As the years pass, video games and the gaming industry undergo changes and reinventions. Trends come and go, and naturally some of these gaming trends do more good for gamers than others.
What's important, then, is for gamers to keep an eye on the coming and going of trends in their favorite community, and to designate the valuable wheat from the undesired chaff. Without a thorough self-examination from gamers, the community becomes unhealthy in many regards. The industry-side of things may become predatory towards its customers, as it did just before the crash of the western gaming industry in the 1980's. It may also find itself stuck in a rut of unoriginality, as companies churn out shameless clones of games which came before. Now, as the New Year begins, the industry is primed for another autopsy.
The easiest part of such an ordeal is finding out what gaming should leave in the past. The flaws and faults of the gaming community are many and obvious, as well as quite easy to remember. Even though many of these issues have been around for years, it's hard to deny that issues such as crunch and excessive in-app purchases remain some of gaming's most pressing problems. If gamers want consistent, quality products coming from developers, then making sure those developers are treated well, and that they treat gamers well, is the bare minimum request. Developers deserve to be treated fairly in the workplace even if it means a game taking longer to get out the door, lest fans be subjected to another rushed product like Cyberpunk 2077. Likewise, those same fans should not have their wallets emptied to stay up-to-date with their favorite games.
Gaming Trends That Hurt The Community
Perhaps less damaging, yet still as grating as these two issues, have been the problems of console scarcity and file sizes. The release of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X had gamers across the globe geared up at the starting line, hoping to get their hands on a day-one purchase. Unfortunately, despite Sony and Microsoft's efforts to control the horde, both companies' stocks were bought out within minutes, leaving thousands of other fans empty-handed. The ones who were lucky enough to obtain a console had their own form of disappointment, as the storage on these new devices can unfortunately nearly immediately be filled up with only a few titles. Games have become ridiculously big in recent years, and whether it be a problem of developers properly compressing files or consoles requiring larger drives, fans should be able to put more than five titles on their machine before needing to drop cash on an external.
However, these issues mostly take place in the games industry proper. Meanwhile, the community itself has been facing problems as content creators continually struggle to get by on platforms like YouTube and Twitch. Both of these platforms have had long-standing issues with treating its creators fairly when it comes to issues such as copyright. Many creators have found themselves banned or at the subject of copyright strikes even if their content abides by the platform's rules.
Gaming Trends That Don't Hurt The Community
Luckily, there are also many positive aspects of gaming that should stay around. AAA developers such as Naughty Dog and CD Projekt Red have been creating stories which are at least good enough to make a divisive, impactful impression on gamers. Many of these developers are also including more robust accessibility options, opening up gaming as a hobby to many more people. Consoles and game companies are supporting cross-play more frequently than ever, bridging the gaps between PlayStation, Xbox, and PC gamers.
Additionally, indie games continue to push the boundaries of gaming forward at an affordable cost to many, and classic titles of bygone eras have been receiving quality remakes and remasters for fans new and old to enjoy. The gaming community has a bright future ahead of it, so long as it keeps these trends alive and well and ditches the rest.