What Genre Will Dominate In The Next Generation Of Gaming?

There are a number of ways to discuss and argue the subject of "most popular genre."

This generation, most will quickly claim that it's obviously first-person shooters, as the Call of Duty franchise has dominated sales charts for years, and the Battlefield series has sold millions as well.

However, as some developers have said in the past, unless you've got "Call of Duty" or "Battlefield" in the title of your shooter, it's going to be a surprisingly difficult sell, regardless of critical acclaim; the Resistance and Killzone games never really sold as well as they should've, and other IPs like Singularity and RAGE fell short of expectations. Besides, going across the board, the very broad "action" genre is probably the biggest, especially with Grand Theft Auto leading the charge, followed closely (and eclipsed in terms of annual sales) by the blockbuster Assassin's Creed franchise.

Sports games have fallen off in popularity and the music/rhythm genre is all but dead, and you can't really expect role-playing games to gain the lead. The latter is simply far too niche, too hardcore, and with the gaming audience getting more casual by the day, there's little chance RPGs will ever "dominate" in terms of sales. So maybe it's just down between shooters and action - or action/adventure - in the next generation, unless something changes. New technology doesn't necessarily translate to new ideas, remember. Only occasionally.

Tags: video games, next generation, next gen, gaming culture

10/16/2012 9:49:25 PM Ben Dutka

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Comments (43 posts)

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ulsterscot
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 @ 10:38:54 PM
Reply

COD with its new engine will sweep all before it. MOH and BF will be runners up.

UNcharted,Gears of War and Halo will put in decent showings.

The RPG genre will fade to obscurity.

You heard it here first folks.

1 up, 8 down

Phoenix
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 10:30:25 AM

I'm with you, I dont think shooters are going anywhere honestly. As much as I would like the JRPG genre to make a comeback, I think the damage has been done, and I'm not sure they can make a comeback.

This generation has taught me 1 thing, every company is willing to sell out to try and jump on a cash cow, SE did it with the FF series, Capcom has done it with the RE series, and it breaks my heart to see them treat the old fanbase so poorly.

1 up, 0 down

Godslim
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 11:39:09 AM

u thumb him down but u no hes right as much as we do all hope cods reign changes we know that for now it wont

0 up, 2 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 @ 10:55:55 PM
Reply

JRPG will come out of nowhere with a devastating overhand southpaw and cream all shooters while the whole Western world falls under the spell of beautiful anime graphics and the brilliant strategy behind turn-based mechanics.

Okay, now the real news. I don't expect much change, people are still stupid and still just want to shoot at things so FPS will dominate, I just hope there is a trend that advances the realism of it. Maybe put the viewpoint up by the head, make it feel like moving a person, give them legs, etc.

I hope action/adventure makes more strides in the wake of a long successful Uncharted run and the upcoming Tomb Raider.

What I really want is more survival and survival/horror after it got so screwed up this gen. I hope The Last of Us paves the way for this. And also I'd like Beyond: Two Souls to inspire other devs to try interactive drama.

Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 10/16/2012 10:56:09 PM

8 up, 0 down

Qubex
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 @ 11:22:57 PM

Kinda like where you are aiming at World... I think action/adventure - survival horror is a good and exciting mix.

I also want more Sci-Fi though, like Dust514. I do like my shooters, so these will continue to be added to my collection.

I would say "The Last Of Us", "GoWIV" and "Beyond Two Souls" will blow people away too boot.

Q!

"play.experience.enjoy"

4 up, 0 down

ulsterscot
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 @ 11:07:44 PM
Reply

Hopefully they make development of dancing games a criminal offence

4 up, 0 down

Qubex
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 @ 11:23:31 PM

Indeed Mr Scot, indeed!

Q!

"play.experience.enjoy"

1 up, 0 down

Dancemachine55
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 @ 11:44:23 PM
Reply

Action / Adventure or RPG!!!

My 2 favourite gaming genres!!

It used to be JRPG's with the PS1, but that changed pretty quick over the last few years.

I want more games like Uncharted!! The new Tomb Raider is shaping up quite nicely, same with Remember Me and Watch Dogs, and Star Wars 1313. So many Uncharted clones coming.... AND I LOVE IT!!!

1 up, 0 down

FAREEZ
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 @ 11:57:11 PM
Reply

i want more open world stealth game like Dishonored and MGS ground Zero....

2 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 12:09:53 AM

I'm really hoping Dishonored sells enough to become a franchise :)

3 up, 0 down

Qubex
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 1:36:50 AM

Funnily enough, "Dishonored" reminds me of "Skyrim". Similar game-play model and style, but I do prefer the "Skyrim" subject matter over "Dishonored" I must admit.

I tried to watch a video review of it after reading Ben's review, and the video was laggy I decided to quit the activity. I will try again and see if I can get a better visual idea of how it plays... The little that I saw reminds me of "Skyrim" being first person and all...

Q!

"play.experience.enjoy"

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 1:59:18 AM

It's similar to Skyrim in controls but no more so than any other first person adventure that isn't an FPS. Think of a Bioshock/Skyrim mix with a heavy focus on stealth and you've got it.

0 up, 0 down

Solid Fantasy
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 12:04:08 AM
Reply

I can see more pushing for openworld / decision like games in the future.

1 up, 0 down

AcHiLLiA
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 12:04:34 AM
Reply

Action/Adventure/RPG/Shooter/Survival/Horror all in one in open world. That will be the best.

Last edited by AcHiLLiA on 10/17/2012 12:05:45 AM

2 up, 1 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 12:10:30 AM

In Fallout 4.

1 up, 0 down

AcHiLLiA
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 2:40:23 AM

Maybe, never played any Fallout games before. My cousin has 3, so this is my chance.

Last edited by AcHiLLiA on 10/17/2012 2:41:07 AM

0 up, 1 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 9:44:34 AM

Your comment was a pretty good descriptor of 3, not so much with New Vegas.

0 up, 0 down

AcHiLLiA
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 4:41:30 PM

Did u play Fallout New Vegas, how is it, would u say it's better than 3?

0 up, 0 down

OverBerg
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 3:03:45 AM
Reply

Running around and shooting things has never been my thing with video games. That said, I've played (and enjoyed) 1st person shooters from Doom to Half-Life to CoD to the Resistances/Killzones, and so on. Not to date myself (cough...32), but I still really love the old-school adventure games I grew up with best (Quest for Glory/King's Quest etc), along with *real* survival horror games like Clock Tower and Haunting Ground etc. In fact, I recently went back and replayed Phantasmagoria and it was awesome and hilariously bad. I wish either genre (true adventure or horror) would make a resurgence. Doubtful it will happen, though.
Either way, give me an awesome story and characters I might give a crap about, and you've got my $60 nowadays. Heavy Rain was spectacular and I can. not. wait. for Beyond: Two Souls.

2 up, 0 down

Crabba
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 5:46:00 AM

I'd Looove to see a new Phantasmagoria done!! Unfortunately both of the big two Sierra & Lucasarts stopped making adventure games a long time ago and don't seem to be interested in a resurgence of the genre :(

But yeah that's what I'd really like to see too, the good old true adventure game genre come back to life, which could now be better than ever with a modern engine. At least games like Heavy Rain & Beyond Two Souls prove the genre is very much alive and possibly finally gaining in strength again..

0 up, 0 down

Lawless SXE
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 4:11:16 AM
Reply

With Black Ops 2 reportedly once again breaking preorder records, I don't see much changing, even going into the next generation :/

If I'm wrong, however, I back what I wrote here a few weeks ago about Adventure RPGs rising to prominence. I mean, we've already seen quite a swing towards their popularity this generation with The Elder Scrolls, Dark Souls, Fallout, Mass Effect, Deus Ex, The Witcher and a few more. They could translate well to socification, if done correctly, so publishers will like them. Multiplayer may be a more difficult sell, but that's not to say it couldn't be implemented in cool ways.

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 9:45:12 AM

Ever noticed how every game improves when you add RPG elements?

4 up, 0 down

___________
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 4:42:56 AM
Reply

shooters, obviously!
im hopeful will see allot of new IPs at the start of the generation, as we always do, and hopefully a decent portion of those will be something new and unique, not a style of game weve seen 1000000000 times before.
but beyond that, once the systems get say 3 or so years old will be back to where we are now.
99% of the games being mindless shooters.

1 up, 0 down

Ultimadream
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 5:08:32 AM
Reply

I think it will change, already it seems the that first person games like Borderland, Dishonored, Skyrim (it pretty much is...) have started to dominate the market this year. I think this is something this is going to continue.

Funnily enough, (I never thought I would say this...) I would actually prefer FPS's to remain ahead of them. These first person open world titles bore me. My experience with them, there is no distinction between sidequests and story missions. They all play out the same. So eventually you lose focus and get bored of the main story, It happened to me with Oblivion to my friend with Fallout 3 (because he got all the DLC). I have heard Dishonored is meant to be more focused with it's story missions and if this is so fantastic. But no way would I buy the game new. I really have just gotten sick of the genre.

3 up, 1 down

SmokeyPSD
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 11:54:26 AM

Oblivion especially is one of the most lifeless "freeroam" experiences out there. I hope in the coming generation they actually make this open ended experiences dynamic, not just vast.

0 up, 0 down

Snaaaake
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 5:17:39 AM
Reply

FPS isn't going anywhere at the moment even though it's pretty much everywhere.

Unlike the music genre I don't think it goes down that easily.

But lately, we're seeing the rise of sandbox or open-world so it's looking promising.

0 up, 0 down

CrusaderForever
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 9:25:33 AM
Reply

The truth? Ok, FPS will dominate which really means nothing. RPG, Sports, Survival Horror will all have their games. We need not worry about that. But yeah, FPS will be the big seller.

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 9:46:31 AM
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I honestly thought FPS had it's time in the sun on Xbox1, I never could have predicted the death of the JRPG this gen. So ya know, it's hard to say what gets shaken up with a generational shift.

0 up, 0 down

CrusaderForever
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 10:26:59 AM

World, I really don't think saying that JRPGs are dead is correct. I believe game genres are like clothes. Styles go and then they come back. I bet we see SE go back to turn based as some point in the future. There will always be that developer that wants to go old school as well. Don't worry, we'll get our OSJRPG fix in the next gen as well.

0 up, 0 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 11:25:51 AM

Okay, then let's clarify-

The JRPG we ONCE KNEW is dead.

2 up, 0 down

homura
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 12:59:11 PM

JRPG we once knew isn't dead, it's on the Nintendo 3DS. It's name is (Bravely Default: Flying Fairy). It's still breathing, faintly.

0 up, 1 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 1:39:02 PM

Gone to handhelds = dead

1 up, 0 down

homura
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 1:46:19 PM

It's not dead, it's just in a comatose state for the console.

Last edited by homura on 10/17/2012 1:47:25 PM

0 up, 1 down

xenris
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 11:29:57 AM
Reply

In all honesty I think MMO genre games are going to take over. The reasons I think this is because we are already seeing games take a very social direction with facebook integration(although I hate that) and every game that comes out it seems has multiplayer shoved into it.

More games are going to have this persistent element to them and MMO qualities because first and foremost it will give them an easy excuse for DRM, and secondly it will give them an easy way to charge for microtransactions.

Now I don't mean that every game will be like world of warcraft I just mean, more genres are going to adopt MMO qualities.

I would like to see a revival of the stealth genre though...I miss Tenchu :(

0 up, 0 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 11:38:52 AM

If you miss Tenchu badly enough, you might want to try Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen for Vita.

http://www.psxextreme.com/vita-reviews/7.html

1 up, 0 down

xenris
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 12:53:08 PM

Yeah I have been eying the shinobido games lately. If I pick up a vita I will definitely check it out.

I can agree with the review score too. I know that there are some issues with these games but I have shutters on when I play them :P

Kind of like Alpha protocol critics panned it but I found something incredibly enjoyable with it.

I still hope that with the success of dishonored, and hopefully the upcoming success of Hitman that the stealth genre gets a boost and I maybe see a next gen tenchu game that keeps what was great about the old ones in tact while making it a bit more accessible to casual gamers. Tenchu Z actually did a decent job but sadly it did a lot wrong as well.

1 up, 0 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 1:23:18 PM

Well, Dishonored doesn't really qualify as stealth unless you PLAY it as stealth. Same may go for the new Hitman, too.

I think the days of pure stealth are gone. Gamers these days want options and in this one issue, despite my love of the old-school MGSs, I have to agree. Provided I have the OPTION of a solid stealth mechanic - which I did NOT have in Splinter Cell: Conviction - I'm good. :)

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 1:42:11 PM

I like the fully optional approaches in Dishonored but I still think it's a mistake to force other games that used to be only stealth to take that route. That's what's nice about new IPs instead of forcing old franchises like square pegs into round holes.

1 up, 0 down

xenris
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 2:16:33 PM

Yeah, I'm totally open to them say bringing back Tenchu but having it be more flexible for people who want to play it with less stealth. But have it set up in a way that really makes it fun to play both ways.

I used dishonored and hitman as examples because they give people choices.

I kind of agree though I think the day of pure stealth is largely over.

Mark of the Ninja is out on steam though and it looks like my last chance at ninjas stealth awesomeness. Its apparently a love letter to stealth games so I'm hoping that it scratches this itch a bit.

0 up, 0 down

SmokeyPSD
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 11:58:19 AM
Reply

Whatever genre it's going to be, it's clear free to play is very much changing the landscape of things. You can already see it on the Vita.

0 up, 0 down

xenris
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 12:54:50 PM

I didn't mention this because I didn't want to face reality. Publishers are realizing that they can make a ton of money on F2P games, and it sucks but I see a lot of games going this route.

I mean f2p isn't a bad idea but only a view companies get it right without either making it pay to win, or basically a game that costs twice as much as it would have to buy it at a normal 60 dollar price point.

1 up, 0 down

homura
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 1:09:12 PM
Reply

My wish is for JRPG to dominate next gen. Who am I kidding, it's going to be Ubisoft! :)

0 up, 0 down

main_event05
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 @ 10:48:35 PM
Reply

How nice if it were either JRPGs or Horror. I have a feeling FPS' are done and an even stronger feeling that story mode will make a huge comeback which is a set up for the return of the JRPG

0 up, 0 down

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