It Was a Great Year in Gaming, But It Also Sucked in Some Ways
There is no doubt 2018 was a great year in the video game industry. Overall, video game sales appear to be up, the big three (Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony) are all thriving and we were treated with so many amazing games. From Marvel’s Spider-Man to God of War, I can’t quite recall a year where we had so many perfect review scores. Many of which we talk about on this list. While the year featured many highs, there were, unfortunately, some lows. Everything from studio closures, to writers from trusted gaming websites getting busted for plagiarism, 2018 featured more than a few things that really sucked. So without further delay, I break down the things that sucked about gaming in 2018.
Battle Royale Bonanza
I get it, Fortnite’s battle royale mode is an unbelievable cash cow. So naturally, copycats have surfaced everywhere. Black Ops 4’s Blackout mode is easily one of the biggest offenders but many games surfaced in 2018 (and even back in 2017) offering up battle royale-like modes. Grand Theft Auto Online, Paladins, Dota 2, Battlerite, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive all featured battle royale inspired modes. And let’s not forget about Radical Heights which was Cliffy B’s last-ditch effort to save his studio. Don’t get me wrong, battle royale games are tons of fun and make for great streaming but enough already.
I Love Gold!
Remember the good old days? When you bought one game and it was the same game that everyone else bought. Today, we have platinum editions, gold editions, deluxe editions, legendary editions and so on. Every publisher is clamoring for your year-long attention span and what better way to keep you around by offering you enticing “gold” editions; that includes, for instance, a virtual hat. Often the content you get with these mid-level editions is useless cosmetic garbage. Can we do away with all these editions? Or just limit it to the base game and one special edition, please?
Another Year, Another Lack of Xbox Exclusives
Last year, we talked about the lack of Xbox One exclusives and here we are again talking about Xbox’s less than stellar lineup of exclusives. So how about the exclusives we did get in 2018? Well, many of them ended up on our most disappointing list. Granted, Microsoft announced some pretty cool studio acquisitions this past year, so better days are ahead. But yikes Xbox, you had another ugly year in the exclusives department. Meanwhile, Sony continues to kill it with a steady stream of amazing exclusives.
Sony Staying Home For The Holidays
Sorry Sony, you aren’t getting off this easy. One little tradition we have really come to enjoy over the years is the PlayStation Experience. Well, Sony decided to ditch that idea for 2018 and shortly after that announcement they indicated they weren’t planning on being at E3 2019 either. These are two seriously head-scratching decisions and suggests Sony’s impressive run may be coming to an end; or at least starting to drop off a bit. Sony has since explained their decision to cancel PSX this year, yet their decisions have left more questions than answers. Will we ever see Death Stranding? Will The Last of Us: Part II come out in 2019? Certainly doesn’t look like it.
No Diablo 4 For You
Sure, we can simply chalk up the fan reaction as a case of gamer entitlement. Which, there is certainly a little bit of that at play here; however, Blizzard really dropped the ball during Blizzcon 2018. Fans were fully expecting a Diablo 4 announcement but instead, we were met with the mobile reveal of Diablo Immortal. In all fairness, Immortal doesn’t look that bad and our very own Steven Ritz had a chance to go hands-on with the game. Yet, Blizzard really underestimated its fan base. Immortal should have been announced in a press release and not as the “major announcement” of the show.
Head over to PAGE 2 for more things that sucked about gaming in 2018…