Nowadays hundreds of games get released per month across a variety of platforms and spanning a slew of genres, yet there are some genres that still get severely overlooked. With the industry always (understandably) leaning towards where the most money can be made, some genres that have a niche audience find themselves being glided over in favor of developing another microtransaction-heavy FPS.
We asked the GameRevolution editorial team which genre they would like to see being taken off of life support, before being reintroduced to the world. As always, leave your own responses in the comments section below, and we’ll feature our favorite in tomorrow’s Tell GR.
Paul Tamburro, executive editor: “Car combat games. They just plain don’t exist anymore. Twisted Metal is on indefinite hiatus after its last (underrated) game on the PS3, and aside from Mario Kart 8 and its decent Battle mode, no one has really bothered to make a new one. I don’t know why they never really reach an audience these days, but I’d buy a new car combat in a heartbeat. There you go; that’s one sale guaranteed. What’s stopping you, David Jaffe?!”
Jason Faulkner, senior editor: “I think we need more arcade flight sims. There are a few here and there, but for the most part, there are just no current gen games that match that Ace Combat goodness. There are a few good space shooters that have come out in the past few years, but I need more games with licensed planes and a more grounded setting.”
Mack Ashworth, lead editor: “PROPER arena FPS. I’m not saying it would do well, as LawBreakers included a lot of the genre staples and then flopped, but I’d certainly enjoy it! Class-based shooters have gone too far. Start players on equal footing, spread some weapons and powerups about the map, then turn up the travel speed and jump distance. Hell yes!”
Bradley Russell, news editor: “Mascot kart races. Sure, it’s a sub-genre of a sub-genre but we’ve basically got Mario Kart dominating the track, Sonic appearing once every console generation to spin his wheels, and that’s about it. I want some crazy ones. Give me a fast food mascot one (a la WrestleZone’s Royal Rumbell), or a really, really bad Tekken Kart. Something to muck about with for an hour would be grand. Most games requires dozens of hours to dedicate to now and very few of those are silly enough to be properly enjoyed with a smile on your face. Hopefully, the CTR remake fires up the genre so it can make a comeback.”
Michael Leri, features editor: “While every game seems to have stealth elements, there are very few dedicated stealth games. Metal Gear was KIA, Splinter Cell is MIA, and there aren’t any more new franchises or similar experiences willing to replace them. And while both moved a bit towards action, each’s most recent entry carefully balanced smooth controls with tactical espionage gameplay especially on higher difficulties. Instead of furthering the genre, stealth games seem to have ceded into the shadows in the most recent years only to co-star in action games. Ironically, the genre deserves more time in the spotlight.”
Yesterday’s Best Comment
Question: How many physical copies of games do you own?
Bufford: “Going all the way back to the NES, I have around 1000 physical copies of games. I always buy physical copies when I can. My digital library consists of Xbox Live free games and DLC.”
