Doom 4: End of the Game Industry?

The game scene is resorting to faddish ideas from years ago to try to appear original. I’m surprised they haven’t come out with Pet Rock software yet.

None of this will save a doomed industry. The business is going to attempt to sustain growth and creativity by making game players buy newer and newer machines. Computer gaming has always been sustained by never-ending improvements in resolution and realism. But once we get to photorealism, what is going to sustain growth?

That time is drawing near. We are already getting pre-hype for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 2, as well as the new Nintendo. All this will do is make the visuals more lifelike and the blood and gore more realistic and nauseating. While the kids who are used to this “progress” may not be put off by it, newcomers may be repulsed and skip these new generations of machines altogether.

If that doesn’t flatten the market, the never-ending need to satisfy the demanding full-time game-player should do it. —John C. Dvorak —Doom 4: End of the Game Industry?  (PC Mag.com)

Predictably, Dvorak’s getting trashed by twitch-thumbed gamers on Slashdot, but Dvorak’s curmudgeonly demeanor is only endearing to a point.