the works and Marvel starting to turn wheels alot of stuff is coming, and this is overlooking Japan's output has been far better this gen compared to last.

New IPs =/= innovation. There was never a game like Breath of the Wild before Breath of the Wild, or The Phantom Pain before The Phantom Pain. Alien: Isolation takes first-person stealth and centers it around the motion sensor and a single formidable enemy with excellent unpredictable AI, and there is no other game like it. Mirror's Edge: Catalyst expands on the first game's parkour and marries it to a big, complex open world environment for an experience that you cannot get in any other game, including the first Mirror's Edge. There is no necessary connection between new IPs and cutting-edge game design, or between old IPs and a lack of innovation.

There may not be many brand new, major IPs, but what we've received from recent and legacy IPs this year is pretty staggering. @icemael & @thepanzini said it best I think, with Zelda acting as the most obvious example.

Perhaps too much focus on just getting new IP, OP, and not about the quality and innovation of what we've received this year. Again, Zelda is such a concrete example of why it doesn't matter if the name of your game is MGSV, Final Fantasy XXV, Zelda XVIII or New IP Version 1 - new franchises can be tired and boring; old franchises can be new and exciting. The name on the box means little, if anything, as far as innovation goes.

I don't know what you're talking about OP, almost all of those games from last gen are also available for current gen through remasters!

To be serious, it's because taking risks on new IPs is a giant risk that can easily close studios. Hell, even making sequels is a giant risk ala Andromeda. The studios that are really benefiting more are indie studios, more so now than ever, and those are where the real original work is going to come from.

I couldn't give two shits about 90% of the games you listed for either gen, but I still found plenty of games to enjoy last gen and plenty to enjoy this gen. (Even games like Mass Effect that I now remember fondly didn't become truly noteworthy until the sequel.) If anything I feel like this gen found its feet much quicker than last gen. I remember the early parts of last gen being pretty underwhelming, while I could name a lot more from this gen that will go down as my all time favorites. Yeah, not many of them are brand new IPs, but I'll take a great sequel over a mediocre new IP any day.

Would I like to see more developers take risks with new IPs? Of course, but it's not the only thing that matters, nor is it a necessity to see interesting and fun games.

Frankly, the AAA scene has always been kinda boring imo. In previous gens it was often the mid-tier/AA developers that did the truly interesting stuff. Sadly those are rare nowadays, but the indie scene has cropped up to take its place.

"I know I'm forgetting a lot"

Why even make a list.... This thread is just a big exaggeration. I feel like the post could have just said "back in my day"

I found F.E.A.R. too easy. The slow mo trivialized the combat. But it was still a good game that I wish had influenced first-person shooters after it. Almost all AAA games are being dumbed down now. I play few of them. Usually, I spend my gaming time on older games and a few indies. At least with almost all AAA gaming being so shitty, samey and bland, I don't have to upgrade anytime soon.

It's depressing that the studio which made F.E.A.R. went on to make Shadow of Mordor.

While I can agree with his views that AAA games are easy, this guy was just too obnoxious to watch.

Every generation has something worthy to offer. I've played plenty of great games last gen as well as a few stinkers. So far I've played some pretty good games this gen as well and with all this second generation PRO hardware coming out I can only assume things might get slightly better as we move forward. Each year there was at least one game that I found to be great. I sure would love more Dead Space but hey Dishonored is pretty amazing in it's own right.

Damn. You mean to tell me all that fun I had with my Ps4 over the past 4 years is a lie? What have a done with my life? Time to smash it with a hammer.

@kingbonesaw: Fracture 2: Fractured