2. Innovation Is Nowhere To Be Found In Triple-A Titles
Go on, what was the last big-budget triple-A game that recently put innovation and/or a unique game hook to the forefront of its design? It was telling at the close of 2014 that gamers actively struggled to compile 'Best of' lists, giving the top spot to either Dragon Age for its sprawling landscapes, or 'I can't believe it's not Assassin's Creed!', Shadow of Mordor for sheer playability in a sea of car-crash retail releases. Metal Gear Solid V seems to be the only game that's pushing its respective franchise into new territory, but then again you could also argue its 'new' appeal - building a base by extracting soldiers with air-lifting equipment - has been done in 2010's Peace Walker. Think of the past decades of gaming. We had everything from the sprawling narrative of Ocarina of Time, through the perfection of stealth and perk-based multiplayer with Metal Gear Solid/Splinter Cell and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and even Rockstar taking a huge risk with Red Dead Redemption, locking the game's true ending behind your own will to seek out an optional revenge mission. What's the reason for this sudden lack of boundary-pushing material? Well, 'data'. EA's Peter Moore stated the 'data' they had access to when started development on the newest instalment of Star Wars: Battlefront pointed to games that were multiplayer-only being very successful (something you can whisper to the carcasses of Titanfall and Evolve), yet PC Gamer noted other numbers point to higher sales figures for single-player modes in the same titles. As such, publishers will side with whatever's the most profitable over the most enjoyable, as god forbid they make a loss anywhere along the line trying to do something new. To close out 2015 we're on course to get Just Cause 3, Star Wars Battlefront and Fallout 4; all games that should be enjoyable enough and polished to a mirror sheen (save for EA's servers inevitably tanking on day one), yet aren't anywhere close to flying the flag for forward momentum.
