I hear that it’s a very busy time for videogamers now. So many great AAA games have been released. People don’t know where to start. Some may be creating intricate schedules to keep up.
Penny Arcade comic of 31 October.
Here’s my gaming schedule of the past, say, 5 years:
And it doesn’t look like it’s about to change.
It’s not that I don’t have time to play. Or money to spend. Or that I don’t want to play videogames. On the contrary. I’m aching for a game, I’m dying to play! But there hasn’t been anything on the market that appeals to me. For years.
Five years ago, I was having a great time. There was Silent Hill 2 and 3, Black and White, Ico, Fatal Frame. And also Grand Theft Auto III and Rez. I even had fun with Devil May Cry and Tekken and Soul Calibur. But since then, with the exception of Animal Crossing, nothing has been able to draw me in. And it’s not like I’m growing too old for gaming or something. Five years ago, I was already 35. Yeah, I’m one of those “adult gamers” that you hear about on the internets.
Except, not anymore, apparently.
I want a game. I have the cash. I’ll make the time. I’ll buy a new console and a new television set if necessary. Whatever it takes. Give me a game! Please?…
Silence.
Surely I’m not alone! Given that the majority of people on this planet continue to not play videogames. Despite even Nintendo’s recent efforts, there haven’t been very many videogames that appeal to us -or that can deliver on that appeal. And we do want to play.
The games industry seems to have more interest in squeezing yet another triple A action game into that tiny overpopulated market segment and carpet bombing us with advertising so we would pay attention. While at the same time, elsewhere on the market, there is a wide open field of opportunity, filled with people who actually want to play, who don’t need to be marketed to, who must be so desperate by now that they will play anything you throw at them if it’s in the least bit interesting to them.
Easy pickings, I would think. But nobody takes up the challenge. And I remain gameless.