In 1958, William Higinbotham created “Tennis for Two”, a simple game, which could be played on an Oscilloscope (an electronic instrument used to display voltage signals as waveforms). It can be argued that this was a very early version of the classic video game Pong, which was most well known for being played on the Atari 2600. Flash forward 67 years, where we now have video games that display extreme amounts of realism in their surroundings and stories, games that allow you to travel into the past and fight in countless untold stories of wars previously fought, or let you live a life of leisure as you live on an Island with anthropomorphic animals. But now that everything can be done through next generation source engines, what is yet to be done that hasn’t been done already; and how have small ideas turned large profits and potentially ruined gaming for years to come?
Multiple Collaborations
Fortnite was once one of the pioneers of the battle royale genre. Their success was in large part due to their art style. Incorporating elements of real life but giving them a cartoony look made the world feel more alive and colorful. However, with the rise of the action shooter, collaborations came to their door. Their first being Thanos, piggy backing off the success of Avenger’s Endgame; or the Insanely popular Travis Scott live concert, where the rap artist had his own in-game show dedicated to his 2018 album, “Astroworld.”
“Fortnite events used to be fire, I played all of the chapter 1 events, including Astroworld,” Nick Poeling (12) said
Forward to modern day, every relevant pop culture character has made their way into fortnite at one point or another. It’s gotten to the point where Fortnite’s survival is reliant solely on the next big partnership; with entire seasons centered around outside brands such as Marvel, The Simpsons, and Detective Comics. But it can be agreed that these partnerships have helped keep Fortnite in the mainstream, and while there has been some failure, there’s still much success to be had from the multitude of joint efforts Epic Games have been a part of.
“I feel like the events have become underwhelming.” Noah Stewart (11) said. “Not a single event has ever lived up to the ones that took place in the first two chapters, and I simply haven’t played the newer ones because I just feel like there’s no excitement or hype behind them.”
Digital Purchasing
Many childhood memories have been made waiting outside the game store for a late night release of the new Grand Theft Auto; or tearing open a present and finding the next big Call of Duty title. However, nowadays most people would rather preorder the game and wait for it to download than go get the physical copy.
“Getting Plants vs Zombies; Garden Warfare for Christmas was the best day of my life,” Poeling (12) said.
Most can make the argument that keeping physical copies of video games can be beneficial for future sales, because if you don’t want the game anymore you can re gift it or sell it for relatively the same price. But the downside with digital games is that you cannot return or resell them if you don’t like the product. Another reason that digital games aren’t the best investment is because when you buy them, you buy a license, and not the actual game itself. And all of the information is stored within the console, not in a CD like traditional games. However, they provide convenience as they are automatically updated and don’t have the risk of being lost or damaged, and can be transmitted from console to console.
“If I really had to choose, I’d have to go with digital, it’s way more convenient than going out and buying a disc; Especially if it’s a popular game, as it’s expected to sell out almost immediately,” Bennet Opela (12) said.
Player Burnout
When a game is first released, it typically will have smaller updates that follow in order to patch small mistakes. However, after some time, bigger updates will be released and they usually contain more content to keep players entertained and engaged. After some time though, the content becomes boring and it becomes clear that things are being pumped out to keep the player base engaged.
“If it’s cards of new players and ratings get improved, plus if the game improves on its own then yeah I’ll buy it.” Henry Davis (9) said.
Take games like Madden, or 2K. New versions are put out every single year but what’s the real difference? Sure players transfer around the league, but there aren’t many huge changes. There’s always a graphics update or two, but the gameplay is still the same, the movement is still the same, so why do they keep re-releasing the same game over and over again? The answer is simple, development time. Most studios like EA, and San Diego are usually overworked trying to find ways to constantly up the last title; while incorporating the next big superstar to be the face of the game, with examples like Shohei Ohtani on MLB the show 22’s cover, or Saquon Barkley on Madden 26’s cover. With large, recognizable athletes, why would you not buy the game?
Conclusion
While one can say that things in the video game industry are becoming overplayed, many go back to and enjoy older titles. But even with new games being released, the players can only hope that fresh new ideas are implemented to make video games great again.
