Ben-DutkaReally, everybody should usually stick to what they're good at. Venturing outside your comfort zone usually results in a less-than-impressive product.
However, unless some developers do this every now and then, stagnation will occur. This is why no good studio is entirely adverse to making something different; something "outside the box," so-to-speak. Take Zipper Interactive, for example: they've just announced SOCOM 4 and they also released the massive online shooter, MAG , at the end of January. Obviously, their milieu is shooters and they're quite aware of that fact. But it doesn't mean they'll never make anything different; just refer to what Zipper Senior Community Manager Jeremy Dunham said in reply to a question in the Comments section at the PlayStation Blog :
"We stick with what we’re good at and like to make. That doesn’t mean that we’d never consider something else… except Mahjong — a Zipper Mahjong game just isn’t in the cards."
That's okay; we really don't want a Mahjong game. But the poster mentioned that he was getting a little tired of all the shooters on the market, which is what prompted Dunham's response. The question is, what might it take for Zipper to "consider something else," as he said? I mean, provided you're doing well with your chosen genre and everything moves along smoothly, where's the incentive to try something fresh and new? At that point, it only becomes very, very risky and you can bet that Sony would be a little skittish on the matter. Even so, just the idea that developers remain open-minded is helpful to those of us who crave some fresh air every now and then.
They'va already got lots of experience with Third person shooters, how hard would it be for them to adapt their character design and maybe make a third person action adventure game like Uncharted?
And their online play has always been top notch. I say go for it! Take what you know and just stray a little off path. Then if that works out, push the envelope a bit farther.
I wouldn't recommend that they do a complete flip and say "Okay, we've done nothing but shooters let's do a racing game!" But a new IP that was a new experience with the same Zipper feel to it? Yeah it should do alright. Can you imagine if a game like GTA had been done with the character motions and feel of a Socom game?
I think it's a good idea to try.
Besides, Shooters are going to have to run out of steam eventually. Zipper might as well focus on a new experience now while they are making money as opposed to having to learn in a hurry because no one is buying their genre anymore.
Support MAG Zipper, and you'll keep me playing MAG until Socom 4 comes out.
They've already said that they are going to support both for years to come…I was thinking of getting MAG but I might stick with Confrontation until SOCOM 4 comes out.
They "said" that, and I honestly believe them.
My only problem with that game is the community. Hardly any of my friends play it as much since patch 1.03.
I still play the game all the time, but it seems my connection to the game is not as good as it was prior to the new patch..
Patch 1.04 is currently being reviewed, some believe that it may come with dlc as well as the normal game-fixes(dlc has already been confirmed, but nobody is sure about when it's coming)
Too many shooters, yes, too many shooters.
*Drowns in shooters*
Correction: Zipper not "averse" the word was "averse"
*Drowns again to hide from Ben's wrath*
I think zipper is brilliant for developing MAG, but I'm with World, enough shooters already.
I don't understand why people buy new shooters when there are already shooters they enjoy playing only for online multiplayer. How many online multiplayer shooters do you need?
I'd love to see zipper take their innovation into a new genre.
I think I still like a few of them because I didn't run out and buy every shooter that came on the market. I only really play SOCOM online. Other then that, I didn't buy any of the COD's because I feel that they put too many of them out too fast. I only stick with the series that I like. Resistance for the great story. Killzone for the gameplay (offline). Socom for it's online community. With Zipper doing another SOCOM, I'll support them. If Slant 6 was doing another? I probably wouldn't bother.
For campaign modes, I enjoy a good fps, but for online I find I find I enjoy third person better. But that's just me.
To hell with that. If they're good at making shooters then by gum, make shooters. Why change it up to something else that would basically boil down to a very expensive experiment. They'd be putting the jobs of their employees on the line. Game fails, people gone.
why change what your doing if your good at it and making millions off it?
this is the reason we will see companies running series into the ground, because publishers know they can release sh*t and people will still buy it.
a prime example of that is guitar hero, dj hero, band hero or halo.
a prime example of a series that is going to turn into that is assassins creed.
i hope im wrong but i can really see ubi driving this series into the ground just for the sake of a cash cow.
this is exactly why i say gaming died with the ps1, because back then games were made for a passion not for money.
back then developers made a game because they wanted to, they had a passion and that really showed in their game.
now days developers release games as a cash cow, and have no passion and that shows through there game.
thats why ps1 games will always be better than ps3 games.