We've had years that got off to a bad start before. 2001, the year the GC and Xbox launched was pretty bad until the last two months of the year when Halo, GTA3, and MGS2 and a few other notables arrived. That's the only year in recent time I can recall anything like this year.
Though I wouldn't really say 2012 has been horrible. We've seen a lot of solid releases. It just seems like the games that everyone really was expecting great things from like ME3, SSX, RE:R and such ended up being very good, but not quite GOTY candidates.
I thought 2001 was actually one of the best years ever. Greg Kasavin used to say how the industry was based on these 3 year cycles of software...that every 3 years was always an amazing year with games that really push the hardware and perfect things. I think that was true for a long time, but I'm not so sure it is anymore.
I still think 1998 was the best year ever. Not on the AMOUNT of badass games, because there wasn't as many back then. But on the QUALITY of the games and how many of them were revolutionary that year. If some of the games that came out in 1997 would have been delayed to 98, like FF7 and Goldeneye, it would have been even better. Then, 3 years later, 2001. That year wasn't as revolutionary, but it brought the great games in numbers never seen before. It was the transition to new hardware, and just about every console old and new had a few amazing games that year...from N64 to Dreamcast to Xbox. Then again in 2004...very similar to 2001 but it was more a perfection of the hardware that brought the killer software. Then 3 years later, 2007 was an amazing year.
Since then though...I haven't really felt much difference year to year. 2010 didn't feel like one of those 3rd year blowouts to me.
As for this year....I honestly haven't noticed. I guess it IS a bit of a down year but as you guys said, its a hardware transition year so the old consoles are slowing down, developement is switching over to the new machines and has been for some time now. I welcome it though, because I am making actual PROGRESS on my backlog for the first time this entire generation, and it feels good! I have plenty to play.
Most of the games I bought so far have been from last year or earlier.
I am excited about the Wii U launch though.
Compared to last year this year is a landfill. Last year was pretty incredible, this year has ME3 and... yeah. I guess you got Diablo now, some really like Max Payne but it has been really slow. Plus there is a mass exodus of awesome games from the 2012 calendar into 2013.
We might be seing the return of the Q4 release schedule being what it once was.
I can't even recall most of the bigger games from the past 3 or so years. Normally thinking about a certain year makes me think automatically of certain games, but outside of a select few, I'm hazy about 2009 through the present. Probably just because I've been worked to the bone since then.
The last few years have been incredibly overrated, but there hasn't been much in the way of blockbusters this year.
Anyway, the Wii saved this year. Wii U won't save next year. Next year will be worse.
Foolz said:
Anyway, the Wii saved this year.
Huh?
Dvader said:Huh?
Obviously not for people who hate RPGs.
Anyway I just remembered that Xenoblade came out last year so forget that anyway. Yep, this year sucks.
I aint played anything but old Fire Emblem games this year. I intend to replay Assasins Creed 2 to see some of the stuff I saw on vacation.
2006 was pretty slow (year the 360 came out).
Oblivion, Okami, FF12, COD3, Gears, Guitar Hero 2, Twighlight Princess... Okay, I take that back. It heated up toward the end of the year.
So we'd have to at least go back before then for such a slow year, since I know for sure since then it's been all gravy.
aspro said:2006 was pretty slow (year the 360 came out).
Oblivion, Okami, FF12, COD3, Gears, Guitar Hero 2, Twighlight Princess... Okay, I take that back. It heated up toward the end of the year.
So we'd have to at least go back before then for such a slow year, since I know for sure since then it's been all gravy.
Odium of recent podcast fame was released on Linux in 2006? What the hell.
aspro said:2006 was pretty slow (year the 360 came out).
Oblivion, Okami, FF12, COD3, Gears, Guitar Hero 2, Twighlight Princess... Okay, I take that back. It heated up toward the end of the year.
So we'd have to at least go back before then for such a slow year, since I know for sure since then it's been all gravy.
2003 was one of the worst years IMO of the past decade.
2000 was awesome:
Chrono Cross, Vagrant Story, Perfect Dark, Resident Evil Code Veronica, Legend Of Zelda Majora's Mask, Quake 3 Dreamcast, Shenmue, Ogre Battle 64, Diablo 2, etc...
2001 was amazing:
Phantasy Star Online, Conker's Bad Fur Day, MGS2, Pikmin, Devil May Cry, Onimusha, Halo, Red Faction, Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance, Rogue Squadron 2, Final Fantasy 10, GTA 3, etc...
2002 was awesome:
Resident Evil remake & Resident Evil Zero, Metroid Prime, Ratchet & Clank, Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind, Splinter Cell, Eternal Darkness, GTA Vice City, Warcraft 3, Super Mario Sunshine, Star Fox Adventures, etc...
2003 had Zelda WW, KOTOR, and Prince of Persia as the big releases...everything else was smaller under the radar stuff like Beyond Good & Evil and Metal Arms.
2004 was amazing (MGS3, Metroid Prime 2, Halo 2, GTA San Andreas, Splinter Cell 2, Half Life 2, etc..)
2005 was great: (Resident Evil 4, Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, God Of War, Mercenaries, Shadow of the Collosus, Psychonauts, Dragon Quest 8, Ninja Gaiden Black, etc.)
03 was a good year for Nintendo, Windwaker, Wario Ware, Prince of Persia, Viewtiful Joe and Windwaker.
I'm going to go through this in the podcast later today, but it is looking like 03 is the year.
travo said:2006 sucked till Okami and Zelda finally came out in October and November.
Gears and Guitar Hero 2 save it.
travo said:2006 sucked till Okami and Zelda finally came out in October and November.
Then 2006 sucked all the way through? 
It seems like every year for the last few years you could make an argument (wrongly, but still you could make it) that "This year was the best year in gaming). Year after year we've had games come out and top the year before.
But this year has blown so far, and for the rest of the year so many games have been pushed into 2013.
It's likely that it is due to publishers spending their time on next-gen games, clearly that's the case for Nintendo.
So any way, 2012 pretty much sucks since.... when was the last time this happened?