Naughty Dog is loved by millions of gamers.masterpieces such as uncharted and the last of usIt's one of the greatest creations of all time, especially thanks to the video game developer's ability to blend entertainment with a demanding and interesting plot. However, there are many users who criticize the company. Most of them are for their particularly risky stories and boldness with transgender and his LGTBQ+ characters. But recently, he has also been accused of the exact opposite extreme of conservatism, at least on the fiscal front.
With each new console hitting the market, Naughty Dog has custom-tailored its flagship titles to reposition them on store shelves, so much so that there are now more remasters (three) than original games (two). It has become. beginning, the last of us It showed the world what video games could really do. But it summed up the great contradictions that plague the industry. talent and skill. A thirst for money and a thirst for art.from Final Fantasy VII to resident evil, sequels, remakes, or renewals account for the majority of releases and sales, delighting fans and those feeling nostalgic. Conversely, some worry that creative risks are falling by the wayside, at least when it comes to blockbusters. The independent sector, on the other hand, is full of innovation but also uncertainty. So are these works of art, games, or products? In this regard, the last of us suggests the right path. The best arguments are complex.
“There's too much repetition. It clearly has economic benefits,” says Sofia Francisco, author of several books on the subject. Almost every great game released in the past few decades has already been revived in some form. silent hill, prince of persia, metal gear solid, Dead Space, legend of zelda, mass effect and crash bandicoot. “Since 2021, the number of users, average play time, and spending have declined. At the same time, the most popular games, which, unlike books and movies, can remain intact for 10 years, are becoming increasingly large. “All of this makes it difficult for many titles and developers to grow their audience,” said Matthew Ball, a prominent industry analyst.
In fact, extending or creating new versions of the past is as old as culture itself. Hallelujah to and from Shakespeare A star is born to electricity price. Virtually all of Hollywood's biggest global blockbusters have come from famous series. And television is entering an era of “safe ideas,” according to the article. vulture last year. Video games may be one example. “Especially in blockbusters, there are formulas that tend to repeat themselves, such as mechanics that seem copied from one game to another, or stories that have been going on for decades. This is a way to reduce risk; It’s not just for this industry,” says the owner of the Spanish company Fictiorama. awesome horror machine or don't feed the monkeys, and the latter's sequel. However, this trend certainly features elements that are unique and even unique to video games.
“The new version here helps preserve the original work,” emphasizes Francisco. This is because older songs and movies are almost always available, as are modern remakes. On the other hand, reviving an adventure designed for a console that no longer exists comes with its own set of challenges. But at the same time, in video games, the new tends to eclipse the old more than in other fields. “Nintendo sometimes leaves the remake intact and removes the original version from the digital store,” Francisco explains. This phenomenon was also lamented by: wired Magazine article from last June: Who would travel through archaic space when you could visit an entirely new photorealistic version?
The report further discusses: “I don't believe that literature improves over time like science. Nor does advancement in visual effects improve movies. Artistic quality doesn't have to be closely related to technology. Still. , in video games, we tend to associate new with better.'' In some cases, the following equation holds true: red dead redemption, alan wake and the last of us Made years after the original, it features an equally or even stronger story and ideas as bold as a musical set in the midst of a horrifying nightmare.
Overall, perhaps the gameplay and graphics will be more in tune with technological advances to welcome the passage of time.second version of horizon It features a larger, more vivid and immersive world than its predecessor.and the pervasive threat A Tale of the Plague: Innocence It gets even scarier in the sequel, though. Tale of the Plague: Requiem. But creative and narrative talent isn't just judged by the pixels and possibilities when you hold a controller in your hand.of FIFA or call of duty The series has dominated the market with small adjustments every year. This also conditions how the outside public views video games. There's also a remaster that leaves everything intact except for the aesthetics. So-called “complete version” witcher 3 According to , it was just an “update.” financial times.And Francisco points out that Grand Theft Auto: Trilogy More bugs were accumulated than new features.
Despite this, director Matthew Gallant The Last of Us Part II He said he didn't understand some of the “confusion” about the project in the remastered version.Analysis by specialized outlets IGN provides some answers. “Ultimately, it's money to buy new graphics. I can't help but imagine how much more fun these games would have been if new, modern ideas had been properly applied.” ” Or if developers instead invested time and resources in generating unpublished intellectual property. However, the ideal reflection does not include the most important element: money. “It's easy to criticize this conservatism from afar, but from a strictly commercial perspective, it makes perfect sense, especially when you're talking about a product that could cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Masu” [dollars] To make a profit, you need to sell a lot of units,” Olivan explains.
“For the first decade of this century, since the PlayStation 2, each generation of consoles has seen declining revenues and improvements in graphics and game worlds that have become less and less innovative. The explosion of indie and mobile games has led to “Studios turned to remakes, reboots, and sequels to reduce the risk of a failed launch,” explains Logan Brown, a professor at Indiana University and author of the study. on the subject. Thousands of people have been laid off recently at some of the industry's largest development companies, casting a shadow on the economic situation. And sources surveyed pointed out similarities with the movie. According to Brown, rising advertising budgets and increased competition (from audiovisual platforms, social media, and independent video games) are pushing the industry into its own “corner.” They can't compete on innovation, they compete on big name labels. ”
“In the 1990s and 2000s, major studios also invested heavily in indie-style productions, dramas, and mid-budget romantic comedies, but now they are focused on blockbusters. That’s close to what’s happening,” Ball added. And because there are so many similarities, he argues, many are “expecting similar outcomes, which means the public will start demanding different experiences.”
In fact, this is already the case. Back in 2016, creator Fumihito Ueda encouraged his colleagues to pursue their own paths instead of taking inspiration “from movies and other media.” “When you work for a big studio, you don't enjoy video games,” says producer Dave Oshley. eveningI said recently. And creators like Carla Gimonja, Lucas Pope, and Sam Barlow have been exploring the limits over the years with titles like: Gone Home, Return of Obra Dinn and her story. Ball adds recent titles such as cocoon, dave the diver and Sennar's chantFrancisco said: baratolo. However, all of these are self-produced. The risk is higher, but the money is less and there is more volatility. “The two main challenges for indie games are access to funding and visibility. More and more high-quality games are being published, which makes it increasingly difficult to stand out.” “Creative risk can be the key element,” Olivan defends. However, Brown also highlights that the visible struggles are causing some independent companies to rethink their approach to simpler and more in-demand methods.
This is a place where industries big and small come together. At the same time, the referenced sources highlight successful and painstaking remakes such as: resident evil 2, Yakuza Kiwami and unique The origins of karateka. “I question the idea that remakes and reboots mean less creativity. Simply moving a video game to another platform creates a huge amount of creativity that the public and press will never see. It requires a lot of decisions,” Brown emphasizes.Probably released recently Final Fantasy VII Reverse is the best example. This revives the old game, but with changes to the plot, gameplay, and some internal dynamics. So even though there are so many labels, there are no remakes, no reboots, no remasters, no sequels, none of which have been successful. Or maybe all of these together. This, too, is novel in its own way.
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