Since the music and movie industry was hit hard by internet smugglers, most of the money is now made in video games. This isn’t to say that video games aren’t shared online, but they are shared a bit less as people can’t figure out how to make these copies playable on certain newer systems. The PlayStation 3, although one of the most popular systems, has practically zero losses due to piracy. This makes video games the platform where most of the entertainment money goes.

As game budgets and popularity increased, it was noticed that games got prettier, bigger, and meaner over time. There are some franchises like Final Fantasy that have taken this to another level. These releases always push the limits of the graphics capabilities of the systems they are on and have done so for over a decade. I’ve always loved this trend, but now that we’re getting to the point where the graphics are almost as good as the actual movies, the challenging gameplay and fun has gone out the window.

I remember playing Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis, I still do from time to time, and this is due to the fact that these games are great. I can still enjoy Mario or Sonic and while the graphics don’t have much in common with the current versions, the replayability and simplicity of the controls are remarkable. It takes minutes to play and years to master, and I don’t see that in new releases. The games coming out now for the most part look like interactive movies that you only want to play once. After that, there isn’t much to see as we know the story and by replaying it we would just be following our old footsteps once again.

There are exceptions like the Grand Theft Auto series and this could be part of why it has become so popular. Even those games are starting to get stale now that nothing new has been introduced to them in years. We are still running around, completing missions, stealing cars and the only noticeable difference is the graphics. I understand that the aspect of the game is very important as players expect improvements, but seriously, what happened to the fun?