Do you think that video games and games consoles are less fun today?

[manpsy]

My Dad (who is in his mid 50s) told me he wanted a PS4 and asked me if we should buy one. I turned around and was stunned as I am just over half his age and said no! Id rather replace my Dreamcast, Gamecube, PS2, Nintendo 64 and Wii as i am worried about their life span now. He gave me an angry stare and said live in the modern world........

My reason for that reply (which he did not get) is because I feel games are becoming less fun; less investigative; more realistic due to high graphics. I feel that the fun element in games are being compromised by high end graphics which is affecting us mentally as a world. What is more is that games are being dumbed down and less challenging and less social as my friends dont come over to my house and instead we all play online on the PS3, which is boring.

Do you feel the same?

[Adam]

It largely depends on the game. Although nowadays consoles are essentially very restrictive dumbed down PCs, I bought myself a 12gb PS3 assuming that the reason consoles still used discs was because all of the game was installed on it and I could just Plug N' Play (hence the small hard drive as 500gb is excessive for small save files) but no, I can't play more than 1 or 2 games because of the constant updates these games receive. I don't understand why consoles still come with disk drives anymore.

As for the games, like I said it varies depending on the game. Personally I like a mix of both realistic and what some people would call 'good old fun'. I play lots of random arcadey games or interesting indie platformers but at the same time play lots of strategy games and the odd FPS. I don't think games today are less fun I just think today it's very much a different kind of fun and that many games today are very much story driven.

I currently play PC almost exclusively but occasionally go back to my 5-6th gen consoles for some nostalgia.

[Pat Cozart]

Sorta sorta not but i still enjoy original xbox games like HALO CE HALO 2 and Crash bandicoot wraith of cortex just my opinion

[MrGrieves]

Yes and no. There's no question that the technology has advanced exponentially, while the general concept of game mechanics and playability has been sluggish by comparison. Graphics are getting wild-good, the ability to smoothly navigate complex and visually stunning 3D environments has never been better, and game-designers have never had more options, but as gaming in general becomes a more mainstream, market-minded industry, and given they cost so much more to produce, risk is something major game producers are less and less willing to take on, which heavily influences what designers create. As such we've got a lot of new games which, in spite of all their gorgeous bells and whistles and advanced new features, feel like tired repeats of the same-old-same-old, and as such require less skill, less thought, and less socializing.
This isn't a universal truth of course, and there are some modern games out there in stark defiance of the trend. Honestly, I think your dad is right. Don't get me wrong, I love N64, and think many of it's games were entirely revolutionary, but an N64 isn't an advanced home theater system. If your dad wants to get an advanced home theater system (which also happens to play new games, many of which admittedly do suck) I wouldn't stop him, unless you've already got something which does what the PS4 can do better. There are independently made games available online through the gaming-console networks, and they're a great source of old-school, skill-based game-play.

[XJ-0461]

I disagree. There are a lot of good games out there today on consoles like the PS3, Xbox 360 and newer consoles like the PS4. It's not all about the graphics. If a game has a good story then that story will still be just as good five years later even if the graphics are no longer high-end. Those are the games that keep me interested.