Like a version, playing for the seventeenth time
It is a minor peeve of mine when people refer to game sequels as “versions,” often associating the sequel with its host platform. By this, I mean phrases like “The Xbox 360 version of Halo” or “the new version of Call of Duty”–it’s different from saying “the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty 4,” which is appropriate.
Isn’t this an implicit acknowledgment of the somewhat depressing (albeit arguable) property of game development and publishing, that so much of industry’s success and stability rests on seemingly neverending iterations of similar formulae?
Looking at it objectively, it isn’t all that surprising that people often look at sequels simply as revisions, rather than marked progressions. So, although the “version” figure of speech can be aggravating, it is understandable why it so frequently occurs.
But can’t we at least pretend that isn’t the case?
Tags: game titles, versions, virgins
February 19th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Please add to the list of things that suck games like Ninja Gaiden which seems to come in umpteen different variations across god knows how many platforms.
February 20th, 2008 at 9:33 am
Unfortunately, it seems like that is what the majority actually wants, even if there is a loud collective voice saying otherwise. Having just released Savage 2, we are now dealing with an angry mob of our existing fan base that are upset specifically that the sequel was not just a remake of the original with new graphics and a few fixes.