Darkest Before the Dawn

[@davidtran9232]

My KZbin feed has become inundated with doom and gloom for the industry so this has been an interesting and refreshing take on where the industry is going. AAA gaming has been a real bane to the industry so I'm glad you shed some light on how to move on from them. My KZbin feed even started showing me a new genre of games I never heard of prior, non-euclidean games (think Portal). Thank you for the post and keep up the great work.

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you for watching!

[@Rainbowhawk1993]

This era’s problems of buggy releases, long dev times, live service slop and safe design decisions is offset by one important factor: Choice. There’s so many games coming out from all 3 levels (Indie, AA, AAA) that my wishlist is going to become larger than my Steam library within a few years.

[@mravg79]

I would also add, for those who play for quite some time, backlog games. Maybe it is just me but I often have more fun with smaller shorter games that new blockbusters. Little Kitty Big City, Donut County, Evil West (very 7gen game with all the good and bad connected to its design),backlog Batman Arkham Origins (while not perfect still a good game). As long as I find enjoyment I will be playing games. Have a nice time gaming!

[@laurafryer6321]

I agree! There are many great games past and present worth playing.

[@brain_tonic]

💯 My steam wishlist is nearly 300 items long! Its crazy how many good games are coming out all the time. As a consumer, I don't feel this downturn in the western AAA space at all.

[@nask0]

Those videos, coming from someone with so much insight on the industry are invaluable, thanks for sharing

[@laurafryer6321]

I'm glad you like them. Thank you!

[@SiaAbderezai]

I really hope you are right. I found your channel through your Concord Essay. Your experience definitely provides a perspective not normally seen here on KZbin and it is a breath of fresh air. I look forward to your future content and wisdom. Cheers!

[@laurafryer6321]

I'm convinced it will happen but time frames are always a challenge to predict. Thank you for checking out my channel!

[@rogersmath1939]

@@laurafryer6321 I don't think you hear how awesome your channel is nearly as much as you deserve, so I just wanted to say thanks for making this content. Big fan of this channel!! I watch so much KZbin tutorials, listen to GDC, lots of other stuff, but the quality of your videos is already right up there with the best. I always look forward to the next one.

[@LFPAnimations]

I think EA, Microsoft studios, and Sony need to be replaced by a new generation of game studios. They are too corporate to adapt to the changing market and frankly gamers are sick of it. EA has squandered or intentionally fumbled nearly every single popular IP they adapt. Star Wars Battlefront and Battlefield being two examples of how a great developer (DICE) was basically ruined by EA's poor decisions.

[@joesizzle10]

Sony still makes good games though, she mentioned Helldivers 2, but thats just the tip of the iceberg. Microsoft and EA are awful though, could barely make a good game to save their life, and usually have to feed off the lifeforce of already successful franchises.

[@DarkReaperK97]

Hi Laura, great video. Unfortunately Sony has delisted the game Helldivers 2 from over a 170 countries. My country is one of them. I was playing helldivers 2 since launch. I've since been refunded and am unable to play the game because psn isnt supported in my country. I'm happy for everyone who managed to reverse the PSN decision, but the rest of us didn't get a happy ending.

[@laurafryer6321]

I'm sorry to hear that.

[@agentoranj5858]

Have you considered piracy?

[@olegshkurenko-0448]

Isnt Helldivers 2 a live service with no offline play? ​@@agentoranj5858

[@ferinzz]

@@agentoranj5858 hard to pirate a game that requires a server. I'm also in a country where I can't buy the game. Had been wanting to get it for a while but wasn't sure if I could afford it, then Sony made the decision for me.

[@f.b.l.9813]

@@agentoranj5858 I don't think you play online on a Pirated copy, not usually and the meat of that game comes from online Coop, it's not a story driven singpleplayer RPG or anything like that.

[@What_do_I_Think]

I really hope, that gamers are pushing back, since the big corporations are just abusing them and seem to think, that they are just cash cows -- for unlimited profit growth.

[@laurafryer6321]

I agree! Publishers need to value their game developers and the gamers. Thank you for watching!

[@mravg79]

There are a few ways something you described as pushback can work: - active - organized pushback, like we saw with Helldivers 2 - more of a passive one - when a large chunk of customers simply decides not to buy the game or wait for it to be in the bargain bin - here I would argue SSKTJ which failed to meet sales expectations and was what 200M loss for WB is an example. This one is more of an organic pushback. The said truth about tech industry is it operates on cycles: hype cycle for investors, hiring, growth, plateau, where companies already start searching for new thing to hype but as well have plans to cut cost, period of slowdown where the layoffs happen and cycle repeats itself. Sure there are also exceptions like acquisitions which from my experience are almost always connected to restructuring and layoffs. I get it corporations want to earn money I’m fine with that. But the constant growth is not something that can be sustained. What I find disgusting is the “cash cow/milk cow” approach. Meaning 30, 20 years ago companies were talking about customers, they after all are the ones buying their product, having some type of relation with customers to convince them it is better to get your product than a competitor one was important. Now? I have an impression that business refers to people who buy products as consumers (just consume the products and get excited for the next one), while their true customers are investors that need to be pleased. The only way to change it is for people who buy products to ask themselves a question, do I need it? Is is worth the asking price? And maybe if possible simply not buy it. Hitting companies in the wallet is the only thing they might understand. With that said I’m a gamer for over 30 years. And despite current state of gaming where there is a lot things I do not like I still enjoy games (smaller, older from backlog), as long as the enjoyment is there I will keep playing games. Have a nice time gaming!

[@snickle1980]

6 months later...we're getting there! Once it all burns down, it can be rebuilt. 🥰

[@bassplayer2011ify]

Slowly but surely. As more and more are closing their wallets to slop the message is becoming clear. Listen to the customers and adapt or die.

[@swnsng]

You are an absolute treasure of insight and level headed opinions. Thank you.

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you!!!

[@All4Tanuki]

This is so refreshingly optimistic. It's nice to hear a perspective that's both positive yet informed

[@wolfshade5020]

For me gaming peaked in the 2000’s. That era brought us so many new IPs as well as new entries to established franchises. Games were smaller in scope but the determination to make something great and innovate at the same time. 2000’s gaming also had this Y2K aesthetic vibe I would love to see that energy and creativity again.

[@Boildroid]

Golden year is 2007

[@shoyusha]

I was saying something similarly optimistic to a friend recently, nice to hear someone who actually knows what they're talking about agree. I think the problem is with predatory monetisation, there just isn't as much pushback against it unless it's extreme. I think that's bound to get worse. Also, Steam and other stores don't have much of a 'Nintendo Seal of Quality' anymore, so we're seeing a flood of shovelware and even unplayably broken AAA titles which might lead to the same kind of crash as the 80's.

[@adnanasif9538]

9:04 About that. All future PS games are now region locked meaning players like me can't buy these games from steam, epic and even some key sellers like greenmangaming, AND require PSN account. Its a shame to be honest.

[@chrisp01323]

It was great to see a little peak of David Darling, I worked for him for 3 years back at Kwalee, it is great the oppertunities out there for indies now with publishing.

[@chengong388]

I think this is how the cycle works, you start with passionate people working on games, they develop their skills and make good games, good games make good money. Then investors see the money so they all pile in with their money hoping to win big, but since these investors don't care about games, only profit, most of them will fail to make good games and the industry will crash. And then after all the money driven investors have left, only the passionate people will be left, the cycle repeats.

[@AzureSymbiote]

Thank you for the motivation. But I have to say, the Renaissance happened in Western Europe because of the Sack of Constantinople. Which major, catastrophic event must occur for the industry to slowly recover? Microsoft giving up on video games? And wait, Zoe Quinn offered 'A Chuck Tingle Digital Adventure'?

[@laurafryer6321]

Good point! In some ways it feels like the games industry is recovering as awesome Indie's jump into the breach but who knows.

[@gabrielbetancourt4128]

Thank you for making this incredible video. I agree with you This is a great great reminder of where we need to have our focus. It’s always dark before light

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you for your kind words!

[@Donnerbalken28]

My personal take on this is that the whole industry is bound to have a very rude awakening. Flops like Concord are going to become a lot more common because the development models with their overblown budgets in combination with the internal culture of the industry are simply unsustainable. It'll probably look like the monument movie crash in Hollywood in the late 60s, where a string of irrationally expensive and grand movies flopping trying to rake in the same money as Ben Hur and the Ten Commandments did in 1959, almost sank the movie industry, but it rose again because the studios were suddenly very willing to give small to medium sized budgets to projects they wouldn't have backed otherwise. Two of which, one about Wizards in Space and another about a big shark terrorizing a rural community eventually gave us the Blockbuster.

[@asentoni]

I always look forward to a new video from you! With all your background in this industry, it is so refreshing to hear such a positive perspective. Thanks a lot for taking the time to create this video and for sharing your view on the State of Things.

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you!

[@Jay34k]

Very inspiring video. It's refreshing to hear such an encouraging view during these times full of AAA bs. I do think things will change for the better, but it'll probably take time. At least the cracks are starting to show for big companies. Personally, one thing I'd like them do is to "scale down" graphics, having the best graphics doesn't translate into a better game, recently it actually hurts games with low fps and performance problems, and of course long development times. I think something on the graphics level of Resident evil 2 remake is more than enough and should be considered then"limit". Otherwise, they should rely much more on art direction/style.

[@anglach3l]

I hope you’re right! Appreciate your breakdown, as always. Makes me curious about publishing / funding model shakeups for other industries. This new wave of activating influencers / streamers and their audiences to give quality product another route to market is really inspiring. Thank you for making these videos.

[@TheRealBossMoss]

Thanks for the tinge of optimism amidst these weird times and highlighting good content. Your video deserves more love for sure! It's gonna be sad and protracted for Microsoft and Sony to release this talent back into the wild but it will culminate in MUCH better games.

[@laurafryer6321]

I appreciate that! Thank you!

[@Lycaerix]

On the one hand I agree, but I also strongly disagree. Social media is also what is killing games. The terminally online are the ones who are mistaken for 'fans', all while the actual fans are getting on with their lives and treat gaming as their hobby and interest, not as their entire raison d'être. To put it another way: publishers/developers are listening to the socially and emotionally maladjusted and believing that they are representative of their target market.

[@laurafryer6321]

Good point! Another issue is that social media is now a direct competitor of games because it has people's attention. Thank you for your comment!

[@Lycaerix]

@@laurafryer6321 You're very welcome. And thank you in turn for a fantastic, enlightening, and thoroughly excellent KZbin channel :)

[@Andeijogando]

What an underrated channel

[@LordWiseWolf]

I appreciate this video cause for games I’ve been feeling kinda down about it. Praying for that renaissance.

[@laurafryer6321]

Me too! Thank you for watching!

[@mravg79]

I strongly believe that before the renaissance there needs to be a low point, and imo we are not there yet. I also believe that gaming a whole will be fine due to reasons mentioned in this video, but some parts of it will go through tough times (mainly high budget titles). I hope that while it is said to see some people being laid off there will be enough among them who have enough business knowledge and courage to create new smaller studios.

[@wrathfirex]

I hope you are right. As an 80s kid I lived through what you mentioned. Let's just hope that gaming can prevail just like what happened during the first console wars between sega and nintendo, the birth of Sony Playstation from nintendo's arrogance, Sony changing tqctics after the PS3 debacle and so on. I can share my thoughts though on why these cycle repeats. New leaders just don't want to learn from their predecessors or even staff and are doomed to repeat such costly mistakes.

[@GabrielRUrbina]

I don't like how few followers this super insightful channel has, I'll personally share this with my friends.

[@GarydeBrown]

I was so waiting for your take on the current state of things. Especially at MS since you have major history there. I trust your channel grows into the juggernaut it deserves to be. 🤘

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you! I appreciate your support!

[@attrage7545]

I had a whole comment planned, but really, it can be summed up by a quote from Legolas in Lord of the Rings: "Forgive me...I was wrong to despair." Great video, liked and shared and will definitely tune in for more.

[@laurafryer6321]

Awesome! Thank you for sharing!

[@TheBoneHeadClan]

The game is still not available for sale in those countries that couldn't create and link psn though.

[@Kiu_8]

The funding thing for smaller games is something I hadn’t really thought of in that way, it’s very true though, I personally have enjoyed many great, smaller gaming experiences thanks to the crowdfunding these studios get via social networks or other easily accessible platforms, Blasphemous made by folks from Spain who now have a cult following and who have won many awards in Europe, the very diverse crew from the folks who made Scorn and that’s also acclaimed by a niche group, etc. Question(s) regarding that though: do you think it’s a double-edged sword that that’s pretty much the norm for smaller studios? What if they just don’t reach their goal and years of work just don’t come into fruition?

[@laurafryer6321]

All you can do as a game developer is make the best game you can with the people you have. Making a game is quite the journey even if it doesn't find commercial success.

[@IngrownMink4]

In my opinion I think the situation will improve in some aspects as you mention, but I think there will also be regressions. For example, the use of DRM in video games. We have seen how DRM technologies have violated the privacy of their users and how they have degraded the experience for PC gamers, as has happened with Riot Games and Vanguard. The same happened with Denuvo and Easy Anti-cheat, to the point that some games did not work on Linux (Steam Deck) because of this. On the positive side of all this, we see how indies are innovating and creating amazing games that generate more impressions than AAA games. But I think that, in order to improve the video game industry, companies should bet more on open source software. That is, stop reinventing the wheel (creating graphics engines from scratch), or using graphics engines run by a greedy company (Unity, Unreal), instead, bet on a collaborative technology that saves work for developers and gives them full control over their work (Godot, Blender), not depending on third parties to build something. What do you think about this? By the way, great video as usual! I always find your point of view very interesting.

[@laurafryer6321]

Love open source! I wish more games were shipped on Linux. Thank you for your kind comments!

[@Muppemania]

Good to hear an industry veteran speak of light at the end of the tunnel. I wonder though, what does the future hold for the big publishers and AAA games? Because I see some great games there along with some that either run like a car with square wheels or are just bad, I see studios that spend money like there is no tomorrow and sometimes no game to show or a game that fails, I see development restarted multiple times with a pretty bad end result, I see QA teams fired and buggy games, I see devs fired and CEOs paid insane bonuses. I also wonder, will the industry move away from insane graphics at the cost of performance or will they stay the course? Last year we got both Star Wars Jedi Surviver, a game that looks good but for many ran poorly (worse then a car with square wheels), and Armored Core 6, a game that looked good enough and run insanely well, both action games, both games that has to run smoothly in order to feel good. Is this focus on graphics for investers? because I personally think that performance is more important, and I am a customer.

[@laurafryer6321]

AAA could be doing better if they had better production. You can't be sloppy with a big team of people. Regarding graphics, people like to see beautiful games, however gameplay still takes priority. Thank you for your thoughtful comment and for watching!

[@libardomm.trasimaco]

Brilliant analysis! It was a refreshing perfective. Less negative.

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you!

[@fintangeraghty96]

That's a nice perspective to hear. I've been on the road for work for the past month and it's been far easier to be engrossed in dramatic games media coverage than great games. I'm really looking forward to playing through Indika and Little Kitty Big City with my girlfriend when things settle down. While it's great that Sony were forced to revert on their decision it's sad how powerless we feel with the announcement of studio closures. Tango game works have received an outpouring of support on steam through Hi-Fi Rush reviews, and rightly so, but that will ultimately benefit Microsoft when we should be holding their feet to the fire. I imagine the tango team will quickly find their feet, perhaps with Shinji Mikami's new studio, and flourish in a less corporatised environment. They were consumed by Bethesda quite early on only to be further consumed by Microsoft, which was ultimately out of their control and probably why Mikami left.

[@laurafryer6321]

Thanks for the comment! I agree that it's painful to watch good studios close.

[@benmcreynolds8581]

I really do hope we will see a Gaming Renaissance. Currently it seems we just keep getting such "safe" subpar games? We're also forced to wait a handful of yrs for each game now. We're lucky if 2 decent games are released on consoles each year. Why are most games lacking quality, depth & creativity to the games overall fun factor? Games from the late 90's early 00's possessed more depth to their gameplay mechanics and they were dealing with hardware limitations.. Even tho games take a handful of years nowadays to come out; We are genuinely seeing the most paper thin quality to overall game quality..? Also these paper thin games are costing ABSURD amounts of money. Taking up stupid amounts of memory storage space. For What? It's so messed up we are dealing with this depressing chapter in modern gaming.. It's very demotivating.. Why can't we just embrace the approach and design we had during the PS2 era or the 360 era? I took so much for granted.. I was a dumb teenager tho and had no clue.. I just loved gaming and never could have guessed gaming would have gotten to this point even tho technology and hardware capabilities have advanced so far...

[@Thick20]

Late comment, but this was a very refreshing optimistic look at the future of the games industry. Its so easy to get bogged down in the negatives in the current state of the industry (of which there are many) but it was so nice to be able to hear from an industry veteran about the positives in the industry both now and in the future. Thank you very much for this video!

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you for watching my videos! I'm glad you're enjoying them.

[@occupationalhazard]

I find this video quite hopeful. Thank you for sharing.

[@laurafryer6321]

I'm happy to hear it was helpful! Thank you for watching!

[@vince4417]

Yeah Sony pulled a Unity with Helldivers. Thanks for pointing out OTK publishing Laura. I had no idea they were doing such a thing.

[@MrRickstopher]

I’m super excited about Wayward Realms.

[@gerritwillemse]

Looking forward to the renaissance! ^__^

[@flouserschird]

The game industry has never felt more dead. Thankfully there’s so many amazing indie titles, but AAA games seem to be done for now. There’s no AAA games anyones hyped for other then GTA6.

[@EliKlaiman]

I would love to hear your thoughts on how game projects should be managed. So many managers at all levels are just awful at their job, and an art project should be especially chaotic and challenging.

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you for the idea!

[@zheroedu]

missing you Laura!😅 Will be amazing a video about AI and games. Hot topic!

[@OldyAlbert]

It's always funny to me when people talk about new videogames crush, while it's the most in-demand entertament sphere, and where's demand there would be offers. Some specific tems will fail, but overall? Stuff will adjust and continue, gaming in a better position then any other industry. I been asked a question "why indie games are more accepted by gamers then indie-movies for movie-watchers?". And i think the answer is - games are not as limited. Like - you can't make a fantasy/sci-fi adventure movie with giant demons on indie budget. But you can do anything in gaming - solo-dev can create games on any topic in any setting. Sure it would lack AAA fidelity but genre will still be there. I can play Environmental Station Alpha or Fear & Hunger made by solo devs having a dark sci-fi/fantasy adventures that appeal to me, while indie movies can't really be a 30h series about space exploration made by one person. Gaming is the most flexible medium out there.

[@laurafryer6321]

I agree! Thank you for your insightful comments!

[@CouchCoop128]

What a great video! I think you are right, we're seeing the same creative drought in Film and music. I think a reset button may be hit soon. One of my favourite IPs is a game called Helldivers 1 (the 1s important) It was 'indie' and 'smaller' Sony owned and Local co-op, meaning 4people in the room could play ! Amazing game, built my channel on it! 7 YEARS LATER 🤣 Helldivers 2 arrives with Online only, No local co-op, no single player and you need to pay PSN to be able to play it. Anyway much to my amazement and as you probably well know it SMASHED it ! I thought it would fail due to lacking the above, but 7yrs is a long time in gaming And PC players review bombing because they needed to add an app was weird, it didn't sit right with me I think we will see a snap/mini crash soon and where there is ruin, there is great treasure, thanks for reading this BTW and keep the content coming

[@CouchCoop128]

I've just seen that Portfolio reel, I was thinking about doing a video on 'Too Human' Id be very interested to hear about your involvement ( I saw a burnout game on there also)

[@Palendrome]

Indie development is the future! My brother and I are making a game. I know this might not be the healthiest or friendliest attitude, but personally we LOVE seeing these big publishers just continuously bungle their games and and their good will with the public. We always say to each other "Oh good, we have time. Theyre still messing up." Of course I feel bad for the individual devs suffering in these situations

[@laurafryer6321]

Cool that you are making a game! There is opportunity right now and I wish you the best of luck! Thank you for checking out the video.

[@RaidenKaiser]

Asongold fan in such an unexpected place, not saying thats a bad thing mind you.

[@davidpower3102]

Re Hell Divers 2. Sony reverted their decisions but then stopped selling the game in the countries that don’t have PSN. So… they still fupped over those players.

[@All4Tanuki]

Classic Sony. I don't think they're capable of doing anything that doesn't eff over the customer in one way or another

[@silentt8161]

2 of the publishing strategies shown (OTK and Hooded Horse) feel like they fall into the problem of sustainability. OTK itself is fueled by streamers and social media presence, which is frankly, REALLY unstable. the group has a yearly crisis when a member goes on to do something horrible, and and adoration and attention can quickly turn, especially if they scale. On Hooded Horse, they are clearly much better and focused. i personally love their strategy. it reminds me of old Bioware in that there really is a feeling of focus, where you know what you will be getting when it comes to their games. But i fear that Hooded Horse might stretch their net too wide as they grow, getting more and more games. they are very personal in their design. Lots of their games are funded because X dev knows Y dev as friends, creating a web of connections. Which is amazing for their creativity, but will struggle on as it grows. In general the idea of publishers growing out of a direct genre so that customers know what they are getting through reputation, similar to game studios, sounds great, but i always fear its sustainability. Maybe something like Devolver Digital is more sustainable in its form, but i don't know enough. Do you think they can be sustainable as they scale? im genuinely curious

[@20x20]

The hits keep coming

[@AlDim000]

I definitely agree with your take here. Thanks to democratization of lower-budget game development, the great accessibility to digital distribution, and the ability to market through social media, there has been quite a surge of smaller projects. We see a lot of creativity and more and more great hits at the indie and "AA" level (though to be fair for every Vampire Survivors there is a mountain of trash and asset flips as well). Meanwhile big publishers go deeper and deeper into "live service" titles with predatory monetization at the expense of all stakeholders involved except for their shareholders. What's your take on Microsoft's recent destruction of several studios?

[@laurafryer6321]

I feel for the developers. Running a Microsoft studio is usually more expensive than a regular developer due to benefits, pay etc. A studio that was profitable with a moderately successful title can find themselves in trouble when they get bought.

[@00110000]

Having just heard the news about Steam's new pro-consumer rules on promised DLC, it seems you were right.

[@m.anticore]

I am skeptical about the Pixel Pitch. It would be interesting to know how much money they've made on the stream itself, because the money awarded to the developers is not sufficient

[@laurafryer6321]

Thanks for your comment!I agree the money isn't sufficient. My thought is that the value is in creating awareness of the games.

[@JonySmith-bb4gx]

​@@laurafryer6321😢 No disrespect laura but you are kind of wrong You didn't factor allot of things . Back in 80s gaming was in is infancy and it wasn't mainstream . It was not an industry more like a novelty Today gaming is more vibrant and widespread but devs are more suffering and middle management are more corporate then creative Today studios are being bought off and dissected. Not to mention killing the artidtic vision . Japan and China is filling up the slack. Blackmyth wukong was hated and only survived bcz it had Asian market on it's side. Dark souls and soulslike would never get anywhere if we tried on corporate . Today we are begging for a bloodborne remaster or a sequel . We don't need gaming as a service. We need gaming as an art and stories to be experienced

[@morbillionaire]

Amazing work as always ❤

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you!

[@corentinesummers8259]

You seem to have worked on/involved with a lot of games. May I know what your career is?

[@fixedG]

I think the games industry is a great, maybe the best, example of how there are no objectively good old days, just a constantly changing landscape with subjective positive and negative aspects that will change for both the better and the worse. The pace of the change may be fast, or it may be slow, and it certainly feels like things are changing quickly now, but the video game industry itself isn't a century old like the movies where they had a "golden age" that lasted a decade or more. Just compare AAA games in the same genre released at the beginning of a decade to games released at the end of that same decade. The gaming industry has always been changing quickly because of a symbiosis of rapid technological advancement and the popularity of games driving huge investments into the space, and that's objectively a good thing. It's just that changing and chasing that popularity can be very messy. "This too shall pass" is highly applicable, whether we like it or not, and you generally won't have to wait long. It makes me sympathize with most people trying to make a living in the industry though.

[@ChrisCarlos64]

Nintendo feels like the only company worth investing in of the big three, because they still make staples and their mainstays, but they also still seemingly take risks. Whether it's Mario, Fire Emblem, or Zelda, there's also something like Princess Peach Showtime, Garage Game Builder and Ring Fit that do something whacky, new, and fun that I greatly enjoy still. My son even wants the new Endless Ocean game, that's just a diving simulator title basically because it's something new and different to my four year old. I still feel the peak era for Sony and MS were the PS2/Xbox and PS3/360 era. After Halo Infinite, I've been burned out by Microsoft anymore to even bother with their games. Seeing the latest closures saddens me, but when you mess up your prolific IP like Halo that bad, I have to break up this relationship. Also hearing rumors lately the Perfect Dark reboot may be cancelled, because we've heard nothing. I just have no more desire to support them. Sony is on shaky ground a bit with me too, but I'm not done just yet.

[@laurafryer6321]

Thanks for the thoughtful comment and for watching!

[@NineTnk]

“Take risks” you mean, actually make new game mechanic and game design for new games 😱 like doing the job they were meant to do… This is why gaming is dead except Nintendo and Indies.

[@nO_d3N1AL]

I admire the optimistic view in this seemingly endless sea of negativity, and I think it's a fair take that eventually the market will correct itself through collective action ("people voting with their wallets and time"). However, this unfortunate situation is not unique to video games and is endemic to capitalism itself. Look at the Microsoft situation: since the Xbox 360 they've been on a downhill trend and despite their impressive hardware this generation and grander vision, the games have been disappointment after disappointment, with franchises being soulless copy-pastes and not addressing issues or delivering on anything next-gen, to straight up failures. None of Microsoft's first party titles have been good for many years now, despite generous time and money budgets. Same with EA: they just kill studios only to have them work on a copy-paste Battlefield game that not even the fans like. Same with Call of Duty. Problem is, these companies are sitting on goldmine IPs that are beloved but are not capitalising on them because everybody's trying to make the next Fortnite. Small indie games are usually going to be niche, which is fine but what if I yearn for another quality CoD or Gears or Forza... that requires big money and competent developers without excessive greed or a flawed vision. I think the subscription model ala Game Pass is really going to hurt the quality of games - it already has given the evidence. I've been a loyal Xbox fan since the 360 but over the past few years, majority of games I played on Game Pass have been third party games or older EA titles, not brand new Microsoft first party. The magic and golden era of gaming is surely behind us. I find myself playing remasters more than new games.

[@laurafryer6321]

Thanks for your comment and for watching!

[@nO_d3N1AL]

@@laurafryer6321 ☺️

[@openquestline]

Please discuss about why current high spec console games has fewer exclusive games compared to previous gen consoles. This also a hot topic among gamers and usually blaming the platform.

[@charlesatanasio]

Once the dinos finally die out, that will free up the market for the little guy!

[@laurafryer6321]

LOL! Thank you for watching!

[@marcelodamm]

I don't know... It feels like a massive corporate consolidation going on in front of our eyes. Microsoft purchases the largest publisher. (speculation from now on, ok?) Then goes third party, firing most of the team, keeping the IPs (Call of duty movie anyone?). Then quits consoles (I'm an old time pc gamer, no stakes on this). The result is microsoft becoming the largest publisher in an absolute Sony monopoly. Not hating on Sony here. Just saying that this is consolidation, nothing else. And it brings nothing good to the end user.

[@DaDoubleDee]

Can't help but agree with you Laura, however the growing dragon behind the curtains I fear is UE5, sooooo many devs are switching to it and it is NOT the best game engine. UE always had great marketing, but the games always had that "unreal engine" aesthetic. UE5 has many things that are simply worse off than other engines, like screen space reflection, like LOD, nanite isn't all that great, etc. Not a hater, but a monopoly is never good. Love your channel :)

[@laurafryer6321]

I agree that more choice in engines is better. I'm glad you love the channel! Thank you!

[@arnox4554]

Personally, what I'd really, REALLY like to see is an actually competent new Unreal Tournament entry or Unreal Tournament spiritual successor. We haven't had a good UT or a good spiritual successor to it since UT2004. Yes, it's been over 20 years, and publishers and developers alike, whether because they can't do it or because they won't do it, refuse to even match the bar that UT99 and 2004 set. I'm super mad about this, and the Unreal community has also had to take matters into their own hands after being both neglected and actively stomped on by Epic Games. The Unreal IP and its fans deserved and deserve so much better than this. Hell, arena shooter fans deserve better than this.

[@laurafryer6321]

A new Unreal would be cool!

[@XSquidbeatsX]

Passion, statues or just paying the bills. It shows up in quality of the games.

[@MrMrboy09]

Like 👍 Thank you for the informative and entertaining videos! 🙏

[@laurafryer6321]

Thanks for watching!

[@kukri52231]

Indy is a big part of that renaissance. I refuse to buy anything published by EA, Ubisoft and Activision.

[@Luizk]

im losing faith... we need good games like gears of war 2 campaing. games with soul!

[@TAttila84]

I put all my trust into Nintendo and indies nowday.

[@laurafryer6321]

Good strategy! Thank you for watching!

[@nyfinest487]

I don’t know how I feel about this. I have always looked at indies as glorified modded fan-fiction. Most of them don’t do anything special besides their own take on the games they got inspiration from.

[@main_stream_media_is_a_joke]

PC components and especially gfx card prices are not coming down....and looking at the trend......AAA games, with their massive bloated budgets, will continue down the same path of making cookie cutter production line soul less games. The gargantuan number of casual consumers will ensure that the AAA ship will not course correct.....more so because there is no need to. Indies is where the actual gameplay based gaming and risk taking is still active.

[@RETR0_P0CKET]

Gaming has never been in a better place. So many fantastic indies and the big Japanese publishers are still making great products. Seems like I find an amazing new indie every time I look on Steam. Let the big western publishers reap what they sow. I also think we can expect the industry to feel this way at the end of a Nintendo generation. Especially now that they only having one platform and it is out of sync with Sony and Microsoft. I am very much looking forward to Switch 2 and seeing Nintendo bring excitement to the industry again. No one does it better.

[@laurafryer6321]

I agree! There are many exciting Indie games in development. Thank you for watching!

[@tsunderemerc2963]

The Helldivers incident was definitely a big sign to me that the games industry being in a bad place doesn't have to stay that way. Making our voices known works, especially if so many players threaten to abandon one of their new top sellers. I hope the PSN ban doesn't linger though, but it's at least a step in showing we do actually have a part in making sure games aren't just fire pits for our money.

[@laurafryer6321]

You are right! Gamers can change things if they act. Thank you for watching!

[@atheneite]

I think there's a massive issue you're missing: Mobile trash, more specifically mobile trash on pc and consoles. Genshin impact proved as long as you keep your intended audience gullible kids and gullible kids in adult bodies you can get away with anything and set new standards. There's a generation of kids right now growing up thinking lootboxes, battlepasses and cash shops all shoved in a package with no care for artistic integrity are gameplay mechanics. These kids will grow up and become the majority audience for gaming. Nintendo can keep focusing on quality all they want but they'll eventually become miniscule compared to companies like mihoyo. I think the AAA game industry is completely doomed if it keeps going like this. Smaller studios can still do things out of passion but the big names for representing what video games are are going to drastically change.

[@laurafryer6321]

Good points about mobile! I've been playing quite a few of these games and put most of them down on the first pass simply because they didn't deliver what they had in their demo. Thank you for your comments!

[@dandanthesoundman7607]

Awesome video!.)

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you!

[@JonySmith-bb4gx]

🤔 No disrespect laura but you are kind of wrong You didn't factor allot of things . Back in 80s gaming was in is infancy and it wasn't mainstream . It was not an industry more like a novelty Today gaming is more vibrant and widespread but devs are more suffering and middle management are more corporate then creative Today studios are being bought off and dissected. Not to mention killing the artidtic vision . Japan and China is filling up the slack. Blackmyth wukong was hated and only survived bcz it had Asian market on it's side. Dark souls and soulslike would never get anywhere if we tried on corporate . Today we are begging for a bloodborne remaster or a sequel . We don't need gaming as a service. We need gaming as an art and stories to be experienced

[@MissionReloadedGaming]

Sony did reverse their decision, however....go check, the Game is still not able to be sold outside of the Sony regions....its not like asking steam to open the game back up globally is hard It's a 24 hour wait. But it's been weeks now and it is still only allowed within the sony envelope. This story isn't done yet

[@laurafryer6321]

I'm hopeful that you are correct and the story isn't done yet! Maybe they will open it back up globally. Thank you for your comment!

[@maedve83]

Well the probablymonsters not publishing stuff is concerning comment seems to be validated, as Concord came from them to Sony

[@zero11010]

Hoped for a different/better take on Helldivers 2. What percentage of those people furious about the PSN account linking already have one because they had/have a PS3, PS4, or PS5? It’s a free account. Takes about 3 minutes to make. Is it a weird thing Sony is doing and alone in? Well, Epic, Blizzard, Activision, Nintendo and Ubisoft do the same thing. So, it’s like … major publishers want more game data. The 177 countries thing is misleading at best. It’s technically true. But … hey, how come your last 10 games didn’t get translated into Turkish? Why didn’t they get translated into Swahili? Hey …. How many TOTAL steam accounts does the continent of Africa have? For how many people? How does that compare to Australia steam accounts? And, what’s their population? How many days of an average worker’s salary does it take to buy Helldivers 2 in these unsupported regions? The massive review bombing was interesting. How many times have they been review bombed since? Seems like players are trying to hold the game ransom after they found something that worked. Don’t get me wrong. Game directors and producers at Sony OR Arrowhead could have seen the issue with the Steam vs PSN accounts in advance. Plus, the only reason this happened was because Arrowhead failed to get the PSN linking done before launch. They had a REALLY bad launch and a ton of features didn’t make it into the game on launch day (like quick play to find other people on a brand new multiplayer game … or armor rating on light/medium/heavy armor so all heavier armor did was slow you down and offer no additional protection … and on and on). Helldivers 2 is the least professionally made game I’ve ever played. It’s in the worst state of any released game from a major publisher that I’ve ever seen (I made games professionally for over a decade at several studios and have seen a lot of games).

[@StigDesign]

Great video :D

[@laurafryer6321]

Thank you!

[@bpcgos]

This video just gave my hope back towards game industry. Gaming now didnt need giant AAA to be success and enjoyed, game like Animal Well ,manor lords , palworld, etc shows that

[@cassidydotdk]

Sony didn't reverse anything other than the mandated linking to a PSN account. Instead they just pulled the game from all countries, not otherwise supported by PSN. No real difference.

[@doofus9007]

the excess is going on far too long. hope the recent phoenix handhelds accelerate the trend.

[@laurafryer6321]

It has! Thanks for watching!

[@POTATO-pl8kt]

CHRONICLES OF ELYRIA

[@greenhowie]

Honestly, I'm probably being a bit tinfoil hat but it feels like there's a concerted effort by certain big publishers to instigate a Crash for financial reasons. It also feels like it's been in the process of doing so for a few years now. The indie scene and its reliance on social media might be able to set up a better framework for the industry as a whole but there's going to be a lot of pushback during this transitional phase - people with power always want to be in power after all. I have a lot of faith in future generations, though. Sorry for the wall of text, this was an excellent perspective and a lot more positive than most articles and videos on the matter. We live, as they say, in Interesting Times.

[@laurafryer6321]

Interesting Times indeed! Thank you for watching!

[@xavdeman]

This renaissance will not happen with consultants involved like Sweet Baby Inc that push ideologies as opposed to escapism.

[@tamikbron]

Basically, this^

[@ewfse364u35jh]

The issue is not so much about how the games are published - that is something that gamers do not see and they adapted to that rather quickly - I don't even have memory of feelings that the other gamers despised Steam. The main issue that is not discussed here are current political events - it is very hot topic and very toxic as well. It is mainly centered around USA and corporation culture. Current derived political events, like War in Ukraine also have affected some game studios, but not as much compared to ripples sent through USA global coprporations, as they had to close down Russian sites. So, from afar - in USA these are very minor things. This video is surprisingly in a buble from other videos that are discussing gender policies and were in topic also 6 months before and frankly most of gamers are fine with that, and BG3 is an example of that, but they are not fine that they are not offered as a choice. And this is the main concern, that there is NO CHOICE. There is of course always more than two choices(accept, fight, leave) - one of them is simply to give up and find something else to do and then you see, that there is a wasteland of games to play, as none of them are offering choices. Hey, most often the light that you see in the tunnel is not coming from the end of tunnel - it is coming from the train that is running you over. More often this is how gamers are feeling as their beloved franchises are destroyed. And this is great for making more choices, but frankly I don't remember that it would have worked with kids, that would experience their most loved toy destroyed and offered different toy - to develop the same attachments. The choices here doesn't matter anymore as childhood is usually over That is hardly what was happening with game franchises in 1980ies - I don't remember any of that. Most of the game franchises have been evolved and most have reached the wall. Some of us would really like to have improvements as a returning to some unfinished stories - and there are plenty of them. None of us wants complete rewrite of main stories to be adapted to current political narratives. As for new indie games - I feel that majority of them are actually worse on what they are trying to copy - they are not taking whole, but only some aspects and go with that - and they are not buulding upon those aspects, but that is it - these are copied aspects of previous games that leaves a bit shallow impression.

[@ewfse364u35jh]

PS Just like gaming revolution really only started with the accessibility of PCs and a mouse, the next evolution of games will be with VR workstations - after it will be adapted as a general standard of work environment. So, that would be next explosion of entertainment that will happen - current gaming will stay, but I would not compare anything that is going on right now with 1980ies, as there is nothing much that can be improved in gaming as gaming had greatest stories and the main crysis here is that there are no more such great stories that everyone can relate and that are not showed down their throat, like the rugged versions of marketing strategies from 1990ies, that declared that customers do not know what they want and companies are here to educate and lead in their choices. It is a complete clusterf*ck made by people, who simply have not studied enough and are allowed to operate well oiled machines, that unsurprisingly are steered in the first ditch and the panic mode has locked them to steer right to that ditch, while there are many other directions possible to go.

[@kayc7442]

This is the unfortunate reality of STEAM. The benefit of playing games that in the past would never have seen the light of day. The cost of not owning a single one 😂

[@HiCZoK]

but it's a double sided coin I feel. Sometimes good games or you know... 7/10 games get so destroyed and hate bandwagoned on social media to no end. A big twitch streamer can single handedly give such a bad rep to a game, that the studio might close. This is incentivizing risk averse productions. 1 example is Forspoken. A game that got so farmed for memes, it got absolutely no chance... and when I picked it up (i had a feeling), I found a wonderful game. And what about the dramas? Every single big release this year had a drama accompanying it. a needless drama that's not really a problem or something worth skipping a game over. maybe it's me and my inability to adapt to growing gaas market. But I am an old fashioned player. I am happy to give 60-70$ for a game, play it and be done with it. I like to replay my old games too and have little interest in all the 4 player coop games. edit: About my forspoken example. I realize it's a bit of a flawed product but the gameplay is really good and it got way too much hate. And what's more important is so much hate I personally got on all social media for saying that I enjoyed a video game

[@wizzzer1337]

Hopemaxxing

[@alphabromega859]

this is the best youtube channel i've seen since tim cain

[@JonySmith-bb4gx]

Disagreed

[@Nlwalker487]

Meh. I really hope so. I don't see anything changing unless the corpos stop. In general. Just stop. It costs too much to make a game because of them anyway. Tired of conglomerates and greed. No wonder xbox's official color is green

[@winj3r]

At this point, Microsoft is the place were studios go to die. It's the EA for a new decade.

[@laurafryer6321]

Ouch! Hopefully they'll get better soon. Thank you for watching!

[@winj3r]

@@laurafryer6321 Thanks for making these videos about the industry. It's great to reminisce about the Xbox 360 era.

[@Sonlokill]

this "renaissance" period you're referencing at was one of the worst in history

[@Beefybaby]

Microsoft need to get a grip on quality with AAA and indie. They're letting endless amounts of indie games on every week and some of it is just absolute sh*t. They need to get a hold on their marketplace. Also the AAA's they have shipped don't deserve that label.

[@laurafryer6321]

Good comment! I agree! Quality needs to improve.