this post was submitted on 30 Nov 2023
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Its survived much worse.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_crash_of_1983
PC games went into decline during the 2000s. And I'm sure COVID is paying it forward into the franchises thanks to all the delays and consolidations. They're all happening for similar reasons - excess consolidation in the AAA market, lots of really crappy knock-offs filling up the retail space, and the model for the industry being incompatible with the popular demand among players.
Just look at Blizzard, a studio that made its bones on RTS in the early 90s. They haven't released an RTS in over 13 years. Bioware, a studio that pioneered third-person TTRPG-style adventure games, has lost all sense of direction with its foray into MMOs and eroded by staff turnover. Now Larian is eating their lunch on the very title that put them on the map. And then you've got EA, which has been devouring and destroying studios since the early-90s (RIP Origins, you'll always have a special place in my heart).
There's still plenty of demand for video games, and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. But we've been in a quality tailspin since at least the mid-'10s. Enshitifcation has taken its toll.
Here is the thing, though: I feel gaming offers a lot if you are playing stuff outside of the AAA sphere. There is a metric ton of indie games being released at a pretty steady pace, including new genres gaining popularity, like bullet heaven games (think vampire survivor clones). Genres such as boomer shooters and city builders have been basically revived in the last 5-7 years.
Sure, I do play the occasional big shiny game like Baldur's Gate 3 and enjoy it, but if AAA games were to cease to exist tomorrow, I would be just fine playing indie and mid size games.
Disclaimer im not sober.
I just never got into those. I'm much more of a tactical fan than a "can you map the pattern between pixels at 120 fps" type. Far too anxiety inducing, particularly when I get stuck in a failure loop.
I do like a city builder, but there's very rarely an end-game payoff that's particularly satisfying. A well-designed 4X with a good story can be fun to play, although I usually get less time on it because my wife finds it boring to watch. By contrast, she's all on board with every BG3 cinematic and dialogue (and has given me absolutely awful advice on hooking up with Astarion, btw).
But yeah, I agree the AAAs have really gotten into a rut. Even FromSoft is sort of at the end of its rope, with Elden Ring being an apotheosis of the genre, but not giving them anywhere else to go.
Ok. Now that im back from work. A small clarification. You are thinking of Bullet HELL games such as Ikaruga or the Touhou series. Those are the games in which you have to dodge bullets. Bullet HEAVEN games on the other hand are games such as Vampire Survivors in which you end up killing tons of enemies with tons of bullets/attacks/projectiles they are also almost all roguelike games in which you have to survive for a certain amount of time while you collect gems/exp and get stronger over time. There is usually some sort of meta progression in which you unlock new abilites/skills and characters. You might not have heard of Bullet heaven since it just popped up in the last year. There are already like over 20 games or so (some even pretty good).
If you are interested in the gerne Vampire Survivors is a good entry point. Halls of Torment is a diablo 2 inspired one. Other games I did like in the gerne are Soulstone Survivors and God of Weapons. Maybe check them out (trailers) and you should see what im talking about.