AAA games might downsize a bit

We're in the midst of it. The effects haven't been fully felt yet, but that day is not far off.


It's not as obvious as the 80s crash in the US yet, when two dozen crappy consoles released the same awful gash over and over again, but with tired sequels to increasingly meagre sales figures and companies like Sony and Xbox trying to diversify their exclusive releases onto the PC in an attempt to create interest for their platforms and maintain sales figures, it's definitely getting to that point.

Mid-tier games are thin on the ground, the indie gold rush of last decade is all but dead, no AAA games are complete on release because the publishers can't afford to spend enough time developing them or hold onto staff willing to put up with their shit for long enough. The wet slap of E3 over the last few years (mostly understandable, but still) and VR never reaching a sustainable point. None of the hype matches the finished results, and while some still get caught up in the nonsense, most have become so jaded at the constant promises of the best thing ever that it's just meaningless.

The final nail is all the largest publishers conglomerating to survive the coming winter, and others pretty much abandoning it completely. They've known it's coming for years with down trending sales and a lack of movement overall in ideas and creativity. They're out of gimmicks to pile everything they've got onto. Well almost, Nintendo has distanced itself from the rest of the industry and will likely survive regardless of what happens to the rest. 


There isn't a lot else to say, the industry has been wrung dry by greed for a second time and once again has rightly been greeted with apathy and disinterest by us lot. 

Roll on Winter.