Michael Zenke over at the always excellent Game Set Watch thinks that there are just too durned many good games nowadays! Furthermore, he bemoans the culture's lack of canonization (i.e. we don't appreciate our medium's classics like we should). He argues, "what’s good for the industry is not the same thing as what’s good for the gamer." Zenke cites The Paradox of Choice, arguing that an overabundance of choices leaves us feeling depressed about that which we've missed out on.
I haven't played The Orange Box yet. Heck, I haven't played Half-Life 2 yet. I haven't played Bioshock, COD4, Halo 3 or MGS4. I'm OK with this. I spent the last year introducing my new wife to the joys of Earthbound, playing through Grim Fandango, Homeworld, Planescape: Torment, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, and Deus Ex. Sure, I played some new games, but I don't feel compelled to play every game, or even every excellent game that comes out. Ironically, I'm finally at a point in life where I can afford to buy all the newest hardware and I even get free games for review. What I lack is time.
"You couldn’t go into a store and buy Call of Duty 4 without *having* to pick up Super Mario Galaxy. Can’t snag Rock Band without that Burning Crusade box. And - seriously - can you even still be called a gamer if you didn’t play at least one of the offerings from The Orange Box?"
If this is the case, I think we need to think about redefining the word "gamer". The music enthusiast shouldn't feel compelled to own every critically acclaimed album, why should gamers agonize over the games they simply must pass over?
And another thing. I was a freshman in college when Metroid Prime came out. It remains my favorite Gamecube game. For the first time in my life, I did not complete a game I purchased. Sure, I finished the single player campaign, but not to 100%. I didn't find all the items or scans. Until college, I was a purist. I collected every star, I found every easter egg, and I scoffed at Game Genie users. Today, I rarely "finish" a game in this sense. I just don't have the time or the inclination any more, even for my favorite games. This is OK. This does not make me a casual gamer.
"Great novels live forever. Great games live only until the next great game. What we’re left with is a medium where the vast majority of the audience has only a flimsy grasp on the subject. They don’t know about the games of the past because they don’t have time to play them. They don’t know about the games of the future because there are too many to play."
I'm not so sure this is true. Gaming websites are filled with Top 10 lists and other retrospective features. We at 61FPS are always dusting off old games. As for our ignorance about the future of games, I won't even get into how much space mainstream gaming sites devote to previews. I'd argue that gamers have a firmer grasp on the medium than any other group of pop culture enthusiasts. We obsess over the trivia and argue about the value of games more than film or music nerds...heck we even rival comic book guys.
What's so great about being a gamer today is that we have the luxury to forgo even the excellent games, skimming the sublime, timeless gaming experiences off the top of the pile. With all the new indie development competing with big studios, it's the best of times. Let's enjoy it.