Times have changed, and so have the majority of games that are being released. Most of us grew up during the SNES / NES era, where you played games such as SMB or Final Fantasy. I think the birth of the FPS games such as Halo have a large reason behind the mass violence in games today. Every other game these days is a crappy FPS where you are delved into combat like it is a game. So, I choose not to play them, any of them. I don't play FPS just out of respect that I do the real thing for a living, and it just seems like nonsense.

In the case of platformers and RPGs though, I know I will never be an Italian plummer floating through space or a shitty Bard who's only weapon is a lame harp, so these games help me escape and live a different life. Maybe its the same for kids who play Halo and COD all day, maybe they like imagining they are Marines getting fucked up in Afghanistan,, I don't know. I just don't buy them, don't play them, and I keep my cupboards chalked full of Mario, Zelda, and the RPG's. There is no video game violence to me if I just ignore it, much like my marital problems. THAT IS A FUCKING JOKE.

Pandajuice wrote:

Ash Burton wrote: Maybe its the same for kids who play Halo and COD all day, maybe they like imagining they are Marines getting fucked up in Afghanistan,, I don't know. I just don't buy them, don't play them, and I keep my cupboards chalked full of Mario, Zelda, and the RPG's. In your flea market pictures though, I couldn't help by notice that not only did you have Halo, but also Halo 2. So you bought and played them somewhere along the line and enjoyed Halo enough to buy the sequel. Why say you don't?

Lol, I knew that was gonna come up when I uploaded that pic. I picked those up the other day at a thrift store for a buck a piece, and now they have been sold on Ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemVersion&item=270528053512&view=all&tid=0

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemVersion&item=270528054406&view=all&tid=0

So yes I bought them, but only to resell and buy games I want. Still never played.

Edit: Next to those Halo games, you will notice 4 shitty Phillips CDI games, never played those either. That would be the staging place for games heading out the door via Ebay. Also, I'm not saying Halo and those games aren't good, even great, they just are not for me. I do enjoy Goldeneye though, so I guess I did play an FPS once.

Knyte wrote:

I would go back further, Mr. Burton. The original FPS, Wolfenstein 3D had bloody violence, and a melting Hitler. Things have just progressed from there. I think for awhile in the late 90s, early 2000s, graphic violence in games was a popular gimmack. I don't think that's the case now.

Wolfenstein may have been a violent FPS, but it did not alter the gaming landscape to the extent Halo did. Lets Look at some top ten games from 1994 (two years after Wolf 3D)

10.) The Adventures of Batman & Robin
9.) Theme Park
8.) Cruis’n USA
7.) NBA Jam Tournament Edition
6.) Star Wars: TIE Fighter
5.) Earthworm Jim
4.) Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic the Hedgehog 3
3.) Donkey Kong Country
2.) Warcraft: Orcs and Humans
1.) Super Metroid

Now that is a random list that most will concede were popular games in 94, and not a hint of Wolfenstein to be found, not even a single FPS.

Let's Look at a list two years after Halo's Release.

10.) Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (Xbox)
9.) The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
8.) Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
7.) Half-Life 2
6.) Battlefield 2
5.) Call of Duty 2
4.) Mario Kart DS
3.) God of War
2.) Resident Evil 4
1.) Civilization IV


A shitload of FPS's and a heck of a lot more violent games on that top ten. Halo didnt start the FPS craze it just perfected it, and then every other developer followed suit pushing out shit-tastic titles such as Haze.

Knyte wrote:

That list is kind of out of context. FPSs were a PC only genre until the N64 days, when Goldeneye really opened the door for consoles as a viable platform for the genre, and that didn't happen until 1997. If you could find a Sales chart for PC games in 1994, I would bet Doom and Doom 2 would be on there, as well as Bungie's Marathon for Mac. And, as many will argue, DOOM was the true launching of the FPS into mainstream, so within a couple years after the release of DOOM: Doom II Duke Nuke'em 3d Quake Star Wars: Dark Forces Rise of the Triad Descent All of those were multi-million selling titles, and from there came Quake 2, Unreal, Half-Life, etc.

Right, but for PC. I am talking home console, and Halo brought it into the mainstream. Whatever, I dont even know why I am talking about this, its not like I am going to win a forum challenge or anything. I concede.

Knyte wrote:

Ash Burton wrote: I am talking home console, and Halo brought it into the mainstream. No, Goldeneye did. Followed by Perfect Dark, Metal Of Honor series, SOCOM, Call Of Duty, and then Halo. Halo launched the Xbox, and the popularity of Online Console FPSs.

I said I was done. You win, I quit, moving on...