Is anyone else just a little concerned...?

Ahh, what a time to be a gamer. So many highly anticipated games just around the corner:
Half Life 2, Doom 3, Halo 2, Thief 3, Deus Ex 2, Black and White 2, SWAT 4......

...but, does anyone else notice a trend here? Does it bother anyone else just a little that all of these games are sequels??
Of course, that's not always a bad thing. I'm sure they will all be very good, very innovative, and vast improvements over their predecessors, yet it is somewhat troubling to me that they are all just sequels to already liscensed games.
I grant you, there are many other new games coming out that have never been done before. But is anyone else concerned that game developers may be running out of ideas? Or do you think this is just a temporary slump? Or maybe, more likely, a good time to cash in on big game liscenses?

But its really not just games either. Look at the biggest, most anticipated movies of the summer: Matrix 2, X-Men 2, Terminator 3, etc...
I dunno...call me old fashioned, but I like a touch of originality thrown into the mix every now and then.
What are your guys' thoughts?

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Originally posted by Spaceman Spiff
Ahh, what a time to be a gamer. So many highly anticipated games just around the corner:
Half Life 2, Doom 3, Halo 2, Thief 3, Deus Ex 2, Black and White 2, SWAT 4......

...but, does anyone else notice a trend here? Does it bother anyone else just a little that all of these games are sequels??
Of course, that's not always a bad thing. I'm sure they will all be very good, very innovative, and vast improvements over their predecessors, yet it is somewhat troubling to me that they are all just sequels to already liscensed games.
I grant you, there are many other new games coming out that have never been done before. But is anyone else concerned that game developers may be running out of ideas? Or do you think this is just a temporary slump? Or maybe, more likely, a good time to cash in on big game liscenses?

But its really not just games either. Look at the biggest, most anticipated movies of the summer: Matrix 2, X-Men 2, Terminator 3, etc...
I dunno...call me old fashioned, but I like a touch of originality thrown into the mix every now and then.
What are your guys' thoughts?

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I'm looking forward to a few of these games. Movie wise though so far both X-Men 2 and Matrix 2 have delivered the goods. I hope T3 does also, along with Charlies Angels 2 (I just think those three are fine as hell :) )and Bad Boys 2. Well one thing is certain all these games will look pretty :P.

Why mess with what works? ;)

Bad Boys 2 is gonna be blazin'. I think its because in the end, stuff that people think is "original" usually tends to be a copy off of somethin that has already been done. I like to see sequels, cause whenever i see a movie, i see stuff that could have been improved, and to see the improvements and new plot twist with the same old characters is cool. Im always interested about "what happened after the fact" and i think thats why sequels are becoming so popular. Just my 2 cents.

No worries here. Funny thing is, that's just the PC world. There are also tons of games coming out for the many video consoles. I'm thinkin' that even when the developers have a drought, I'll have enough games stored to weather the storm.

yea, im not concerned about the games as much as the engines. I think the problem lies in the cost of making these games. Hence, they want to make titles that are sure to sell, not some kind of quirky game.
The true essence of gaming is in the engines though. Which is why i encourage/love the mod community. They're intelligence and hard work have made some truly great games using the engines. In my opinion, almost all engines should be open source or close to it. Such that the mod community can have fun. Like the new half life 2 engine, the fact that the developer has been working with the mod community to get them off and running makes me happy. True, you won't get new games that have a different twist on gameplay or some new genre, but still, as long as the ideas are floating around and are allowed to be used, im not concerned in the least bit.
Way to go Mod Community! :D

Quote:

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Originally posted by Spaceman Spiff
I dunno...call me old fashioned, but I like a touch of originality thrown into the mix every now and then.
What are your guys' thoughts?

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There can only be so many Star Wars, Matrix's or Shrecks. The kind of shows that set the new standards. They are rare so they don't come around all that often.

Notice how Pixar's only made one sequel out of countless great movies.

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Originally posted by Ashpool
Notice how Pixar's only made one sequel out of countless great movies.

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yes and every game made from a pixar movie?


sucked :p

lol, I actually saw finding nemo (girlfriend talked me into it), it wasnt half bad, good eyecandy at the least.

It could be worse, instead of sequels they could just be remakes

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Originally posted by pwain
I actually saw finding nemo (girlfriend talked me into it), it wasnt half bad, good eyecandy at the least.

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That was better than most movies I've seen in a few years ;)

I won't be suprised if very few people in my age group watch it because it's from Disney.

I think the game developers are just stickiing with what works. So many people still play half-life now and it's mostly because of counter-strike. Hl is doing so well so why not cash in and make HL 2. Same goes for the other games, Half Life 2, Doom 3, Halo 2, Thief 3, Deus Ex 2. I've played the games that came before these ones like doom2 and half-life and they are all great so game makers pretty much have a gaurenteed money maker because everyone will buy the sequels.

edit: i didn't even answer the post before. I'm not concerned because there is only so much you can do with games and you can't have breakthrough games all the time like MAx Payne(only thing i can think of, not even sure if it's considered breka through). Also doom3 is supposed to have incredible graphics or something and HL2 is supposed to have an amazing engine with the physics it incorporates and stuff like that. I think things are going well.

Its just like all the new movies that are coming out. Its easier to make a sequal then to make a new game/movie.

Duo

AHAHAHA!! Thankyou! I have felt different about PC Gaming over the last year or so, not as enthusiastic, and i couldn't figure out why, you have just told me!

When i first got this computer about 2 and half years ago there were so many good 85% games coming out it was unbelievable,and most of them were new games, the first, but over the last year and a half that has dropped alot,and since I first got the computer i have enjoyed owning a pc less, and its because all the good games are just sequals, i want new games to match Half Life,System Shock,Unreal Tournament!!!

Sorry if I went crazy,i haave been trying to figure that out for weeks! :)

Well theres 7 need for speeds, but they all dropped off after the fifth, porsche unleashed. ;)

I dunno, I kinda agree with duo, but new games are always nice :) (Still waiting for the perfect racing game)