The Second Great Video Game Crash

[NovaXpress]

I don't think there'll be another VG crash. In fact, I'm sure there won't be. Just like the stock market crash of the 1920's and the more recent dot com internet business crash, these things have a tendency to happen one time before companies and individuals make adjustments to prevent it from happening again.

 

That's right. Does anyone think that we're so much smarter than the video game companies that they haven't learned lessons from the 83 crash? Right now we are in a lull because the next generation systems aren't arriving as soon as expected. The current systems are being given an unusually long life span so we should expect some of the excitement to wear off.

 

At some point this year the big two will drop their prices by $50 and start a new wave of sales. then in 1-2 years we'll have the XB2 and PS3 and sales will be hotter than ever before.

[space_invader]

The first clear sign was when Sega scraped all attempts at making hardware.  

 

The second sign was when Microsoft entered the market, and made the GameCube #3

 

but if sega really pulled out because the whole market was dying, why would microsoft enter with a whole new console? and one that's sold very well

 

Fourth is the wealth of unusually crappy games being produced! Given it's not as bad as from the hay-day of Atari. But still it’s getting worse!

 

they're not as bad as they were in the 80's though, because the console makers approve titles for their system now. back in the 80's, anybody could produce a crappy game and sell it. that's partly what flooded the market.

 

Fifth would be the migration of dedicated console gamers to becoming dedicated PC gamers. With PCs being far more powerful than any of the consoles out to date It makes some people wonder, "why do so many simply stare at a TV and play games? Computers are so much better"

 

i don't know about that either. with all teh systems going on online, it might be the other way around.

 

Two or three years down the road Sega/Nintendo the merged company of both, will release a new console and the process starts again.

 

good, nothing to worry about then!

 

besides, i think the console crash gets exaggerated. i don't even remember the crash. i got my atari 2600 in 1986 and i was still buying new 2600 games at the store in 1990. i missed the whole thing, and the games were great.

[RCmodeler]

The current systems are being given an unusually long life span so we should expect some of the excitement to wear off.

PS2=2000-2005 is 5 years... that's standard. Actually, the Cube and Box are only 4 years, which is SHORT for console life.

 

The crash of 1984 was partly caused by the companies themselves. Yes, people stopped buying stuff, but instead of regrouping, many companies just gave up. The declared gaming to be dead. Even Atari quit.

 

Smarter companies (Nintendo/Sega) realized that the game recession was merely a blip, and NOT the end of videogames. And they jumped into the vacuum left by the idiot American companies.

 

Fast-forward to modern times: Videogames may receed in popularity, but I don't think Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft will be as bone-headed as Atari and just "give up"! They'll scale back the number of releases per year, but they won't quit. There won't be a crash.

[Adrian M]

The crash of 1984 was partly caused by the companies themselves.  Yes, people stopped buying stuff, but instead of regrouping, many companies just gave up.  The declared gaming to be dead.  Even Atari quit.

 

Smarter companies (Nintendo/Sega) realized that the game recession was merely a blip, and NOT the end of videogames.  And they jumped into the vacuum left by the idiot American companies.

 

Atari didn't exactly "give up" during the crash. It was mainly the 3rd party publishers and developers that jumped out. Atari remained in the race developing 2600 games, arcade machines, computers and even the 7800 console. I'll admit, the period between 1984 and 1986 were more quiet and less eventful than the heady days of the early 1980's, but that's the way these things work.

 

As for Nintendo and Sega they didn't exactly jump into the "vacuum left by idiot American companies"...while the Famicom was released in Japan around 1983 (not sure about Sega since they released the various Markxxx series of consoles in Japan before setting up shop in the US with the SMS), they didn't launch their US operations until about 1986 or so. So, they waited until the aftermath of the "crash" subsided and then had to trojan horse their way into the US market using gimmicks like Robot peripherals and light guns to provide consumers with a different image of gaming.

[somePUNK]

I think there are a lot of great games out there. I don;t think were in a big fear of a crash anytime soon.

 

Yah shep i hate those dame punks too never living up to your standards.

[AtariDude]

I don't believe there is going to be a video game crash like the one that occured in 1983. Games today are more complex and take greater time to master. RPGs could take a few weeks or more to finish and multi-player games like Counter-Strike, BattleField 1942, and others always keep the games fresh since human beings vary in skill levels and thus create variety.

 

What I do see is more companies becoming partners and joining forces such as what Sega and Nintendo have done. They used to be bitter enemies and now they work together.

 

There will also be some new consoles released within about 2 to 3 years that will add new features that will cause yet another rush on Ebay to get the new systems.