Nathan Grayson on how the latest Xbox showcase failed to impress:
Microsoft owns a significant chunk of the triple-A video game industry, but it has struggled to marshal those forces in a direction that feels fresh or uniquely compelling. Don’t get me wrong: Sony and Nintendo also lean heavily on franchises, but the former demonstrates a slightly more regular willingness to throw something new into the mix, while the latter never stops making old new again.
I couldn’t agree more. There’s so much sameness all around. It’s hard to get excited for the nth instalment in an already-running franchise. But this is exactly what the big studios are doing now, as costs and development time have ballooned: playing it safe. And as we know, safe is not really exciting.