This guest article comes from the keyboard of ashw92, one of our community members.
The biggest game of the year was released yesterday in the form of Grand Theft Auto 5. However, I really haven’t been able to get myself excited about. Left and right through nearly every conceivable media stream I have been inundated with marketing spiel and hype inducing communications.
Social media has also been a hotbed of discussion, with the overly pro-GTA bandwagon out in full force against the ‘hating it for the sake of it’ brigade. And then there are those like me, clustered somewhere in the middle, in Grand Theft Auto limbo. We know full well there are copies still about to pick up from your local retailer of choice but having no real motivation to go and do so.
Obviously the announcement of the latest game in Rockstar’s insanely popular series was no surprise whatsoever. Everyone knew it was coming, but after GTA IV left a slightly sour taste in my mouth I wasn’t as excited as some to see the announcement that would soon be upon us. However, when that initial announcement came around and the first few trailers and big bits of information were released my interest grew rapidly.
A return to Los Santos, a big city and an open area to wreak havoc in, three playable characters and some nearly-next gen looking graphics all piqued my interest to the point where I considered putting down an early preorder.
This excitement, however, did not last. The more pieces of small information that were released, and the drip feed screenshots began to bore me. Yes, that plane looks cool and yes, that is nice looking mountain and yes, Trevor does look like a crazy bag of fun, but do I want to play it? I’m not sure. The more I heard the more my interest deteriorated, it wasn’t a case of it looking unappealing as such, it just didn’t seem overly appealing to me.
When all of the reviews were released it was clear that GTA V was an amazing game. With near unanimous 9’s and 10’s from a broad range of outlets, it seemed that Rockstar had produced the game that would mark the swansong of the PS3 and Xbox 360 generation. But still, a smorgasbord of praise and a Metacritic score of a whopping 97/100 didn’t make me want to get back on the hype train. I appreciated that it was a great game and definitely something that I should play and would undoubtedly get into and enjoy but I still didn’t consider buying it.
Today I walked into a Tesco to buy some lunch and saw, beside a security guard who really seemed to be taking the link between GTA and crime all too literally, was an enormous display with dozens of copies, ready to picked up for only £38. I paused for a moment and looked at them.
This game, the most expensive game ever made, one of the most critically acclaimed games ever made, and I just walked straight past to get a pot of pasta. I had the money, I have the time to play it and I had the opportunity to buy it, but even the ever-present cries of how good the game is from the Internet as a whole couldn’t sway me at point of purchase.
Ultimately, this worries me slightly. Why did I, an avid gamer and writer about games, not pick up the biggest release of the generation when it was starring me in the face? I can only really see two possible reasons; that I am simply losing interest in video games or that I am experiencing current-generation console fatigue.
I sincerely hope it’s the latter. I love video games and I hope to continue to do so, and that deep down that I am simply in need of a change. New hardware, new IPs and new experiences are all coming later this year.
Saying that, I did hold back on preordering a PS4 too…
Nismo400R84
I agree with the article. Gamesites now go over board with the hype to the point it puts you off. It still didn’t stop me buying GTA V. Am 29 now and getting gaming fatigue ,I think each time I sit in front of my steam library I must spend 20mins deciding what to play.
Still doesn’t stop from buying cheap games. I think i enjoy buying them more than i do playing them.
patch
I was feeling pretty much the same but caved in and got it and I’m glad I did. Think the hype put me off and took me too far the other way; think to yourself if you’d never heard of GTA and saw the videos and read the reviews without the baggage, would you buy it?
Tuffcub
I’d much rather player something innovative like Beyond: Two Souls than play yet another shooty game in which im the gangster.
Nate
Couldn’t agree more. I’ve had Beyond preordered since the reveal trailer and am on media black out to prevent any spoilers. GTA I was on accidental media black out because I just couldn’t muster the interest.
gaffers101
Good article. I’m totally not bothered about GTA V, partly because it’s not on PS 4 (yet). And partly because GTA IV left me pretty disappointed, I just can’t be bothered investing the time in the latest one.
Starman
Same here. I know its a great game but it just hasn’t interested me for some reason.
Nate
I find nowadays the only games I look forward to are the smaller more original indie games and IPs. I think gaming fatigue sunk in a while ago, and to me GTA looks like every other game I’ve played this gen.
danny_ken
I think what you have is investment fatigue more than anything. The relentless pace of the games market probably mixed with your ability to purchase games when you want, means you end up buying lots of games without really playing them in full. I have never owned so many games as I have this generation, while at the same time having so little engagement with them (except perhaps Demon Souls). This gen I have play games more to get it finished and out of the way,so I can move on to the next must have game, rather than enjoying and getting as much out of the experience as I can.
2ofclubs
I sometimes find myself waiting a while before playing these sort of critically acclaimed titles so I can play and experience them on my own. It may sound a bit daft and antisocial but so many people talking about the same thing makes my game time feel less special. Obviously this doesn’t count for multiplayer as I’d prefer to have people to play with.
Duke_Zippy
Can’t say I was too interested either, for several reasons. Then again apart from Vice City (which remains the best and only properly decent GTA IMO) I’ve never been too taken with the GTA series or Rockstar’s games in general.
Their habit of causing controversy for the sake of it is inane to say the least.
TSBonyman
I was hyped up for GTA V, then failed to find a copy available on release day and now i’m suddenly in no rush to pick it up. Partly because i watched a few of the videos that people have uploaded and i thought it looked.. well, it looks like GTA. Definitely better looking than IV visually and there’s plenty new stuff to try out, but it looks about the same generally speaking. Not that i expected it to be any different but i think the video hammered home the feeling that i don’t really NEED this game as badly as i thought.
And partly because i’ve got Diablo III and Puppeteer to keep me going atm.
If i get through the two of those and have some idle time before Beyond: Two Souls is released, i might still pick up GTA V, but with the PS4 arriving soon after that ( ntm the rumours of a potential PS4 version in the works) i might wait another while yet.