Topic: Do you feel AAA gaming is irrelevant?

Moreso than most other mediums. The gaming industry seems to make most of it's money by hyping up a game to the umpteenth degree with a massive marketing campaign and an enormous budget, and a laundry list of promises and expectations, only for the game to fail to meet many of them once consumers finally pony up $60 for it. This strategy kills so many games that had potential, closes so many studios due to the expensive project not selling well, and has ruined so many great franchises Final Fantasy because they've been turned into souless hype machines.

It feels like AAA gaming is less about enjoying the game, but rather about feeling good and looking cool because the corporation said you suck if you don't buy our product. Not all AAA games are like this (there are always exceptions to rules) but the vast majority of them are. This is why most of my gaming consists of handheld games, downloadables, retro games, and niche budget titles because I'd rather get something I know I'll enjoy than sit and listen to the publisher babble on about how great and "immersive" their product is because of it's budget, only to end up with a half-baked product upon release.

Unless the game looks fun to play like Sunset Overdrive, BioShock, or a high-profile Nintendo release, I usually don't bother with AAA gaming.

I think you should open a blog, you have lots of opinions that you want to express and I don't normally see you take an active part in the discussion after you post.

AAA is not irrelevant, your gaming habits have changed so you are focused on different types of games.

No. That is all.

Experience is vital to a AAA game. If you can't use your talent and resources to make an immersive experience, then an indie team can do your job. And probably better, because most those studios have the awareness to know what the person likes in a game where experience isn't top priority.

No becuase its the space where the ndustry makes the most money. Aslo every other medium is the same, its the excat reason why Superhero films make up the majority of blockkbusters, YA novels are one of the most profitabe segments of liteature, and why the top billboard charts are whats most popular.

Now if you want to argue weather the AAA space is the most intresting part of the industry these days, that is a whole another can of worms.

That said a game built around an experince doesn't have to be at all, and honestly i'm not sure where ou got the whole games are built around the pblisher telling you to buy. Well that's marketing and doesn't make the game any less fun. Now your probably missing out on parts of the conversation by not buying a game as it comes out but the same can be said for games in the indie and download space as well. The new Resident Evil game for example will have the bulk of its conversation as each episoide airs.
@Kyloctopus

I'd disagree the biggest of the indie game darlings (Journy, Telltale adventure of the week, Gone Home, etc) are all mostly built upon the experince rathar than the underlying gameplay.

No, because I'm not insane and can separate fact from opinion. AAA gaming may not be the most relevant source of games to me, but there's no way I can deny its importance to the industry in the face of the facts.

No, AAA gaming isn't irrelevant.

Now, the preorder culture on the other hand, that right there is killing gaming. Game devs/publishers (more so publishers) are starting to get too comfortable with releasing broken games because they already have a ****ton of preorders from people who fell to the hype and marketing, so they don't care as they already got their money.

Overhyping and marketing is killing many games, which we all saw in 2014. Titanfall, Watch_Dogs, Destiny, etc. Broken games like AC Unity and Halo MCC as well. So far The Order 1886 has become the next victim for this year. I'm calling it now: The Division and No Man's Sky will be major disasters (but not sales wise).

Then there's abusive DLC practices and microtransactions. Yes, I'm looking at you, Evolve.

If this trend keeps up, people will eventually get fed up, and the industry will crash once again.

I'm just praying that Star Wars Battlefront doesn't fall victim to this.

Studios have this mentality of "Go big or go home". Everyone's gonna make a AAA game regardless of what the industry says,does, or thinks. Ultimately the market determines all this. AAA will never be irrelevant until the market deems it so.

It's not irrelevant at all! AAA titles, more often than not, are actually quite good and (generally) offer a lot.

Honestly? I think it's just a current trend to hate on AAA. I think this dates back to maybe the new Sim City (was it 4 or something? I forget) that came out a couple years ago and had a slew of problems. Sure, you had CoD STARTING to get a bit long in the tooth around the same time, so perhaps those things just came together and then snowballed with stuff like AC: Unity, Master Chief Collection, etc. And now people just love to attack all new AAA titles because it's the cool thing to do. Humans are pack animals - they go with the group and frenzy at the sight of blood.

Take The Order 1886, for example. People HATE this game - but they're mostly the people who haven't even played it. How the heck does that make sense? And the people that continue to hate on CoD? I think it's ludicrous. Just because YOU haven't played a CoD game for a few years and are choosing to judge only through internet word of mouth doesn't mean the games aren't high quality and packed with things to do. Geez, I probably get more playtime out of each CoD release than even JRPGs.

OP: I think you're really limiting yourself if you're avoiding most AAA titles because of what you hear on the internet.

^Or it could just be that some people (not everyone, mind) are simply getting tired of AAA games the way some people are getting tired of Blockbuster movies. They're probably a vocal minority, judging from sales data, but still, I think you're the one being narrow minded and promoting pack mentality if you think that those people are just 'following the crowd' instead them actually believing what they're saying, especially when those who do hate on AAA games hardly constitute a "crowd"...

AAA games are still very relevant. I think the thought process behind the creation of many AAA games these days could change but that doesn't make them irrelevant.

Mostly irrelevant to my interests, but not the industry as a whole, that's crazy talk.

Though we did see a lot of studios shut down over the last 10 years because of the whole 'me too' thing going on where everyone thought they should just drop everything else and make big expensive shooters.

It doesn't matter. Metal Gear Solid V is coming out on September 1st.

Wouldn't Smash Bros and Mario Kart 8 be considered AAA games? It's just a matter of taste. Most AAA games are no different than summer blockbuster movies. A lot of people like them, but others would prefer to see a small art-house movie.

AAA games are the industry's equivalent of a Hollywood blockbuster film.
Then you have your absolute classics, your sleeper hits, your cult classics, your overhyped garbage, your underrated gems etc.
You see where this is going?

Asking if AAA is relevant is like asking if the new Avengers film is relevant. You may not enjoy them, but you can't deny that they are heavy hitters when it comes to bringing in the cash.

My only gripe with AAA is that it leaves less room for new ideas. Due to the astronomical development costs, it's safer for companies to play it safe every single time instead of going big and trying something that hasn't been done before.

I'm sorry, but we'll just have to agree to disagree. Even a "vocal minority" is a "pack," my friend. Any group is a group.

Call me narrow-minded if you want, it's your opinion. The question was: Are AAA still relevant? You're pretty much just making a personal attack against me (classy, as usual) and not actually looking at the fact that I answered the question: YES, they are still relevant, and the rather popular internet vocal minority that loves attacking them can't change that fact.

Nope. I play every type of game, from AAA to AA to A to B to C to D to.... well... you know. That's what GAMERS do. They get excited, and see promise in everything. I get hyped for games because getting hyped is FUN. I find FUN in getting hyped for those big AAA blockbusters. It's what I do, but I also play indies and AA from time to time. Also, if you don't play AAA... then what DO you play?

This. I'm hoping Rodea: The Sky Soldier doesn't come out around this time, because it's going to take a lot for me to bring myself away from Phantom Pain.

AAA gaming—as I suppose we're calling it; I wish we'd bother with AA and A designations as well, but whatever—is a curious beast. Granted I don't care for most of the big franchises, so there's probably some bias here. But higher budgets and fewer releases mean taking fewer chances. GTA, Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed all stick to a consistent formula because it works. This is no different than film or television, honestly.

And just like those, there are art house theatres and small cable channels to give fans of more niche genres their space. Heck, there's a cable channel for everything. The added complication with video games is that you don't need a separate television to watch other channels.

I do find it odd, though, when talking with other game fans: almost none of them mention these big franchises, going on at length instead about favourite titles that tend to be niche. Then again, I also really don't know anyone who thought all of the Transformers films were masterpieces, and they did brilliantly from a $ perspective.

AAA games are going to break little ground. That's taking a major chance. When a smaller release is lauded and picked up by the masses, that can move the genre. Think of Survivor launching the style of reality television, then American Idol. It takes something taking popular culture by storm for there to be a shift. AAA games tend toward safety and consistent success.

edit: this stupid computer doesn't like big words and is autocorrecting me

Nope. While Faster Than Light and Terraria rank in my top ten games, so do Guild Wars 2, Starcraft 2 and Half-Life 2.