Spinks, the 8th-best blogger on the internet, was kind enough to link to Destructoid’s list of games announced for E3 2011. As I type this (there may be updates), there are 14 games that are not sequels, remakes, or tie-ins to previously exploited intellectual properties. That is from a list of 80 games. This is followed by a list of rumored but unconfirmed games, weighing in at 9 new properties of 32 games.
I would list the new games after the break, but it feels rude to re-print part of their list. Instead, I will link to a non-sequel tie-in, Gotham City Impostors, a Batman-themed FPS with the unusual premise of playing folks dressed up as Batman or the Joker. I hereby rate this as sufficiently amusing. As far as I know, the Walking Dead game on the “rumored” list is the first video game exploitation of that property, although I am not sure how much is left to be said in zombie survival gameplay.
The fact that I commented on two tie-ins rather than talking about the new games probably demonstrates why there are so many tie-ins and sequels rather than new properties.
: Zubon
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations sounds absolutely fantastic, from what was described in the Game Informer article. And if you want to take into account the way things sound better on paper, it sounds better on paper than AC: Brotherhood did, and even that was a solid game.
Good year for sequels, methinks.
I think there is a lot left to explore in the Zombie survival genre, because any game we have right now is Zombie FPS or Zombie Action, a game about actual survival would be fantastic.
I wonder if there’s some bias introduced by the fact that announcing a brand new, untested property is less likely to get people excited than announcing a product that’s related to something they already know is good.
That’s a pretty sad reflection on the gaming industry, then, if being burned by ‘unknown’ games sucking is so common to people nowadays that they’ve become conservative and only let themselves get interested in retreads of the few titles that they actually enjoyed.
Bah. Things are better than they’ve ever been. One-man studios are making games that millions of people play and love. There is earnest discussion of games as art — conversations that should be bringing tears to Chris Crawford’s eyes. It has never been easier to make video games if you’re a guy who wants to make video games.
There are an absolutely astounding number of absolutely amazing games being made right now. I was only suggesting that maybe there’s a bias in the ones that are being announced at E3 towards properties that people are already familiar with, not because that’s what’s important, but because that’s where the PR dollars are best spent.
Seeing E3 as a reflection of what’s going on with video games is like seeing the rack at Wal-Mart as a reflection of what’s going on with music. And now, as ever, the important stuff going on with music is going on in the garage of some guy you haven’t heard of yet.
And to look from a different direction — Star Control 2 was a sequel.