Topic: Where are all the creative/fun/lighthearted/original games on the HD consoles?

Well that's the Wii's actual 'thang' lol

Many people see its 'thang' though being the console with all the original creative games. No matter how accurate that view actually is.

And I'm glad someone brought up Flower. That's one of the most creative games this gen. It's a shame someone hasn't made a similar experience on the Wii.

Wow, so I have to perfectly structure each comment I make or someone will pick one part of my comments and completely ignore the rest of the things I have posted. Let me clarify what I meant. The original poster listed those three games as an example of the creative/fun etc games on the HD consoles, I made a point of only saying "they are only 3" which is a pretty small number I was hoping for him to list more, if I wanted to say "there are only 3" (notice I used "they" and not "there") creative/fun games on the PS360 I would have made it clearer, but I'm well aware that there are. The point I was making in my original post was that these types of games seem to be dying out (maybe too strong of a word) on the HD consoles which is a shame as they both could create some amazingly creative/fun/wacky games. Hope that was clear enough. I'm not trying to bash the ps360 as some think or elevate the Wii, I'm just discussing a trend that I think potentially could be detrimental to gaming in general.

Right let's get back down to business as this post seems to have deviated from its original purpose to another fanboy rant thread which is not its purpose. So let me clarify once more:

On the HD consoles experimental and creative games don't seem to be doing too well (I now know there are many on XBLA and PSN thanks for the info but we need more at retail) what worries me is that these consoles will inevitably mould what the next generation of consoles are like this MAY mean that we get even less of these types of games next gen, which saddens me as they are the reason I got into gaming in the first place.

Let me make one more thing clear: In this post I am not bashing the PS3 or XBOX360 I actually respect their processing power and on-line capabilities and realise what they could do if the industry allowed them more creativity. I cannot group the Wii in with this as it has plenty of experimental/creative games available and there are many more waiting to be released and I apologise if this looked like I was elevating the Wii, which I am not, it is just a simple fact. In my original post I also made a point of not listing Wii games, this was intentionally done to keep things neutral sadly many seem to have missed this.

Hopefully this post will get read and we can get things back on track, which means having a mature fanboy free discussion about the future of experimental/creative games.

Thanks to all the posters that left well thought out comments

DRU192

It seems pretty clear that on the HD consoles the big bugets are going to the action games; the more quirky stuff is almost exclusively downloadable. Now that's fine, but I personally wouldn't buy either one of those beasts as a download-only machine.

I will agree with the sentiment that in terms of high profile releases on the "real gamer" platforms it's too much the same. I watch the Gametrailers show regularly and the Game of the Year program was quite depressing. Every last one of the HD games was some kind of 3D action title involving running around and killing people. I just cannot relate to the panelists (except maybe Pachter) -- it really seems like diversity isn't appreciated by the "core" gamers and frankly I'm happy to have a system(s) that is increasingly ignored by them.

No need to overreact. I knew exactly what you meant, and that is all I meant, too. I was listing more for him, but you took it out of context. Then I gave you the context, and you exploded. Sorry that wasn't clear enough for you. No harm intended.

As for your concern about the next generation, why assume that only those consoles will shape the next generation? The Wii outsells both of the other consoles combined, and easily. If anyone is shaping the next generation, it's Nintendo. In fact, they're already shaping the current generation: Hello, Natal and the PS3 Wand! Sure, those have supposedly been in development pre-Wii, but Nintendo paved the way, and there's no denying that the Six-Axis was a reaction to the Wii Remote.

Plus, games on the HD consoles are expensive to make (see MGS4 and FFXIII). The kinds of games that are successful on the Wii tend to be much cheaper, and there are enough examples of this in this thread already. Game developers are businesses, too, and they'll want to continue this trend.

My apologise, I thought your comment was another one of those "pick something minor in someone's comment and blow it out of proportion to make yourself look more intelligent" comments that often plague game forums, because of this I replied in kind. After reading ur last post I see this was not the case. I actually think you have a really good point with Nintendo possibly leading the way into the next generation and things becoming different with Natal and Gem. Do you think the divide that we see will continue into the next gen or do you see many gamers getting fed up with the same style games just with better graphics, after seeing some of the amazing graphics this gen things cant get much better can they? Would love to hear a reply from u

So true, maybe if the Wii was more accepted by the "core" we wouldn't see half the amazing titles we have available today, so like you I am also grateful for this. It just saddens me that some of these amazing games don't get the love or financial success they deserve. Thanks for your post

Watch the new Bonus Round on Gametrailers. What are the hot new titles of 2010? RPG Shooter, FPS, FPS, FPS, 3rd person shooter and none of the guys on the show even bat an eye or ask "hey why are all these games so goddam similar in their central activity?" Incredible.

It really is sad and looks like it will continue as long as people keep buying these titles, on the flip-side I can't help but smile every time I think of the Wii's 2010 line-up. Next week can't come soon enough for me I've been literally salivating over Tatsunoko vs Capcom for months now What titles are you most looking forward to?

I think we are already seeing that divide break down. Natal is so not an Xbox-y device. The average 360 owner is completely satisfied with the traditional game pad. PS3 owners, too: If you remember the "boomerang" controller prototype, you'll also remember how much everyone complained until they went back to the Dualshock, a design that has now endured three generations. And yet each other system is creating new ways to interface with games, and each is distinct from the other. Clearly the goal is to get at Nintendo's new audience and break the divide on their front.

It may sound odd, but this threat from Microsoft and Sony to infiltrate Nintendo's market could be the greatest thing to happen to the Wii, at least for gamers such as myself. Nintendo realizes that its opponents will soon have appeal to both the traditional audience and the new audience while its appeal has so far mainly been to the new audience so instead of trying to edge out the competition in regards to the new audience, they're trying to appeal to the traditional gaming audience with a possible triple-hitter year of Mario, Metroid, and Zelda, as well as offering more third-party support than usual by promoting Monster Hunter Tri, Cave Story, and the like. They're trying to break the divide that they themselves created, and it's about time.

In a way, I think these devices will be treated as the "next generation" rather than the console itself. The consoles will live on for another 4-6 years if the manufacturers are to be believed, and this is a huge way for them to reinvigorate their platforms, changing the way games are played and how they're designed. As for the true next generation of hardware, I think it's too far away to speculate. There's still a lot of life left in the current generation, and too many possibilities to guess beyond. This year and next year are enough of a mystery that I certainly don't know what to expect years down the line in the next generation.

Yeah, I doubt Nintendo will go out with a fight, which is great. If Nintendo raises its game were up for some AMAZING gaming experiences for sure!

Yeah this gen has so much potential I doubt it will end soon and with the advent of these new ways to play and the possibilities 3D will bring (seems gimmicky but that's what they said about motion controls and they turned out to be awesome) we may be in for some brilliant games! Things may turn out great after all

Well, I did list them in this thread.

I think most devs are scared to try out anything creative or new on the HD systems just because of how expensive it is to develop for those systems. We can talk all day about how games are art or the artistic vision of the creators, but when it comes down to it video games are a business for them and the bottom line is more important to most of them than indie cred.

Never noticed that thread may post up my list at some point, It's good to see another Octomania fan out there looks like a fun game just sucks that its taking so long to come out.

Wise words, do you ever think there will be a time when things return back to how they were? Indie devs getting more influence as people get bored with things being too "samey"? Or do u think the game industry slowly becomming less profitable (depending on where u look) will effect this? Would be interested in hearing your viewpoint.

XBL and PSN is where you will find most all the creative titles on the HD systems. Its not a bad thing either, as its incredibly expensive to develop these HD games so a great idea doesnt always need to be a full $60 dollar release, so you spend 5-20 USD for a smaller but in some cases Way more Fun than some Full Retail releases, ex. Splosion Man, Shadow Complex, Braid, Shatter (this one ESPECIALLY), Trine, Matt Hazard, etc.
Take Trine for example. Instead of them asking the full $60 for a retail release and they could have, they put it as a download for only $20 USD, and for that you get a full 18+ levels (long levels I may add) 2D multi character physic based platformer. Yeah its a mouthful but if you play it, you will understand, super Creative and just one hell of a good time, and on the cheaper side too.

....... Though the $5 a piece for Dark Void Zero and Chronos Twins this week, you can never EVER count out Nintendos creative and cheaper side of things with DSiWare and WiiWare (Lost Winds anyone), they do a great job as well. I do think that the HD consoles get there DLC services overlooked by Way too many gamers.

I like only having to pay up to $10 for the games I like. Nothing wrong with independent developers sticking to the downloadable format. Across my Wii, DSi, and PS3, I've spent much, much more on downloadable games and been quite happy with that. I have no more than three retail games on any system. In fact, I've long considered getting a 360 for Shadow Complex and a number of other XBLA games when there is not a single retail game that appeals to me on the console.

@Adam same here. I have 4 DS games, and about 20 DSiware. With wii, I have about 6 games [can't remember the exact number] and 21 wiiware/VC games.

I think I'm one of those gamers, thanks for educating me. I count myself as pretty game savvy and I'd only really heard of Shadow Comlpex (Which I'd love to play) and Trine, this thread has really helped me see there are much more games like this out there. Its a shame they aren't advertised more as there are probably many more gamers out there just as oblivious as me. I also never considered you're "price point" comment and that makes so much sense to me now, thinking back on all the Wiiware/Dsi titles I've purchased and the quality of these I can't help but agree with you. Nicely done