I’ve never been so bored as a gamer – Reader’s Feature

metro.co.uk:

A reader is fed up at the lack of new game releases and questions why publishers have become so secretive in 2022.

I’ve read a number of comments, and Reader’s Features, in the last few months complaining about the state of 2022 for video games, and how there’s been so little in the way of both news and major new releases. This is clearly not a matter of opinion but a fact. It’s never been this bad, not since the video game crash of 1983, and yet many people seem keen to dismiss it and argue that just because they’re not bothered by it, it’s not a problem.

Usually, these people say something like ‘just play old games’ or ‘reduce your backlog’ or insist that they’ve been fine so they don’t see any reason to be concerned. But that is missing the bigger picture. It’s ignoring the fact that the games industry has ground to a halt and is no longer releasing new games at anything like the previous rate or, perhaps more importantly, talking about new games.

It’s not like I’ve got a business degree or anything, but I would’ve thought that if you’re in a situation where output has decreased, through no fault of your own, the way to compensate for that is to engage with your audience more than usual, keep them reassured that new products are coming, and maybe reveal others earlier than you otherwise would have. Make it clear there’s plenty to look forward to and emphasise that this is only a temporary situation. But that’s not what’s happened, instead the opposite has.

I enjoy following the games industry almost as much as I enjoy playing its games and I like to think I’m pretty knowledgeable about companies and why they do and don’t do certain things, especially those things that seem on the face of it to make no sense. I don’t agree